Lessons Learned

Who doesn't love lists? So without further ado I give you:

Lessons I've Learned in this Sport

1. Always have a plan

-Plan the ride. Seems like a no brainer until you go on someone else's ride that meanders from one road construction site to another, then doubles back on itself, the leaders stops to look at a map, someone runs out of gas....

-Plan to crash (wear your gear) and what to do when you crash (insurance, towing, etc). The last part of this is huge. I've seen plenty of riders crash on a group ride and then have no idea who in their life they can call to pick up them/their bike. Heck, I was pretty confused my first crash about what to do. Now I have a pretty clear idea of what happens next and wear a road ID bracelet.

-Plan maintenance so you don't have a trip/track day coming up and you realize something is worn out or broken the night before. I wrote this list before I had my ZX6R stolen and was then guilty of taking a VFR that needed brake work to the track. This summer I was guilty of it several times while the VFR was laid up with leaking forks and I took the ZX6R on two long trips instead! Or maybe I should have planned tire and chain replacements better so I don't anger my mechanic with short notice requests. I guess this bullet point should go under "lessons still learning"

-Plan rest. Rest days on trips, rest stops, you get the idea. Just because I'm fine on the VFR with the 5gallon gas tank doesn't mean the guy on the RSV4 is OK or still has gas. Or take a short mileage day while touring so you don't burn out.

-Don't deviate from the plan unless you have a good reason. When things go off rails especially with groups, people make mistakes. I hate that sinking feeling when you start losing people on a group ride because you changed the plan. Did they quit, get lost, or crash? Who knows. One of my pet peeves is when your group meets another group and then you have twenty people trying to shout out what route they want to do because they all know the best route. That's when things start going badly.

2. Nothing is ever as cheap as it seems

-Spending money to save money. Ever think about buying a 250/300 so you can save money on trackdays or tickets? Lets see, spending $3000+ on something to save what exactly? A few bucks on tires?

-Upgrades. I regret buying a $700 exhaust even though it looks and sounds cool. That could have been 2.5 trackdays. The Power Commander may have ever so slightly evened out the power band and added some top end but it could have been a California Superbike School day.

-Whats worth it? Comfortable seat, good tires, good maintenance, having a pro set up your suspension. By good tires I also mean good tires, not wasting money on Supercorsas for the street and wearing them out in 1000 miles of street riding because you run them at track pressure on the street because you think it'll give you better grip. You know who I'm talking about.

3. Take it to the track

-You've heard it: you don't get speeding tickets on the track. There's no gravel or minivans or bad patches of asphalt.

but...

-Riding on the road is so much more accessible. If I rode track only I'd only ride six times a year and each time would be a huge logistics production of getting to a track. If I ride street, I can throw a leg over my bike and be in the twisties in ten minutes.

I've gone with plenty of people to their first track day and seen the light come on. This is my outreach and my mission. Instead of shunning the canyon carvers I ride with them and take them to the track. Not that we stop canyon carving, its not that kind of religion mind you.

4. Wear your gear
This is a no brainer really. Also I should say wear the right gear for the temperature. Wear a helmet that fits properly so your head doesn't bounce around in a crash. I've seen some unfortunate crashes that could have been walk away crashes with different/better gear.

5. Know who to take advice from
-Lot of idiots out there that really seem confident in what they're saying but their results (if they have any) are from having more balls than brains, not superior riding skill.

6. Stop trying to control everything, especially in a group
This goes against my point in #1 because sometimes I'm better off just saying screw it and letting the group go wherever fate takes us. I'll just migrate to the back and let the chips fall.

7. Slow is smooth, smooth is fast

-you must slow down to go fast.

When I did a bunch of trackdays in 2017 on a Ninja 250r I learned how bad my throttle control had gotten. Going to a gutless little bike shows you where you're taking off too much speed and covering for it with more throttle. Not that I'm perfect, far from it.

8. Take care of your bike
I already touched on this but its worth noting again. Take care of your bike and it will take care of you. We are in a sport where a faulty brake, blown tire, or bottomed out shock can mean a bad crash. If you're worrying about your bike's condition you aren't focusing on riding.

9. Take care of your body
Its tough to ride a sport bike if you don't maintain strength, flexibility, and endurance. They say that every seven pounds of body weight you take off is like adding a horsepower to your bike.

10. Breath, relax

-If you're tense on the bars you aren't steering and you're scaring yourself

-If you aren't breathing your body is tense and scared