best way to gain confidence through twisties?

I'm wondering if there are any techniques or practices that I, or anyone else, should do in order to gain more confidence when riding through the twisties.

I knew that I was slow, but I found out that I am REALLY slow compared to the other guys I rode with yesterday. They said I need to start leaning off the bike more and to accelerate faster through the turns. My problem is that when in the turn, I get kind of scared to accelerate hard...dont know why. Also, I tend to slow down before turns, way more than anyone else. My other problem is getting my ass off the seat. I try to do it, but can't seem to get it off when leaning to the right...this is getting frustrating.

I wont have a bike for a couple months, but I'd like to have a boosted confidence level when I get back on the road.
Any suggestions

How long have you been riding? It takes time and practice to get good.

Riding with people much faster than you isn't going to inspire any confidence either-- you're going to feel slow, then you're going to try hard, scare yourself, and get discouraged.

Everyone tells me the best way to gain confidence in corners fast is a track school or even a few track days.

Lean forward. Lead with your head. That way you'll loosen up and take care of the stiff arms syndrome. Do it! Head first.

rritterson said:

How long have you been riding? It takes time and practice to get good.

Riding with people much faster than you isn't going to inspire any confidence either-- you're going to feel slow, then you're going to try hard, scare yourself, and get discouraged.

Everyone tells me the best way to gain confidence in corners fast is a track school or even a few track days.

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+1 hanging with a fast rider it not gonna make you fast,it's just ending pushing your limit,and making a mistake,just ride your pace and you will get there

one way i learned is to set up for the turn before you go into it... ex. hang your ass off the bike without turning and when you go into the turn bring the bike to you so that you become more familiar with hanging off the bike and your not truing to think about it all at once. but like i said thats just one way that i was able to push myself into learning it.

The most important thing is to ride your own ride. Then go take a class and do some track days.

That said, don't try and fight the bike. Look ahead, slide your butt off the seat a bit in the direction you want to turn and press on that bar. Find a stretch of road you know really well and that it is clean with no oil or gravel and go back and forth increasing your speed in tiny increments each time as you get more comfortable. I used to do a lap of on and off ramps in Walnut Creek because the offered nice long 270 degree turns that were safe and not very likely to get a ticket.

But most of all don't rush it. It's not a race out there, we are just out to have fun. I go out and ride with people much faster than I am, but I have fun going at my slower pace. I'm too old to enjoy the pucker factor anymore. Now it's about being smooth and not crashing.

Just get to know the roads. When I first got my bike, my buddies would always make me go up there (at my own pace). I hated it. Semi-scared. I just wanted to pose. But, after getting to know the roads, my bike, and how to lean the bike over and stuff, you kinda automatically ride faster. It just takes time and practice. After awhile, you'll feel like you're the "fastest" guy out there. To keep you in check, some guy (with a girl on the back, both wearing T-shirts) on an R1'll pass you up on 84 (while you're in your one-piece exaggerating your turns) and remind you that you ain't shit. Well, that's what happend with me. Moral of the story - It'll just take time and a lot of practice.

If you are getting scared, then you are going too fast. If you just work on your form; staying loose on the bars and shifting your weight, as someone else said, you will notice that you're getting faster. That's because you are riding smoother.

Read Kieth codes "a twist of the wrist", then go pick out a relatively short section (2-3 miles) and ride it many times, if you arent comfortable hanging off dont, I used to pass knee draggin Interceptor 750s on my Honda XL-250 while sitting bolt upright, just do whatever makes you comfortable, if you can, borrow a small bike, its a lot easier to learn when you arent constantly trying to keep up with the bikes power.
Good Luck, dont ride over your head, ride safe.

a1yola said:

I wont have a bike for a couple months, but I'd like to have a boosted confidence level when I get back on the road.
Any suggestions

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Not having a bike, there is nothing you can do to gain more confidence. The best way to gain confidence is to ride. The more you ride, the better off you'll be.

Get an X-Box

J/K. Track time and track school! Or maybe its the other way around.

I thougth you were selling your bike and stuff...

dude, my advice is do like I do and go at your own pace.

Read Keith Code's A Twist Of The Wrist 2 (not the first book) and practice one thing at a time.

Read David L. Hough's Proficient Motorcycling and More Proficient Motorcycling (especially chapter 7), paying attention to the cornering techniques sections.

Work on being smooth and never having to make mid-course corrections. You're probably better off doing the majority of your riding alone, or with a mentor behind you, until you finally feel that you're a confident rider.

The most important thing is to practice a lot. It helps to pick one section of road that you like, a few miles long, and ride it over and over and over. Keep count until you've gone through there 100 times. Go back and read the books in between practice sessions.

a1yola said:

I wont have a bike for a couple months, but I'd like to have a boosted confidence level when I get back on the road.
Any suggestions

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ride a bicycle down steep roads, yes that's means you gotta pedal the damn thing up 'em.

Read, get books on better sportbike riding, like: twist of the wristII, practical sport bike riding and Gary Jaene's book.

There was a thread a few days ago called "slower is faster" or something. The jist was if you stay relaxed and do not pay attention to your speedo, but instead use your judgement. You will be faster before you know it. Practice judging your speed with your eye, not your speedo. The most important thing is to stay relaxed.

To me the most important thing is to look, all the books/instructors will all tell you this and let me tell you, it made the single biggest improvement in my riding.

If you look at any pics of any racers on the track, in the turn there head is always pointed farther into the turn, as they are always looking towards the end of the turn, NOT in front of them.

When you can learn to look ahead you will naturally ride faster. My friend was doing the exact same thing as you and when he started practicing looking ahead, he got way faster. Not looking ahead is what made me always run off the road or go wide. Because you go where you look.

Its especially important on long sweepers to keep adjusting your head around the turn, if you don't you will go around the first part of the turn, and then run off the road, because when your head was turned the first time you were fine, but now half way through the turn, if you haven't readjusted your sight you will now be looking straight ahead and run right off that road!

Don't worry about hanging off the bike until you can go throught the same turns pretty fast, and you think that to go faster the bike has to lean harder, then you will need to start hanging off some, which can just be a little bit. Just before the turn kinda position your butt to the side just a little and it will come natural. don't try to do to much at first. You will just look silly. Just a little bit of weight shift on the seat will do a lot.

Also don't have your right hand on the throttle and the brake. If you hit the brake through the turn its curtains. Sometimes through too fast of a turn its natural to look straight ahead instead of through the turn, which will make the bike stand up, and then you will hit the brake=crash. Instead just re adjust your sight, look through the turn and lean! Your bike is going to be able to take just about any speed/turn you are going to try, so just remember to trust the bike, LOOK THROUGHT THE TURN, and lean. and make sure all your braking and downshifting is done way before the turn, you should e ready to accelerate throught the turn

Something I still have yet to fully grasp is why people are so concerned about "being fast". Why does it matter? If you're going fast enough to scare yourself you would think that for the time being that is fast enough.

Obviously I dont know a damn thing.

Hey Yody, very well said. When I first started I had the same problem and I seem to go back to it when I dont ride or dont ride twisties for a while. Then I go back to practicing the basics as you mentioned, and I'm back in the game.

yody said:

To me the most important thing is to look, all the books/instructors will all tell you this and let me tell you, it made the single biggest improvement in my riding.

If you look at any pics of any racers on the track, in the turn there head is always pointed farther into the turn, as they are always looking towards the end of the turn, NOT in front of them.

When you can learn to look ahead you will naturally ride faster. My friend was doing the exact same thing as you and when he started practicing looking ahead, he got way faster. Not looking ahead is what made me always run off the road or go wide. Because you go where you look.

Its especially important on long sweepers to keep adjusting your head around the turn, if you don't you will go around the first part of the turn, and then run off the road, because when your head was turned the first time you were fine, but now half way through the turn, if you haven't readjusted your sight you will now be looking straight ahead and run right off that road!

Don't worry about hanging off the bike until you can go throught the same turns pretty fast, and you think that to go faster the bike has to lean harder, then you will need to start hanging off some, which can just be a little bit. Just before the turn kinda position your butt to the side just a little and it will come natural. don't try to do to much at first. You will just look silly. Just a little bit of weight shift on the seat will do a lot.

Also don't have your right hand on the throttle and the brake. If you hit the brake through the turn its curtains. Sometimes through too fast of a turn its natural to look straight ahead instead of through the turn, which will make the bike stand up, and then you will hit the brake=crash. Instead just re adjust your sight, look through the turn and lean! Your bike is going to be able to take just about any speed/turn you are going to try, so just remember to trust the bike, LOOK THROUGHT THE TURN, and lean. and make sure all your braking and downshifting is done way before the turn, you should e ready to accelerate throught the turn

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+10000 Very good advise