Riding question

[Absolute Rescue]

I was able to get out and ride for a couple of hours yesterday. My buddy took me out to a road I've never ridden on nor have been on in a car. Rt218 along the Hudson river from Cornwall on Hudson to West Point for anyone who knows the area. He had been on the road a bunch of times and rode ahead. I stupidly tried to keep pace. I hit one corner and underesimated its length and ended up drifting onto the yellow lines . I ended up just rolling off the throttle and took the rest of the turn slower but it didn't feel like the right thing to do. Is there something else I should have done? Thanks for the advice in advance. And I will definatly ride smarter before getting into a situation with that again, that was the scariest thing to happen to me on the bike yet.

The Road...

[Chuck]

If I understand your situation, you lost confidence in the turn and went wide?

The solution takes all the willpower you can muster.  Keep it steady on the throttle and lean harder.

[scratch]

You already understand that you should not keep pace with an experienced rider that is on a road you don't know.  One rule of thumb is that if you cannot brake within the distance of your sight around a corner, you're going too fast.
2nd - If you haven't crashed you can still make the turn.  Keep on the throttle, look where you want to go, lean more, swing your knee out, lower/move your upperbody to the inside, smoothly, so as not to upset the motorcycle.
3rd - when on an unfamiliar road, stick to the speed limit.

[xtalman]

Rolling off the throttle in mid turn is not a good idea.  When I was a newbie I practiced skidpad exercises (circles).  I was fine turning as long as I was under power,  but the instant I rolled off the throttle, down I went. 

[Dwn4whadever]

If I understand your situation, you lost confidence in the turn and went wide?

The solution takes all the willpower you can muster.  Keep it steady on the throttle and lean harder.

That is a hard thing to do. But you learn that with experience. First time something like that happen to me i was riding through my neighborhood and i was going into a turn and i was going to fast and i got scared so the noobly thing to do was stand the bike up and thats what i did. Stood it up and hit the brakes, and off into the grass i went. nothing happen to the bike but i did dmamage my pride. But it was all a learning experience. 

[Absolute Rescue]

Thanks for the advice guys, I'll definatly take it easier next time I'm on a new road.

[ambisinister]

steady o n the throttle and increase your lean, abrupt throttle changes at high lean can cause the rear tire to lose grip because of the smaller contact patch

[ajgs500]

The first time I rode some twisties I rode with some very experienced friends.  They would ride ahead at their pace and I followed behind at mine.  Periodically they would stop at wait for me to catch up..... it worked very well and no one out rode their ability!!!!! 

[roguegeek]

Keep on the throttle, look where you want to go, lean more, swing your knee out, lower/move your upperbody to the inside, smoothly, so as not to upset the motorcycle.

Which begs the GS specific question... How far will a stock GS lean before it begins to give? This is actually something I've been trying to find the limit of for a while now with some success, but I feel like there's more there I haven't yet found. I'm sure there's no specific answer, but feedback would definitely help right now.

[secondgen7]

Which begs the GS specific question... How far will a stock GS lean before it begins to give? This is actually something I've been trying to find the limit of for a while now with some success, but I feel like there's more there I haven't yet found. I'm sure there's no specific answer, but feedback would definitely help right now.

You'll be dragging hard parts before the GS runs out of grip.  Just watch out for the centerstand.  The pegs will give when they touch down but the centerstand will not.  My biggest 'pucker moment' came when I caught the edge of the centerstand and it lifted the rear wheel mid-corner.  Not fun.

[scratch]

If the bike isn't sliding on it's side (crashed), you can keep going.  Numbers?: >50degrees from verticle.

[che mike]

Rolling off the throttle in mid turn is not a good idea.  When I was a newbie I practiced skidpad exercises (circles).  I was fine turning as long as I was under power,  but the instant I rolled off the throttle, down I went. 

i'm a newbie now and i started doing skidpad exercises. what a difference it makes, even for just a half hour of them! i think the standard advice for the proper reaction to finding yourself in a tighter-than-expected corner is, like they said, roll on throttle and put pressure on the inside handgrip to lean the bike further. the skidpad excersises give an idea of how far you can push this so when faced with this situation you don't panic. they're good to do in the wet, too, to get used to the reduced traction. just wear your gear ....

[My Name Is Dave]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't it best for the newer rider to lead, especially on a road that they've never been on? Then he/she can ride at their own pace and now feel as if they need to rush to stay with the experienced rider. Even if the experienced rider doesn't mean to, he may accidentally ride faster than the newb is ready to, which could create a problem.

I suppose you could make a case for how the newb being in front could be bad too because he feels like he's "holding up" the following riders and thus goes faster, but I've heard that newbs should lead.

[che mike]

i think newbs should lead for general group riding, as on the highway. in the twisties, it's better to do as ajgs500 said and let the experienced riders go first, and get far enough ahead of you that you can't see their taillights. ride your own ride.

[Onlypastrana199]

AJ knows this but I'm anal about riding with new riders. I worry...alot...and its more fun for me to take it easy and be able to keep an eye on them instead of waiting 10-15 minutes before I know something is wrong and then double back. I don't get antsy,  I wouldn't be having any more fun out riding them because I'd constantly be concerned about what they were doing. I tend to put an experienced rider in the front (if you pick a harley guy they don't usually go to fast for noobs cause theyre slow anyway) and then the noobs and then myself. Otherwise I just let noobs lead. Its fun to whip around the twisties but Id like to keep my friends and ride another day with them.

[scratch]

I think it depends on knowing the newb, and communicating what is, or is not, expected of them during a ride.  If you are going to tell them they are going to be in front, you need to let them know to ride their own ride, don't worry about us behind, we are not going to want to go faster as we are going to be watching/critiquing you/ we can stop faster than you can/we can protect you from behind/keep tailgaters away/if we do pass you, we will do it safely, on a long straight, and give you lots of room; and it will be because: I want to signal something to you/I want you to follow me/I want to show you my lines/I want to slow you down because there is a really dangerous section coming up ahead, and so on...

[My Name Is Dave]

I think it depends on knowing the newb, and communicating what is, or is not, expected of them during a ride.  If you are going to tell them they are going to be in front, you need to let them know to ride their own ride, don't worry about us behind, we are not going to want to go faster as we are going to be watching/critiquing you/ we can stop faster than you can/we can protect you from behind/keep tailgaters away/if we do pass you, we will do it safely, on a long straight, and give you lots of room; and it will be because: I want to signal something to you/I want you to follow me/I want to show you my lines/I want to slow you down because there is a really dangerous section coming up ahead, and so on...

Excellent post, thank you. I'll use this info when I get my buddy to start riding.

[scratch]

I want to signal something to you/I want you to follow me/I want to show you my lines/I want to slow you down because there is a really dangerous section coming up ahead, and so on...

Hand signals to accompany:

Follow me/I want to show you my lines - Tap the back of your helmet

Slow down - obviously the hand held low, palm down, pumped up and down as in pushing down (usually left hand (this way you can pump your brakes and flash your taillight))

I once made the mistake of pointing to my brakelight and the guy thought his brake light was out.  Oops.

[Alphamazing]

I want to signal something to you/I want you to follow me/I want to show you my lines/I want to slow you down because there is a really dangerous section coming up ahead, and so on...

Hand signals to accompany:

Follow me/I want to show you my lines - Tap the back of your helmet

Slow down - obviously the hand held low, palm down, pumped up and down as in pushing down (usually left hand (this way you can pump your brakes and flash your taillight))

I once made the mistake of pointing to my brakelight and the guy thought his brake light was out.  Oops.

Another good one is for telling someone their turn signal is on: take your thumb, middle, and index finger, and open and close them as if you are squeezing a grape between them.

[LeChatNoir]

Funny, the situation you describe is exactly the same thing I went through before I went off the road and lowsided.  I learned a lot from that...and will make it a point to practice and learn more about my machine's capabilities after it is repaired.