Fear causing technique problems

[EsrTek]

Originally Posted by Yakaru

I get it and totally appreciate it -- body positioning should be covered during level 3 of CSBS and I'm trying to roughly line my practice up to mastering the skills in the order taught. I'm still working on getting level 1 downpat and will be taking level 2 later this year.

Ahhh I like that thought process, I tried to do similar. However, I used to above Total Control Classes & Book and have gone to their lvl 2 course. (planning on doing 2 again and lvl 3, if I can this yr...need a new bike 1st :P) I also have the luck of having a big enough parking lot, for a drive way, to practice most exercises.

Not sure how they compare to CSBS, but your doing it right.
It wouldn't hurt to do both if feasible/available... If no TC in your area, I can send ya my book

[Yakaru]

I've got Total Control but to be honest book reading hasn't done a thing for me on the bike (Total Control, Twist of the Wrist, Proficient Motorcycling); I don't analyze the road the way they talk about (e.g. I don't actively pick out turn in points or apexes) and if I try I end up basically locking up and doing nothing.

I'm not happy about it at all, it's a major problem I know, but it's how I seem to work.

[cbinker]

start with large parking lot and do the skill builders in Total Control. even after 8 years of riding, every spring, i go to a large parking lot and work throttle, brakes and cornering.

[Yakaru]

Originally Posted by cbinker

start with large parking lot and do the skill builders in Total Control. even after 8 years of riding, every spring, i go to a large parking lot and work throttle, brakes and cornering.

Good suggestion for anyone; esp. since I haven't done any drills like that in a while; I'll try and get some in after I finish moving (no more bike riding left for me until after that, sadly)

[EternalNewb]

Awww, is Saturn all packed-up?

[Yakaru]

Originally Posted by EternalNewb

Awww, is Saturn all packed-up?

She's in the shop right now for the 7500 mile service and a few custom requests (valve adjustment, putting in the safety-wire drilled engine bolts, replace steering stem bearings) and is due to be done on the same day as loading so not quite, but close.

[algs26]

You're probably very comfortable in your car so maybe try the vision stuff while driving. I'll shift within my lane in turns out of habit now. Right yield turns (green light), on/off ramps, even on the highways... sometimes pushing it a bit but most of the time not.

[Misti]

Originally Posted by Yakaru

Thanks for the feedback Misti.

I've done a ton of canyon riding in the last week and I think it's helped just from a getting in the swing of things and focusing on a few things, primarily turn in point and roll on. I'm going to try to edit some of my videos together comparing my earlier rides to the later ones (comparing lines, throttle, etc.) -- I tried a straight side by side but the videos got out of sync so fast that it wasn't useful. It will take some hand editing but then I can compare a good and bad run through the same corner and see what went well/poorly.

I still get passed by all the people trying to use the road as their own track, but I'm much happier with my riding (though want more feedback/to improve more)

Awesome. Awesome and more awesome. You will find that your speed and confidence will naturally increase as you improve on all your riding skills, so as I said before, don't worry about anyone passing you or your speed, Just get the technique right so you continue to feel like you are happy with your riding and work from there

Originally Posted by Yakaru

Hey Esr,

Thanks for the advice but I'm pretty much ignoring my body positioning at this point to focus on more basic skills when I feel I've got the other fundamentals down I'll probably start bugging everyone for more advice on that topic.

Pretty awesome response Good advice is always good but it is even better when you can file it away until the appropriate time to try it out. Working on one thing at a time is essential to allow you to really integrate and understand how the technique works and to not get too confused trying to do too many things at once. There is a time and place for body position and from your explanations of your riding that I've read, you aren't really there yet. We cover some basics of body position (how you should be going "with the bike" and not leaning away from it in the first level of CSS when we do the steering drill and coaches will ALWAYS correct your body position if there is something terribly wrong or dangerous in the way you are sitting on or leaning with the bike. However, we don't delve into more advanced body position stuff like locking on, hook turning or pivot steering until level III.


Once you feel like you have gotten things really sorted with your throttle roll on and your turn in points, then make some comments on what else you find yourself doing and I can try to make some suggestions of what to do from there.