How do you ride yours?
 

I'm really missing being able to gof for a nice dry hoon around.

After owning the bike for 18 months, i still do not appear to have settled into a particular style and quite often attempt at reviewing my riding "style" see if i can do anything different, say more efficient/quicker/smoother. Yet i've still to get into a natural rythm. Despite having covered about 8k miles on this particular bike.

I attended 2 trackdays this year both at Mallory, on the 2 occasions i found myself riding differently the second time i was trying to vary my style too much and was making mistakes and barely getting away with some. Other than more and more practice, i'm not sure how to find my best suited technique. (perhaps go to an advanced riding school)

I have wondered in the past if it is the nature of the bike that means a slightly different approach is warranted. I regularly ride with 1 particular mate and both of us have progrssed somewhat, however he is riding a Triumph 650daytona, and on more oten than not quicker than i. Partly due to him not being quite as cautious, i do avoid taking as many "risks". He does seem to be able to throw the bike about a bit more, and having loaded both into vans previously the weight difference is particularly noticeable.

I have often wondered if there is a particular knack to getting it right on the 749 (or twins in general)? Slow in fast out? hold a steady speed and power out early, keep it slower and tighter in the real tight stuff? i know there isnt an exact science but ....

Does anyone have any theories towards this or is it just etting more practice/confidence?

it's the wrong time of year to find you limits, the traction is 80% of what itis in the summer, and so inconsistent.
It's fast in and max lean and on the gas on tha apex, thats what ducats do best,
to be fast you have to feel the bike and tyres and know what it will do and what it wont and that means feeling and finding out the hard way, the best racer in the word still falls off to find out when it wont,
I know I fell of a few times to get where I am now,

just goes to show how different people are. i would disagree with most of the above. not because its wrong just because i have a different style.

i dont think fast in is the way, for me better to go in slightly slower under total control and try to power on as early as possible before the apex generally speaking. if you are on max lean then there is no margin for error or correction if needed for any reason. i also dont think you need to crash to find your limits. you can explore and push your limits gradually without the risk of smashing either yourself or your bike up. IMHO

as for riding 'style' really just go for what you feel comfortable with. if you look at the top motogp riders there is a huge variation in riding styles, some of them really 'poor' according to the 'experts' bt they get round a track ok!

also winter trackdays are a great way to get the feel of your bike. yes it will have less traction, but its a good way to experience and understand how much difference rider input can make. and they are chirpy cheap too.

It's coming up to the best time of year for learning about limits (yours and the bikes). So long as it's not sheet ice and freezing temperatures the road surfaces will have enough grip for you to practice, especially if you can get yourself a mid-size "rat-bike" you won't worry too much about, then just wrap up warm and ride through the winter for the experience ;)

Don't get me wrong, i've done a lot of riding in the most adverse conditions.

I was in france last year with the torrential downpours and have ridden in the 2 winters i have had my licence, and like you say unless it's sheet ice then its not really a problem, but i dont really get enjoyment riding in wet conditions, it used to be a lot "easier" on my sv650 with its relaxed riding position, but in supersport mode it aint great fun. I was considering maybe getting a 'strada for scratching in all conditions.

What i was really meaning in my post was getting the most from the bike itself more than the differing weather riding.

I wonder if i would be quicker or find it easier on something like a tuono, or a lighter 4 cyl bike.

But i don't want one of them, i want my Ducati but i want to ride it well and with style :)

Know what you mean
 

I am in a similar position to Fab i think.

Been riding for a couple of years, rode through both winters first on on a fazer second one on a brand new 999s :-O

Now after 9k miles i find that i am much more comfortable with the T9, but am probably horrible to look at, and slow... !

I am thinking that some advanced training will be the order of the day, especially if i am going to order that new Tricolore ........ ;-)

Steve

the main thing is to feel comfortable and relaxed on the bike, if you are tense you will look **** and ride ****. getting your knee down, having a good stye etc are definitely not prerequisits to riding fast. getting a mate to follow you and tell you what you look like and then trying a different style may be all it needs. i can get my knee down and look ok on a bike, but there are plenty faster than me out there

how do i ride mine???

like i stole it!:lol:

and mine........?!

nail it every where. make it av it !!!!!! and scare me sen SH*T less at the same time...LOL

You don't need to get your knee down or hang off a bike to go fast tho! eh Dickie ;)

The main thing is try to be smooth. A comfortable riding position will help you relax on the bike and then familiarity with the controls (and the reactions of the machine to your inputs) will give your brain more time to think about whats going on ahead of you so you can plan better. After a while (about 157 years in my case) a lot of it becomes intuitive and you can make better progress because you're planning well in advance because you know more about what to expect! There's no easy answer but try and get the opportunity to go out on a BikeSafe ride with your local Constabulary or look up your local IAM motorcycle group to see if they do any introductory meet and greet rides (Solent Group do Sunday intro rides). Alternatively there'll be a good range of "professional" people in everyone's home areas that can offer "Advanced" tuition, or, if it's just bike handling skills you want, get booked on a track school like CSS, Ron Haslam etc. There's even going to be a few old hands in the DSC that you can talk to on a one to one basis if you can get to some of our ride outs?

the way I see it you brake too much, so are too slow going into the corner and then have to make up your speed on the exit, you cant put full power down on full lean, so you won't catch up, I used to ride my XZ12R like that,
but like you say if it works for you then it's right for you.
as for this time of year it's not good to ride on cold tyers and it takes me 20 to 30 mins to get them up to temp and you still dont have that grip like in the summer,
as for your margin for eroer I leave that in the line I take, and the fact I dont brake close to the corner,
that way if I want to go to the limit I just take the racing line and brake a bit later, thats much easier to do than suddenly learn the feel of the tyers,

How do you ride yours?
 

I'm not at the moment:(

wet leaves + damp roads + iffy me = bit of a prob at the mo

roll on a couple of weeks or so time:)

C

ps: Xmas day is a good time to get out in the mid morning, well away from churches tho!:ninja:

too right! i went out last xmas day for a quick blat. absolutely superb.

what Psychlist said + I came on leaps and bounds by riding with people who were smoother and also quicker than me, but to do that I had to place a lot of faith in the people around me, me and my bike.

it's good to see what different experiences and takes on the situation is.

I have looked at my photos from the comparative trackdays and i look a tad clumsy in the higher speed stuff, (i,m riding stretched at arms length which is not good for control in my opinion) i get the impression the bank angle isn't too bad and i wasn't getting left by the majority in the inters group on the faster stuff and the last time i went out on the bike i did start to try and apply some of my more throughly thought out ideas.

I relaxed my shoulders more and tried to bring the cornering side of of my body tighter together, this gave me a less stretched out arm and more feel and control giving me more "suspension" in the arm lets say, with more scope for counter steering. With the arm stretched out any tiny ovement would seem to be greatly eccentuated resulting a more out of control feeling. Ill post a pic and see what you guys reckon.. on some i look downright odd!! Like a little tiny person, alright im only 5-6" but i look like a hobbit on that one.

How do I ride mine? Or perhaps when.................

In the rain at 5 in the morning. Who said us Ducati riders were FWB eh?

DC

i haven't been out with an instructor as of yet but am considering it for next time out on track.

My last day at Mallory was with No limits and i think i should give it a go taking a seasoned instructors advice..

Mallory did put the frightners on a me a little after the 1st time i went i bunged it into the gravel on the3rd lap at the 1st corner, thankfuly kept it upright!!

Hi Guys

I am new here but have raced 250 production etc for around 14 years.

Whilst i have very little road experience (and must admit, I struggle with confidence riding fast on the road) I can punt around a track alright.

Just looking at your photos, my first thought in both was that despite having reasonable lean your bum was still very much on the seat.

Often this is an indication of someone too rigid and nervous of moving thier weight around, this is one of the things racers are not afraid of. As i said, im not experienced enough on the road to say if this applicable for fast road riding or not....

If you have a look at most racers, intermediate track day riders and up, their bum is hanging more off the side (some amazingly so!). As you go faster, the more you slide your bum over and off the seat the more "solid" or planted you feel on the bike.

I recommend playing around with that, you don't have to be going way fast either, just get use to moving around on the bike more, as you play you'll see what unsettles the bike and what doesn't (in your movement).

Straight/bent arms then are only an issue when braking as you will always be moving from one side of the bike to the other as the respective corners come up.

Something else that really helps is video of your self, this can be very helpfull when trying to improve style and smoothness etc. What you feel and what it looks like can sometimes be quite different.

I hope i haven't come across smart ass, just one persons opinion/suggestions...

Regards

Mark

1stly welcome!!

Not coming across as a smart ass at all there, all opinions are appreciated!

I have taken a lot of time reading the advice people are giving and i hope i can look to improve.

I do tend to move a fair bit when i'm road riding, but with the speed being higher on the track, i think i have reverted back to the "newbie" style and staying rigid.

Can't wait to have the bike serviced in a couple of weeks and then pray for some nice days to get the most out of it, hopefully wont have to wait till "summer"!

No Mark, you haven't come across as a smart ass, that's a really useful first post, and backed up by competition experience.

I'm no expert, nor a racer. There are loads of riders who are far quicker than me and probably slightly more that are slower. I would put myself as ever so slightly faster than average, usually around mid-pack in the fast group, I know that because I usually pass 3-4 people more than I get passed by. I've also been told by racers and instructors who've followed me that I'm very smooth.

I've also done some kind of competitive motorsport all my life and it's not for nothing that the old adage "slow in - fast out" is the advice for people who want to get into a nice relaxed smooth and fast rythmn. By saying "Slow" it's a relative term, I don't mean hauling on the brakes and parking the bike, I mean arriving at the corner so that you've got your braking done, you're in the right gear, you're body is positioned right (something where I've still got a lot of work to do) and where you can look at the apex with confidence. Once you've spotted the apex, turn the bike quickly and roll the throttle on smoothly and progressively all the way through the corner. As you power all the way through the bend you can feel the bike settle, you can feel how much throttle to give it and how much grip you've got. Also, if you're able to hang off the bike properly, the combination of turning the bike quick and keeping the combined centre of gravity as low as possible will mean that you can use as little lean angle as possible to go round that bend at the given speed. You'll then get more grip out of the tyre giving you the option of staying safer or going faster round that bend the next time around.

The alternative is trying to go in fast (how do you know how fast is too fast), potentially you could outbrake yourself, get target fixated on the kerb or hedge on the outside of the bend that's now rushing towards you. OK, take a deep breath and hope you've got enough grip in your tyres to cope with full lean. Bang the bike right over on it's side and try and hit the apex accurately. Now you find the bend is tightening, you're aleady on the edge of the tyres so how do you adjust your line? The only answer is that you lean off the edge of the tyre and lowside or you have to pick the bike up and run wide - we've all done it. Annoying on the track, potentially lethal on the road - running wide on a left hander into oncoming traffic is one of the biggest killers for bikers.

My advice is to ride through the winter. It will make you smoother and you'll be able to put that tho good use when the grip comes back in summer. The other advice is to go to a good track day school. CSS is the one a few people have mentioned and their way is the way I try to ride. It works. By feeding the power in as soon as you turn (way before the apex) I guarantee that your mid corner speed and exit speed will be way above somebody of similar ability who barrelled in too hard and you will slingshot past them on the exit.

Another tip is don't be in too much of a rush to go too fast, too quickly. Get the technique right first then add the speed.

Spot on - what's right for you might not be right for others. Each to their own, give or take some good basic advice. Thereafter, up to you, as long as you're safe and enjoying it...:biaggi:

By saying "Slow" it's a relative term, I don't mean hauling on the brakes and parking the bike, I mean arriving at the corner so that you've got your braking done, you're in the right gear, you're body is positioned right (something where I've still got a lot of work to do) and where you can look at the apex with confidence. Once you've spotted the apex, turn the bike quickly and roll the throttle on smoothly and progressively all the way through the corner. As you power all the way

the first bit we all have to do.it's no good if you try to go round a corner with the brakes on,
getting the braking over with long before the corner also means you have a bit of a safe time,
and as for the right gear, well I wont go on,
but keeping the throttle open all the time,?
and I find if you shut the power of when you want to drop the bike in to a turn it helps load up the front so it helps the front tyre to grip, it alows a faster change of direction, and as for going to fast into a corner you can run deep so you can brake if you have to, not much but you way of taking the corner before the apex is not much better,
ps that's whot is meant by slow in fast out,
But there is no right or wrong way, there both ok and it's up to you if one way is better than the other for you but dont say stuff like fast in faster out is more dangerous just cos thats not the way you do it is wrong,
I've have more than 150'000 miles no bikes and there is lots more to what is ok and what is not than I can type in a day,
like you said getting the braking over with long before the coner so you can brake later if you want,
If you ride to the max it does not matter how you ride there is little room for era,
go in to a corner over 20 mph to fast for the corner and it's game over.
thats my 1p worth,
ps others say I'm fast.