I agree on track day I'm not the best at cornering and lack confidence on really tight bends but when I did Pembrey I was amazed at how if positioned properly I could do the hairpin after the start straight My bike can do far more than I thought it could The guy on the VFR has probably been riding it for years your only just starting in yours
@oneball: yeah, it was an eye opener seeing those other guys leaning it over. But I'm really not leaning all that much just trying to feel the bike out. I am very cautious. I will do what you suggest though and not worry about lean angle. I think my two main problems are steering too early and not looking far enough ahead. @abmatt: Still do. I love that mid range power, as was said a few times. Opened up the 848 today, its like a rocket but I'm not a fan of screaming the tits of a bike (or car for that matter). @El Toro: deffo. Until today I thought I was going pretty quick! Got a LOT to learn, about myself as much as riding. @Ducbird: I'll definitely wait until the track before I try pushing it again. Concentrate on the basics on the road, I don't want to be a man down either!
You dont need trackdays to learn and improve. If you haven't got any fastish mates who know what they are doing and willing to show you the ropes, get along to IAM or Bikesafe or other group and get some training. You can get books etc and teach yourself too, some vey simple things which make a huge difference, but make sure you are comfy on the bike first and foremost and tight body = non relaxed ride and not fun
It's good to ride with people who can give you feed back and positive comments that in it's self can make you feel more confident I spend far too much time analysing so I'm making a point of just riding when I'm back on the road and will do a bike safe Twist of the wrist is a good book to read. I still say a track day for me was a good way of finding how grounded my bike was and gave me more confidence Funnily I could not for love or money do a U turn but could ride around a mini roundabout and found roundabouts ok but twistie gulp uh uh
Still think the guy would be better spending money on road craft tuition than going round in circles on track
It's only for one day bradders I really enjoyed mine I may do another Road craft is good too Variants are good as is anything that may inspire good things
Will be booking a bikesafe - everyone says they're worth it. I read twist of the wrist when I started riding, great book I learned loads (counter steering for example). I'm the reverse, twisties I'm good with though I doubt I'm very fast, roundabouts not so much. I agree that you don't need a track day to improve but I want a track day to know how much lean the bike and I can do. My fear is losing traction and that makes me tense. Information is king.