SeaCat
Hey, my Halo is smoking
- Joined
- Sep 23, 2003
- Posts
- 15,378
Took the bike out again today. I was dodging rain storms but that just meant the roads were fairly clear. When I climbed on the bike the roads were dry.
I headed off. The ride I planned was all of 20 miles. A quick and easy ride with no challenges.
I was heading north again on a main road whe I saw the tail lights coming on. Looking even further ahead I can see the flashing lights of both a police car and an Ambulance. Shit, that means an accident. As I start slowing I look around and see a road heading East. I shift lanes and find myslef behind a car. I slow a bit more in preperation for the turn when something gets kicked off the car ahead of me. It hits me and I flinch, in doing so I push the right hand bar and the bike dives to the right. Holy Shit! I near shit my drawers but I recover and keep going even as I think about what happened.
Now in the MSF Course they talked about counter stearing but it's hard to play with at 20 MPH. That's what had happened here. When I got hit in the right hand I had pushed with that hand and the bike dived into the turn. This at 40 MPH.
Looking ahead of me I see another road on the right and set myself up. I check my mirrors and traffic. I picture the line I want and when I hit that line I push on the right hand bar. Whoa Nelly, the damned bike dove into that turn so sharp I had to pull it up a bit. Christo but that works quick, nothing like shifting your weight on the bike and leaning it. I start playing with this. I find a turn and push. The bike leanes into the turn without effort. I'm turning tighter than I have before and with a lot more control. Oh this is an absolute blast and I have absolute control of the bike. It's going where I want it to without a wobble or a Bobble.
My 20 mile ride turned into a 50 mile ride. By the end of it I'm smiling like a damned fool and making my bike go where I want it to without thought.
I get back onto the main road heading for my Park. I'm cranking along at 50 MPH. A car jumps out from the left, he pulls through several lanes and ends up in front of me. I don't think, I push the left bar then the right dodging him without effort. The bike skips to the side roughly ten feet with a chirping of the tires. Oh this is why I love riding and now I know the secret. I know the secret of making the bike do what I want it to do.
I come up on the turn off into my Park and slow down a bit. I hit the blinkers and tap the brakes to let those behind me know I was going to be slowing down. I came up on the turn off and pushed the right bar. I feel the bike lean beneath me as the tires grip the pavement and the bike turns to the right. I blip the throttle a bit, just a bit and power through the turn. I straighten up and grab the bakes to stop for the sign. I look down and the stop line is about six inches from my front tire and I'm stopped. I just went from 45 MPH into a turn and then into a stop without a bobble. I look left and right then ease out the clutch. Off I go again even as I feel the engine hesitate. I don't think about it, I reach down and flip the fuel switch to reserve. I pull into my place with a mile on my face. Oh what an absolute blast.
Cat
I headed off. The ride I planned was all of 20 miles. A quick and easy ride with no challenges.
I was heading north again on a main road whe I saw the tail lights coming on. Looking even further ahead I can see the flashing lights of both a police car and an Ambulance. Shit, that means an accident. As I start slowing I look around and see a road heading East. I shift lanes and find myslef behind a car. I slow a bit more in preperation for the turn when something gets kicked off the car ahead of me. It hits me and I flinch, in doing so I push the right hand bar and the bike dives to the right. Holy Shit! I near shit my drawers but I recover and keep going even as I think about what happened.
Now in the MSF Course they talked about counter stearing but it's hard to play with at 20 MPH. That's what had happened here. When I got hit in the right hand I had pushed with that hand and the bike dived into the turn. This at 40 MPH.
Looking ahead of me I see another road on the right and set myself up. I check my mirrors and traffic. I picture the line I want and when I hit that line I push on the right hand bar. Whoa Nelly, the damned bike dove into that turn so sharp I had to pull it up a bit. Christo but that works quick, nothing like shifting your weight on the bike and leaning it. I start playing with this. I find a turn and push. The bike leanes into the turn without effort. I'm turning tighter than I have before and with a lot more control. Oh this is an absolute blast and I have absolute control of the bike. It's going where I want it to without a wobble or a Bobble.
My 20 mile ride turned into a 50 mile ride. By the end of it I'm smiling like a damned fool and making my bike go where I want it to without thought.
I get back onto the main road heading for my Park. I'm cranking along at 50 MPH. A car jumps out from the left, he pulls through several lanes and ends up in front of me. I don't think, I push the left bar then the right dodging him without effort. The bike skips to the side roughly ten feet with a chirping of the tires. Oh this is why I love riding and now I know the secret. I know the secret of making the bike do what I want it to do.
I come up on the turn off into my Park and slow down a bit. I hit the blinkers and tap the brakes to let those behind me know I was going to be slowing down. I came up on the turn off and pushed the right bar. I feel the bike lean beneath me as the tires grip the pavement and the bike turns to the right. I blip the throttle a bit, just a bit and power through the turn. I straighten up and grab the bakes to stop for the sign. I look down and the stop line is about six inches from my front tire and I'm stopped. I just went from 45 MPH into a turn and then into a stop without a bobble. I look left and right then ease out the clutch. Off I go again even as I feel the engine hesitate. I don't think about it, I reach down and flip the fuel switch to reserve. I pull into my place with a mile on my face. Oh what an absolute blast.
Cat
