Son of the Mad Dog; Three Sisters Advice

Welcome from South Australia

warp9.9 said:

I don't ride fast thats unsafe and makes my face hurt

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Lol

Welcome from Christchurch New Zealand.

As others have said ride at your own pace.

@Tal and I went for a ride a few weeks back with Tal's mate Steve who had just bought a Triumph Storm had been a sports bike rider.

Well I went flying down the road and around corners at a good speed and not touching the brakes after about 5 miles Steve was along way back so I slowed down and Tal went off like a cut cat down the road. I kept the gap to Steve at about ¼ mile and a slower speed.

We regrouped and cruised back to Steve's turn off and stopped for a chat.

Steve could not believe how fast we went through the corners on such big bikes staying in our lanes and how not much braking was done by both of us.

He's was very surprised going into the first couple of corners how much speed we carried into and out of them as he realized he was not able to carry that much speed and resulted in him riding at his own pace.

So be very careful following experienced rides into corners and curves they will make it look easy and the Rocket is a heavy beast and needs to respected at all times.

Enjoy your new to you bike and enjoy riding.
The only way to learn is to spend time riding the more the better.

And never let anyone push you to faster than you feel confident doing.

Better to arrive ten minutes behind everyone else than not arrive at all.

phar2slo said:

and Tal went off like a cut cat down the road

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..no i didnt!!!...you'll give me a bad reputation Mr Fartooslow!

Welcome son, proud to have you and your brother here. There is a lot of good advice given above in relatively few words, I know you’ve heard a lot of it before, here it is from another source, probly a good reason it’s being repeated to you. My advice is reread, absorb and use all of it. They are telling you what you need to know. Thanks for taking the time everyone.

@UnicornRider ,Will, you too buddy, you’ve developed skills at surprising rate, I’m proud of you. But, you’re not bulletproof, all it takes is one mistake. You’re the one that likes living on the edge, take what they’re telling your brother to heart, keep it turned down a notch like you have been and you will be fine.

Mad Dog said:

Welcome son, proud to have you and your brother here. There is a lot of good advice given above in relatively few words, I know you’ve heard a lot of it before, here it is from another source, probly a good reason it’s being repeated to you. My advice is reread, absorb and use all of it. They are telling you what you need to know. Thanks for taking the time everyone.

@UnicornRider ,Will, you too buddy, you’ve developed skills at surprising rate, I’m proud of you. But, you’re not bulletproof, all it takes is one mistake. You’re the one that likes living on the edge, take what they’re telling your brother to heart, keep it turned down a notch like you have been and you will be fine.

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Im sure they will turn out to be great riders, maybe even better than you, ask @1olbull the story of Neida, my daughter

For me, the slowest Rocket Rider that has ever been, the most difficult part was the slow speed throttle control. Determining when to apply gas at the end of a turn is difficult to dial in these big powerful bikes. The other issue for me is when people say, "look where you want to go and that's where you will go". The thing is that I focus on the side lines of the lane and that is not a good technique. I have been working if looking at the center of the lane and staying there.

If you are approaching a left side turn stay on the right of the center for as far as you can then decisively lean to the left aiming for the center of the lane until the road is straight enough to apply gas again. Learning to ride through the turns with the gas ON to maintain velocity through the turn, for me, has been very tough to learn and do. Controlling the throttle in the turns on these big bikes is difficult. My bike had problems with the throttle bodies that now are almost corrected. Sometimes I actually keep the throttle ON while rear brake is applied to control the turn.

Now let's say, making a right turn where you can't see in front of you is very scary for me. This is where having a leading rider is of most value. On the R3 I have about 20k miles in three years which is not much. Following The Pack; Eric, Dr. D, Jay, Dave, Scott, Fred and Melissa, Anthony or any coach has been of the great value to me. I was a Harley Sportster freeway biker and I can deal with the freeway OK. The twisties are like acrobatics. Anyone can fly straight and level in smooth air. Learning to keep up with The Pack in the twisties is another story.

Slow over uneven road or rocks . Keep the front tire straight. Get engine guards and, if you have to, just put the bike down. Nothing will happen to it. Just get yourself and your legs out of the way. We all have had had to lay our's down at some time.

Watching GoPro videos of good riders is of great help to wire your brain into the where should you be skills.

Different people have different levels of inherent skill. They are natural riders. I have little so I have had to work hard to learn and keep up. Your youth and strength are a great advantage. Your Dad and Brother as ridding buddies... Priceless! See'ya in Leakey. You and you brother will go back home better riders.

I think @Boog had the best advice with the suggestion of parking lot maneuvers, I can say without a doubt that the million stupid circles and months of putting around the lot helped, and especially since the last 2 wheels you were on (that I know of) were a 200lb moped. From my understanding rockets are hard to handle at low speed and that's where you NEED control. I'm certain that the temptation to hit the road and spend a day getting highway therapy is there, but you NEED to know your bike first. Call it constructive criticism but, I feel that you'd be the type to lock up and jam the brakes in an emergency and you DO NOT have abs. That can get dangerous and we all know that's my Forte. Get to know your bike. Practice practice practice.

mexican said:

Im sure they will turn out to be great riders, maybe even better than you, ask @1olbull the story of Neida, my daughter

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@mexican is your daughter the one in the pictures? She's cute, is she coming to Leakey?

Welcome from the big city of Henryetta Oklahoma. Simple JUST RIDE AND ENJOY. There is going to always be one faster and possibly one slower than yourself. Ain't worth worry about.