Re: OK, I have scared myself...
 

Ralph, just caught up on this and can't give any comments as a rider as I've not been doing it long enough BUT...get back on the bike if and when you are ready and as someone said, softly softly. If you feel after a while that you are seeing those twisties and wanting to hoon them again, you'll need to take a good hard look at yourself. You'll know if you're being a tit and pushing it and you'll know the reasons, be it to test your skills against what you've done before, or another rider you are out with...or just that you want to nail it because it feels good. You'll know and you're the one that can do something about it....slow down a bit and remember how it felt to write this post.

It takes some guts to open yourself up like this on a public forum, almost asking people to tell you what you already know.....that you've been enjoying it so much that you've ridden outside your abilities on the road, twice resulting in avoidable crashes. Now you have to use that same strength of character to keep yourself in check a bit when you get comfy on the bike again. If you like riding at speed, get on a track.

I got the feeling after last Sundays ride that the speed and control of the bike through the twisties could possibly become a bit like a drug. It felt so good, I was on cloud nine. The more time has passed though, the more I think that even if I can do it....doesn't mean I should.....they are roads. Yes, I'll continue to ride at a spirited pace if my obs and focus are up to it....but not beyond what I can do....not even too close to what I can do. I am going on my frist track day this month and that is where I will test myself and push the limits. Yes I might hurt myself, but no oncoming tractors/road signs/fence posts to deal with.

So......you are the only person that can know what you are feeling. When you get back and get comfy again, if you feel that need for speed (insert "playing with the boys" from Top Gun here) back off it, get home and book yourself of a track day! It might well save your life....and think what that would mean for your family!

Very glad you are ok by the way and sharing these things reminds us newbies that while we feel great.....we are actually just stuck in a false sense of security.

Re: OK, I have scared myself...
 

Ralph I think you do need to slow down you may not be so lucky next time mate, or get yorself fully armoured up http://www.forcefieldperformance.com...adventure/2347

Too many bikers die a year needlessly by riding like plonkers, you don't want to be one of them.

If you must take twisties fast then do track days or turn the sv into a track bike?

Re: OK, I have scared myself...
 

You've hit the nail on the head GG, its often not lack of ability that gets you into trouble its simply the unpredictable nature of the road. In many cases you simply dont know what is around the next bend, could be tractors, sheep crap, gravel, anything. Even the relative safety of a race track has flag marshals to keep an eye on things ahead.

Re: OK, I have scared myself...
 

Exactly why I got rid of my RSVR Aprilia, and bought an SV again.

Re: OK, I have scared myself...
 

Can anyone guess my advice? 3 little words?








Ride a cruiser.

Re: OK, I have scared myself...
 

Thought they were going to be, "get a Harley"...lol

Re: OK, I have scared myself...
 

You should always ride with something in reserve. Going 'As Fast As You Possibly Can' on the road will only end in tears and tears.

Re: OK, I have scared myself...
 

So you went around a blind bend too fast to stand it up for the gravel. Sh*t happens!

Sort the crap suspension out so you can make the pace up on opening the throttle out of corners rather than carrying the speed through them when you probably shouldn't.
It's quick enough and you can leave enough in reserve for the gravel, mud, sheep etc.

So rather than taking a break from the SV all you need to do is back it off 10% in one particular situation.


Your traily thing might only have 4bhp, but guaranteed it is possible to overstep your observations on that too. It is all big function of speed, grip and reaction time, and physics has no mercy :-P

Re: OK, I have scared myself...
 

A very good point. Coping with an off, no matter how minor comes down to personality. I only had a little one a few weeks ago - like Ralph, an intimate meeting with gravel - but it was a big one to me (my first) and it happened at a fast enough speed to scare me and made me realise that it needed to happen just to make me take a step back, analyse my riding and not get too confident.

I chose to get back on the bike straight away and carry on to my destination, I knew I had to just to, not erase exactly, but clear that fear from my head if that makes sense. If I had pondered and thought on what had happened in that next half an hour I know I wouldn't have got back on for a while :rolleyes: As it happened I did, and it hasn't affected how I ride apart from taking a little more care with observations which is really what you should take away from an off I guess.

Ralph, I'm just glad to hear your highside hasn't made you give up riding entirely, and that you clearly have a wife who is ... i won't say happy as such... but who will support you in your decisions :)

Re: OK, I have scared myself...
 

It sounds like its time for track days. If you need to feed the adrenaline bug but don't like the idea of turning yourself into a bunch of wilting flowers tied to a tree on a country road, then hit the track. Known circumstances all the time (relatively speaking)

I realised last year that If I'd carried on riding as fast as I did on the road it was going to be a very serious accident *when* it came.

So stopped hooning on the road. And I hadn't had that accident. Since getting on the track, I've had two offs, both in the wet, both walked away from (relatively speaking) but there were no tractors or gate posts to hit.


Crashing has a different effect on everyone. I get back on and brush it off. Sh*t happens, and I know that riding like a loon makes that Sh*t more likely to happen. Others take a different view. We're all different.

But then I believe if you're born to be shot and you'll never be hung. So if I destined to shuffle off this Mortal Coil on a bike, I'll go on a bike. If I'm meant to die with the Swedish Biking team... I'll go out in Style :D

C