hey! bad times mate but dont get too down hearted......
i fell off mine twice in my 1st month of riding...
im 2years in now and (touch wood) havent had another bash since.....
My mrs crashed her bike the other day on her 1st ever ride out after passing her CBT and just carried on....
Keep your chin up, believe in yourself and your bike and you'll feel better....
hope bikes better now...!
Thanks Ton13
Lol no probs!
how is the bike now? just read through some of the replys and i definately agree with learning to counter steer etc... it took me ages and im still not as quick and fearless as the others i ride with.... luckily for me my friend used to race and takes brilliant lines when riding so i can follow him.... if he can do it then i know it can be done...!
The bike isn't too serious but not pretty. I know about counter steering etc,I just need practise so I don't freeze up and have confidence in the bike and the tyres and the road.
Funny you should mention tyres, as i was gonna say before that having faith in tyres is so important that they can affect the way you ride.
Even one small slip is one too many in my opinion.
I've used different brands of tyres on front and back since i've had the bike and through sheer luck they have worked perfectly together so i have stuck with them throughout. (Metzeler M1 front, Bridgestone BT21 rear). That combo may not be everyone's cup of tea but for my way of riding i've found them to be faultless, and completely trustworthy, so i've had absolutely no desire to fix what ain't broke.
Although i don't believe in being totally mugged off with certain tyre prices, i also don't believe in scrimping on them either because they are the contact between you and the road and possibly
the most important thing in keeping you upright.
You've gotta remember that there's probably less area than the palm of your hand of rubber touching the road, and that's got to stop you, and the weight of the bike at high speed. We don't have the luxury of 4 wide flat tyres like cars do, so bike tyres are severely overworked in comparison.
You can get bargains if you shop around, my last 2 front tyres i bought together were on sale from M&P for £35 each, but more importantly read reviews for different types of tyre. There are several sites that give good, honest opinions from bikers own experiences, as well as this forum if you do a search, but take into account the way people describe the way they're riding as well. Obviously some people can ride quite aggressively whereas others may just use the bike for work so certain areas simply may not apply to you. The idea of me getting my knee down on the way to work is not only quite a ludicrous thought, but also totally unnecessary!
Once you have that confidence behind your tyres then it can ultimately change the way you ride, so can only add to a better riding experience.