Hi Folks, My name is Rick and I bought an 04 VFR last year with 9k miles. I have thoroughly enjoyed the ride this and last year. Beside other things, first and foremonst I am very interested in learning from the the experts in this community on how to lean/corner smoothly. I am very much a novice in that area and awkwardly slow down on twisted roads. Any suggestions and or previously discussed links would be appreciated. Thanks,
Welcome to the forum. To slow down in the twisties as a novice showes you are less likely to become....altered might I say. Just remember to ride your own ride. Never...never...try to keep up with someone who you have no busines trying to. I have learned from experience there and came out smelling like a rose fortunately. COuld have been serious if not fatal had it not been for the oncoming van driver's actions. BTW. Unless you post pix...you are just a theory....like Lochness Monster, Sasquatch or Ogopogo.
Welcome aboard. Brake in, power out, stay smooth on the throttle in between. Best way to get good is to practice. Start off slow and work your way up as you feel more comfortable. Don't let faster riders make you push it. Ride your own ride.
Welcome aboard. As was said twice, but just to make sure you "get it", ride your own ride. There are lots of things you can do to help yourself improve, but here's a couple of real simple ones. If you can, try and hit up a MSF course. Just Google them for your area. If that's not your thing or in the budget, I'd recommend Keith Code's book called "Twist of the Wrist II". Good luck, play it safe, and let things come together over time.
Learning to become a good rider in the twisties requires complete confidence in yourself and the bike you are riding. Get plenty of practice and learn what the bike is capable of doing in a safe environment. Leaning a bike over deep into a turn is not a natural feeling so you have to be confident that the bike will stay upright even when you feel like your are about to fall over. Go find a large parking lot and practice choosing your lines and practice them over and over. As you get better you can start picking tighter lines to follow and sooner or later you'll be scraping your pegs! The two biggest mistakes I see newbs making is that they tend to let off the throttle too much during the turn and they become fixated on the road immediately in front of the bike instead of looking ahead and through the turn. Rollin
Thanks much for all the great advise. I have started practicing in parking lots and see it helping a lot.
