Looking for Ohio viffer riders that can actually ride.

Gee, thanks Bill


Now if we can only get Brian off that Vulcan & on to a 5th gen by late spring. that willl add 1 more VFR to the mix :smile:

 

where you from mello?

 

I'm very surprised to read these squidly words. Do I have the right forum?

Seriously though, ride your own ride. These roads are not race tracks, far from it. Instead they are real-world roads, complete with oncoming traffic and trucks (including 18-wheelers) crossing the double-yellow lines; lots of gravel; blind curves; blind hills; blind/hidden driveways; decreasing radius turns; free-roaming animals; sudden changes in road surface conditions (e.g., when crossing county lines) and off-camber curves; mud slides, wet patches, leaf accumulations and other slick spots in shaded areas, to name but a few road hazards. (I will also mention Amish buggies and fresh slippery horse shit, just for good measure.)

Overnight, a good downpour of rain can and often will change a previously clean stretch of road into a gravel/mud trap. Street riding is very dangerous for these and other reasons, and a wise motorcyclist will ride cautiously and defensively.

When riding rural roads in particular, it's often very wise to expect the unexpected, and the best way to do this is to ride conservatively. If you wanna drag your knees and scape footpegs in Ohio, get thee to Mid-Ohio. Don't listen to anyone who'd tell you that you're somehow a girlie-man for riding these roads cautiously. There are no points for crashing, especially in a rural region devoid of cell phone coverage. I'd rather ride more conservatively and get back home safely, rather than being stranded, holding everyone up, and waiting on a tow truck at best, or a medical helicopter at worst.

I have a friend (a former dirt-bike and flat-course racer) who just recently began riding on the roads with a Honda CBR. Last weekend he rode Rt. 555 blindly for the first time, and he went off the road twice. Luckily, he landed in bushes and nettles both times, but it scared the shit out of him, for good reasons. He now agrees with me that these twisty roads in southern and southeastern Ohio can and will bite you and hurt you badly if you ride foolishly, and with a lack of respect.

 

Whew, I'm sure glad that I didn't post a picture of my "07" Wing next to the "84"VF1000f
because then everyone would know I'm a squid
fourdorns

 

yeah i figured i would try it anyway! and im from versailles indiana pretty close to lawrenceburg so your not that far from me after all. i been trying to find more vfr riders around here and there arent that many

 

Food for thought...

YouTube - Deals Gap Lowside The rider filmed here lowsiding at Deal's Gap obviously has some track-style riding skills, yet he shows his flagrant disregard for the safety of others on the road, not to mention common sense. Luckily, when he lowsided, there was no oncoming traffic, so it's just a big joke to him and his buddies. ("Did you get that on film?" he asks. What a schmuck.)

Had he lowsided and went sprawling across the road into the opposite lane just as oncoming vehicles may have been coming towards him (particularly other motorcyclists) the results could've been deadly. Ooh-wee, wouldn't that have been some real fun for all involved?

 

:blabla::violin::yawn: Just because a rider doesn't tiptoe around corners doesn't make him a squid, I ride pretty much the same style as Mello and haven't even had a tip over in my driveway let alone lowside. Believe it or not their are a lot of riders who can drag knee through corners but ride just as safe as a safety conscience motorcyclist such as yourself. It's my belief that some riders have it and some riders don't when it comes to riding, you seem to be a pretty safety conscience rider but in the last twelve months you've lowsided and totaled your BMW and then lowsided the VFR while riding two up. This thread isn't about preaching the dangers of riding, it's about a experienced rider looking for riders who share his riding style and love for the twistys...

 

RW and MD,

Your points are very well taken, and I appreciate your input.

Since first joining VFRWorld, I've been very candid about the fact that I didn't begin riding until 3 years ago, and that I've had 2 lowsides.

I've also quite readily admitted that my first lowside (while riding a BMW
K1200GT) was totally my fault. I spaced out at the wrong time, and I screwed the pooch. I knew better, but I fucked up nonetheless. I was cited for Failure to Control, and I politely signed the ticket on the spot--guilty as charged! I was so fortunate that this lowside on OH. Rt. 56 in Vinton county occurred at a time when I was alone on this road, I didn't injure or endanger anyone else when I crashed. (I have more to say about this later.)

As for my 2nd lowside last April (while riding my '07 VFR), while I still strongly suspect that there were likely some unforeseen factors involved (I was not cited for FTC), the fact remains that I went down, and I've accepted responsibility for what happened, and I paid the full costs for the cosmetic repairs of my motorcycle.

At any rate, after both of these accidents, I learned valuable lessons, and I chose to get back on the horse and keep riding, while incorporating these lessons, rather than just giving up and quitting. In general, I'm not a quitter.

In another thread not long ago here at VFRWorld, I said that I envy those of you who've been riding since you were kids. In case you might be wondering why I decided to take up riding at the ripe age of 46, one of the main reasons was a desire to teach myself some lessons about facing and overcoming fear, as well as having fun in the process.

This process first began with my passing the Basic Rider Course. It was kinda like an Outward Bound experience for a 46 yr. old fart. My older brother, who is a veteran rider and MSF instructor, had been urging me to take up riding for many years. I finally took the plunge, and I'm so glad I did.

I suspect that a good many new riders my age who might've experienced a couple of mishaps such as mine would've long ago given up.

*********************************************************

The overall point I was trying to make in this discussion (which I've done rather poorly so far) has been this: Among those of you who possess advanced riding skills, and who choose to ride track-like fast and aggressively on streets and/or twisty rural roads, the fact remains that should you ever have an unforeseen bad day, you are quite potentially recklessly endangering others who travel those roads, be they on foot, on a bicycle, on a motorcycle, in a car or truck, an Amish buggy, whatever.

I completed my medical and postgraduate medical training at OSU, which is a Level 1 trauma center. I've seen plenty of motorcyle related carnage brought in by medical helicopters, and I've worked with some of these families and loved ones. (Are you an organ donor? I am.)

Moreover, since 2004 I've been working within Ohio's prison system, and I've had a few patients who are incarcerated for felony convictions such as reckless endangerment and involuntary manslaughter involving a motor vehicle. One day life is wonderful, skies are blue, birds are singing, and then all of the sudden, in the blink of an eye, with a bit of bad luck, life can take a bad turn. At such times, hindsight is often 20/20.

 

If you can give me enough notice so I can tear myself away from my shuffle board league, it's tournament time you see, and you are interested in some of the roads NE of Marietta then PM me. I'm in the Pittsburgh area and I love to play in SE OH10. I fall in Mr. R. Rover's age bracket but not his pace bracket.

On of PA's Best on Vimeo

Check out the link. This was a couple weeks ago in N Central PA I was following a buddy when he shot the video. Our whole day was like this at or near this pace. He was on a Duc 848 and I was on my VTR 1000.

 

Don't bash wings. They are a sport tourer. Not a tourer. My bosses Truxxion suspension set-up is very nice. Every peg has been thoroughly ground. He rides it very very well, and drives the piss outta the bike.

 

Not sure how close you are to Cinci but im down for a ride sometime...Im no rossi but im certainly not afraid to have some fun.

 

PM'd my email. GL with the shoulder in the off season.

 

I'm a spiritedrider, but skills in the corners are still weak, so I'm still slow. But practice makes perfect.

 

This topic is pretty volatile. As a new rider myself (2 years) I can understand what rw, red rover and mello are all saying, in two years on my kawasaki ex500 i havent had a single oopsy and thats because i didnt get cocky and ride over my head, or worse try to impress gawking ppl (ok so i buzzed a few chicks). As far as increasing riding skills, I totally agree with that, you can never be so good you cant get better and everyone picks up bad habits. I plan to go to crotch rocket racing school in july 09 not because i want to burn up corners, but so I can learn to burn up corners.

PS. I always hated how ppl measure there riding experience in years. I teach ppl how to drive army trucks at work and its a lot easier to teach someone who just got there beginners license over someone who has been driving for over 10 years, you cant teach an old dog new tricks as they say. Years can mean so much or so little. Especially in the cruiser world, i dont know many gold dragon riders that ride to work. I would trust anyone who spent a day at a riding school on a race track and came out unscathed to burn up corners on my vfr before i would trust a goldwing rider who has been riding for 20 years. Besides the riding season varies so much it can go from 12months a year to 5months a year.

PS2 My parents both started riding cruisers when they were 52, My dad now drives a 1500 vulcan, and my mom drives a 650 vstar. My only problem with that is... WHY NOT VIFFERS I MEAN WTF IS WRONG WITH THESE PPL.

 

An apology

I would like to apologize to MD, RW, and all others here for going off half-cocked and being a jerk. I allowed my own insecurities, fears, inexperience, and naivete to take over, and as a result I showed my ass, big time. :redface:

If and when the Ohio VFR riders group that's forming here soon agrees upon a date and location for a group-ride this fall, I would really like to participate. If the most advanced and fastest riders in the group would like to ride more competitively and aggressively with one another, I hope that the event planners might take into consideration those riders (such as myself) with only intermediate skills, so that all involved can enjoy themselves and eventually catch up at certain stop-points along the way, without slowing others down?

 

People like you

You are the reason I kept my CBR 9 :strong: I have a 6 gen VFR but I keep my CBR for Wannabes like you. I like to meet you so I can mop the road with your ass...