Topic: Advice needed...Modern bikes and bureaucratic idiocy....

[GroovieGhoulie]

Well it seems the military thinks that in the four months I've been gone, I've forgotten how to ride a bike and now they're making all the riders take a refresher course to be allowed to ride.  The rub is my bike is still at home in Texas and I'm bringing it back this weekend, and they're only offering it ONCE: this Thursday. 

Problem, right?

Well a buddy with a CBR600 said I could borrow his bike for the course, which will be a basic MSF "go, stop, figure-eight, swerve, etc" 2-hour class.

I went over to his place today to get familiar with the machine since the newest bike I've ridden is a 1976 and now I'm nervous about the course.

The brakes require a light touch, which I discovered when I nearly threw myself over the handlebars when my "muscle memory" took over and I grabbed the brake as if I was on my bike.

The clutch needs a more delicate touch than on my CB

The steering lock-to-lock is SHORT compared to the CB and I'm scared about the figure-eight in the box part. 

Any tips for riding a modern sportbike, most notably for the figure-eight part?  I can do full-lock peg-scraping maneuvers NO problem on my 400, but that CBR is TONS harder.  Part of it is machine familiarity, but there's just something about it that is difficult. 

I'm doing this course tomorrow morning and just found out about it today.  Awesome.  Any tips appreciated.

[nomadwarmachine]

Ride all day long and practice in the parking lot.  I have a similar "muscle memory" problem moving between my CB750/K2 and my Ducati, but it can be overcome realitively quickly!  Good luck!!

[heffay]

i switch bikes alot... between my gf and i we have 4 running bikes. 
the more you ride the more you'll be able to go back and forth between different machines.
the more you ride different bikes the more important the flaws of each machine become, you can learn to avoid certain pitfalls of each bike. 
i used to ride a cbr600f2 and it is no different than most other "sportbikes"... they are aggressive and respond well to aggressive maneuvering and riding posture. 
on tight courses like you'll probably be doing... i have better luck with steering movements rather than trying to shift my weight.  its a lot easier to pitch a bike at slow speed by the handlebars than it is to wrestle it there with your weight.
go ride it around town for an hour or so tonight... most likely it handles way better than your ancient honda 

[nickjtc]

Tips for helping with slow speed manoeuvres:

Look where you want to go. Doing a figure 8 you should try to look diametrically across the circle you are trying to ride around; the bike will turn under you. Doing a slalom try to look at the next gap between the cones, rather than the one you are riding through.

Ride the friction zone of the clutch. Do not try to putter along with the clutch all the way out, relying just on the throttle for control.

Use only the rear brake for slow speed stuff. Touch the front brake at your peril, especially whilst turning.

Drag the rear brake as necessary to keep the driveline 'tight' and to keep more precise control of your speed.

[GroovieGhoulie]

Tips for helping with slow speed manoeuvres:

Look where you want to go. Doing a figure 8 you should try to look diametrically across the circle you are trying to ride around; the bike will turn under you. Doing a slalom try to look at the next gap between the cones, rather than the one you are riding through.

Do this regularly.  Am still amazed at how you "go where you look"  not sure why it's that way, but it is.

Ride the friction zone of the clutch. Do not try to putter along with the clutch all the way out, relying just on the throttle for control.

I tried that a bit today, but the clutch is HEAVY compared to mine and the friction zone is hard to feel.  I know I'm gonna be slipping that thing like mad tomorrow, which is ok.

Use only the rear brake for slow speed stuff. Touch the front brake at your peril, especially whilst turning.

Drag the rear brake as necessary to keep the driveline 'tight' and to keep more precise control of your speed.

Knew about the rear brake during slow stuff, but didn't know about dragging it to keep the driveline tight.  His chain was pretty loose and I told him he needs to tighten it because there was a LOT of chain snatch, which I felt was out of place on such a new bike, (it's an '04).

[nickjtc]

Good luck; stay focussed and have fun!!

[burmashave]

GG, I don't know if this really applies; however, our MSF instructed stressed that the figure eight is really designed to make you nervous so you screw it up along with the rest of the exam.  He repeatedly said that it's OK to put a foot down in the figure eight if you do reasonably well on the rest of the course.  To be honest, I was one of the few in my class who failed the figure eight, but I finished with the highest road course score.  Part of the deal with the figure eight is to not lose two points.  Either put a foot down or cross the line, but not both.

[mrbreeze]

It might suck having to take that course but I think its a damn good idea and I'm glad the military implamented it. There were so many youngsters coming back from overseas duty with a big wad of cash burning a hole in their pocket. They go out and buy the latest,greatest,fastest sportbike they can find and alot of them had little or no experience. At least with a safety course, a better percentage of these kids will live to become a GHOF like me!!!

[GroovieGhoulie]

It might suck having to take that course but I think its a damn good idea and I'm glad the military implamented it. There were so many youngsters coming back from overseas duty with a big wad of cash burning a hole in their pocket. They go out and buy the latest,greatest,fastest sportbike they can find and alot of them had little or no experience. At least with a safety course, a better percentage of these kids will live to become a GHOF like me!!!

The thing is the safety course is REQUIRED id you buy a bike no matter what.  This is for people that have ALREADY taken the course and have been riding.  I've only been riding about a year and a half, so a refresher is OK with me, (though I wish I could do it on MY bike), but there are guys who have been riding for 20+ or 30+ years who have to go to a two-hour class because the Army thinks they've forgotten how to ride in four months.

Valuable for some people, pointless for others, IMO, yet we all have to go because someone wants to check a block.

[mrbreeze]

I hear ya there Groovy but I'll tell ya something......I don't care if a guy has been riding 50 years.......NOBODY knows everything!! Even the guy that has been riding 30 years WILL learn something from taking this course. Even if its some small insignificant thing you would have never though of. If its what they require.....may as well make the best of it!!!!!.....good luck on the crotch rocket!!

[DammitDan]

Even the guy that has been riding 30 years WILL learn something from taking this course.

Amen, brother.  Like always mounting from the left side of the bike and grabbing the front brake before you swing your leg across.  I would never have thought of that before I took the course, but now it's habit!  You can never go wrong with re-learning something, even if it's prescribed re-learnification 

Good luck with the class...  You'll do fine, no worries!

[tsp37]

Somewhere I have read that the army was losing fewer soldiers in Iraq than to motorcycles after returning from Iraq.  When you've been shot at and survived, it's hard to respect something as tame as a crotch rocket.  That's the primary reason for the mandetory safety classes.

[GroovieGhoulie]

Well it was no biggie.  I only bobbled the figure-eight box but the instructor told me that he could see me doing everything right (looking where I wanna go, friction zone, riding rear brake), but I just wasn't familiar with that machine, so he gave me the thumbs up.

On the "brake-in-the-middle-of-a-turn" exercise, I had to do it over because I grabbed a "CB400F Handful" of brake and nearly endo'd it.  Didn't drop it though.  On the second time through, I used one finger and nailed it.

No offense to modern bike guys, but as great as the bike was, I just didn't like it.  When riding around prior to the class, I could only use like 25% of it's capabilities, and it took a LIGHT touch on everything.  I preferred my CBs because I can use them at 80%+ on the street and still be legal, and because they require a heavy hand to stop, go and turn.  I'm used to having to GAS it to go anywhere, that the brakes only work if I grab them like I'm trying to crush the lever and that turning actually requires you to "press right/left" instead of just think about it.  I also liked the controls on the CB better: don't like digital stuff and I hated the turn indicator switch that I pressed to cancel.

I liked the riding position, but not for a long time and it felt like ALL my weight was on my wrists and after a little while, my palms were killing me.

[burmashave]

Somewhere I have read that the army was losing fewer soldiers in Iraq than to motorcycles after returning from Iraq.  When you've been shot at and survived, it's hard to respect something as tame as a crotch rocket.  That's the primary reason for the mandetory safety classes.

Our MSF instructor said the number of US service people lost to motorcycle accidents far exceeds the number lost in Iraq.  It is truly tragic.

[eldar]

Some day I will take a safety course. IT is only 60 bones but it is coming up with time and money at the SAME time!
I aced my driving test with my k8. even the sharp turns and the cones. Didnt lose a point, even so, I still want to do the safety course.

[techy5025]

I feel your pain. I have done at least 5 "stoppee's" with the CBR F4I. The front brake is really sensitive and
the turning radius seems like a hundred feet. The throttle is very snatchy....the first 10 degrees gives you
80 percent of the horsepower. Don't even think about using the front brake in a tight turn.

Don't ask me why I have one. 

Jim