fasta
Expert Class
Posts: 114
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posted August 26, 2005 05:49 AM
Poll Question:
The best of the best, please sign here...
Hi everyone,
Why is it that some guys just seem to have the ability to make bikes go faster and smoother than other riders. Are you one of those riders that stand out above the rest? Do you *know* that you are the best rider present when you are out with your friends (who's been riding as long or longer as you)?
Before I risk sounding like I'm about to sell you some magical product and throw in a couple of useless widgets "if you call this number now", let me get to my point. 
I'm obviously aware that natural ability and experience plays a major role in how well you ride, but I believe that some riders stand out above the rest because they "assimilate" the bike and its abilities quickly and then take advantage of its strengths well and avoids its weaknesses where possible; i.e. they don't just know how to ride well, they quickly learn how to ride a particular bike well.
So what I was pondering was whether anyone in the forum feels like they have what it takes to stand out of the crowd when riding with say 10 other guys all with the same ZX10 on the same stretch of road?
(Yes, there are more questions behind the question - but I'll get to that later)
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Currently:
2007 ZX-14 (stock)
2007 ZX-6 (stock)
Before:
2 x 2006 ZX10-R (stock)
2006 GSX-R1000 K6 (Yoshi + PC)
2005 ZX10-R (HyperPro damper)
2007 Versys (stock)
Poll Results:
 1 votes (17%)
Everyone goes down on their knees and chants when I roll up with my ZX10
0 votes (0%)
I go down on my knees and chant when others roll up with their ZX10
2 votes (33%)
I can't remember the last time somebody went down on me
1 votes (17%)
WTF?
2 votes (33%)
I don't like you very much, go away!
  
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zeta xray
Expert Class
Posts: 416
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posted August 27, 2005 05:28 AM
I can't respond to your poll because my answer is not there. If I was 30 years younger things might be different. There are a lot of guys that I ride with that are faster than I am because I just don't want to push that hard. But maybe they don't want to push that hard either. Who knows. But I do feel that I "assimilate with the bike better than most. I feel I can feel the bike well and I am pretty confident in my abilties to set-up any bike.
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12r1
Expert Class
Posts: 390
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posted August 27, 2005 07:28 AM
I'm a very modest kind o guy,but I feel I'm a very capable rider as you describe.
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mattie_k
Zone Head
hill-billy!
Posts: 545
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posted August 27, 2005 09:05 AM
I rock! or....ummm.....kinda, sorta once upon a time...
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God is an imaginary friend for grown-ups.
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Fasta
Expert Class
Posts: 114
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posted August 27, 2005 01:20 PM
Granted, the poll options are a little black and white (with a dash of silly) - I'm really just fishing to see who in the forum thinks they have a solid grip on the ZX10, because I'd like to ask the Jedi among us to show the padawans the way...so to speak.
There are many ways to learn how to become a better rider - attend a riding academy, read articles on the web and magazines, etc. etc. but all of these are mostly just "general" guidelines on riding - and for all of their wholesome goodness, in the end they do not really provide the kind of detail or insight that can help you to *ride the ZX10* well.
Perhaps its just my inexperience shining through here, but there seems to be a number of basic feats that I'm having some trouble nailing on the ZX10 - in each case its probably something really simple that I need to focus on to get it perfect, but unfortunately I'm not one of the Borg type riders I've mentioned; someone that jumps on a bike, assimilates it, exchanges atoms and then presto! Man and machine become one.
Perhaps a practical sample will go a long way here:
Since I've had the ZX10, I have not been able to nail a satisfactory pull-away from a traffic light or stop. Don't get me wrong, I don't mean to say that I'm stalling the bike or the like - just that I have not had a *solid* pull away where I thought to myself: "couldn't have done that any better". It would be nice if one of the elite could (in some detail) walk me through some things to focus on to help me find that sweet spot of pull away rpm and biting point of the clutch on the ZX10 - without lighting up the rear tire or doing a half assed wheelie for the amusement of the soccer moms in their Volvo's. I'm sure that if I keep on experimenting that I'll eventually get it right, but the idea is to gain consistency without the premature replacement of the clutch and or other parts of me or my ZX10.
PS: Thanks for reading this far despite having yawned three times now and strongly entertained the thought of going back to the main forum page. 
____________
Currently:
2007 ZX-14 (stock)
2007 ZX-6 (stock)
Before:
2 x 2006 ZX10-R (stock)
2006 GSX-R1000 K6 (Yoshi + PC)
2005 ZX10-R (HyperPro damper)
2007 Versys (stock)
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fattkaw
Expert Class
Posts: 277
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posted August 27, 2005 05:25 PM
I just go down I myself!! :P
Honestly I'v been riding street bikes since the age of 13. I don't even think about it any more.
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TedG
Moderator
Posts: 8222
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posted August 27, 2005 05:31 PM
I will assimilate a bike, but that is a product of having ridden so many different bikes over the last 35 years.
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Ted
2000 Green ZX12 sold
The fast color!!
Green 2005 ZX10R
2009 Concours Black ABS
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k bryant
Needs a job
Sponsor
Posts: 2911
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posted August 28, 2005 11:42 AM
It appears you are interested in a drag racer point of view, more than a roadracer. It your dilemia is preventing smoking the tire and/or pulling wheelies from a stop on the street, this "experienced" rider would suggest you take it to drag strip and seek an experts advice there. You'll have much more fun while being safer at the same time. You could also ask that question on the "Dragbike" section of this site. I'm sure there would be a lot of experts willing to share their thoughts with you about blazing starts.
From a roadracer's standpoint, to ride this bike towards it's limits, you have to be willing to ride it loose and smooth. By that, I mean consistently loose where it's fairly predictable how you enter and exit corners with wheels in or out of line at a given pace. It's not necessarily a very "comfortable" feeling on the 10, but it is one of the better ways to make it work as intended. Other liter bikes are easier to ride fast, but not as exciting. Exciting is not always a good thing.... For me, setting the suspension up on the soft side, and removing the 5mm shim from the rear shock upper pivot mount helps. Riding with a bias on the front (weight up over the tank), with more pressure on the pegs also helps with husseling it around. To accomplish this, you simply raise you butt off the seat to put maximum pressure on the inside or outside peg depending on which way the corner is going. It's not easy, but guarrenteed, the 10 is one of the more "exciting" bikes to ride fast.
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FP 10R
Expert Class
Fast Learner
Posts: 212
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posted August 29, 2005 05:48 PM
Kerry,
you obviously appreciate the traits of the 10R as a bike that challenges you in a different way every time you rideit like no other I have owned or ridden. You are dead right I have ridden all the other litre bikes and in a short time they present no challenge liker the 10R does.
It is a bike that progresses with you as your ability and confidence increase on it and rewards you with taking the challenge in nailing anything else on the road, this bike was never meant for the timid.
You have no doubt found that setup is a very personal thing with the 10R and takes some time to get just right, I have an Edwards Aprilia that falls into the same catagory sub 120kmh this bike is a handful but 200 and above is where it revels and rewards precise riding with a simular feel to the 10R but not quite the drive.
But isn't that why you ride? If I didn't challenge myself evertime out whats the point!
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"Life is not a rehearsal so make the most of it" Carefully
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