No confidence
 

Can anyone help me, after the crash monday i was ok and my ridin went back to how it was. Wednesday night i had a really nasty tankslapper and was lucky to save it. Now i feel as if i'm going to lose the bike when i am leaning round corners, either the front or back end, leaning just doesnt feel right :( Has anyone else ever had the same sorta things as I am feeling. If they have how did you correct/get rid of the feelings. I am worried it is going to make me have an accident soon :(

Cheers

Stu

Re: No confidence
 

Hey Stu :)

Went through similar after my off.

Thing that got me through it was taking Jambo up on an offer to visit Sid Squid without realising it would mean filtering up Camden High Street @ Rush hour.

Baptism of fire and all that :)

What then helped was having the Squiddler ride my bick back into town (with me as pillion) and getting a clean bill of health on the bike - he knows bikes does that bloke, so that put my mind at ease that the bike wasnt bent (well he spotted the front end was a bit squint, so did the loosen everything off and bounce on it routine, which did nothing - in the end Jambo spotted a slightly off clip-on was to blame.

I wonder if its your bike that you are doubting - maybe you need to have someone check it over for you to get that sorted.

David

Re: No confidence
 

After my first off on the SV, I felt a tad uncomfortable.

Like you, I pretty much hated corners, and rode very gingerly. I think what made that off worse was the fact that I spent a couple of weeks off the bike. That off was due to too much front brake going too late into a corner on cold tyres/tarmac.

My second off, was over-cooking the rear brake going into a bend. After checking the bike out I was back on it & riding at almost exactly the same pace as the rest of the ride up to that point. Business as usual.

The only thing that I found that cured me after the first one, was taking it easy, and time in the saddle. Build confidence slowly & steadily.

Re: No confidence
 

You need to put it all out of your mind. Keep looking forwards, not back. Thaink 'I can do this' time and time again.

Re: No confidence
 

Bike Stuff.

Go over all the basics, tyre pressures, chain tension, tyre profile, how much tread etc etc. Whats your rear shock like, that can make your bike handle strangely if its knackered also if its done a lot of miles it might be worth thinking about renewing your fork oil as that will improve the feel from the front end.

If your still not happy, then as Soulkiss suggests get somebody else who you trust to ride your bike and see what they think.

You Stuff

Ed's right, try not over analyse about whats happened in the past, Also try slowing down a little, give yourself more time to get ready for corners. Brake, Road Position, Gear, Throttle etc etc. Try and stay relaxed and remember to breathe. Look through the corner to the apex and then look towards the vanishing point.

Remember gentle inputs to controls and try and be smooth. Most times I've overcooked it its because I've gone into a corner to hot and thought "Whoah I'm going to crash" Thats the worst thing you can do. Positive Mental Attitude and trust your bike. Its better than you are trust me, it will go round the corner OK.

Re: No confidence
 

My advise would be pretty much what the others have said. Once you've established that the bike is still mechanically sound, go for a few rides and try not to be scared of it. Your confidence should come back over time. Took me about a month to get back to where I was confidence-wise prior to the accident, after my last off.

Re: No confidence
 

Thanks guys i think a big ride is well deserved, as for the bike stuff, i dont not have a clue but i'm not fully knowledgeable with fixing bikes so its like trial and error fixing bits myself. If i take it to most garages i get charged $hit loads for a little bit of work, therefore its always relying on the wages to come through.

Cheers

Stu

Re: No confidence
 

"Putting the miles in" is the only way to get confident in your abilities again as soon as you are physically ok and your bike is sound again. Proper big runs by yourself. :)

Re: No confidence
 

I found knowing another rider of roughly the same ability and that you really trust and following them round corners helped me not to muck up my lines, lean more, and not bottle it and brake midway on corners like I have been doing. I guess it was the thought that if he could get round the corner like that then so can I.

It doesn't help (in fact it ruins your confidence even more) if you're trying to keep up with another rider is loads more confident/faster/a lunatic or you don't really know them or trust them enough.

Take it easy on rides by yourself first and don't push yourself.

Get the bike checked first though as you'll need confidence in your bike as well as yourself.