Riding better?

OK, so I"m not really sure how to put this into words, so please bear with me. I just did an approx 3600 mile ride from Denver to the West coast and back. Some great riding on freeways and mountain roads. So I'm realizing I having issues riding the curves and I'm not sure what to do about it. Hoping someone can give me some advise. When running the tighter mountain twisties, I seem to do ok. I"m talking the 35-50 MPH curves. And no, I"m not hanging off the bike or anything, but I can keep up pretty well. When we were out on the highways where our speeds were QUITE a bit higher, I just froze up. I mean, the guys on the Harleys were just walking away from me. I"m just not sure how to explain it. Wondering if anyone has any advice? I've been riding for a long time, but I've never considered myself the "Ricky Racer" type. This is probably the best handling bike I've ever ridden and I just feel like I'm not doing it justice. HELP!

Burns1

Hello burns the "Ride like a pro" videos did me some good even though I've got 15 years of riding under my belt, I'm no where near a knee dragger. They also have regional classes and material on high speed and slow speed maneuvers. Learning the mechanics of slow speed riding helped me pick it up more in the corners, and be more confident doing so. Counter steering has a lot to do with it too.

https://www.ridelikeapro.com/

Being on the safe side of things isn't a bad thing either. I'd rather take my time and arrive in one piece than burn through a corner and end up in the ditch.

Ride your own ride, do what ya like, like what ya do. If you find a slower pace is what you are comfortable and confident with that's what you do. If you start to get a line of traffic behind you, do the right thing and pull over and let 'em by.

Are you relatively new to riding? If you are experienced, is this how you have ridden your other bikes? Have you had an 'indecent' that gets you thinking when speeds go up? Do you really want to ride faster or just feel you should ride faster for some reason. Just because someone went faster than you doesn't mean they were riding smarter than you based on the situation.

I'm not sure how to ride slow and maybe that's a bigger problem. This morning a local cruiser shot me (with radar) at 65 in a 25. Yesterday I stopped at a store on the way home and went into the store in full riding gear (less helmet ) and noticed a clerk notice me. He looked and looked. Finally he walked over and asked me what kind of bike I ride. Then he asked if I was out on Rt 495 very early on Wed morning. I said yes. He says, "Hmm, I saw you on the highway. You went past me very, very fast AND SCARED THE **** OUT OF ME!!!" Oops

ionbeam said:

Ride your own ride, do what ya like, like what ya do. If you find a slower pace is what you are comfortable and confident with that's what you do. If you start to get a line of traffic behind you, do the right thing and pull over and let 'em by.
Are you relatively new to riding? If you are experienced, is this how you have ridden your other bikes? Have you had an 'indecent' that gets you thinking when speeds go up? Do you really want to ride faster or just feel you should ride faster for some reason. Just because someone went faster than you doesn't mean they were riding smarter than you based on the situation.

I'm not sure how to ride slow and maybe that's a bigger problem. This morning a local cruiser shot me (with radar) at 65 in a 25. Yesterday I stopped at a store on the way home and went into the store in full riding gear (less helmet

) and noticed a clerk notice me. He looked and looked. Finally he walked over and asked me what kind of bike I ride. Then he asked if I was out on Rt 495 very early on Wed morning. I said yes. He says, "Hmm, I saw you on the highway. You went past me very, very fast AND SCARED THE **** OUT OF ME!!!" Oops

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How many performance awards do you have? 40mph over is no joke

Interesting. The comment "I mean, the guys on the Harleys were just walking away from me" makes me believe your issue is a mental block. Harley's look like they aren't having much fun north of 80. On our 80 freeways here I routinely see them in the right lane holding up traffic. The 2008 FJR you have has a sweet spot about 88-90 where the motor smooths out and wants to be there. This bike is extremely stable at speed. Maybe do a little riding on your own there in Colorado out of the city and take a runs a little over 100 to let yourself know what the bike is capable of.

How many performance awards do you have? 40mph over is no joke

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For some reason beyond all knowing I didn't get stopped and didn't even get flashie headlights or an arm out the window. Based on the distance between us and the number of bars on my radar detector I may have been *just* far enough away that he couldn't lock my speed. He absolutely had to notice I was going very fast and burned off a lot of speed very quickly. Then again at 6 am he may have had an appointment with a cup of coffee and a doughnut and stopping me would have been an annoyance.

Edit to add: The area where I was committing the sin had no houses, no adjoining roads and nothing along the road but pine trees and a dismal swamp. The police officer came around a mild corner and --- there I was and he reactively triggered the gun. If I was in a car with a bigger radar reflective frontal area I would have been dun-fer.

Look at these major adrenaline spikes that Burns1 is missing out on

Riding faster ≠ riding better.

Sounds like a confidence and/or comfort issue rather than a skills issue, although skills may be a factor when you feel confident to ride at higher speeds. Don't worry about speed, concentrate on being smooth and taking the correct line through corners, and the speed will take care of itself. There are a lot of things to concentrate on while riding a motorcycle, trying to keep up with your riding partners should not be one of them.

ionbeam said:

How many performance awards do you have? 40mph over is no joke

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For some reason beyond all knowing I didn't get stopped and didn't even get flashie headlights or an arm out the window. Based on the distance between us and the number of bars on my radar detector I may have been *just* far enough away that he couldn't lock my speed. He absolutely had to notice I was going very fast and burned off a lot of speed very quickly. Then again at 6 am he may have had an appointment with a cup of coffee and a doughnut and stopping me would have been an annoyance.

Look at these major adrenaline spikes that Burns1 is missing out on

Riding faster ≠ riding better.

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Honestly I never bought into the radar alarm gimmick. I have my radar unit turned off until I visually verify a speed and I "check" it with the equipment. By the time you hear a beep its already too late muhahah. There have been several times of me daydreaming on an early shift and I've missed a few.

+1 on riding faster doesn't equal riding better

"Look at these major adrenaline spikes that Burns1 is missing out on "

^^^THIS! hahaha

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Riding in my brothers police cruiser it was plain that by observation an experienced officer can tell a vehicle's speed within a mph or two and only needs the radar to lock the speed to backup the ticket.

Note that I edited a previous post to add the road conditions where I was committing the civil atrocity.

[/Thread Drift]

Yea riding fast (in a straight line) doesn't bother me much. Lana (the bike) saw right around 140 at least once during the trip and we likely averaged, no joke, 105 for at least 75 continuous miles North of Winnemucca Nevada. So the speed isn't the issue. I think MCRIDER007 is right in that it's a confidence issue in the turns. And honestly, I'm not entirely used to riding a bike like this. It's been mostly cruisers or standards over the years. I'm well aware the bike will handle much more lean angle than I will, I just need to learn to do it. Another problem I've had since I bought this bike is damn tar snakes. I've slipped on a few of them and I guess I'm always convinced that one is waiting to bite me, right in the middle of the next sweeper.

Oh and ride-my-own-ride was exactly what I did on the cross-country ride a couple of weeks ago. Told the guys...I'll catch up at the next stop. Or in the straights!

Guess I really just need to get more (curvy) miles in.

Burns1

...damn tar snakes..

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The should be BANNED. Every time any biker rides over them they go

Burns1 said:

Yea riding fast (in a straight line) doesn't bother me much. Lana (the bike) saw right around 140 at least once during the trip and we likely averaged, no joke, 105 for at least 75 continuous miles North of Winnemucca Nevada. So the speed isn't the issue. I think MCRIDER007 is right in that it's a confidence issue in the turns. And honestly, I'm not entirely used to riding a bike like this. It's been mostly cruisers or standards over the years. I'm well aware the bike will handle much more lean angle than I will, I just need to learn to do it. Another problem I've had since I bought this bike is damn tar snakes. I've slipped on a few of them and I guess I'm always convinced that one is waiting to bite me, right in the middle of the next sweeper.Oh and ride-my-own-ride was exactly what I did on the cross-country ride a couple of weeks ago. Told the guys...I'll catch up at the next stop. Or in the straights!

Guess I really just need to get more (curvy) miles in.

Burns1

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Cruisers will do that to you Burns. That's why I went back to a sportbike. Its all a matter of getting used to what the bike can do, and giving it a little more as you get comfortable with it. I barely scraped the pegs on my old V-Star but I was always going slow on that thing. Now I can merge into traffic and take corners at a better speed. Ride safe!

ionbeam said:

[Thread Drift]
Riding in my brothers police cruiser it was plain that by observation an experienced officer can tell a vehicle's speed within a mph or two and only needs the radar to lock the speed to backup the ticket.

Note that I edited a previous post to add the road conditions where I was committing the civil atrocity.

[/Thread Drift]

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Motorcycles are always harder to lock in on radar, that can be a saving grace!

Burns1 said:

Another problem I've had since I bought this bike is damn tar snakes. I've slipped on a few of them and I guess I'm always convinced that one is waiting to bite me, right in the middle of the next sweeper.

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Oh I can personally guarantee that you are far from alone on this one!

Burns1 said:

Burns1 wrote: "... the guys on the Harleys were just walking away from me. I"m just not sure how to explain it. Wondering if anyone has any advice? I've been riding for a long time, but I've never considered myself the "Ricky Racer" type. This is probably the best handling bike I've ever ridden and I just feel like I'm not doing it justice."
Burns1

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ALWAYS ride your own ride and do it at your comfort level no matter what. Period. You must live by that rule or things won't end pretty. I have been in multiple group rides where the leader sets a spirited pace and an inexperienced rider goes over his limit and crashes.

Good group leaders will specify this rule at the start of the ride and will always wait at the next turn for you.

Just gonna have to give it time. You probably will not develop the skills needed to ride well overnight. The skills will come but that means you have spent many many miles in the saddle on different types of roads developing those skills. The FJR is an extremely capable machine so she'll be waiting very patiently on your skills to catch up. Please do not push it. I have witnessed some very bad wrecks because a newbie just pushed it too hard tying to keep up with his friends. Don't do it!

Bottom line: "Ride your own ride."

Burns1 said:

Burns1 wrote: " ... Another problem I've had since I bought this bike is damn tar snakes ..."

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Too many **** stains in my drawers over that!

ionbeam said:

[Thread Drift]
Riding in my brothers police cruiser it was plain that by observation an experienced officer can tell a vehicle's speed within a mph or two and only needs the radar to lock the speed to backup the ticket.

Note that I edited a previous post to add the road conditions where I was committing the civil atrocity.

[/Thread Drift]

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Agreed for sure. But I believe Radar detection is an invaluable resource for folks like me that enjoy riding fast. I think, in order for a radar detector to "work" you must have good reaction time so you can quickly drop your speed once you're hit. I believe that in some cases the cops have seen me at 84 MPH (in a 70) and by the time he realizes it I have tapped the brake twice and I'm back down to the speed limit and he just says to himself "whatever ... he gets a pass" or something to that effect b/c I come by him at proper speed . Numerous times I have been haulin ass, get hit with radar or laser, wrote myself off as dead meat while hitting the brakes, and the cop never pulls out. I would not know any other way to explain it than to say he wants me to come by him at 84 in order for it to be valid or something? Who knows!

Hold on to your hat, here it comes.

I ride similar to the way you do, however I don't push the envelope, ever. I've met those who've told me that if you never crash, you'll never learn to go really fast. Ha. Really? In the minds of many of my family members, I'm already nuts just because I ride ANY motorcycle. After all, everybody has heard of somebody that has wrecked on "one of those things." But in my mind, there's a method to my madness.

I have a great deal of confidence in my ability to ride, simply because I refuse to push the bike faster than the speed at which I feel absolutely confident.

Ya might want to read that again. That may seem like a simplistic statement, but I have no interest in "going faster." That thing thrills my soul every time I get on it. Just twisting the throttle is a thrill. It's a joy to ride and always has been. Even after 6 years, I still stop and look at it more often than not when I walk by it in the garage. I don't need more of a thrill by going faster, either in the curves or on the straights. I appreciate that the FJR is rock solid at the normal speeds I drive, and that's good enough for me. And there are a couple things about pushing the envelope that you cannot deny. You gotta admit, you miss most of the scenery when you're ultra focused on your "line" because you're really pushing the bike. And second, every once in a while, there's something on the road that you didn't see. We all know this to be true. I'd much rather NOT be grinding the pegs when this happens. I have only one physical body. I don't like taking calculated risks based on my experience, or in my case, the lack thereof. And while I'm at it, my big secret, I make sure to ask the Almighty to keep me safe every time I head out on the road. That one thing in itself is worth more than all the body armor in the world. And finally, concerning your issue with Harleys leaving you in the dust: Good for them. I'm sure they earn serious bragging rights by being able to stay in front of an FJR.

Gary

darksider #44

On another note, I was having some of the same trepidation as my suspension degraded. Not sure how many miles are in your 08, but the suspension was so unsettled in the corners, that I had ZERO confidence in my ability to take corners briskly.

While not to discount the mental side of cornering, it might be a hardware problem as well. I understand the mental part because I was a complete mess after running into the back of a friend on a ride 2 years ago. I trippled my following distance and still felt like I was too close in the corners. It changed where I was looking and thus made my cornering terrible. It was a rough 18 months before I fixed my suspension and then got back to the basics of proper cornering before I felt good again. It took a few hours of riding behind Allen and Prestone at SEO at a pace that was uncomfortable before I got "right".

Additionally, if you don't regularly ride curves there is a "learning curve" to it. High speed running is second nature to people in the West. People like us who live in Illinois get neither the curves or open highway speeds. Riding here pretty much sucks.

Good luck and eliminate other potential variables

It's been a good discussion. The virtue of knowing your riding limits and always riding fully under control, and the fun of trying to get more out of the bike and yourself (though hopefully still being under control). It doesn't have to be just one or the other, either. Sometimes you might like to let it out more than usual, and it's good to know some solid technique when those times come along.

So in the interest of improving your riding so you can wick it up if and when you want to, I'll recommend Lee Parks' "Total Control" class. It's offered in a lot of locations. I know there are others, but it's the best one I've taken and I've really never heard anything negative about it. You can always do track days too, but you're not really looking for racing techniques, that I can see, though lots of things do translate from the track to the road. Still, Parks' class is very street-oriented and everyday riding-oriented. What you pick up there will help you go faster in curves if you want, and also helps a LOT if you unexpectedly come into a corner too hot, which can be an ugly surprise. Riding is definitely a skill you can improve with good instruction and practice.