Re: [ST] Code's Level 1 & Dragon GTSs

[Richard & Lisa White <RedRiders@xxxxxxx>]

> But even on your
> favourite back-road, the one where you know every inch of the tarmac and
> where every corner goes, there /won't/ be anybody to show you a red and
> yellow flag when there's diesel oil all over the apex or wave a yellow when
> there's a deer standing blocking the road at the corner exit.  And on a road
> you don't know, in addition to all the hazards of unseen obstructions and
> the like, if you are riding at a peg-scraping angles of lean and then find
> the corner you are on decreases in radius, then something extremely painful
> is probably about to happen.

That's why there is a translation to the street.  I don't intend to
scrap my pegs on the street, and I have no illusions that the speed I
was traveling on the track is appropriate for the same corner on
street.  The street has hazards that the track will never have, as
you've pointed out, and as I am well aware.  I thought that my prior
e-mail made it clear that there was no "direct" application of the
skills I learned on the track to riding on the street.

> That's great on the track, where pushing ones personal limits and that of
> the motorcycle is as much fun as I've ever had with leathers on, but on the
> road there's really only one safe maximum speed to enter a corner, and
> that's the speed where you can reliably stop, under control, in the distance
> you can see to be clear on your own side of the road. Any faster than that
> is an act of faith, faith that the road is clear, the surface good and the
> corner doesn't tighten up. The ST will, as you've discovered, go round
> corners /way/ more quickly than road safety would suggest was sensible.

> The acid test is would you still have been unstressed if you had found an
> upturned car blocking the road as you came round the corner? If you would
> have stopped then you weren't going too fast, if you would have slammed into
> it still going 30 miles an hour, or vanished into the trees after grabbing a
> handful of brake mid-corner, then you were going too fast. 

Well, I think that my limits all around have been increased, and I am
now more confident about my evasive skills (partly because of newfound
comfort with lean angle).  I think that for some time now I've had a
pretty good grasp on braking. If I rode at 100 % on the street, I'd be a
fool.  When you are on the street, you ALWAYS have to have something in
reserve.  I believe that my MSF instructor indicated that you should
ride at around 60% of your capabilities.  You certainly have to plug in
the factors you enumerated into your cornering equation.

I've always been the slow one, and I attribute this to two factors:  (1)
lack of skill; and (2) as a female, I think that I have fear the
untoward consequences of my actions more than my fellow male riders
have.  I think that the fear keeps me  honest, but as I increase in
skill, the tenancy will be go go faster, though probably still not as
fast as a certain number of the males I ride with.  Still, I know I have
to keep my speed in line with my skill level.  I really want to find a
middle ground which I define as a place where I can ride and my husband
can ride when we are in sight of each other and both having a blast.  Up
until now, we were both having a blast, but not necessarily within sight
of one another . . . .  I HATE that he has to stop and wait for me,
though I've become used to it, and if he rides "with" me, I know he is
not fully enjoying it.  

You also have to realize that my 10 mph faster means that I am not even
going by what "most" of the riders I ride with consider to be the
"normal", default entry speed for corners here in Texas, minus
indications that the "normal" speed is inappropriate (i.e. factors that
really boil down to lack of knowledge of the road or if you know the
road, things like the driveway in the middle of the curve, a dog usually
hangs out there, rocks tend to fall there, etc., as well as your
enumerated factors). The 20 mph faster that I suggested I could go on
the road I was traveling would put me in the "normal" category in the
crowd I've been around for several years now, and I consider very few of
them to be extreme risk takers (and those guys would be going MUCH
faster) . . . . Going that 20 mph faster would simply mean I could keep
up better. . . . ., though, of course, the whole group could still be
going too fast. . . . Still, if my skill is not up to that level, I
don't need to be riding that speed.  The bottom line is that each of us
has to ride his or her own ride, no matter what, and I have definitely
not lost sight of this fact!!  I am the only one responsible for me and
my bike.

> It goes without
> saying, then, that the more you see, the faster you can safely go, so the
> best road lines are ones that wouldn't work on the track, but which give you
> a better view round the corners.

Actually, Code, in Level 1, teaches a line is one that gives you more
sight than the one that was taught in the MSF course.  Certainly there
are lines that may give you even more sight (entering on the inside of
the corner instead of the outside, and squaring the corner, for
example), but what he teaches is reasonable.  He also teaches you to
look before you lean, not as you're leaning, which is the tendency with
a certain number of riders.  This gives you a chance to make adjustments
so long as you are not foolishly already riding at 100 % of your
capabilities. Still, there is always the possibility that I will not be
able to avoid an untoward situation, no matter my skill, speed, or other
factors.  That's the way this world works.  It's a risk I'm willing to
take.

After a track day, I do have a bit more trust in my problem solving
skills.  For instance, when I first touched my left peg, I knew I didn't
want this to happen again in the upcoming corner, and consciously
righted my bike, scrubbed speed, and entered the next corner (not far
away AT ALL) at a more sedate speed--all in a matter of seconds.  That
made me realize that in the 36,000 + miles I have put on a motorcycle in
the little over 3 years I've been riding, as well as with the reading
I've done on technique, I have developed some instincts as to what needs
to be done in certain circumstances and that I do have certain
capabilities that I thought I had, but had never tested.  Still, I can
be bitten just like the next guy or gal.  There are no guarantees.
 
> See http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/011341143X for more on this, my
> favourite theme...

I'll probably order that book, as it has been suggested before.  I've
just not had the time to read recently.
 
> > Still,
> > I ride with the philosophy that I would MUCH rather say I could have
> > gone faster than to say (or not have the opportunity to say), I should
> > have gone slower . . . . .
> 
> Absolutely!

That will always be my philosophy.  I realize, though, that there are
some corners out there that can bite--no matter my speed or skill . . .
.  I love riding, and that's a risk I'm willing to take.  I would rather
live all aspects of my life to what I consider to be the fullest (a
fully subjective standard for sure) than to OVERLY consider the risks of
what "might" happen (again, subjective), which, quite frankly, I
sometimes have a tendency to do.  I fully believe, though, that each of
us should make an informed decision regarding our ride/drive when we get
out on the road, no matter the type of vehicle we're on or in . . . .

In summation, I think I agree with you more than what you obviously
interpreted my prior e-mail to indicate . . . . . As those who have met
me personally will testify, I'm a long way from being a squid ;-)!

Lisa


     *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *
      The ST/RS Mailing list is sponsored by Jack Lilley Ltd.
          http://www.TriumphNet.com/st/lilley for more info
   http://www.TriumphNet.com/st for ST, RS and Mailing List info

=-=-=-= Next Message =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=