How we ride … perception

Who thinks they can ride ‘hard’?
Who thinks they can ride ‘safe’?
Who thinks they can ride ‘hard’ OR ‘safe’ ? (depends on mood in ride)
Who thinks they can ride ‘hard’ AND yet ‘safe’ at the same time? (I'd argue that beyond a certain point, the harder you ride the more the 'safe' element has to suffer?! ).

What do you use as your yardstick?

Some people I have come across seem to have self justified ideas of grandeur ... hence why the 'yardstick' part is most interesting.

I can ride safely as I'm sure most people here can. I can't really ride hard as I've only been riding properly for 3 months or so. The SV has a lot better handling than I have cornering ability/confidence so it's not had too hard a life as yet. However come next summer I'll be aiming to break some knee sliders in

I ride safe for the most part but can ride pretty hard as well. I'd consider myself a fast, safe rider, but if I really wanna push the fast part, then my safety level will go down.

The yardstick for me is really what I'm wearing and what other traffic is about. If i'm in full leathers/boots etc I'll ride to the bike's limits, if there are other cars about or visibility is bad, then I'll have to back off. I'm not one for doing kd while racing along as it diverts my attention, so as for a physical yardstick it would be when the bike starts to let go round corners.

I've never done a trackday in my life so I'd have no idea how I'd fare on a track, but i can hold my own with other bikes on the road given the right circumstances.

When summer rolls round I'll definitely get a vid up of the Alton road.

[Richie]

Depends on lots of stuff really,
If I know the road well and the weather conditions are right and I'm in a mood for it, then I might ride faster than I should , but then I frighten easily so I back off at the first sign of nerves...
Then again if the weather and the road conditions are crap then I tend to hang back and ease off a bit.

I like to think of it as self preservation and having fun.

Originally Posted by Blue_SV650S

What do you use as your yardstick?

Originally Posted by From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A yardstick is a tool used to physically measure lengths of up to three feet (a yard).

Most yardsticks are flat wooden boards with black markings at regular intervals and metal tips. Many new yardsticks have imperial units markings on one side (three feet with inch and fractional inch) and metric units on the other side (one meter with centimeter and millimeter).



Yardsticks may be used as pointing devices for posters and projections,


and they are sometimes used for spanking

when I'm feeling in the mood I like to give my bike a good Spanking

As with most sensible riders prevailing traffic and weather conditions dictate my riding. I think I can suggest that when I am in a more lively mood,(normally every Saturday morning!) I ride faster than most but there are still those faster than me.

Those that are faster have an envelope that is pushed a little further than I am prepared to push my own these days, yet this does not ever mean I feel defiicient. I have simply lowered my own expectations or level of risk I am prepared to take.

[northwind]

I know I can ride hard, but I very rarely choose to... I'm not brilliant at reading corners so I ride with a safety margin you could fit a tank in, usually. Even on track I've not really got that urge any more, though I still ride hard enough to enjoy myself.

I am, now, a pretty safe rider though. Measured, is possibly the better word. I do filter very hard pretty much daily, but my close range observation and hazard awareness/avoidance has always been pretty good, and the sheer amount of nadgery filtering I do, sometimes at speed, has helped make that better.

I'm nothing like fast, mind... In fact, I'm slower now than I was 2 years ago. So, I'm pretty safe I reckon, which is a nice change.

[Biker Biggles]

Despite having access to faster bikes,better tyres,brakes and suspension,I ride slower now than I did a few years ago.I also go for it less when filtering,and tend to have a more relaxed attitude to getting there quick than before.As the saying goes---The older I get,the faster I was.

how would you refine "hard ?"

whats the difference between these two scenario's ? both may be considered hard riding, but one may be considered smooth, while the other may be considered dangerous.

a - approaching a right hand bend, i look all the way into the distance, see that there is no oncoming traffic for miles, wait til the last second, hard on the front brake, causing the rear to lock, snaking it over the road, i start to lean it in, cutting across the other lane leaving a sexy black tyre mark behind me taking the perfect racing line, pegs go down and then hard on the gas as i cross the apex spinning the back wheel up, preparing for the next corner. no drama's, ive done this a thousand times before.

b - approaching the same right hand bend, look up the road, as far as i can see, establishing that there are no hazards or oncoming traffic.
position myself to the left to gain a better veiw round the next corner, knock it down a couple of gears and lower my speed to the corner. on final approach to the corner, i open the throttle and gently ease it through the corner, keeping tucked in to the left, scraping my pegs, knee, and zorst on the ground while planning my next line through the next corner. doing my police class one instructor proud.

discuss.

i think a relevant factor here is your age ,ee when i were a lad(amos brayley)i was a courier and generally quite quick(daft)on a bike ,i was 21 ish .but now as a born again (3and after not owning a bike for about 12yr(i rode till i was about 26 and sold up to carpet the house and didnt get another bike till last yr)i cant ride for toffee now ,im more aware of what CAN happen ,so def more 'safe' than 'hard ' a big jessie really im a member of the iam now and i couldnt see me doing that yrs ago but hey ,it happens to us all but a harleys not on the cards ,i lust after a speed triple so im not ready for a pan either.my goal is to get more proficient on a bike (smoother/faster )but i defo think diff now

[rictus01]

Originally Posted by Blue_SV650S

What do you use as your yardstick?

Some people I have come across seem to have self justified ideas of grandeur ... hence why the 'yardstick' part is most interesting.

Oh I'll play,
Yardstick ? I suppose my own would be influenced by those I've been exposed to, so police motorcycle course, ROSPA, couple of seasons club circuit racing, likewise scrambling and a single season of enduro, I would also imagine 30 odd years of seeing others ride would give me some idea as well.

As to the HARD and SAFE, well I don't think a motorbike on todays roads can ever be deemed safe in comparison to other road users for two reasons, firstly there are circumstances in which you have no control and given the lack of protection (crumple zones/airbags or roll cage) will always be more vulnerable, the second is to use the roads we all make presumptions, for example you don't expect someone to jump a red light (maybe an amber one though) or come out a side road at 70, if you did you would never cross traffic lights or cause a traffic jam at each turning you passed edging your way across.

So SAFE no, safest possible within reason perhaps.

Now HARD, what exactly do you mean by this ? fast / focused/ pushing your own limits ?

defensive and progressive is how I was taught in that context, yet even progressive can be done as safe as possible.

The true nature of riding I believe is hazard awareness and assigning a % of danger to each and treating each accordingly, you can't cover everything but can limit the chances you take.

sleepless night again and I'm bored

Cheers Mark.