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Actually... a lot of people say that the big advantage of track days is that it shows people how dangerous riding fast on the street really is. I've heard a number of people say that their street riding calmed down drastically after their first track day.

Is it true? Dunno... never had a track day, never been all that much of a speed freak anyway... but they have and they say so.

Have you had a track day?

A few (maybe 5). My new thing is trying to get the time to do a superbike school. I take my street riding seriously (as in trying to be as safe as possible). I still practice in parking lots every now and again I've been riding for years.

In response about trackdays slowing people down. I haven't seen that too much. People who crash perhaps but those who go without any problems get more reckless (or ride faster) in my experiences. Then again I use to have pretty reckless friends.

CNF2002 wrote:Even just watching I think you will have alot of fun.

I would highly recommend watching a few times before venturing out on the track.

Since Verm first started posting here, he seems to have been somewhat obsessed with the idea of hanging off the bike with a knee on the ground. From numerous posts, even in this thread, he talks like that is some sort of goal.

that's why im going to improve my skills. i don't expect to drag knee the 1st time at the track.

If your goal is to LOOK like a GP racer, then the racetrack is probably going to be a huge disappointment. Probably the least important thing you need to know, at least for the first few years, is how to hang off and drag a knee. It will take a lot of track time to learn WHEN &WHY you need to do it.

VermilionX wrote:yeah, i took your advice and im keeping my knees inside right now.

but i still hang off my upper body and slide my half my butt off the seat.

you're right im thinking of too many things... that's why i practice so that if i do it a lot... i won't have to think about it anymore. it'll just happen.

See, that's the thing, if you're thinking about doing 4 or 5 things at once while you're trying to learn ALL of them you're going to be "O Ring"-backwards shitty at all of them for a very long time.

I'm telling you the quickest way to look good and ride well here. And you're ignoring it, because it isn't what you want to hear.


Let me ask, how do you learn to fence, or "weapons martial arts" as you call it?

You start with a couple of simple movements, a couple of parries and a couple of attacks. These are linked into a wrote repitition (perferably with a partner) called a kata. These katas are repeated over and over and over and over and over and over and over until they move from concious thought, into muscle memory, which is to say they are reflex. From there more moves are learned and you become a better fighter.

You don't learn everything at one, you start by learning how to hold the damn thing. And right now the closest analogy is that you just picked up a sword, and you're trying to fight 3 guys at once. And they're just laughing at you.

im satisfied w/ my basic riding skills.

that's why im working on the more complicated stuff.

anyway... im attending another skillzday this saturday. it was very productive the 1st time i joined and im sure it'll be productive again.

i also do a monthly parking lot practice. and no, i don't just go in circles, i also practice hard braking and swerving.

about the martial arts comment... i started on the simple stuff, then advanced to more complicated stuff. like any martial arts class.

like i said, im satisfied w/ my basics and i still practice it. i just think im ready to move on and practice other stuff.

about the riders calming down after a trackday... that makes sense too.

i heard some people even don't wanna ride on the streets anymore after a trackday. the track is best place to enjoy SPORT riding.

if i could afford it... i'll do that to. i'll just ride the tracks every weekend and just make my bike a full time track bike and screw street riding.


hmmm probably a stoopid question but... my car is a V6 4WD. can it pull a bike trailer, effectively?

VermilionX wrote: about the martial arts comment... i started on the simple stuff, then advanced to more complicated stuff. like any martial arts class.

like i said, im satisfied w/ my basics and i still practice it. i just think im ready to move on and practice other stuff.

And just like martial arts where you think you are better than you are, your bike is going to kick your arse, again.

You have been riding for five minutes and think you know it all regarding the "basics", yet just about everything you say indicates otherwise. You live in a fantasy land where you are the greatest at everything yet if something does go wrong you have a myriad of excuses as to why it happened like blaming gravel or the corner as opposed to blaming your pi$$-poor skills.
You have gone beyond being a joke and now it is merely a matter of time before your ignorance ends up killing you.

Mintbread wrote: And just like martial arts where you think you are better than you are, your bike is going to kick your arse, again.

You have been riding for five minutes and think you know it all regarding the "basics", yet just about everything you say indicates otherwise. You live in a fantasy land where you are the greatest at everything yet if something does go wrong you have a myriad of excuses as to why it happened like blaming gravel or the corner as opposed to blaming your "pee"-poor skills.
You have gone beyond being a joke and now it is merely a matter of time before your ignorance ends up killing you.

WTF???

i did admit i lacked the skills when i crashed... bec if i was skilled enough, getting caught off-guarded by loose gravel + decreasing radius turn won't be such a big deal.

also, i have never bragged about my riding skills. heck, even the vid posted has a title "n00b on a 750"

Whatever helps you sleep at night....

(under a GSX-R blanket no doubt)

I think the issue is that you keep saying you are satisfied with your basic skills...

The reality is that you've got a few thousand miles total riding (2200 on your last bike and less than 1000 on this one, right?) and that's simply not enough time and experience to have "the basics" mastered.

I'm not knocking being a beginning rider... I've only got about 3800 miles so far so I'm in the same boat... but the problem is that even after 3800 miles of riding just about every day I'm still learning basic skills every time I ride. Just today I learned the reality of the knowledge that braking is a whole different experience on very hot pavement... went to stop for a yellow light and the brakes just locked... and I wasn't braking hard or suddenly but the asphault itself was totally slippery and slightly soft because of the heat. I had to get off the front brake instanter and ease my way off the back to get things under control. That's just the difference between April riding and June riding..... I expect to learn more basics next time I ride.

And, without trying to do anything fancy, every time I find a new canyon road or twisty mountain backroad I ride it with more confidence and more skill... I can tell this because I have more fun and maybe go a little faster... and that's without doing ANYTHING but concentrating on the basics people are talking about. Because those basics are like... what was it, painting fence and sanding deck? Everything you learn afterwards is built on them.