Feeling Tyres

Just take it easy Peanut. Focus on improving your riding, not on losing your chicken strips.

 

I am! My biggest issue right now is that I find myself psyching myself out and getting tense in some corners (it's not that I'm going all out and crazy, it's that going easy I was still feeling insecure). My arms just get locked trying to hold a steady line and then I notice how stiff they are after a few minutes when the tension starts to ache. So I have to keep reminding myself of chicken hands from Heidi's training.
Maybe I need some Barry White or Marvin Gaye on in my helmet

 

:sick yuck!

Have you been looking through the turn properly? Eyes are up?

You've got to put yourself in a natural position for cornering and those two things are the easiest way to do it. Find a relaxed position and whenever you notice yourself tensing up try to get back into that position.

 

I try to all the time, but sometimes I get a bit paranoid about lane markings (who decided those huge white cross road stripes for 30 metres were a good idea?), or oil/diesel on roundabouts (how do all these vehicles still travel if they drip that much oil?) and find myself looking at the ground.
Other times, I look too far into the turn (like looking at the exit of the roundabout I'm turning right at, before I've finished the left turning part entering it...) and then I drift too far inside the corner and have to straighten up, and then lean in again...
I think I have the motorcycling version of the yips

 

Alex, have you thought about getting back on the CBR for a few weeks and rebuilding your confidence.

I know when I have stepped on each of the bikes I've ridden I start out like an old granny until I build some confidence. I work on confidence by practicing the test skills.

 

I actually rode the mini-monster to uni yesterday to keep the battery charged and the clutch plates wet...
It was not very satisfying... it still has the stock tyres I don't trust and compared to the 57hp of Quasi (and until I see a dyno run that says otherwise, it will be that), 13hp just doesn't cut it... The new radial tyres do feel nice and I like knowing that if I need to I have spare juice (for those times when there is one idiot tailgating you and another trying to merge into you - wtf is wrong with people getting onto monaro out of fyswick - that's three days in a row...).
The test skills are a good point - I might go visit the secret Queanbeyan carpark tomorrow too

 

I forget who said it - I want to say Keith Code.. but I can't attribute it... But its a piece of advice I carry with me on every ride...

......."It is always better to be able to say 'Damn, I could have done that corner 10k's faster' than it is to ever say 'oh my god wish I was going 10k's slower'"....

 

Worrying about what's currently under your tyres doesn't do you any good, you're already there and you'll either continue on or not. The same, at most speeds, applies to whatever is 3m in front of you. Just try to remember that when you're riding

I had the feeling that might be at least a part of the problem, happy riding Peanut

Edit: Actually to make you feel better I've had problems with round about's since I crashed over a year and a half ago on one. I call it 'the shakes' , I still get nervous approaching round about's.

 

I might be free one day next weekend, want to go out to where I practise and go up and down corners for a bit with me? I need to break in some new leathers and get some busa seat time before I take her back out to the track on the 18th. I'm talking steady and focusing on technique rather than flat out.

 

I'd love to follow someone who knows what they're doing, so yes please, of course!

 

Well you'd better find somebody else then!!

I'll show you a really good spot to practise, it is where I go when I need to try something new or just get my eye back in. I'll have to see what I'm doing, I haven't been home for six weekends in a row now (and not this weekend either). I'm hoping I might get a pass next. We'll be out for two hours and there is NO COFFEE.

 

All i'm hearing here is CRAZY TALK

 

Count me in

 

I too would be very interested

 

I'm probably going out tomorrow morning for some gentle cornering practice at the cotter. All welcome. No sure what time yet but probably meeting at weston Macca's sometime between 10-11. I'll put something definate up tonight.

 

Standby for long post. Sorry if its a thread-jacking, but I reckon Peanut may get use from it.

Don't worry about the so-called 'chicken strips' on the Trans. That bike will run out of ground clearance before you can scrub the edges of the tyre. Its just the way it's set up.

Furthermore, (I'm aware that after the accident you may find this hard to believe, but try and trust me on this one) the Transalp is actually very forgiving bike as far as loss of grip goes, and will give you very clear indicators when you are reaching the tyre's limits. Now, I'm not saying this to encourage you to go out and corner hard with not a care in the world. I'm saying don't let that accident make you think it's prone to going horizontal with no warning. With new tyres and a re-built front end, it should provide ample warning.

As far as warning signs that I picked up for that bike specifically:

-The rear , as it approaches its limits, will tend to slip a tiny bit and then grip again almost immediately. To you, this will probably feel like the bike has suddenly, abruptly dropped into a deeper lean. Important thing is to not panic and hit the brakes. Just widen your line and slowly ease off the throttle a bit. In theory, you could apply a little bit of front brake (not the back) but really it's not advisable. Don't panic, this DOESN'T mean you almost had a crash. It's just means that youre close enough to the limits that the tyre gave a bit of slip as it went over a slightly less sticky patch of road. As such, it tends to happen more prominently on lumpy road, and indeed if you go around a corner too fast you can feel the back literally skipping over the bumps. When it regains traction, dont be suprised if you get some wobble in the steering. The suspension is soft on the Trans and the CoG is high, and hence the regain of traction can compress it and lead to a bit of rebound feedback that tips the bike back up out of the lean, causing some impact on the steering. Just stay calm, don't brake, and ride it out.

-The front has less room for error than the rear; when it slips, it cannot slip as far before you end up horizontal. Its also less manageable than the rear (in which grip is greatly affected by lean angle and how much throttle you have on, and hence slip can be directly controlled by throttle application/reduction). The front slip is largely caused by going around a corner too fast with too much lean (which is hard to do on good roads). As you start to get towards its limit, the steering will tend to give a bit of feedback in the form of bit of wobble or a twitch, as if someone has given the front wheel a little push. Additionally, you'll have that same unnerving feeling of the bike abruptly dropping into a deeper lean, but it'll be accompanied by a mild feeling of falling forward. Then, when you regain traction, you can find the front will dip a little, and again may wobble for a brief moment (thats usally only if you had it slide a fair bit though). Traction loss is a far more gradual process than on the rear, and when it grips again it's also less of a sudden transition. It's more of a progressive sensation, rather than a sudden "oop, that just slipped out a bit" like the rear is, and will be more or less pronounced depending on how close to the limit you are. That said, if you really overcook it....well yeah, it'll be a really fast progression. The cure is the same, widen the line, ease the lean off, lower the throttle slowly. If you use ANY front brake, you will encounter unpleasantness. So don't.

You'll feel it when you slip. The falling sensation of a suddenly increased lean is quite noticeable. Just remember not to panic: Ease off slowly, ride it out. I know it's contrary to your current experiences, but these first signs mean you're approaching the limit, but you've still got a fair bit of leeway left, and the bike is well balanced, so a little slip doesn't really drastically affect its position. If you want to get a feel for these sensations in a slower speed environment, go ride on some dirt.

 

Sounds like your over thinking everything, just try to relax still be aware but relax and let all that practise and training Heidi drilled into you take over and do the work for you

 

Jdeks - Thanks for such a thorough post! That's really helpful and reassuring

I've never actually had the slipping/sudden dip feeling... The only remotely similar thing that I've felt since getting the radials is a feeling of the back end "gripping into" the road on tight corners (like small roundabouts) and moving a bit wider (but certainly not slipping) - but at low speeds - 30-40km/hr or less. It sort of feels like the tyre is changing its shape to grip the road with a flat patch and as it deforms, the bike sort of sits down onto it... But this feeling happens on nearly all corners where I lean at all and started when I got the new tyres, so I don't think I'm drifting the bike around every turn

Going over Mt Mac on Saturday, I felt the back bounce over some ripples, but it didn't feel that the grip was slipping or going the way you describe... Just the sort of bump you get from going over a speed bump too fast, but while leant over. Following Ice today, I still stuffed up and went to tight/early into a few corners (or rather underestimated how much the bike would turn) and then found myself going over the bumps - but I was more relaxed so it wasn't as unnerving - and I didn't feel the grip was about to go either.

I think I'll be less worried and tense doing my ordinary riding from now on (as in, do the same things I did with more confidence, rather than do more at the same confidence level)... and I can't wait for Marulan and the dirt course

 

Yes, that is what I do with everything
And yes, that is what I am trying to do