| Author | Message | ||
     5liter |
Tar snakes that is. They just put a ton of them on a road I ride on quite a bit. A lot of them are parallel to the lane but most are at a 90 degree angle. Fresh ones are the worst and these are all fresh! | ||
| Thumper74 |
Hello fellow northern Ohioan! I'm in Elyria and they've been resealing the roads here. The rough parts are when they use sand to keep the tar from sticking on tires. Slippery stuff! | ||
| Simple |
i live in a town of about 10,000 people. they just rocked (CA6, white chalky rock) all of the roads in town, accept the 3-4 main drags! what a major pain the a$$!!! everything is covered in white dust now and it makes turning corners on the 2 wheeler very interesting, all the really loose rock builds up in the corners of the turns. not to mention its wonderful for the life of the tires  | ||
| Tramp |
All of these conditions will improve you as a rider. Learn to get lighter on your controls, and to unweight from your seat, occasionally, and to use less front brake to initiate decel on loose stone. Those tar snakes will help you to find and maintain your balance point. Use them as a tool to further your development as a rider. | ||
| Jaimec |
After my first C.L.A.S.S. session at Watkins Glen many years ago, I learned that tar snakes aren't the end of life as we know it. By the end of the day the tar snake right at my apex point became real "ho hum." As Reg Pridmore stated way back then (and Tramp paraphrased above)... loosen up on the bars, don't tense up. The bike will wiggle and it feels disconcerting... but once your tires slide the inch or so over the tar snake they'll bite right back into the asphalt on the other side. I still don't feel completely comfortable on the stuff (and I WILL slow my pace if there are a lot of 'em), but I no longer find myself fixating on them. Just keep looking far ahead on your path of travel, relax, and let the bike do what it was designed to do. | ||
| Rde48 |
Hey Jaimec, What is the C.L.A.S.S? Do they run any track days at Watkins Glen.? It would be sweet if Buell could get an Inside Pass date there. | ||
| Tramp |
"As Reg Pridmore stated way back then (and Tramp paraphrased above)... loosen up on the bars, don't tense up. " Thanks, James. you know your shizzle.} | ||
| Jaimec |
Rde48: http://www.classrides.com Unfortunately, it's been a few years since they've come to the Eastern Seaboard. I believe Keith Code's California Superbike School still has sessions at the Glen, though. Having done both, I think I got a lot more out of Keith Code's curriculum than I did out of Pridmore's but they're both fun and I've known people who've felt they got more out of Pridmore. YMMV. | ||
| Tramp |
Probably more than 90 % of non-professional sport motorcyclists are too heavy on the controls | ||
| Jaimec |
Tramp, if what you say is true, then for that 90% I'd recommend Pridmore. He stresses SMOOTH operation of controls. The spookiest sensation I ever had was riding on the back of Pridmore's bike around the Glen. If you close your eyes, you NEVER know when he is braking, accelerating, or shifting. It feels like he's doing one constant high speed throughout the entire lap. If you open your eyes to watch, you CLEARLY see him applying the brakes, using the clutch, rolling the throttle off and on and you can see the tach needle sweeping back and forth, but you can't FEEL the transitions. Amazing display of skill. I do my best to emulate that, especially when I have my girlfriend on the back. She has back and neck problems, so the smoother I can ride, the more comfortable she is. I've had other people on the back who've commented how much more smoothly I control the bike than the person they normally ride with... but I'm nowhere NEAR "The Master." | ||
| Tramp |
flying and airplane, playing the violin, operating a sportbike, and throttling an alpine snowboard through a GS course all entail, for success, smoothness and light touch. to this I can attest. | ||
| Beachbuell |
I remember when I lived up in RI. Man those strips of sealant on the roadways is like hitting a patch of ice. I can think back to a few times where I hit one while leaned over in a turn. She got a little sideways and a fish tail going on. That'll pucker you for a minute. | ||
| Greenlantern |
Going light on the bars is a constant struggle for most motorcyclists. The inherent mental block that the bars are also a source of support besides being an input device will get many a knuckle whitening. I still catch myself "clamping" here and there. I like the motto "handle her like a Egg". Keeps me light in the seat and on the bars. ( Most of the time anyway.  ) | ||
| Josh_ |
I high-sided a Harley due to a tar snake back before I went to CLASS (and Code, and Parks and Carr). Reg didn't leave California last year, but did hit VIR this year. You get a lot out of Pridmore if you grab an instructor everytime you go out. Otherwise, if you're not riding like an idiot they leave you alone. | ||
| Jaimec |
Keith Code documents three "Survival Reflex Actions" that will get you in trouble EVERY time. He said you could probably do an entire three day course on just those three actions alone. Whenever a motorcyclist gets into a "tight" situation he is likely to do three things, and all three things will more than likely take a bad situation and make it WORSE: 1) Tighten up on the bars 2) Roll off the throttle 3) Look straight ahead Once you've beaten your body's natural instinct to want to do those three things, you're better off. | ||
| Josh_ |
2) Roll off the throttle Remember, when in doubt - Gas it! It may not fix the problem, but it ends the suspense.  | ||
| Tm74 |
I think the easiest way to counter those 3 things is to ride on loose and rough surfaces. You don't have to ride offroad. Riding on loose gravel and really really rough neglected pavement(or hard pack) will do the trick. Hard pack gravel with ruts works too. You'll be able to start out slow then progressively get faster as you feel comfortable. You'll also be able to play around with throttle inputs on the loose stuff and see the bikes reaction. All this translates to the street and will reduce those pucker moments that cause you to freak out. | ||
| Tramp |
ALL riders will benefit from learning to ride standing slightly, on the pegs, off the seat, hands-free, where conditions warrant doing so, safely. No exercise will get you more centered, relaxed and balanced than this. Obviously, it will decrease your need to support yourself with the bars, and teach you to initiate your turns by rolling your feet, then your knees, into the scoot. | ||
| Jaimec |
When my buddy taught me how to ride back when I got my first motorcycle in 1982, he did it by taking me on every dirt trail he could find. I remember clearly asking him why we're riding so many dirt trails since I have a STREET motorcycle (it was a 1982 Yamaha XJ550RJ SECA). His response was the reason he was doing this was to make my motorcycle slide and weave underneath me. Naturally, my response is "WTF are you doing THAT for??" And he calmly replied "so that when it happens on the street, you won't freak out." Very valuable lesson. I just didn't appreciate it at the time. | ||
| Tramp |
The lesson most riders, today, really need, is to work on their concentrics, and let go of much of their eccentrics, esp. in regard to knee positioning. | ||
| Tramp |
I was out in the field, last week, and when I got home, Holly had shot these pics of this curious fellow on the driveway.... I was surprised she didn't bag him for me, until i could get back to take measurements.  The Jake in Fayettville was friendly, in the '80s  stop looking at my nipple.... (Message edited by tramp on August 13, 2008) |
