what sportsbike does the BRC usually have and how many?

[VermilionX]

thanks, i'll grab a nighthawk then at the BRC.

[TechTMW]

Why can't you take your bike? Do they not let you?

If you can't even master a parking lot course on your bike, what's the point? Do you ever plan on
- Taking a 90 degree turn on your bike?
- Swerving to avoid an emergency?
- Parking IN a real parking lot (Maneuver in tight spaces)?
- Do a U-turn?

You need to learn these things at slow speeds on YOUR bike, and you might as well do it with an experienced professional there to help you.

i heard that the small circle DMV test doesn't really prove anything except you are great at balancing at slow speeds.

i heard it's great if you're into stunts, but i don't intend to do stunts.

i don't see any need for doing such a small circle in traffic or on the track. am i mistaken?

sure it would be fine at moderate to high speeds but at slow speeds, it's gonna be hard for me to balance big bikes.

At first you made it seem like it's not worth it to take the BRC on your bike, then the truth comes out - You have no confidence in yourself or your bike at low speeds. This is Precisely why you need to take your bike to the BRC.

[VermilionX]

yeah, they have a 350cc limit for the BRC so can't bring my bike there.

for the ERC, there's no limit and i believe you must bring your own bike.

oh and i wasn't trying to hide that im not very confident at xtreme low speed limited space manuevers.

im completely aware of that... i just didn't see any situation where i'll be stuck in place that is that cramped. plus like i said on a diff topic, i need to lift weights to become stronger and that will give me more confidence on low speed manuevers since i know that if i drop the bike, i can lift it back up.

[TechTMW]

Hum. That's sorta stupid (IMO) that they don't let your ride your own ride.

The point I'd like to make is that the most important parts of motorcycling are usually the things you don't plan for. This includes slow speed maneuvering. So you need to get confidant with your bike at low speeds - you won't be a well-rounded (or competant) rider until you do.

Hope that didn't sound too harsh.

The skill you need to practice on your small MSF bike is leaning off to the side of the bike while working the clutch and throttle. It will help you keep your feet of the tarmac when you get back on your bike. RELSEK talks about doing it on his Hayabusa (Which is bigger than your bike) here -
viewtopic.php?t=1136

You might also ask if the MSF instructor can show you the proper way to pick up a bike ... it's an important skill and you don't have to be superman to do it if it's done properly... it's a good thing to learn

[VermilionX]

one of the person who helped me improve my skills last week was on a busa... and he can do the DMV circle on it... but when he used his wife's bike, same as mine gixxer1000, he couldn't do it. he said you have to be really really familiar w/ the bike to do it.

i guess in time i will be able to do it once i get used to my bike a lot more.

ok, you convinced me to practice that circle, i will go there some other time but i have to make sure i bring somebody else bec i need help lifting my bike up just in case (knocks on wood).

[Jamers!]

one of the person who helped me improve my skills last week was on a busa... and he can do the DMV circle on it... but when he used his wife's bike, same as mine gixxer1000, he couldn't do it. he said you have to be really really familiar w/ the bike to do it.

i guess in time i will be able to do it once i get used to my bike a lot more.

ok, you convinced me to practice that circle, i will go there some other time but i have to make sure i bring somebody else bec i need help lifting my bike up just in case (knocks on wood).

you have to be really familiar with any bike and or just an excellent rider to do any sort of technical or slow speed manuver. But thats just what i think



JWF

[Sev]

i heard that the small circle DMV test doesn't really prove anything except you are great at balancing at slow speeds.

i heard it's great if you're into stunts, but i don't intend to do stunts.

i don't see any need for doing such a small circle in traffic or on the track. am i mistaken?

but anyway, i'll probably try do it on my bike some day. the DMV is very near our place so i can easily go there on weekends when they're closed to practice that circle.

Parking lots and Gas Stations are going to be your enemy for the rest of your life. Invariably you will find some "O Ring" who doesn't want to wait for you to finish pulling out of "his" parking spot. So he'll crowd up on you. Leaving you little room to turn. Or you'll end up in the gas station and ahve to pull a tight 180 to get in or out to fill up.

When I took the MSF equivalent up here two of the four instructor's raced for Kawasaki. The simple mantra they repeated over and over was, "any idiot can go fast, it takes skill to go slow."

One of the guys was showing off, hoping curves, riding one handed. Riding side saddle, as in sitting with both legs on the left side of the bike. All kinds of other stuff, but the most impressive thing he did was hop on one of the dual sports and balance at a perfect stop without moving for over a minute. I can't do it for more then 10 seconds. He also took a full dress goldwing and ran it through the tests we were struggling through on riding kawasaki interceptors while scraping floorboards the whole time.

I said it once, I'll say it again, having a big bike does not mean you get to skip out on the tough tests, it means you need to practise even harder, because you have that much more to move around in the event of an emergency.

[JustJames]

Low speed is important as much as high speed. A lot of drops occured while in low speed maneuver. I have seen a bike (sport bike) making a 90 degree right turn and drop to the left (I still don't know what happened). There also a girl on Hardley Sporter, she was making U-turn from stop and drop the bike just like that. I'd say for you really need low speed maneuver since you live in big city and high traffic like LA (you will need it once you get on FWY in rush hour). Don't scare of weight / size of your bike, I have seen my instructer do the circle on his Busa as well. I can also do the circle on my bike pretty easy (470lbs) but that doesn't count since on curiser would be a lot easier than sport bike for low speed maneuver.

[JCS]

I did not mean to imply that the skills you will learn at the class will not be useful. They absolutely will help you. And yes the low speed skills transfer over to higher speeds. You will get in situations where these manuevers will help you.
What I was trying to get across is that the course is limited by the structure in what they can teach. They only have so much time to get the basics across. They can not teach you everything you need to know to survive in the real world. It is just the beginning. Keep learning. I ride with some of their instructors and they will tell you this.
My wife and both daughters went through the course when they wanted to learn to ride. This was my idea as they did not know about the class. It was also to preserve peace in the family! All passed with no problem. However afterward, I still would not let them out alone for a long time. I was trying to teach them some street smarts along the way. Drove them crazy. They all said that I was a lot tougher on them than the instructors were. I had a little more invested in them and was trying to help keep them alive and safe.
You are trying to absorb a tremendous amount of information in a very short amount of time. It is not as easy to do it right as a lot of people think. Any idiot can drive a car as we see everyday. It takes skill and knowledge to ride.
You are a beginner and truing to learn. This is a good thing. Please don't take this as a slam, but at this point in your riding career you don't even know what you need to learn. The questions will come. Don't rule out riding with other people just because don't have the same type of bike as you. You can learn from them and most will be glad to help a newbie. We have all been there.

Keep riding whenever you can. You'll get it. Just be safe.

[VermilionX]

im fine at slow speeds. i don't have any problem w/ that. it's what i started on our condo driveway way before i went out the streets.

what my problem is small space manuevers.

but anyway, looks like i need to practice limited space manuevering.

thanks guys.