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you think you know...

2786 Views 17 Replies 8 Participants Last post by  bwithrow
I've heard the phrase "attacking the corners" and thought I knew exactly what was meant. you get a picture in your head, you imagine it, but then you go out and ride and are stuck with a bunch of beginners with rebel 250's that are afraid of the slightest little curve in the road aaaaaaaaaaaaggggggghhhhhhhhh...

OK deep breath, anyway. I got off work early today and was able to talk a friend of mine into going on a ride. he has a sport bike (mid 90's katana) as well, so I figured we could really "attack the corners".

My face hurts, the smile that brought to my face just won't go away. Most of the riding I've done has been sitting up or 3/4 at most, today we hit it HARD. tucked in low, hanging off the bike, woooo!!!

but seriously, my face hurts haha. just wanted to share my excitement with you all :dance:
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fantastic! Always nice to hear about these things! Now, how big are your chicken strips? :D
You know you've been 'Attacking corners' when you get home and your legs, hips, knees are killing you.

(I've moved this to Riding Tips, it's not really a ride report... if you had pictures, maps, etc it would be a report)

Felix







I didnt know where to put it, started to put it in tips, but figured there were no tips so moved it to reports... but wherever you wanna put it is cool with me.
All good :) That's what I get paid for.

Chicken strips are referring to the unused bit of rubber on either side of your tyre.



You can see mine after I picked up the bike from the dealer... the more you lean, the less the strip is.

Felix







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I'll have to look, prob not that big as of right now. It wasn't a super long run, just A LOT OF FUN!
This is how you attack (kill) the corners - see video

YouTube - ‪Ghilli man Draggin his helmet going fast‬‏[/URL]
Haha, ok there is such a thing as excessive lean... and thats it.

Riding in a ghilli suit, I'd be scared of something getting stuck in the chain!

Felix







ah chicken strips...i remember the days...when i bought a new set of tires and had those haha.
Story to add on to this. I had a few people telling me to NOT get a 250, that I would hate it after a month, blah blah blah... I hung out with one of them today. I told him that when he gets his bike back on the road we should go riding, I said that most of the people I ride with are on cruisers anyway so I don't mind just cruising along. His comeback was that its only a 250, thats all I CAN do.

So I told him to give me a call when he gets his bike up and running, we'd hit 654 (a nice twisty road), and that if he can keep up with me, he can make fun of my lil 250 all he wants until I'm ready to upgrade. he thought about it for about a minute, and says "how fast do you take dead mans curve?" (a local named curve that is a simple S curve and a slight decline, two or three DUI cager crashes a year, it's really not that bad), I said "well yesterday I hit it at 65, but could prob hit it harder if I wanted to"...

he didn't make fun of my 250 anymore lol
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Hahaha!!!! Nice!!!:thumb:
That ghilli suit was nuts! That's awesome. I hope one day I can do that..

Insanit, lol, that's the beauty of the 250! :p
That video is SICK! I came to the forum tonight to post a question about me still being chicken s**t in the corners. And now I feel even more inadequate :)

So, you've all been helpful to me since the day I bought my 250 this Spring and I thought I would come back and "lean" on your advice.

I only have 700 miles riding experience so far. Before this Summer I had never even sat on bike. I took the state riders safety course and learned allot. SO I have been working on the basics i.e. shifting, safety etc... The one thing I am having the most problem with is taking the corners. I am trying to force myself to lean and counter-steer but I just dont feel comfortable "Attacking corners" yet and honestly I'm not sure how much lean I am getting. I dont ride with anyone, which would probably be the most help. So, does anyone have any advice on how to get over this "hangup" of mine? I can go practice in a parking lot but it's just not the same as taking a twisty road a getting that adrenaline boost.
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go at your own pace. find a non busy twisty road and just ride on it. there is no set time period as to when you should be "attacking the corners". my girlfriend has been riding longer than me, took the MSF course, and is still nervous on curves. everyone goes at their own pace, and thats just fine. You'll get there when you are ready.
bwithrow.. remember ride with in your limits.. been scare it's a good thing it can stop you from doing things u might not going to achieve.
I only have 700 miles riding experience so far.

This is the biggest reason you aren't as confident as you'd like to be in the corners... :whistling:

Are you expecting to set a record for littlest experience required to drag knee? :angel:

Just saying. Take your time, ride, and enjoy. After you've clocked 5K miles or so, you will be much more comfortable on the bike, after 10K you can start thinking about pushing it, and after 15K you'll probably be dragging knee.... :dance:

Experience is the best teacher.... For reference, I cover about 700 miles every week... :thumb:
Thanks for the replies. It's nice hearing from experienced riders.
I'll just keep "riding my ride" and not push it. I appreciate it!
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