Track?Canyons??Streets???

[Shortee]

okay so i've been getting mixed opinions from various riders at various riding levels on where exactly to hone the skills and get experience...personally I do not enjoy commuting on the city streets because people try to kill me and thats not nice...Ive been on the local canyon roads and I enjoy them very much but I only ride at about 50-60% because I am still learning...

some say to do more commuting...
some say to do a track day to prepare for the canyons...
some say to ride more canyons to be ready for a trackday...
others say a school is a worthwhile learning experience....
others also say a school is really expensive with minimal track time....

what order worked out best for you guys? or what would you have chosen to do when you were once in my place?? i am confused and dont know what i should prioritize so any words of wisdom or personal stories would be most appreciated and respected ;)

[deathblow]

It depends what you want to focus on. I think it is a combination of everything. For pure speed, trackdays/racing will be the best.

[kc1717]

anytime you are aware of the input you are getting from the motorcycle you are learning.

i think its a progression, and combination, and one way is not the best, its mearly an aspect of the whole

[shaggy]

all of the above. you'll learn the most at a trackday for sure, but I think that before you go to a trackday you should have a LOT of street/canyon experience or else your just wasting your money. San Diego is the best place to learn to ride because we have such a variety of roads that you'll be prepared for anything if you ride them enough...

[onogsxr]

I learned by just riding when I got a chance - commuting, crusing in the local canyons, taking ironbutt rides (500+ miles!), just getting out on a coast ride at midnight cause I cant sleep! Any time on your bike to get comfortable with the controls, your seating, how it handles in the wind, over bumps, etc. helps you become a better rider. When I didnt ride my bike for even a few weeks, getting back on felt weird cuz it wasnt repetative.

I think a school that focuses on what riding skill you want to achieve is best. They can spend time with you all day and give you immediate feedback. Then you can go out and drill over and over until its second nature. Tell me that you didnt practice on your car steering wheel pretending you have the throttle in the right, clutch in the left hand, and left foot shifting before you got a bike - now you dont even think about it, all repetition.

Go out and ride - spend money on gas, good tires, good safety gear and have fun and be safe.

:banana: :banana:

[Philo]

Just ride the fooker.

My opinion is, San Diego is probably the second worst place in the USA to be scared of traffic. Unless you're pulling fuses right now to make it a track bike, practice and get comforatable being surrounded by cars. Even if you only ride from home to the canyons, you're gonna hit some traffic. You need to learn when to MAKE yourself seen, and when to be invisible and gone. I'm not recommending you go practice lane-splitting and freeway riding, cuz it sucks and I try to avoid it. But you should feel comforatable lane-sharing, because you may need to get away from a wreckless/inattentive/road-raged driver.

I just think that of the four choices, riding in traffic is the most dangerous and needs to be priority #1. Mistakes here are the deadly kind. Take the MSF if you haven't. Start there.

Just today, I had a guy dive in my lane without signalling and I had to brake/swerve to avoid him while surrounded by cars on Mira Mesa blvd in rush hour traffic. I'm sure Amish and other daily/occasional commuters have countless stories as well. Every day a close call.

You should be comforatable going for a ride by yourself, but I wouldn't recommend canyon riding alone, especially if you wanna go fast. It's not the funnest part of riding, but it is part of it, and the most likely to get you hurt......

It shouldn't take too long and it's really not that hard. Once you are comforatabe riding in traffic by yourself, move on to other things as the rest will come with experience. Then follow any advice Shaggy gives you to a T.

[Shortee]

Oh i forgot to mention that eventually, once i acquire the necessary skills, id like to only track it...i have another form of adequate transportation for the streets...

I have my bike mostly for recreation...one of these days(years) ill be racing...i wish....practice practice practice! :errf:

[asdfpoop]

:D that's my goal too. learn enough to start doing track days. LA is too dangerous to ride in traffic. too many crazy people. :eek:

[dre_2k2_f4i]

Here is my opinion:

If you can afford it, attend as many different schools as possible. At first, I thought experience would take me to the next level. But now I liken riding to other sports; mainly golf. By that I mean: you can practice golf all day and all night, but if you do not have the correct fundamentals, you are just going to be getting yourself into bad habits.

I want to know what the good habits are, and capitalize on them. I want to figure out what bad habits I have, and rid myself of them.

Everyone has their own style and refinements, but there are basic fundamentals that I want to nail down.

[remusR6]

Philo is right! MSF it's the best thing you can do!

Remus

PS: If not...just ride as much as you can and it's alwayd good to go with someone.

[speedster1219]

Originally posted by Philo


Just today, I had a guy dive in my lane without signalling and I had to brake/swerve to avoid him while surrounded by cars on Mira Mesa blvd in rush hour traffic. I'm sure Amish and other daily/occasional commuters have countless stories as well. Every day a close call.
I belive greg and I witnessed the same lady reading while driving on the5 by UCSD and I have put countless boot marks in people's cars..

[Shortee]

Philo is right! MSF it's the best thing you can do!

sloooow loook leeaan and rooooooolllllllll....ya that was step one for me, graduate as of august 2003...i thought it was a great class even tho everyone was talkin poop cuz i was the only girl...:rolleyes: what else is new huh?

thanks tho for the recommendation because i would recommend it to any new (and unlicensed) rider..lotsa core fundamentals learned there....

I belive greg and I witnessed the same lady reading while driving on the5 by UCSD and I have put countless boot marks in people's cars..

ya carlos, thats what im talkin about! thats something ive been practicing cuz its happened to me many times but i still dont have the kicking thing down....man some crazy bich driver was callin me and this dude names out her window--i shouda reached in there and smacked her! i was close enuf!:grr:

[YuJinha]

Originally posted by speedster1219
I belive greg and I witnessed the same lady reading while driving on the5 by UCSD and I have put countless boot marks in people's cars..

I've always debated knocking on the window of clueless drivers to point out their driving error as I rode next to them but then I would always see the light... What happens when they get pissed and try to run you off the road? I can pretty much bet you're not going to win in a collision with a car.

[speedster1219]

Originally posted by YuJinha
I've always debated knocking on the window of clueless drivers to point out their driving error as I rode next to them but then I would always see the light... What happens when they get pissed and try to run you off the road? I can pretty much bet you're not going to win in a collision with a car.

as for the countless bootmarks...it was in self defense...im in lane 4...lady in beemer driving in lane 3 decides to exit when the exit is 10 feet away from us..so she merged into me..and the only way for her to know that i was there was the good ol boot......

boots are good indication for others to know that they are going to run me over....ive been forced off the road too many times..that my boot comes up naturaly..so im sorry to those who try and pass me on the track and i give you the boot:-p

[YuJinha]

Originally posted by speedster1219
boots are good indication for others to know that they are going to run me over....ive been forced off the road too many times..that my boot comes up naturaly..so im sorry to those who try and pass me on the track and i give you the boot:-p

I'll let it slide only if I get to drop kick you in full leathers after the session. j/p

[CPM F4]

Originally posted by speedster1219
I belive greg and I witnessed the same lady reading while driving on the5 by UCSD and I have put countless boot marks in people's cars..

That woman was completely engrossed in a magazine at over 70 mph!!! "Boot to the head!".


One of the best things that helped me with riding was to prep for the DMV riding test. I would go to empty parking lots and just turn slow, tight circles. It taught me a lot about throttle, clutch and brake control, weight shifting and balance. I found the best way to keep the bike on its tires was to keep my body upright, lean the bike, stay really loose and trail brake with your foot. Never touch the front brake. Always look where you want to go and not where you are. If I looked down at the road right in front of the tire, I would lose my balance and position in the circle. When I looked further ahead, I could set myself up to get to that point.

Along with the circles, I would do a slalom course, using the lines of the parking lanes as cones. I never went for speed but control. I weaved in and out of as many lanes as possible all the while paying attention to what the bike was communicating back to me i.e. the amount of counter steering effort it required for me to get the bike over to get around the next cone, the feedback from the tires, my body position and the effect it had on steering input etc.

All of this translated into feeling like I was controlling the bike instead of the other way around. The bike felt lighter and more nimble because I could position myself correctly for a particular turn. Like they say, you need to learn to walk before you run. Speed comes naturally and so does knee dragging. Hope this helps in some way.

[Shortee]

Like they say, you need to learn to walk before you run

...and you need to trip a few times to before you run well :)
thanks greg, of course it helps! thanks for sharing :) i like personal stories ;)
its funny you mention tight circles because i suck at u-turns!! but im practicin.... :D