Total Motorcycle Community Forums

Simple.

There is a massive parking lot, empty a vast majority of the time on Irvine Center Drive, right near The Spectrum. Its the Irvine Ampitheater or something like that.

swatter555 wrote:Simple.

There is a massive parking lot, empty a vast majority of the time on Irvine Center Drive, right near The Spectrum. Its the Irvine Ampitheater or something like that.

irvine is far from here but not too far... so i guess i'll check that out too.

the mall on early weekends is a great idea as well.

but of course another problem is having a coach. can't do this on my own i need to get corrected and criticized while im practicing for it to be productive.

It is the Verizon Ampitheater right off 5 FWY in Irvine. I'm not sure if you're gonna be able to use that parking lot on weekday and I do think Jeff get a permission to use that parking lot for Skillz Day on weekend. This is also where I took ERC (experience riding class) with MSF a year ago.

JustJames wrote:It is the Verizon Ampitheater right off 5 FWY in Irvine. I'm not sure if you're gonna be able to use that parking lot on weekday and I do think Jeff get a permission to use that parking lot for Skillz Day on weekend. This is also where I took ERC (experience riding class) with MSF a year ago.

so that pic is from the verizon amphi?

cool! can't wait for the next skillzday!

most of the ski resorts and golf courses around here have parking lots that are HUGE. wal-mart could hold about 10 autocross events in its lot, so could most grocery stores.... and this is VT, out in LA I would imagine since there ae more people the parking lots would be bigger....

Kal wrote:A coach is damn useful...

but don't sell yourself short - you know what the basic skills are and if you are running the bike smoothly or not.

Go with a coach if possible or go without if not - all practise is good. You'll gain confidence at low speeds on your bike that you don't seem to have right now.

i wanna practice leaning the bike low so when i go back to the twisties, i can manage them better.

i can take the twisties slow so i have no problem on low speed skills.

taking them faster is my problem.

Kal wrote:I've been amusing the instructors all week with how low I dip the bike and how (comparitively) fast I take a U turn. They are beting the examiner is going to have his heart in his mouth and will make a move towards me thinking I am going to drop the bike!

Trust me - it all translates to better high speed performance.

Someone already suggested cutting a bunch of tennisballs in half and setting up your own course in a carpark. Just doing that and attempting to get round as quickly and as smoothly as you can will be a big help.

You will know when you are getting it right because it will feel smooth and good and your ride wont feel 'forced' in any way, just one movement moving into the next.

Think of it as motorbike Kata and aim to get the same feeling of harmony between you, the Bike and the road.

thanks, i already contacted a new found riding buddy of mine. he says we can ride this afternoon and he can show me a place where i can practice cornering.

like kata and martial arts, this is one thing i don't wanna do on my own. he may not be a pro, but he definitely has experience.

Oh man, I live in Irvine and I didn't know I had such great resources (by which I mean empty lots) around me. I'll be sure to check those places out when I get my bike.