I wasn't meaning to have a go at you personally birdman, not at all, I was just speaking in general terms about the style of riding you seemed to be describing.
Of the experienced riders I've gotten to know over the years, there seem to be two schools of thought.
1. "I've dropped my bike X times." "Everyone drops their first bike." "You have to go over the limit to know where it is." - These are the guys that have chosen to push their bikes and there own skills PAST the limits, and have learnt (the hard way) where those limits are at.
2. "You know you're about to lift the front wheel when the front end gets light and starts to shake." "I got to the point where my rear tyre was sliding…these tyres are great." "I can hear my tyres squealing when I use my brakes to the limit". - These are the guys that have slowly worked their way up to the limits of their bike and their ability, and have learnt to feel/see/hear the tell tale signs/signals of where the limits are at. These guys have generally not dropped a bike and if they have, they've been a bit "unlucky".
I think all road riders when riding on public roads should be aiming to be the latter type of rider described above. Dropping a bike is dangerous and expensive. It only takes one drop for you to slide into a tree or oncoming vehicle at speed to make your first drop your last. There are just too many things to hit on the streets for it to be worth the risk.
Funnily enough, most of the top professional racers are more the first type of rider. But they are NOT on the street! When they drop their bikes, they slide off the track into nice, relatively friendly conditions that have been specially designed for biker safety. Plus they are always wearing full leathers, gloves, boots, lids, neck/back braces, etc.
I'm not a square and I pop wheelies when the mood strikes me. There is a time and place for a wheelie and a chuckle to yourself in your helmet, just like there's a time and a place for hitting your bike's speed limiter. Just choose those times and places wisely.
I'm not wanting to come across as a smart ass or claiming to be the most experienced or "professional" rider here. Rider safety is a serious matter though.
It's great to hear you are enjoying your '14 so much birdman and with the miles you are putting on it you'll be giving us advice youself in no time!
* Last updated by: AussieNinja on 7/15/2009 @ 11:36 PM *
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