South West Bikers | Motorcycle Forum

Jug_Inspector wrote:

pieeater wrote: Post some pictures when you're done, just wandering how noticeable it will be.

Sorry pieeater, I've gone and changed my mind. I'm just gonna run with the fluffy velcro exposed and deal with the fly splats as they happen.

Yeah probably what I'll do too, I tend to look after my stuff so the trousers will be regularly cleaned with leather conditioner and I'll take a brush to the Velcro at the same time to keep on top of it.

ptolemyx wrote:A scenario that might be worth considering is the unfortunate glancing blow in passing afforded by kneesliders sticking out in the breeze

And I honestly don't see the need on track days either, unless you like climbing all over the bike like a demented monkey

I wouldn't ride on track without them. There are some corners where it would be hard NOT to get my knee down! And on my old Fireblade " climbing all over the bike like a demented monkey" was the only way to get it to turn fast enough. The SV650S is a lot easier to turn, but even with that there was one occasion at the old Anglesey circuit when my knee was jammed between the fairing and the ground.
And this is hardly hanging off at all!

I agree that riding on track they are invaluable. Providing you have good tyres and a suitable bike feeling your knee on the tarmac gives you a clue as to your lean angle. Riding on track allows you to explore the capabilities of your bike in a relatively safe environment which can be invaluable when riding on the road. Someone posted a video on here of someone crashing over a wall at the IOM because he "bailed out" of the corner yet it looked to me that the bike was quite capable of taking the corner. He would have saved himself a lot of pain had he kept his nerve.

I did a Rapid advanced rider course. The instructors are all police riders and they've all seen many bike crashes, fatal and non-fatal. My instructor said most riders who die in accidents where no third party is involved, in his opinion crash because they simply give up.
He said most modern bikes and modern tyres can take cornering forces far greater than the average rider has the nerve for. The moment you give up you fixate on your expected point of impact and you hit it every single time.

The most valuable lessons from that day were road positioning and looking through the corner. Sounds so obvious but you only have to stop doing it for a second to meet disaster. Both fundamental track riding skills and if you haven't got a police rider riding behind you for eight hours constantly correcting your mistakes through an ear piece, the track has to be the best place to learn them. Definitely highly relevant for road riders.

A proper track tuition day is on my to-do list for this year.

Short while ago I treated myself to some brand new leather trousers ( always had used before), same thing as has been said, wanted a pair that definitely matched my jacket. They came with knee sliders. The knee sliders are now in the cupboard. The jeans are great by the way ......