Video of my riding: please tear it apart

[M42]

Seers, soothsayers, corner whisperers.

I have a few thousand miles under my belt now, and I want to really knuckle down and improve my riding. The problem is, I have so goddamn much to improve, I'm at a loss where to start. I don't ride with anybody, so I have no idea if I look like a complete imbecile - I'd love to take an intermediate class or do a trackday, but I won't have a chance till next year. I've been watching a lot of informative youtubes, reading articles and books, but it really helps to have extra sets of eyes.

Here's a video of my thoroughly embarrassing riding:

Link to original page on YouTube.
I know, I know, it's a sorry excuse for twisties.

Some problems I think I have:

-I tip in too hard and my turn ends up too tight at the beginning, so I have to stand it up a little in the middle of the turn; basically my lines look like bezier curves (2:25, 8:28, 8:56). Contributes to being too close to the inside of a turn as well, and my front end being unsettled (7:03, 8:28, 8:56, 9:50).
--Solution - go slower, push handlebars less aggressively? I separate my braking and turn in, fwiw.
-While I have no problem front braking smoothly, letting it out is a whole other ballgame. No matter how feathery my release, the front almost always bounces up a little. Also unsettles the bike right before leaning. Most of that is me straight up sucking, but I think the awful stock suspension contributes a little. .44kg/mm? What was kawasaki thinking???
--Solution: be a smooth operator. possibly smoother getting back on the throttle after braking, too. And replace the god damn springs.
-I already fixed this dumb thing I did: riding right next to the centerline on blind hills like an idiot (8:45)

It seems like a lot of my problems are from not being smooth enough. Also, I'm not doing anything crazy with BP, just leaning my upper body into the turn + weighing the inside peg.


So uh, any advice, things I missed, ways to structure your own learning, insults? Let em fly. I feel a little overwhelmed trying to figure all this out in my own echo chamber of a head.

Thank you for your time, here is a baby rabbit.

[CC Cowboy]

Only problem I saw was you were going 500mph in a 35mph zone.

[M42]

It's a 45, I was doing at most 5 above in the straights



edit: ooohhh right I know what you mean, it's 35 till almost exactly two minutes in where it turns to 45. Forgot about that. Christ on a bicycle I'm dumb.

[Flying]

Looks fine to me. Just stay in the middle and enjoy the sights. Lines really shouldn't be a concern.

If your front is feeling squirmy, just make your clutch/transmission do more of the work. The stock suspension and brake setup is adequate at best.

[spooph]

You're pretty solid, nothing here really to critique as you aren't really going fast enough to really be pushing the bike... You're level of critique is much to great for road type of riding. On the open road you need to be more focused on identifying possible threats to you than your line, body position, etc..... That's all track/speed stuff...

Something I did when I started out riding, being that I couldn't really go fast enough to discover limits of the bike - speeding, etc, is I would decrease the space I allowed myself to ride in, on the lane... For instance, out of your peripheral vision, pick a point on the bike (somewhere on your windshield or rearview mirrors) and see where that intersects with the lines on the road while you're sitting on the bike. Keep those lines on that mark - this way your front tire stays a fixed distance away from the road lines...

This will teach you all kinds of great things which you can apply later when you then allow yourself to use the whole lane.

The whole lane should never be used while riding on the road, leaves too little space to recover from an error...

[Hero Danny]

Oh god, are we really going to give him crap for doing a little speeding? Seriously?

Your riding was fine for street use. Not sure what you are trying to do, get good for track use?

[M42]

Spooph, that's a really great idea, I'll try it next time I go riding.

Danny, nothing specific, but there's always room for improvement even when not on the track imo. The stuff I listed were things that I noticed while riding, and I wasn't sure if they were like, world-ending mistakes or par for the course. Also knowing me there could be some other really bad mistake I'm making that I just don't notice. Also also, I did a double take when I saw your post - I know someone named Denny in MA with a green newgen

[csmith12]

You gotz nadda to be embarrassed about mang. Looks like a fun cruise nothing too bad really.

I only got 3 things for ya;

Lane placement: Be mindful of the center of the lane, it's where all the cars and trucks dump their oil and such. While normally not a problem, it could be on a wet day or you run up on a surprise spot of liquid. Which side of the lane would be preferred?

Crests: Stay to the right of center of your lane when you pop over crests. What do you think that does for you?

Tip in: You already noted that you tipped in a bit much a few times and you know what happens. Knowing how hard to countersteer (estimate a turn in rate) is a bit of an art form that is learned through experience but in a nutshell, how hard to push is based on how fast you're going and how quickly you need to get the bike turned. What else do you need to know to before estimating a turn in rate?

[M42]

Originally Posted by csmith12

Which side of the lane would be preferred?

Yeah the sump, I try to stay out of it especially at lights or in turns. Depends on the road imo. This one's got some downhill gravel driveways, and cars pull the gravel into the road so you gotta watch the right hand side. Then you have the idiots crossing the DY on the left hand side of the lane. Gotta be on the outside of a turn so you can see ahead as much as possible, too. There's a lot of variability.

Originally Posted by csmith12

What do you think that does for you?

Keeps you away from the cars, that one I learned in this video. Also it doesn't put you too close to the edge, where there might be debris over the crest that you can't see yet. The other (bad) option is to ride in the sump, and on the downward part of a crest is where you have a high likelihood of oil drips because something something negative Gs (might be wrong, but it's what I've noticed). Or on the left of the sump, which puts you too close to the cars.

Originally Posted by csmith12

What else do you need to know to before estimating a turn in rate?

How sharp the corner is, which you can judge by how the vanishing point is moving. The camber and width of your lane. I've been working on this for the past few rides, and I'm pleased to say that I can do a much smoother tip in now.

[csmith12]

progress!

[Rifleman]

Well #1, unless you are sponsored and have zillions on the line for a podium position, the first thing is to have fun out there... This isn't a final exam in college or your turn on Jeopardy ... if you aren't enjoying.. you're doing it wrong.

second, to really get a feel, the camera needs to be on the guy behind you... that way we can see body position, turn in point id, apex alignment, and the 9000 other things.

I'd just give Twist of the Wrist a good going over and think about it when you are out and about...

oh and if I didn't say it... enjoy yourself out there.

[subxero]

Originally Posted by M42

It's a 45, I was doing at most 5 above in the straights



edit: ooohhh right I know what you mean, it's 35 till almost exactly two minutes in where it turns to 45. Forgot about that. Christ on a bicycle I'm dumb.

looks a little faster than 50mph, you can come clean, its ok

[M42]

@Rifleman good point! Maybe I can ride with a local forum member... I enjoy the hell out of these rides, though. I actually really like thinking about positioning/entry/exit/gear what have you, it feels really good to nail that stuff.
@subxero yeah it does seem faster, but I had the camera set low. I come clean about things like that if I do them, but a month ago (before this video) I got my first ever speeding ticket and now I don't do any more than 5 above except for curves. That ticket really took me and my wallet down a notch I got that whoooole traffic stop on video too, oh my god... I die of shame every time I remember it