Back to the original question, its very easy to loose confidence, but harder to gain it. I see you have two options. 1) The only way to improve it, is by practicing. This may indeed lead to another drop, which I'm guessing you really want to avoid. 2) try another bike. The streetfighter is a great machine and I very much doubt your 848 will give you anymore in the excitement department. The only place and I do mean only place where the 848 is better is when the fairing comes into its own, ie longer journeys or trackday. If you do little of either, the Streetfighter looks like a good bet IMO Hope that helps :Cigar:
A solid and well reasoned post, it's a pretty common problem that people find, I'm lucky that I am tall and even then I get paranoid about dropping the bike wheeling it around! I would think about an 848 sf or street triple etc, honestly you need that confidence back for concentrating on getting the enjoyment out of actually riding. What about a monster 1200? Really low seat hieght, and tons of grunt and all the toys. Or a monster 1100 evo.
Give yourself time on the bike before changing it! You were fine with it last year I expect, so this is just a case of getting back into the swing of things.
Don't ignore the Diavel as an option, as fast and agile as most sports bikes and just as fun. Talk to my girlfriend, she swapped an R6 for hers and she be riding it at Cartagena at the end of this week. Andy
Rich has lost confidence not shrunk! @Richie Rich. Were you OK on the bike last year? Saying you've lost confidence implies that you have been fine in the past. If so, a few rides on your own at a comfortable pace should help and you can build it back up from there. If you've never been confident on the 848, by all means a Street Fighter or Diavel might be worth a look.....I've not ridden the SF but the Diavel is a real eye opener. Definitely worth considering
Get yourself on a track day. DOn't have to go mental, but going around the same corners over and over, little faster, little further over each go....
It might just be that a sports bike doesn't work for you, perhaps you should try a couple of naked bikes, there are some nice alternatives out there.
I'm 5' 5" (and a bit) but don't find seat height to be a problem. One thing that seems to be important is to make sure the bike has come to a stop before putting my foot down (though can't imagine that's different for anyone with longer legs). Uneven surfaces that slope away are also a concern, but just something to be aware of and avoid, perhaps rely on the front brake more to hold the bike when that's the case, and slip off the seat a little left or right. Another thing I'm careful about is to make sure the front of the soles of my boots are grippy, as that's the bit I'm relying on, with a smaller contact area. I also get off the bike to manoeuvre - I couldn't push backwards on tip toes. In general, I really don't have to think about it. One thing I did when I got my first Monster 620, was to go to an empty car-park and practice coming to a stop, slow circles, and emergency stops. I pulled a leg muscle doing that as I got used to the dive when stopping, and put my leg down too early, but as there was no traffic around, and I was focused on practising this, I caught it and didn't drop the bike. That session really paid off when I went out on the road and had other things to contend with.
@Richie Rich If you were OK last year its just a case of getting back in the swing of it. You have to be relaxed and that comes from confidence so if you've got neither, you're going to struggle. I did a load of low speed training (circles on full lock, as slow as you can go and figures of 8) last year. There was a gulf between my first attempt and a few days later. Just find a nice quiet carpark at the weekend, stick your gloves down a few spaces apart and start using them as markers. Doesn't matter if you put your feet down and take your time. Balance the clutch and rear brake and you'll find the bike will come upright with more throttle if you feel its dropping. It's very counter intuitive at first but feels great when you get it right. Could you speak to a local training centre and see if they can give you some time? I'm sure its something they see pretty regularly so I'm sure they would be happy to help. The IAM or local Rospa group could be helpful too.
+1 on the IAM or ROSPA, they really helped me a few years back and used to dealing with folk from all walks of life and take things at a pace everyone comfortable with. Having recently come into the 848 fold, I can relate to low speed woes, the steering lock is not great and tends to trap the hands at anything approaching full lock. I'm 5ft 8 and 31 inside leg, I found that the best way to be comfortable at low speed is to plan ahead and slow things down i.e give myself more time. I also found myself using the back brake more on this bike at low speeds, coming up to lights, front of traffic queue's etc gave me a little more control than using the front brake which can cause dive. Hope things improve for you.
There are a zillion bikes you could have, and quite a few of those are Ducatis which are more manageable at low speeds than an 848. Why ruin some of the fun you could be having by sticking with a bike which in some ways is unsuitable? Sports Ducatis are difficult at low speeds, requiring careful use of balance, clutch and brake. But something like a Monster or Streetfighter is going to be easier because of the more upright riding position and the greater leverage at the bars. I can't see much point in persevering with a bike which you feel "ought" to be ideal for you when it probably isn't. Go and test ride something else and see how you get on. It'll be fun at any rate whether you change or not.
You haven't even dropped it yet! What are you worrying about?? I'm only 5'5" and I manage ok - in fact, I wouldn't dream of getting off the bike to move it round; any manoeuvring has to be done on board as I am too weedy to push it. Or I get Mr SC to do it I did nearly drop it once, down at the Borden firestation open day in front of everyone - but found to my delight I could hold the bike up even when it was getting scarily near the tipping point (not like those 748/998 whales). Mined ewe, although I don't have an issue with feet down, I still have to be verrry careful shuffling backwards on gravel, especially when turning, as a little slip here is ... well, quite terrifying... Try not to tense up when slow speed manoeuvring as this seems to exacerbate the problems - keep it nice & relaxed. God, those smilies are truly grotesque! *bleurgh..*
As soon as my phone pinged and i saw this thread had an update. I knew immediately who it would be from before even looking lol.
