Ducati Sporting Club UK > Model Specific - Discussion, Technical Problems and Help > 999 / 749 > How do you ride yours?

[psychlist]

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?

[bike mad]

Originally Posted by dickieducati

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!

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,

[CK]

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!

[dickieducati]

Originally Posted by CK

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

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

[749er]

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.

[fab]

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.

[DC]

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

[fab]

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!!

[749sKiwi]

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

[fab]

Originally Posted by 749sKiwi

Hi Guys

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.

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"!