techniques

signed.

Indeed. The ones walking around with crutches are the ones who got away with it. I'll never forget my first time there. My jaw hit the floor. No helmets, t shirt, shorts and sandals, toddler sitting on the parents' lap. and that was just the europeans! 3 or 4 locals on one scooter became a normal sight. 12 year old thai boys whizzing past you was a regular occurrence. It's a different world out there. I can't wait to go back.

Hello! I was in your exact position a couple of months ago. After riding an SV650s for a little over a year, I was ready to make the jump to a sports bike and trying to decide between GSXR 600cc or just going for the big boy 1000cc. Even though the seller was pushing for the 1000c, I listened to MY voice and went with the 600cc. I can tell you the only reason you're considering a 1000cc is because you don't think the power of a 600cc will be enough. The power of a Japanese 600cc super sport will knock your socks off coming from an A2 bike. It is insane. The terms "crotch rocket" and "death machine" suddenly take on literal meanings. Also, you can actually cane a 600cc. Pass 12k revs, feel yourself being pulled back into the seat. The screech. Love it. Try to cane a 1000cc and you will lose your licence or dead. The "You can kill yourself on a 125cc" argument is BS. A 1000cc sports bike has 70%~ more power than the 600cc. It's 0-100mph in 3secs. It is A LOT easier to kill yourself on a 1000cc. That said, a 2012 Repsol fireblade is in my future.

Title of the thread. "Road to Knee down." Op talks about having fun in the twistys on his GSXR 600 Sports bike. Then asks for better cornering advice as he's struggling with confidence. People who ride Gixxers generally aren't struggling with confidence, lol. Unless it's leaning the bike more around the corner... as to get his knee down, perhaps? My initial post was in jest, but given those details, it's pretty clear what the objective is.

Track day. Knee down... on public roads... in the winter... What are you going to tell us next? That you went from a 125cc to a Japanese 600 Supersport?

My first big bike is now on ebay! https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Suzuki-SV650-2005-excellent-condition-with-Scott-Oiler-and-12-months-MOT-CBR600/275023776130 It was an amazing 12 months of ownership and a great start into the motorcycle world. I PX'd it, and some cash for a Sports bike. See below post for more info. Look out for a "My first 1000cc bike." this time next year.

Good point above. I asked as I have a similar sketchy road where I can't see oncoming traffic until I edge half way out. I have to rely on my hearing. Wind the window down and listen for an engine before pulling out. It definitely helps.

Could you not hear the bike?

Hello! P sign on your bike? You're asking for problems lol. I was in your shoes exactly 13 months ago and here are my safety tips for a new rider. 1) Don't get carried away (too much). It's easy to get caught up in a spat of road rage, impatience or silliness with the throttle. Whenever I've had "oopsie" moments in this past year, I was caught up in one of those 3. On 2 wheels, you must keep a level head, at all times. Your life depends on it. You can't afford to lose your shit as it translates into your riding. 2) Don't overtake at T-junctions, any junctions, anyone's driveway. Basically, anywhere a car could turn into or come out of, don't overtake there. Don't fly into blind corners. Don't sit behind a car, always be off to one side. a) Better visibility. b) They like to reverse without looking and slam their brakes on for no reason. You think I'm joking? Wait and see. Never assume ANYTHING with cars. Don't assume they can see you. Don't assume they'll stop at the give way line. Don't assume they'll do the right thing. 3)Do give your tyres at least 10 mins to warm up. Fast acceleration, progressive heavy braking to get heat into them. Heat = grip. I use this time to practise my emergency braking, when there's no one behind you, of course. Practise your swerve & emergency braking, regularly. Swerve around drains and potholes until it becomes second nature. The day will come when you'll have to swerve around a human being and/or a car. Enjoy! Obvious, but honourable mentions - ATGATT. Further training. Went into that corner a little too fast? Don't grab a fist full of front brake mid bend. Counter steer and lean. Trust your bike. It's more skilled than you.

Yes sir! I'm a 90s child, so all the movies I watched growing up, it was all about the sport bike. I'm finally having my Tom Cruise moment haha.

After 12 months of happy ownership, I've px'd mySv650s for a GSX-R600 (K3). The sport bike is everything I'd hoped for and more. The noise. Overwhelming (especially with the Yoshi exhaust it came with,) but something I'll happily get used to. I've gone from 10 year old boys ogling and paying me compliments on the SV, to teenagers and grown men getting involved on the GSXR, and the police will be paying me more attention too, I'm sure. I'm taking a 'gently does it' approach. The opportunity for a big mess up is written all over this bike. The amount of power available is insane. I passed 10k revs a.k.a rocket mode, for the first time on the m26 this morning and felt myself slide back into the seat and the front of bike start lifting up. That's new... In 2018 I was spending hours on youtube watching Sport bike vlogs, dreaming of the day I would get to own one. 1 CBT, 1 cbf125, 1 DAS, 1 SV650s later and now here we are. What a journey. I feel like a kid right now.

A very good point! I think this was definitely a contributing factor. Low sun gives me problems when I'm driving my car.

My first motorcycle jacket was an Atem V jacket with a white/flou colour scheme. Purchased the trousers later, but still white/black colour scheme. This week, I've recently picked up a black Dainese codice controllo two-piece (that zips all the way around) as I'd like to do a track day and it's a requirement. Black leathers, basically. I've worn it today and suddenly people don't see me. First, a young boy crossing the road, didn't see me until I was slowing down and he was standing in the middle of the street. At least he stopped. Then, as I was zooming off from the lights, I gave it some welly as there was a white van up behind me. Two elderly people run into the road from behind a car, with their eyes down. "OH f**k!" I think, as I slam on the brakes. They continue running, with their eyes down, into my path of travel. I realise I'm not going to stop in time, and they definitely aren't stopping so I let go of the brakes and have to decide which way and time my swerve. "Whoa!" I hear the old man exclaim as I barely miss the two of them. ffs. THEN, literally 5 minutes later, as I was pulling myself together, doing a steady 20mph in a 30 now, a big, red, ROYAL MAIL van does a U-turn from the other side of the road and completely cuts into my lane. No Indication. Nothing. "Okay wtf... something is going on today." I thought to myself. This was all during day light. I won't even mention the driver who swerved into the bus lane (ffs). More emergency braking. I'm interested to hear if anyone else has experienced similar when it comes to wearing different coloured gear. Is this all a coincidence and I was just having a bad ride? Or Is it time to buy a white helmet?

No one seems to be in a rush to queue anymore now that it's £1.54 a litre.

Well, that's why self-service tills are there. For the lighter, nippier shopper with a basket. In-n-out. Much faster than a trolley and the normal checkout. For your analogy to work, forecourts would need to have dedicated fuel pumps just for bikes, which isn't actually a terrible idea as we need a lot less space to get the job done, and we wouldn't have to hold any cars/vans up. A couple of dedicated fuel pumps for bikes in a corner somewhere, inaccessible to cars. I'm salivating.

"Most friendly looking person at an unleaded pump." Good luck finding one of those in the SE at the moment!

Unfortunately, I think more and more people have developed this attitude, mostly out of frustration at watching the negative results unfolding due to decisions made by Incompetent people at the top. People who are continually voted in by the public. "We're all in this together." Yes we are, and it's not looking great. The forecourt situation very much feels like "Every man for himself." with all the jerry cans. The other day I read an article about an Ambulance driver getting abuse for cutting in. This is where we're at, people.

I definitely see your point. However, in the current state of filling up multiple jerry cans & queuing to top up £3.60. The act of cutting in to get to the other end of the forecourt where cars can't even get to registers quite low on the selfish meter. At least, this is what I'm telling myself to excuse bad behaviour.

I'll preface this post by saying on the 25th Sept, I got caught on the way home from work on red, had to queue for 1.5hrs at midnight and didn't get home until 2am. Fun. Now, the other day, I'm on my bike, and the forecourt man tells me to come back tomorrow morning at 7am. By 7am, there was a massive queue already, and I, coming from the opposite direction, turned right, slipped into the forecourt and joined one of the queues on the further side of the station. Basically, I didn't want to be stuck in the middle of the road and it all sort of worked out. Before I knew it, I was in and out. I love 2 wheels...I thought to myself. Yesterday, however, went differently. The big Tesco near me has been struggling with massive queues (SE area. Near a roundabout. Brighton Road. Major road into London, for those who don't know.) They've come up with a rather convoluted traffic management system where you have to go in, pass the petrol station, spin around in the car park, come back on yourself and join the queue. I found myself behind a guy on an R1 and thought I'd break the ice. me: "I don't see why they don't let US cut in. we'd be in and out before 1 car." R1 man: "It's not really polite, is it? We're all in the same boat." He's 100% correct. Except, I'm not on a boat, I'm on a bike. Let me cut in. Is filtering to the front of normal traffic any different? Surely, this is part of the privilege of being on 2 wheels, no? I don't think I'm more Important than anyone. I'm more than happy to queue when I'm in the comfort of my car, with a nice coffee and an audiobook going in one ear. Sitting in a queue on my bike feels silly. Thoughts?

Watch out for cars slamming their brakes on randomly. That's nearly got me twice in the last few weeks. Car driver slams brakes + momentary lapse of concentration = bad day. Stay frosty, folks.

Wow! Enjoy the missile torque.

Thanks for all the responses. Some answers to questions; 1. It was a back wobble, not front. 2. No filling station near the roundabout, but it is an incredibly busy roundabout just off the city centre. I definitely learned something and as someone else mentioned, as a newbie, I am very much trying to do all I can to stay on the bike whilst riding, so will always have questions and look for answers when things go awry.

I've been an SV650 owner since September '20, and have been riding it whenever the weather permitted (which hasn't been much.) Today was glorious and dry and I had to go into London to deliver something for work. Now, I don't know if it was the over excitement of a dry Saturday, my impatience to pass a car or both, but I went around the roundabout, quite fast, 30mph, leaned in, - coming out of the roundabout I applied the throttle (as usual) only this time the bike started wobbling like crazy for about 2 seconds, I saw my life flash before my eyes, gripped the handlebars for life and the bike, thankfully, sorted itself out. Has anyone here ever experienced something similar? If so, what caused the wobble? Was I too leaned in for the amount of throttle I gave? Was it possibly some slippery bit of the road? (this answer soothes my ego). I'm curious as to what caused the wobble as I do not want a repeat. Tyres - Battlax BT-023. Plenty of tread left in both.

Similar to the above post, I found it helpful to have a check list of things to tick off in my mind, so when the nerves kicked in, I simply - remembered my training. For example, U-turn was; shoulder check, move off, throttle, final shoulder check, turn this f@*^ing bike, look where I want to go, and stop. Clipping a cone and foot down sounds like you succumbing to test pressure, which is a symptom of your lack of confidence in your own ability, which suggests not enough practise. Do the U-turn 100 times before your next go. By the 30th, it won't be your nemesis anymore. By your 60th you'll be bored with it and know how to do it well. Really well. Come test day, you'll still have nerves but it'll be stored in your muscle memory and you'll be doing it for the 101th time Also, get good with your clutch control, use of back brake, setting the throttle. I feel like this is what mod1 is truly testing. Can you brake, swerve and control your bike at slow speeds using the clutch to feed the adequate power needed to keep the bike up. Good luck. The effort is worth it in the end.

Same here, I ended up going for an 05' SV650. Older bike, yet similar power and torque at a 1/3rd of the price of an MT-07.