How did you get to your skill level

little1uk said:

Was lucky to start Motocross at the age of 7 and carried on till i was 18, obviously learnt bike control from that, had a few old road bikes we used to take down the brickyards after school and weekends so learnt how to ride on tarmac from that, at 16 started on 50cc roadbike then 125 at 17 etc, so all in all ive been riding for about 34years, fcuk im old, had a few spills in my time which taught me to be a better rider although i dont think you ever stop learning, every rides another lesson, there will always be better riders than me and as i meet them i always try to learn something new by watching whilst riding with them, Obviously the more you ride your bike the more confidence you gain with it, the mille just gave me confidence the second i slung my leg over to ride it home, just felt right, had the biggest grin the whole of the 127mile journey home, well thats the shortened version of my biking career mate :thumbup:thumbup

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..........so you're a bit rubbish then :uhoh..............

seriously, I bet it's take me the 34 years to learn all you know :thumbup

As many on here, I started out on the crossers, racing for 10+ years.
Not sure how much it helps me on the road as I still **** myself in right handers,, left handers not too much of a problem, but get me part way into a right and all confidence goes out of the window. I seem to get in too fast and end up easing off, sitting up and pootling round cursing and swearing at myself.
Still gelling with the millie after only 5 rides out, but fingers crossed it will help me with my confidence issues. Interesting to read how some think there is a problem when there really isn`t! I hear and feel this all the bloody time. Couple of days ago, I thought I had a flat spot on the left hand side of my front as it felt like the bars were almost bouncing all the way round a 50mph long left. Shat my pants! Pulled over, checked everyting out, nothing wrong at all. jumped back on and rode home. Never felt it again.
Definatly doing a haslam track day this year,, need to ride out with some ` of similar ability` riders too.
All that said, I still ride as fast as I feel confident,, don`t care wether people have to wait for me, or call me for riding like a grandma. I ride out, and fingers crossed, will always ride home.
Good post,, looking forward to reading all the replies.

Ride safe.

Renevator said:

I asked this very same question on the VFR site I subscribe to, and was interested to find out the same from you guys.

I'd be especially interested in opinions from those that feel in control almost 100% of the time, however fast/slow they ride, in whatever conditions.

Cheers

Rene

Oh, and just to add another element, how has your Aprilia helped if at all. It's easy to think a brilliant bike will help our riding, and it's true that a good handling and balanced bike can give us more confidence, and therefore more time & energy to channel into our riding, but has your RSVR, Tuono, or whatever really helped ??

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Hi Rene,

I used to ride fast and arrive home usually having had several near misses. I didn't know what I could have done to avoid putting myself in that position. So, before I killed myself I joined an IAM group, (fortunately one that didn't care about speed limits out of town). They turned me from a conciously incompetent rider to an unconcious competent. I feel safe all the time I'm riding, whatever speed and I cannot remember the last time I had to do an emergency stop. And, I haven't slowed down in any way!

As for did my Aprilia (Tuono) help - on reflection I think it does. It will do anything I ask of it so it instills great confidence in me. I know I can never exceed it's capabilities.

My first ride on a bike on my own was a triumph bonnie field bike and i nearly snapped my leg off trying to start it.. well i was only 12 , but after that i never looked back and had many field bikes after that and the one that brings back fond memories was a DT 250 :inlove Learnt a lot of skills off roading before i eventually passed my test and it was 2 strokes all the way from a 50 to a 350 for years .
You learn much more by following a competant rider but having a no fear attitude helps and ive gotten into a few near bin it situations years ago by trying to keep up with faster better riders.. one occaision was a hairpin and trying to turn the bike while being sat upright cos i went into the bend too fast and at the wrong speed and angle but you soon learn to master the skill with practice . THEN again how much handling could you get from a cb250 n :roll:roll Better brakes chassis and tyres nowadays make it far more easier to build confidence so you young uns have got it easy :thumbup

The mille has given all that i need and more... great looking bike that handles superb , comfy and that awsome v twin sound just cant be beaten !!