Thoughts on How to Ride the Twisties

[Tumbler]

I like to take my cruiser thru these turns sometimes and try to hold my imaginary 1/3 of the lane, trying not to cross that line.  It makes it fun and also makes easier turns to be fairly difficult.

"I will ad this.........if you are using more than your lane or knowingly riding faster than you normally would-you clearly are riding too fast in order to "stay with" the group.... You need to be able to and willing to reign yourself in and slow down." by Lloyd

I'm just catching up on this thread but agree with a lot of what others have to say.

Pertaining to what I've quoted above....I have a cruiser also & do enjoy the differences in how I have to change my riding style on the same road depending on the bike I'm on.

Several times I've put a couple hundred or more miles on one bike then switched to the other & done the same thing in the same day.  Man is that an eye opener...especially if some of the same roads are incorporated!!

I agree with what Lloyd said.  That is a great way to point out that you are riding above where you should be.
I know I've been guilty of this in the past...especially my first couple of seasons riding with people from forums & in large groups.

I still remember one ride that I crashed on & thinking that just before the crash I had the flash thought that the two riders behind me were ass packing me so I should either let them go by or let someone else lead.

The problem was I was the group leader & had the route so they wouldn't know where to go next.  Of course hind sight is always 20/20 & if I had it to do over again I would have handed the lead off.  I also don't ride with those two people anymore or people like them.

Bottom line I learned a hard lesson & have scaled back my street riding over the past couple seasons.  If some think that makes me slow then so be it.  I want to ride safe & have fun.

This is a reason why I like to either be the one leading the ride or ensure I have a route sheet so I don't have to try to play keep up or have people wait for me.

This is also a big reason why MSTA is my main forum of choice to post rides.  I may post some on other forums but it's most likely just to reach some people that I know aren't on here but are good to ride with.

[Deplorable, thank you!]

"How did you find yourself riding with that group, Lloyd?"

I would get calls, texts, emails and stop bys nearly daily all summer long from customers. All of them asking me to go ride with them, or am I riding.

For a couple years I tried to get out and socialize and build some sort of repor with these guys as much as I could. (may sound terrible, but...) mostly in the hope and expectation of cultivating more business and a more steady repeat customer base. but I soon realized that the majority of these people had no money for their bikes (spent it all on parties and boozing it up) and did no maintenance whatsoever only hodge podge temporary repairs. They also barely rode there bikes-most rode less than 4-5000 miles a year, so I quit riding so much with these jokers--especially after seeing how the vast majority of them ride like idiots.

Oh sure I still do far too rides with my customers who ride like idiots, but the majority now know what I will tolerate and won't when I go out and chauffeur them around. A few even learned valuable lessons on how to go in the woods and search for your ignition key, or how long it takes to empty the ice cube machine at the gas station so it is light enough to move to retrieve said key from behind/under it- when you are a total dumbass like some of them are. Needless to say those people are on my do not ride with list---probably a mutual feeling no doubt. I do not get so many calls/texts/emails/stop by invitations anymore.....LOL

 I once too was a short term member of "those" forums and saw first hand every ride was short--with many starts and stops and generally only rode on the same road at triple digit speeds and then slower than slow through anything but WOT sweepers--by the leadership of those 'clubs". Not to mention nearly every ride at the time had multiple bike crashes from following too close, too much speed for their skill level, too much ego and testorone, too worn out tires (it was an excuse many used), being far too underskilled, not knowing how to actually turn/lean/stop/be smooth, trying to play "catch up" because the leaders always had to run triple digits and many (far smarter in that respect but not smart enough to read a corner apparently) riders were not willing to run triple digits and would be left etc......Well you get the point....They had absolutely no business riding a motorcycle--and many still don't.... Crashing was a right of passage and they routinely bragged about crashes and the more they had and walked away from the more invincible they acted. Of course a crash was always "not my fault" there was sand, a car, a shadow, a transmission problem etc...always an excuse to shuck blame
 Yes of course there were a few people who could ride better, and no doubt there are members of those forums today who can ride, but the leaderships only purpose was to show/prove/brag how they are the best and how "fast" they can go (and as best I can tell, still is for the most part--well besides padding their ego-- they are padding their pocketbook).
 Only difference I see now is (besides they actually wear better gear) that part of that "proving" is them touching a knee down because that is what the racers do....So that must be the right way, the cool way, the best way to navigate a turn. And since many have done a "trackday" they now are all experts at everything riding and have nothing to learn....

[carlson_mn]

LOL "a shadow".  It is kinda funny the guys who will hang off as far as they can to touch a knee pad even though the bike is nearly vertical still, with plenty of reserve lean angle left.

[flyinlow]

When we were riding in NC last fall we stayed in the 65-70mph range. Much more fun when entering a twisty section to ride the pace, no demon braking, no whacking the throttle. With the twisty roads down there its so much fun just to have a good pace and ride smoothly from corner to corner, of which there are a billion.