BoxHill.co.uk

[CHILLI]

Had a number of incidents over the past few months that have really knocked my confidence. Latest one on Sunday coming back from Bury Hill when I narrowly avoided a nasty encounter with an mpv.

Struggling to get my confidence back. Any comments peeps?
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Don't wait for your ship to come in .. torpedo it out of the water and move on to the next target

[Scrappy]

I always find if my confidence is low I ride like a spazzer. You just gotta get it back up. Maybe some late night or early morning rides on some empty roads?
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[Bonus]

I cant answer your poll as I wouldnt do any of those options.
You just need a good ride as scrappy says, also prepare for a good ride, get plenty of sleep and pick a day with brilliant sunshine and then come out with me and I will show you and remind you of just how good you are.
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There is only.......

[AJ]

Hiya.


Not that I know the details - here's my 20p worth...


Having been "down" this month - I'd say it is utterly imperative you comparmentalise the incident and work through it in non-bike time.

In the meanwhile - get yer leg over and have some fun.

Obviously avoid repeating whatever happened on your part (always takes two to make an incident), but don't over analyse / fixate on it.

These things happen to everyone, and getting away with it is a question of pure luck on the day.

Allocate some of your attention to relaxing when you are riding - soon as u feel comfortable again, it will all come together.

On a lighter note I have to say that if you haven't crashed, you haven't been trying hard enough.

If you are seriously concerned - track days are the place to really show what you are made of (figuratively speaking).


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If the phone doesn’t ring, it’s me...

[szr660]

Not sure of the circumstances but I find about 50% of the time I have had a close shave it's been partly my fault; following too close, impatience, not concentrating, not relaxing, or sometimes tiredness.

The other half is attributable wholly to the brain dead.

I've never come off a road bike in 9 years, but I have been punted off. Funny enough that did not shake my own confidance, but it did reinforce my view that the city is not such a fun place to ride = more idoits per mile! I've always prefeered riding in the middle of nowhere (Spean Bridge anyone?) and always will.

Squekey's advice seems to be spot on.

PS - come off hundreds of times when I was a Trials competitor, it's just the way it is.
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Scott the Aussie,
Moto Guzzi Breva 750ie

"Society has always seemed to demand a little more from human beings than it will get in practice."
George Orwell

[Tinks]

[szr660]

Oh yeah forgot to mention; try something completely different in your riding..eg..if you usually ride in groups have a whole day alone, if you never go on a trip alone, try that, do an off road school. Just try something different. Then when you come to ride on the road in your usual way you might have a new angle on it, so to speak.
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Scott the Aussie,
Moto Guzzi Breva 750ie

"Society has always seemed to demand a little more from human beings than it will get in practice."
George Orwell

[biggus]

Tend to agree with Squeaky about 2 can make an incident, but don’t over analyse. Lately I've been trying zoom out a bit, read the road & driver behaviour more and now think twice about certain maneuvers, especially if others are following.
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www.bigguspicus.co.uk

There are 10 types of people in the world: those who understand Binary and those who don't

There are II types of people in the world: those who understand Roman numerals and those who don't.

98% of all Harleys ever sold are still on the road. The other 2% made it home

[Wivvy]

just get back on and ride the thing...

it only makes it harder if you start worrying about what ifs......

been there, done that i only came of <30mph

[Incubus]

as you know Chilli I had a major confidence issue when I got back on the bike last year and it's taken a long time to get back to a stage where I feel confident again, I'm still not too hot at overtaking cars etc but just getting out & about helped and the biggest thing thats bossted me is the race school and track days can't say enough good about them really shows you just how far you can push it. As for the road I'm also seriously thinking about doing some advanced sessions with the police riders I know who have offered to take me out if you are interested I'm sure they can make room for another. And at the end of the day these guys are the dogs when it comes to fast road riding and reading traffic

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The Stevie Wonder of rideouts!
www.themotorcyclecentre.com

[GSEX-SLAPPY]

Lost count of how many times i have said this ...and still do even after a year of being back.
i rode bikes as my only form of transport from 16-24 yrs of age then had to give it up due to finances and children (became a cage driver).
15 years later having battled with my feelings for bikes i finally found myself in a position to return to them with a 600 katana (teapot) which was fun for a while but due to things in the past wasnt my cup of tea (sore wrists, knumb hands etc) and it was a bit of a commuter, so i chopped it in for the bandit 1200 ...........big mistake ......i wasnt and am still not really ready for it ....things have changed in 15 yrs ,,,traffic density...weight to power ratios.....tyre profiles ,tread patterns compounds..........and the list goes on, if all that isnt enough the bike is not my main form of transport as i drive a commercial vehicle for a living and a car for family occasions. even after 6 months or so of the bandit i am still not 100% familiar with it hence i am out at every oppertunity.
Some days i have perfect days where everything feels spot on and i could ride forever other days (most of em) something just doesnt feel right could be focus,fatigue,nerves or just plain ol mental block and having bored you with this crap heres the part your probably looking for .
if i feel that bad i just stop ..........have a smoke, relax an stop thinking about what is wrong.......once i feel easier i get back on and restart at a slower pace one with which i am relaxed with and can concentrate on the traffic easier allowing me more time to feel the bike and the road ......pick and choose lines and manouvres decide what and where things have been going wrong and as most have said not analyze it but note it and change it, next time forget the front runners if in a group an sit at the back for a bit even let em get away for a while and ride my own way for a bit.
no point dwelling too much on incidents make a mental note not to be in that position again (not always possible but it helps for silly manouvres made). i believe i dont spend enough time on the bike to be 100% confident all the time but its getting better and having the off actually improved things.
NO i wont give up, i wont change the bike but i do pick and choose a little more where i open it up so all in all my advice is if your confidence has been knocked take a few steps back in your experience slow down a little and build again. Enjoy your machine, but stay safe.

ok thats the total bollox post for this thread .....normal service may be resumed

[wivvy's dad]

Forget about what has happened - it's happened. It won't happen again.

Concentrate.............all the time.

Look ahead..........................further

Further still.

Anticipate the worst thing that could happen, and deal with it accordingly.

Ride as if you are going to meet yourself coming the other way.

Relax.

Enjoy.

[CHILLI]

Thanks for all the replies folks - a lot of good advice and food for thought there

I'm also very stressed with work at the moment, which is affecting everything else I do unfortunately. Maybe I should change the job instead of the bike

Don't think I'll sell the R1 just yet ...
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Don't wait for your ship to come in .. torpedo it out of the water and move on to the next target

[Matty]

we have all had near misses its how you deal with them afterwards that matters id get back on the bike and ride it maby calm it down a bit but i wouldnt get a smaller bike as you can handle your r1 very well from what ive seen on rideouts.
i had a near miss on my old bandit a fair while ago where i nearly hit an on coming car similar to what happened to tinks,after that i decided to take it a we bit easier as there is more to riding than getting somewhere as fast as possible so now i enjoy the bike and the ride for what it is rather than how fast i can go and get to somewhere which i have to say is a lot more fun
i would never give up bikes and i couldnt!! i should imagine every biker is the same on this respect
at the end of the day you are a good rider and everyone has near misses learn from it and use it to better you skills and sixth sense as a rider

[Bonus]

''Ride as if you are going to meet yourself coming the other way.''

I really like that, nice one, will remember that, god help me if I meet me coming the other way
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There is only.......

[wildchild]

I think everything that needs to be said has been said hon. I think that you are a good rider and everyone's confidence gets knocked from time to time. The important thing is that we learn from our mistakes and move on.
If it was not for Matty and the fall that I took I honestly do not think I would have got back on the bike..

You have talked to me about how you want to ride and how you feel about riding and do what you said that you were going to do... If you dont feel like riding fast and want to take it in a slow nice pace then do so because you know that you wont ride properly if you are not up to it.....

But I would not worry about whether you should change your bike or not, as I honestly dont think that you need to. You love your R1 and it suits you to the ground

May be I should drag you out and you can crawl around like a snail with my little 125

[1stGarry]

Some fantastic and spot on advice here, but thought I'd add my two pennies worth:

Chilli, you said you're stressed at work at the moment. This WILL have an impact on your riding / concentration / focus. We've discussed on previous threads that you shouldn't go out riding (especially on fast sports focused bikes) if your mind is not going to be 100% on the riding. This is why you've had a few near misses lately.

Another point to consider is this. I know that you are a VERY good rider, and you ride fast and hard and with a skill that not many of us here can emulate. But, perhaps you have now developed your riding skills to the absolute limit of your current abilities. That could be another explanation for the near misses.

Fortunately, both these scenarios are treatable!

In the first case, get rid of the stresses and anxieties. Easily said, I know, but vital if you want to avoid accidents. Change your job if it is that bad - after all it is only a job. You can't change the results of an accident!! Otherwise, don't ride if you're not 100% focused.

Second case, someone suggested advanced training. Great idea. But go for the professional option. As well intended as any offer to help may be, from any friends here, they are not professionals (no ofence, Bruce) and will not be able to offer the detached training and advice that you will need if you want to improve.
There are several options for further / advanced training:-
Police / advanced training to teach awareness / anticipation / reading the road etc.
Track days etc to teach advanced riding techniques etc.

At the end of the day you should ask yourself -
Do I want to keep riding?
Do I want to improve?

HTH
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Adventure before dementia.

[Mr Tickle]

Not going to babble on, but dont know if you remember I went throught the same things last year, thought about getting shot of the bike and all that. Just ease of for a while, and your confidence will come back.
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Scarecrow Rodeo

[Bonus]

[BarryH]

A long time ago someone said "your bucket of luck will be empty before your bucket of skill is half full".

[GSEX-SLAPPY]

[BarryH]

Adds up to the same thing. You never stop learning and all that. If you think about it tho its not far off the mark. How many times has something happened and you've thought.....What if!!

Makes you think. I used to ride with people that wanted to go everywhere at light speed. This was prob 20 years ago. Theres only 2 of us left. The other 4 have been pushing up daisies for a good few years now. All died on their bikes! Call me old, but now I want to enjoy the ride, take in the scenery and enjoy the social side. Speed ain't everything. Law of averages says someday sometime your numbers going to be up.

Yeah I enjoy a good blast now and then. But I'm choosey as to where and when and with who. Normally, its when I'm on my own on roads I know well and theres bugger all traffic about.

Bugger all to do with Chilli's predicament. If I were her in that situation. I'd go and bugger off by myself for a while and just enjoy the bike for what it is. It all depends on your mindset and what "YOU" want out of biking. Forget what other people want to do. Do your own thing for a while.

[Tiny]

Learn from your near miss. What could you do to avoid that situation again?

As above....get on and ride.
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I'd rather have a full bottle infront of me, than a full frontal Lobotomy

[big al]

not sure what to say, some very good points have all ready been said.

i reckon change the job if it's that bad, don't sell the r1 you can handle that better than some blokes i know that ride similar or the same bike (me included) do what i do luv' if you can go out early say.....6/7.30 sunny day the roads are clear, i normaly go from my house to bury hill, its only a short blat but its good when the roads are clear. You colud allways come out with me one day (not like that bruce ) you could lead.

If not do it on your own, when out in group rides stay back as bit, try not to keep up with those that are in front, you will still get to where ever your going in the end.

one last thing, i know its been said before, you have to do a track day, i learnt quite a lot at brands.
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"WHAT A FUCKING LIBERTY"

[ardee]

I have always had a problem with my confidence on the road (bike and car). I have never been a confident rider in the 16 years since I started riding.

I had a break from riding for a while and after that got a Zephyr 550 but never felt confident on it so sold it and got my RD125. That helped me to regain my confidence in general use of bike alot, although it was knocked back a lot 3 years ago when I watched my husband crash on his bike. However, since getting my RD350 in April I have found that my confidence has built up a lot more, esp at junctions and on motorways cos I know it has more power to accelerate out of the way.

I wouldn't advise someone who has been used to riding regularly to get a smaller bike because in some ways it makes you feel less confident as you dont have the power that you are used to to ride out of a dangerous situation if you need it.

My advice, for what it is worth, is to just keep riding the bike. Go on roads and routes that you know well and enjoy. Confidence will improve. Some days you will probably feel all over the place and not together at all on the bike and other days it will all be totally together and you and bike will feel like one. On those days when you come home you will be buzzing and can't wait to go out on the bike again and that is the best feeling in the world.

Just take it easy - you might have a bike than CAN go fast, but it doesn't mean that you HAVE to go fast. Don't try and push yourself or feel pressurised into pushing yourself beyond what you feel comfortable with as this is the thing that I find knocks my confidence the most.

Group riding is hard work so finding just one other person who will be understanding and ride to what you feel comfortable with is probably the best way to regain confidence. I always feel more confident with one other person than by myself.

After I went to Ace Cafe I felt really low cos I really couldn't cope with the London traffic but I blasted back along the motorway and felt a lot better after that. I think if I had gone home the same way the bike would have been sitting in the garage not being used for a while after that.

One last thing (and then I promise I will shut up!). Don't feel alone in your lack of confidence because I think lots of people go through it, particularly us women it seems! I feel useless and stupid and like I have been holding everyone up after a group ride but the chances are not everyone in the group is feeling as condident as they appear anyway. Don't ride in a group or with someone who isn't understanding until you are feeling totally confident again.

Hope this helps