corvius
New Member
A little intro and then onto the story: I started 2 years ago on a ninja 250 after taking the MSF course. I always have and still do wear ATGATT. About 5 months ago I sold the Ninja and bought a Ninja 500. Got bored with the power and very recently became the owner of an '07 FZ6. I wanted a sport-y-ish bike with fairing, FI, and an upright position so I could commute.
I went out tonight to work on some skills, cornering and clutchless upshifts and braking. The whole ride I felt like the bike was bouncing around and I was the worst rider in history. I have watched tons of youtube videos and read rideapart articles all the time...and so I have a basic understanding of what I should be doing. I'm not usually the slow poke when I ride in a group and I thought at least some of my technique was passable. But tonight......my god..I just felt like the bike and I were boyfriend/girlfriend and we were in the middle of a bad argument. She was bouncing in turns and I was really jerky getting it to lean over... I felt like the cheek off/kissing the inside mirror was not a natural position on this bike.
I did manage to scrape the pegs for the first time on this bike, and it scared me when it happened, but I still have no clue how you could lean a bike far enough to get your knee down...I look down and my knee seems miles away from the road even in the hardest turns I can make. (and yes, I know getting your knee down is not the epitome of good form, but for me it's not even an option).
It got me thinking that getting this bike was not the right decision - that I should have stuck with the ninja 250 until I was proficient at trail braking and cornering (at least). I guess I'm looking for reassurance that this bike isn't going to drop me on my ass. Or maybe someone might tell me to get a smaller bike and "start over" and do some track days and get some coaching.
I went out tonight to work on some skills, cornering and clutchless upshifts and braking. The whole ride I felt like the bike was bouncing around and I was the worst rider in history. I have watched tons of youtube videos and read rideapart articles all the time...and so I have a basic understanding of what I should be doing. I'm not usually the slow poke when I ride in a group and I thought at least some of my technique was passable. But tonight......my god..I just felt like the bike and I were boyfriend/girlfriend and we were in the middle of a bad argument. She was bouncing in turns and I was really jerky getting it to lean over... I felt like the cheek off/kissing the inside mirror was not a natural position on this bike.
I did manage to scrape the pegs for the first time on this bike, and it scared me when it happened, but I still have no clue how you could lean a bike far enough to get your knee down...I look down and my knee seems miles away from the road even in the hardest turns I can make. (and yes, I know getting your knee down is not the epitome of good form, but for me it's not even an option).
It got me thinking that getting this bike was not the right decision - that I should have stuck with the ninja 250 until I was proficient at trail braking and cornering (at least). I guess I'm looking for reassurance that this bike isn't going to drop me on my ass. Or maybe someone might tell me to get a smaller bike and "start over" and do some track days and get some coaching.