Experience/ perspective, how do you rate yours?

Originally Posted by yorkie_chris

I didn't have anyone teach me how to ride.

Pedant .

Many people I know who've recently taken the test hadn't ever ridden a bike until they sat on one to do CBT and then went straight onto a training school's ER-5 or GS500 to learn to take the test.

Originally Posted by yorkie_chris

I did however have somebody teach me how to pass the test.

With the test being so damned complex now compared to days of old, it'd be a fool who didn't get this sort of training.

My point is, there are lots of people out there who think they can ride properly simply by virtue of the fact they have a licence and an IAM pass, but there's nothing beats years of experience and miles under the wheels, such as you're getting in.

[yorkie_chris]

Well actually I lie, my Dad did point at the clutch and stuff for me many years ago and left me to get on with launching myself at the scenery

Without to much detail 46 years riding bikes 45 years driving cars and trucks covering a couple of million miles in UK,Europe Middle East,North Africa and Nigeria and Malawi with various accidents or offs during that period.
I try to learn by mistakes and never to old to improve,plus healing gets harder as you get older is a lesson I have found out.
Generalisation---School of hard knocks and being worldly wise

[rictus01]

I understand that all to well, but being devils advocate here, there are a number with a years experiance repeated several times, who will use " my ten years experience" and also those who only ride for say 3k in the summer but have done for 10 years, or of course got a bike licence 10 years ago rode for a year and have only just come back to biking, but perhaps won't mention the gap, also even a rider of some real experience, having an opinion on say a brake rebuild (but never having done it) against someone of a years riding, that has just finished it

Cheers Mark.

Originally Posted by rictus01

I understand that all to well, but being devils advocate here, there are a number with a years experiance repeated several times, who will use " my ten years experience" and also those who only ride for say 3k in the summer but have done for 10 years, or of course got a bike licence 10 years ago rode for a year and have only just come back to biking, but perhaps won't mention the gap, also even a rider of some real experience, having an opinion on say a brake rebuild (but never having done it) against someone of a years riding, that has just finished it

Cheers Mark.

There's plenty of that on here. Luckily there are people like you, Chris and Spannerman to set the record straight and give the right advice where needed when it's a mechanical problem, and the more experienced riders when it's a riding thing (that's where you come in again). It's then down to the one needing the advice to decide who's more likely to be correct.

[yorkie_chris]

Or there might be a guy who's never sat on a bike, but works for nissin or brembo.

Knowledge is specific, you need to know these things with respect to the piece of information given, directly.
For example... "when given a speeding ticket, later make sure this this and this are correct... I know this to be true because I am a traffic cop of 10 years experience" or "rebuild your brakes this way, because I've done a million of them like this"

Just like in academia where papers are backed up with references.

Originally Posted by Lozzo

I suppose I'm a grumpy old git, but I resent being told how to ride and having my riding criticised by anyone who had to have an instructor to teach them to ride on an ER-5 before they did a '2 part bloke following on a BMW' m/cycle test and who now only does about 3K miles a year. When they've got the road experience that I have, only then can they criticise or assess my capability.

I think that there is little to replace experience and road miles, but (and this is not aimed at anyone in particular) you can only go on what they state their experience to be and form your own view of how appropriate that is (remember DD anyone?). Lack of experience/miles does not mean that somebody IS wrong, but is certainly a view from more limited experience.

FWIW, I am always impressed by the ability of certain members to recognise bikes and issues from the smallest clues; and you can't do that just from book learning.

Originally Posted by yorkie_chris

None of the above. People talk a lot of s**t so whatever you hear you have to look into it yourself to find out if it is reliable or not.

I think that is the nail on the head; read it all and apply your own sense check. Some people repeat advice rather than quoting from experience, but I think they are generally trying to help. People generally learn from mistakes - and giving mistaken advice is part of that process unfortunately.

If you spend much time here you can soon see whose advice can be trusted and whose should be taken with a pinch of salt.

[ophic]

Originally Posted by simesb

If you spend much time here you can soon see whose advice can be trusted and whose should be taken with a pinch of salt.

Agree with this. There's quite a lot of evident respect shown to those with the right experience - especially mechanically. I'd be very cautious taking advice from anyone who hadn't 'proven' themselves on here. Fortunately for me, there are plenty of you

Originally Posted by yorkie_chris

Or there might be a guy who's never sat on a bike, but works for nissin or brembo.

Knowledge is specific, you need to know these things with respect to the piece of information given, directly.
For example... "when given a speeding ticket, later make sure this this and this are correct... I know this to be true because I am a traffic cop of 10 years experience" or "rebuild your brakes this way, because I've done a million of them like this"

Just like in academia where papers are backed up with references.

Valid point, and because of this I'm more likely to defer to you on matters involving the theory of engineering, because I'm a spanners bloke, not an academic. If I needed to know if a bearing I've found is suitable for a certain application, I'd ask you. There may be 26/27 years between us, but you have the knowledge that I don't.

[skeetly]

Originally Posted by simesb

read it all and apply your own sense check.

I think this applies to all advice; wherever you get it from

My whole life seems to be a journey composed of points at which I realise I thought I knew more than I actually did...........