Today I went for a ride on my first ‘twisty’, Corral Hollow rd. Some people here might know it.
Lacking confidence in not knowing the road was a big factor in my ‘struggle.’ I had never been in the road before, but my riding buddy has a lot of experience on it, albeit in a car. Trying to concentrate on smooth riding in unfamiliar territory is very difficult.
Riding with somebody who is more experienced was a little difficult. Trying to keep up all the while trying to ride at my confidence level (iow, slow) was a new experience (first time not riding solo)
Tires. The previous owner put on new factory Dunlops (k630 iirc) I do not think these tires are good for anything other than commuting around town. I do not feel ‘planted’. I rode my buddies bike (95 Suzuki gs500 with Michelins, I can’t remember the model but they’re much better feeling when turning in) and my tires feel like hard plastic compared to his. I don’t want to spend money on new ones it’s definitely something that I feel is a necessity in getting the bike to handle better. These tires feel ‘slippery’ and it makes me not want to lean the bike over for fear of them slipping out on me, which leads to less countersteering, which leads to me stiffening up and having to force myself to recorrect.
Still not looking far enough ahead in my opinion. new road along with it being higher difficulty definitely didn’t help!
I feel I am not geared up enough. (Jeans, riding shoes, leather riding jacket, gauntlets and a decent helmet) want to upgrade to proper boots and a riding suit ASAP. Especially if the goal is to just go out and ride, not just to the store.
At higher speeds (70+) I feel unstable on the bike. Wind pushes me around very easy. A double bubble might help, I feel constantly barraged by the wind in my chest. Maybe I’m too new to riding this fast (not in the twisties, this was on the highway)
I think this post might need to evolve into my on rookie rider thread
