Judgement

I read something yesterday which seems a bit strange - it was : 'good judgement comes from experience and experience comes from making bad judgements'.
I have a different take:
- riding a motorcycle safely is mainly about risk management. There is no need to have an incident before you learn how to avoid it. Risk management is based on likelihood and potential consequences. In road racing, it is common practice to be fastidious about machine preparation and to not stick your neck out where there are solid objects you might hit. And usually you can see a crash unfolding in front of you before it happens. On public roads however, it is impossible to control the situation where a vehicle driver dozes off as they come up on you from behind, unless you continually pass the other traffic. There was a friend of mine who used to ride a motorcycle to work every day. At one particular T-intersection, he always stopped a bit short of the corner. One morning two cars collided there and one flew across the front of his bike and went through a barbed-wire fence and into the paddock beside him.

I've never had a bike prang I couldn't have avoided. Now by that, I don't mean that hindsight dictated that I should have stayed in bed on the days that I did stack my bike, only that if I was more skilled, more alert and focussed on the job at hand and had an escape plan for every situation that I could have avoided coming to grief. I haven't used the word "accident" as to me that implies some sort of divine control of the situation in common parlance. Something that happens out of the blue and you've got no say in the way it unfolds. This is what insurance companies sell you. Accidents do happen. That diesel spill on a wet road that you cannot see until you're sliding down the road. That 'roo that jumps out in front of you from thick bush beside the road. Al's mate's car collision in an alternate universe where he didn't stop short of the corner. These are far, far less common than my own mistakes and I believe that improving my skills, attitudes and attention will do more to extend my lifespan than trying to anticipate the utterly unpredictable.

I've made more than my share of bad judgements...

I've been taken out by animals running into the roadway twice over the nearly 50 years I've been riding. Other than those two incidents, every screwup has been my own. Like everyone, I've had a few close calls from brain-dead drivers, but none resulted in anything more than an adrenaline rush. I almost hit a free-range bull in New Mexico a few years ago. Came around a rock-walled curve cranked over and the bastard ran in front of me. I slid a big black "S" on the pavement, but didn't go down.

In 45 years of riding, I'm running about 50/50 my fault/others fault.

Thankfully, nothing more serious than a bent crank and broken metacarpal bone in one case, and my son's cut eyelid in another.

I know I've got a real problem. Whenever I go to a race track, as soon as the motor fires up I am never going to crash again. I don't think that is reality. Nearly every racing crash I've ever had, has been due to a drum front brake. These days I avoid them.

Its part of life we all take risks in every thing we do, in over 45 years of riding I have had my share of spills some not my fault and others where I was going a bit fast pushing my Norton to its limits in tight corners, gravel over the road, no time to even think about it before hitting the ground, it can happen so quick, but I been lucky and the only time I got badly hurt was at slow speed accident my first time I was stopped to turn in a mates drive way when I heard locking brakes behind me and then the big bang, the bike didn't even get a mark on it (Honda TL250 when I was 17 years old) torn the ligaments in my left knee and was out of action for 4 months, after that I have had 2 more accidents involving my left knee one bike related the other my own fault and my last accident was about 5 years ago where my Norton threw me over the handle bars broken left arm and thumb and that was the slow speed accident was only in first gear.

I still push my bikes hard its just the way I been from riding dirt bikes and road bike for the last 45 years or so, at 59 years old in 2 weeks time and I still ride my CRF450X as I was 17 still and my hot Norton and the last 4 1/2 years on the Thruxton with a lot of upgraded suspension work I push it as hard, I can count how many times I have been down on the Norton in the 42 years of owning it (6 times) can't tell you how many times on the dirt bikes and so far none on the Thruxton, so really I been pretty lucky, if you keep thinking about accidents then you will keep having them, so I never give it any throughts at all, I take life as it comes and maybe that is why I have survived with minimal damage and take notice of what is happening around you and in front of you, your eyes are your best friend, bit harder knowing whats going on behind you but having good mirrors help, there are a lot of bad drivers on the roads who are so distracted, its just you got to be one step a head of them and if you think about accidents all the time well then you should spend the rest of your life in bed, but even that could be dangours.

Ashley

On public roads, you are in the worst situation. In road racing, the scenarios repeat themselves. The worst is probably a motor explosion on the start line when somebody takes you out from behind.

At lease I ride on the road and not fear riding on the road, riding around in circles all day once in a while is not my way of fun, I get to ride on some of the best roads around in South East Queensland and riding with mates that I have been riding with for 45 years is what motorcycling is all about, but now the fun police are hitting places we use to ride a lot because of all the young fools and their hi speed antics and loosing it from inexperiance.

Ashley

When riding on public roads, I always ride like everyone is out to kill me. You also need an eye in the back of your head. Beware of everyone, and take nothing for granted. With all the teenagers, cell phones, SUV's and soccer moms out there, things are pretty challenging. They don't see cars, let alone bikes. Be careful during the rutting season for deer, they're always out at dawn an dusk. All that aside, my most frightening moment was blasting WOT in 3rd gear heading for a wall on a dead end street and my Amal throttle slides stuck wide open. Doing about 60 mph, I pulled in the clutch, hit the kill switch, applied both brakes..the bike (74 850) did a nice slide sideways, never went down, and stopped 30 feet from the wall. Looking back it was all control on instinct. After that I put some new carbs on. All in all, it's about knowing what to do in a situation, and it helps if it comes natural to you.

I stopped riding on public roads when I was 27 and went road racing because I knew my days were numbered. On public roads, you cannot use motorcycles in the way in which they were intended to be used. So if I have to drive with restraint, I feel I might as well do it in comfort. The other thing is that if you fang your bike on the road, what appears before you is always different, so you are always well below maximum speed. That requires a lower skill level - road racing is about continual improvement. What I would say about bad judgements is that crashing trains you in what NOT to do, so it does not necessarily improve your riding skills. I think Mike Hailwood was only an excellent rider because he was brought up riding excellent bikes, he did not crash often. You find that the bike trains you, but if the bike is bad you simply adjust and ride around it's deficiencies and never know any better.

I ride with restraints on the major roads but when we get out on the back roads its a different story, I ride with my mates that we all know each others riding style and experiance, but once we get out into the back roads all restraints are forgotten most of my mates have moden sport bikes, they are bigger capacity than my bikes so I have to ride like I am on a race track and I have done many race track days in my younger days, I push my bikes to their limits at all time just to keep up with my hi powered and better handling bike mates, they are always amazed that I am keeping with them only because of my experiance but I know the roads we ride on very well and I am always thinking a head and will open my bike up in the straights to get past them before they know what is happening get into the corners before them and just push it hard, with the crank, cam, head work and carbies my Norton gets up and goes pretty fast and with the handling of the Featherbed frame as well as the lightness of the whole bike it amazes my mates that a 42 year old bike can do what it does, they don't get past me in the twisties if I am in front and having the Joe Hunt maggie throwing out that big juicy spark helps it along.
You just got to be smarter than the rest and riding powerfull dirt bikes flat out all my life helps with my riding skills on the road.

Ashley

acotrel said:

I stopped riding on public roads when I was 27 and went road racing because I knew my days were numbered. On public roads, you cannot use motorcycles in the way in which they were intended to be used. So if I have to drive with restraint, I feel I might as well do it in comfort. The other thing is that if you fang your bike on the road, what appears before you is always different, so you are always well below maximum speed. That requires a lower skill level - road racing is about continual improvement. What I would say about bad judgements is that crashing trains you in what NOT to do, so it does not necessarily improve your riding skills. I think Mike Hailwood was only an excellent rider because he was brought up riding excellent bikes, he did not crash often. You find that the bike trains you, but if the bike is bad you simply adjust and ride around it's deficiencies and never know any better.

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Well Mr. Acotrel, when I'm on the road, I'm never riding below the maximum speed limit. Always above. Unless I'm in close quarters. I rode my first bicycle at 4 years old, my first minibike, 4hp @ 6 yo. When I was 9, I was riding Yamaha 125/175 cc enduro bikes, getting chased by angry farmers. In 1975, 14 yo, I was riding a Yamaha 360 YZ monoshock. A bad ass MX machine. That bike could shoot a 30 foot rooster tail, and jump 80 feet off a 2 foot ramp. You couldn't keep the front wheel down. I think practice makes perfect.

Didn't get my first street bike until 1980 @ 20 yo. My beloved 74 850 Roadster. I ride that like the 360 YZ. Balls to the wall. Anyway, in regards to judgement, I think it comes with experience and your natural ability. Either you have it or you don't.

Fully agree, either you have it or you don't, natrual ability plays a big part.

A friend of mine was handed my old Triton to race, after he'd been riding Harley sportsters for years. In his first historic race, he looked around the start grid at all the old farts and thought he would probably do alright. He then found out that he did not know how to ride a motorcycle. Speed limits on public roads are irrelevant. Road racing is not what it looks like from outside the fence. Nobody has much 'natural ability' - the bike shapes you. If it is bad, you will learn by crashing. If it is good, it will inspire you to ride faster. 'Practice makes perfect'.

If you ever get the opportunity to ride an unmodified 500cc Manx Norton, grab it. They steer slightly more positive than neutral, so inspire confidence and you will see what I am talking about. Many historic racing bikes are modified road bikes and don't inspire confidence. As soon as you get into the high speed bend and get that airy feeling, it is game over. I think about my early racing and wonder how I survived. These days I am never going to crash again - not 'natural ability'.

So your saying racers have no natrual ability, well I got to disagree with you there, natrual abiliy plays a big part in racing wheather road or dirt bikes in my opinion, how many champions around that won races on bikes that have not been good enough but won because of the riders natrual ability and experiance to push their bike beyond their limit, it plays a big part on the road as well on the track and if you keep crashing it means your not a good rider or you have a fear of crashing and it will happen, do you think riders of days gone by throught about risk mangement, I don't think so this is a moden day term.

Ashley

With dirt bike riding, 'natural ability' probably means being scatter-brained. Road racing is much more about being systematic and smooth. I have ridden dirt bikes and I found that I don't have the mentality for it. I know that the fastest dirt bike riders are also very smooth, but I think they learned that at huge cost. These days, I don't have a fear of crashing because my bike inspires confidence. One of the things which initially made road racing very difficult for me, was I could never grab a big handful of throttle with confidence, because my bikes always sent me warning signals. With the Seeley, all it does is make you want to give it more stick. A Manx Norton is also a bit like that, but most Tritons are bloody useless.
What comes first - a knowledge of risk management or do you develop that by becoming a good rider ? - It probably helps if you know that risk management exists before you start racing ? In the old days, safety was based on the ten commandments. You had the crash, then made a rule to ensure it did not happen again. The system was always reactive rather than proactive.

I think it might be wrong to presume that there is a natural progression from dirt bike riding to road racing. These days many MotoGP guys come up out of dirt bikes and it is quite noticeable how many will stick a foot out when they get a bit uncertain. If you have a look at this video and take note of what it means when the medicos find a boot on the road at the site of a road-racing crash. The speed differential between dirt bikes and road racing is horrendous. You cannot stick a boot on the track when you road-race.

In all my 45 years of riding dirt bikes and road bikes I have never stuck my leg out, always keep them on my foot pegs even in big power slides on the dirt bikes, even when I did a bit of motorcross racing, if you got a good handling dirt bike no need to put a leg out, in my opinion its a dangours habit to get into.
Yes a lot of champions started out on dirt bikes and motorcross racing before going road racing, I have more fun on a dirt bike even at 59 years old I am like a kid and gives me a good workout.

Ashley