Twisties Fail

[LuxMundi]

I was halfway into a spontaneous joy ride on Sunday, when I got a call that my grandfather was in the hospital in Birmingham. I headed west, WOT, with the clothes on my back. (Thank goodness for Walmart!)

I don't think they know how to build a straight road in Alabama (God bless them!) and these are some beautiful scenic backroads. After riding about 1000 miles, I am just starting to get comfortable with taking sweeping curves, but I wasn't ready for what I ran into....

Highway 25: 18 miles of twisties. A sportbike's dream. ..but not mine! I kept it in granny gear and even had to pull over to let a convoy of po'd corvettes by.
Don't get me wrong, it was an awesome trip, and I'm not going to let 18 miles ruin an otherwise fun time, but it was very humbling: a reality check that I'm not ready for twisties yet.

I would like some advice & stories on how you got comfortable with tight turns.

My takeaways:
I was cold, hungry, tired, and unfamiliar with the area. Also alone.
I only had my smoke visor, and was riding at sunset. Was worried about the family emergency.
I need to go back with someone, in the right state of mind, and gradually improve my skills. Need to find a safe place near me to practice, practice, practice.
Also, I do wear ATGIHATT (all the gear I have, all the time) but I don't have ALL the gear! A couple upgrades, and I will feel more confident increasing the lean angle.


The only picture I took: Ninjette sleeping safe and sound in gramma's kitchen. (She insisted)


tl;dr Good ride in Alabama. Highway 25 twisties: scared

[Samer]

Hey Josh,

I can relate to some of what you're saying. My bike is at the dealer right now for the 600 mile service and it is my first bike, so I'm also learning. First of all, you get props on not going beyond your comfort level on the turns. I think that is probably the most important safety tip I've heard. As far as technique, I have just been practicing on the roundabouts, some call them circles. Anyway, sine I'm in South Florida, these are pretty much the only turns around. If you find one that isn't busy at a weekend morning for example, I'd go around it a few times and get comfortable with it. Try shifting your weight into the turn and lean your head towards the mirror. Of course, always look through the turn. Good luck!

[adouglas]

Slow in, fast out. Slower in than you may think is proper. It feels slow, but it's actually faster than overcooking it and having to wrestle your way through the turn.

Get your braking done before you turn. Racers trail brake but that's a more advanced skill and it bites a lot of people. Look at the many Youtube videos of people overdoing it in corners and running off the outside of the road. Focus on the basics first.

Smooth, smooth, smooth.

Lift your vision. Look through the turn.

Friends don't let friends early apex.

The PO'ed corvettes behind you are irrelevant. Ride your own ride and quit worrying about them.

Perhaps the most important safety tip:

Riding under extreme stress is dumb. You may not think so, but it DOES affect your concentration, judgment and reaction time. As you go through life and experience more of these events, you'll start to notice the weird crap it does to you. You simply forget things, period. I once wore a shirt to work inside out and didn't even realize it because of something like this.

You DO have a choice in the matter. Do whatever it takes to be safe. Beg a ride. Rent a car. Fly. Worry about the cost later. Bikes are dangerous and require you to be on your game. No excuses if you want to live.

[Cedilla]

Ive only been riding for half a year now, but I can say this. Just keep riding, don't worry about going fast, the fast comes with experience. Never go fast on roads you have never been on, road debris, or a decreasing radius turn, will bite you with time if you do that. Ride with a clear head, if your head is out of the ride, its time to slow down or pull over.

[rockNroll]

Originally Posted by LuxMundi

I was cold, hungry, tired, and unfamiliar with the area. Also alone.

A great deal of the bike ride takes place in your head. Adding these 5 things together makes for a miserable time for anybody and would have a distracting affect. IMO the most important part of riding a motorcycle is confidence... in your machine, equipment and in your abilities. Keep all but one thing within your ability confidence level and just push some on that one thing... in time, this will raise your confidence level in this one area. Repeat. Get it? Read up on proper techniques and then go out and implement them. Practice until the proper becomes automatic for you. Ride smart before you ride hard...

[ninjabrewer]

First, I hope everything turns out OK for your grandfather. Second, ride YOUR ride, don't try to keep up with someone that is more familiar with the roads and has more saddle time than you. First time I rode the twisties here in socal, the group got to the destination a good 10 min before I did. The first time that I rode them in Hawaii, I was in the lead because I had not rode them but my partner, Sound Wave, had, so I was able to set the pace to one that I felt comfortable with. If you're tired, or your mind is on something else, DON'T RIDE.

nb

[zartan]

Your Grandma ROCKS!
on a serious note hope your Grandfather is ok.

Practice, practice and keep your head.

[bdavison]

Rule #1 -Slow in, Fast out SLOW in, fast out...Its better that you enter the corner slow, than too fast. DONT COOK CORNERS. It only takes one overcooked corner to ruin your run in the twisties.
Rule #2 -If you break rule #1 you are screwed.
Rule #3 -Late apex to start. As you get more experience, you can start moving the apex's towards mid corner.
Rule #4 -Dont ride the twisties on cold tires, get them warmed up first. Need to be in the 110-170F range.
Rule #5 -Dont get too aggressive on downshifts for your first time either. If you are having to break hard or get aggressive on the downshifts, you are not following rule # 1.
Rule #6- Beware the painted stripes...they are evil...pure freakin EVIL.
Rule #7 -If you cant see around the corner, neither can the car that is heading head on in your lane.
Rule #8 -DONT cross the center stripe. Ever. Period. If you cant keep it in your lane, get off the road and go to the track.

[sharky nrk]

Lived in Hoover, AL for a few years - lovely roads that way for sure.

[OldGuy]

I'm sure that wasn't the way you wanted to go on your first long ride or a ride in twisties, especially if the Ninja is your only means of transportation, but it sounds like you used some common sense and realized your limitations. Some good advice has been given to you and I'm sure you will learn and grow from this.

Now get the rest of the gear just in case.

More importantly I hope your grandfather is doing better. Grand parents that say put the bike in the kitchen have got to be special.

[LuxMundi]

Some really good wisdom here, thank you. This site and its contributors are kind of an "oasis" on the internets.

I'm sad to report that my g-dad passed away this weekend at 87yo. The decision to hurry over on my ride was a good one, as he lost conciousness soon after I left.

After reading the advice here, I've parked my ninjette in storage where I won't be tempted to ride until I can do it with a clear head.

In memory, I'll leave you with this story: my g-dad caught my brother & me as teens, drinking Zima at his house. He confiscated the drinks & left us to ponder our fate. A few minutes later he returned with large bottles of strong home-brewed beer & told us he better not catch us drinking that type of thing around there anymore! Thanks, g-dad for making a man out of me!!!

[Zero260]

I'm so sorry to hear the bad news. I know it is painful, I miss my grandfather everyday. You and your family are in my prayers.

Maybe we can ride together sometime, we are kinda close.

[tjkamper]

I'm Sorry to hear about your Grandfather.

Here are my tips and advise:

Start out slow.
Look through the turn. (not just with your eyes, turn your entire head)
Counter-Steer to initiate lean. (if you want to go right, push with your right hand and vise-versa)
Roll on the throttle as the bike is leaning. (Don't freak that the bike is tipping over, that is what you want. If you try to stand it up, you will go wide on the turn and possible into the on-coming lane, or off the road. If you feel the bike is falling out from under you, your probably going too slow for the amount of lean you're giving the bike...giving it some gas will stabilize it).

Start out easy and build up to more difficult turns.

My personal opinion is that most new riders don't understand the concept of counter-steering. You've heard of it, and even tried it, but it just doesn't make sense. You even took out your old pedal bike and tried it, but no beans. You took the MSF course, but still couldn't figure it out.

I'm of the school of thought that Counter-steering is best learned at speed. 10 mph, (MSF COURSE) you just can't get a feel for it, because your not moving fast enough. Even if you try to pick up the pace to 20 mph, like the instructor told you, there is always one or two people taking the course with no confidence who keep slowing you down.

Take your bike to a long straight country road, or even the free way if your not afraid of it. Get the bike up to 65 mph, and push on the right grip. Your bike will lean right. Push on the left grip and it will lean left. Do sloping zig-zags in your lane at 65(don't get too carried away and get caught in a wobble) and after a few times back and forth you will finally understand how it works. Then you can apply what you learned to those 20-40 mph twisties.

[demp]

Just like the rest have said, enter the turn slower than you think you need to, and accelerate through the turn =)

[reondadomino]

Something similiar happened to me leaving ATL about a month ago... Missed my exit on 575 and ended up in the middle of GA just after sunset with just my jacket (no liner b/c I forgot it) to keep me warm I ended up missing another turn, after I got back on track, that took me out on some county road, alone, after dark...it was not fun. Not being familiar with the area and being exposed to all the elements AND riding alone in the dark can be mentally exhausting!!!

Glad you made it safely to Grandma's!

[vet415]

Sorry to hear about your loss. Lost my mother on Nov. 12. Always tough. One thing my Dad used to say years ago(lost him in '88). He told us boys it was his "RIGHT" to go before us. Hmmmm. I didn't understand that back then, but now that I have kids, I do. It doesn't make it easy, but it does help keeping things in perspective.
Good on ya for making the trip over there when you did. We will have to hook up do some riding one of these days. Again, sorry to hear about it....Gene

[austexjg]

May all those who returned "home" this year Rest in Peace.....
Grandparents are the best - still have one from both sides, I better call more often.

[talldrink]

RIP to your grandfather and condolences to you and your family in your time of bereavement.

[Snake]

My condolences go out to you and your family.

[Daeldren]

Sorry to hear about your grandfather and wish your family all the best. As far as riding the twisties goes just ease yourself into it and don't ride over your abilities. Its taken me a lot of practice to become somewhat fast and the best tip is to learn how to control the bike smoothly and everything will just come naturally after that. There is nothing like having that great stretch of road and feeling totally part of the machine, I live for rides like that now its almost become Quixotic. On top of all that you don't want to think too hard when your in the middle of the flow or you will just get overwhelmed, it takes practice to the point where it just becomes instinctive (feel how the tires are gripping and when you can speed up or when you need to slow down) this stuff just clicks in your mind after you have done it for a while.

[ninjaman93]

Originally Posted by LuxMundi

In memory, I'll leave you with this story: my g-dad caught my brother & me as teens, drinking Zima at his house. He confiscated the drinks & left us to ponder our fate. A few minutes later he returned with large bottles of strong home-brewed beer & told us he better not catch us drinking that type of thing around there anymore! Thanks, g-dad for making a man out of me!!!

thats awesome! sounds like he was a cool guy. the best advice that helped me with cornering is to take it slow and watch the vanishing point in corners. always look as far down the curve as you can see so you can find the best line through the corner.

check out this website - it helped me: http://www.cvam.info/index.php?page=...raft_vanishing

[kkim]

Josh and Gene... My belated condolences on your respective losses.