Ducati Sporting Club UK > General > Idle Chat > Road Riding

[ericthered40]

[quote]Originally posted by TP


What about you? How many of you have sworn off the road? How many of you have sworn off the track? How many of you have wrestled with this decision yourself - and maybe changed your decision later? And why

I have throats like this all the time and have stopped myself riding/racing over several incidents.
Crashes I have had, the loss of close friends and when my son was borne family pressure,
I think they call it a healthy respect for what you are actually exposing yourself to.
Track riding is by far more fun but two of my friends have serious injuries sustained on track and I am talking One paralysed down the hole of his left side and the other lost his foot from stalling off the line.
Two of my closest friends were killed in road crashes. One in Germany seven years ago and the other in Dagenham when we were twenty-two years old. I miss him just as much now as I did at the time it happened. When you watch your friend die wile your waiting for the ambulance it can sort of make you think for a bit.
I have also lost friends in Boat racing crashes and windsurfing at Cortilo one minuet it was the best day perfect waves perfect wind and then it just all fell apart. When we were standing on the beach and Peter just vanished in to the Atlantic. No rescue just us on the beach then sailing offshore looking for him. I think that was the worst feeling of loss because there was nothing anyone could do, just felt so helpless.

Riding a motorcycle is an activity that delivers the ultimate rush and can also deliver the ultimate punishment. So if you feel like it is time to leave it for a wile and take stock, just remember you can just get back on when ever you need another fix and stay off as long as it takes to get your head right.
For me it’s like a drug, life without a bike just doesn’t do it and I keep coming back.
Like I said to the lucky fokes on the (is it all over) thread today you are lucky you just don’t know that now.

See now you got me thinking grim reaper again
But I have snapped out of it and booked myself in at Snett for this Monday coming.

[deej]

4d thats a great point about the appetite for riding your 996, i hate it when i cant get to ride my 748,the missus dreads it when ive a big ride planned and she gets upto let the cats out at 5 and see's its ****ing down, she knows i'll be in a foul mood allday then

ride safely and ride carefully and more importantly ride because you still enjoy it

[crm250]

Sadly road only for me. i am not heroic or even slightly competetive and while a track day kind of appeals i would be to worried about binning the bike or being taken out by someone else.
yet i face these risks and far worse on the road !
i am lucky to have some real nice and rare bikes and todays superbikes like felix just dont really appeal to me. done the blade thing and was never really aspired by it (apart from knowing i could just put in the key and go and it would get me there) and some might say downgraded to a 916.
I firmly believe that 100bhp is more than enough for anyone on the road and i feel quite happy with a moderate 60 from a 250 or my 400cc bikes.
i love the feeling of riding on the road and find it the only way to forget about everything else going on in my head and just concentrating on riding.

more often than not i ride alone too and am quite happy to do so, riding at my own pace as its quite un-nearving watching some of the people on bikes in groups all playing catchup and taking risks. there is always 1 rider in each group who is faster and one who is slower, and i can see why bikers get a bad name at weekends riding in groups making cars brake when a bike pulls into the gap left by the car causing a chain reaction of braking because some soft git just had to keep up with the fast guy.

if a few of us do go out, we go at our own pace and all meet up or pull over and wait should one decide to go for it.

besides if i take one of the gag bikes out on the road then i am doing no more than 55 - 60 mph anyway and overtaking is an interesting experience so they have no choice but to let me set the pace.

infact if the truth be known i am quite happy to collect my odd jap bikes as these were the things of my dreams back in the 80's and 90's and now my dreams are coming true slowly.
i guess in another 20 years perhaps i will be able to afford some of todays rare stuff (perhaps a desmosedici or a RCB) and would be quite happy just looking at them and not riding anymore

my old man restores and has quite a few old 175, 250 and 350 ducati's which are 100% original and mint and he never rides them, its always me who has to take them for MOT and thats a bundle of fun trying to remember the gear and brakes are on the other side of the bike

[Edited on 19-4-2005 by crm250]

[clockwork orange]

I enjoy riding too much not to. Can't afford TD's (or the repair bills if it goes wrong), so road is it for me. Fortunately I drive around the Southern Counties a lot for work (30 000m/year) so know the roads reasonably well. Just one less thing to worry about, so more time to consider what the local idiots might be up to.

Its more about freedom, time to clear the cobwebs out, and focus on something other than the rat race, rather than sheer speed and adrenaline for me.

[AK]

Tony, what a horrid accident to have to help out with!

As for us - I like to ride out to meet up - just like Keefer & others. Regretfully the wet conditions really put me off on the trackday last Sept, and I dont plan to do any more - tho am happy to come & wave/take the mick/pick up bike bits for you lot

Alan likes road riding with meets & got bitten by the track bug last year at Rockingham (he likes rain - I dont).

C

[Monty]

Tony, I thought long and hard about giving up road riding in 2001-got hit from behind by a drunk gypo in a pickup and sent down the road. Luckily no damage to me and only about £1600 worth to the ST-which my insurance had to pay for as the gypo did a runner and was never traced-even though we had his number plate-not just the number the dam plate as well!
It shook me right up and I considered giving up road riding, but I couldn't do it, I just enjoy riding my bike and particularly going on long trips abroad-luckily Jo enjoys that too so I'm still doing it. I also love riding the track but that is a completely different type of riding-luckily I can do both.

John

[uncledunnie]

Track only camp for me

Gave up riding on the road about 18 months ago and don't miss it (the riding aspect) at all.

The social aspect I miss, but the track oriented social scene more than makes up for it.

If I were to return to the road it definately would'nt be on an SBK - whats the point in having a 150bhp ballistic missile when the average road speed in our congested country I doubt ever exceeds 40mph. Traffic laws put our licences increasingly at risk and the other idiots out there put pay to our health - and people think track riding is dangerous!!

I remember a couple of years ago after having done a few track days on the 999 how great it was to wind the bike up on track and find out exactly what these great bikes are all about - and then how frustrated I felt next time I went out on the road, slipping clutch in first in the traffic barely out of 3rd any other time - na - theres no point.

Having said all that I had to run my DD bike in earlier this year on the Queens highway and really enjoyed it, a 600 monster is just perfect for the road - trouble is its just perfect for the track too

[dickieducati]

for me i thin it will depend how the racing goes this year in terms of time used up. as we are all discovering, practice, testing and the actual racing weekends takes up a fair amount of time and i do need to do other things at the weekends too. i do like going out on my sunday rides or on summer evenings but i am finding it increasingly dangerous purely from a power point of view. i simply ride far too fast on the road and the possiible outcome should something go wrong doesnt bear thinking about. i love my 999 but for the road it is quite simply far too powerful and i cant resist using it. i love the meeting up and chatting over breakfast etc but i will get that from the racing paddock if i stick with it.
i will see how this year goes, stick with the 999;maybe get something 'sensible' (monster 620 for example) for the road ; or just do the trackday racing stuff. will have to see how it pans out.

[fil2]

I know exactly what you are saying tony. But all it takes is 1 decent ride on the road with the mates and all those questions vapourise. Summer has just started and we have loads of amazing road rideouts ahead of us..enjoy.
How will my opinon change after a season on the race track i dont know...i hope i can manage to have the luxury of both track and road.

One to combat traffic is to get early rides out..i use to go out at 6.00am in the summer with the lads and we would get 3 - 4hours of almost clear roads then get home for 11 ish to enjoy the rest of the day...early doors is the way to go.

Phil

[dickieducati]

Originally posted by fil2
IOne to combat traffic is to get early rides out..i use to go out at 6.00am in the summer with the lads and we would get 3 - 4hours of almost clear roads then get home for 11 ish to enjoy the rest of the day...early doors is the way to go.

Phil

totally agree with that, we go out early on sudays (pre 7) and its a joy on the roads getting back just as the traffic is building up.