Scraping metal?

[Loafer]

Originally Posted by Netnorske

I gotta agree with Gerry on this one....never ride over your skis...that's just . The idea is to safely get where you are going and enjoy the ride along the way. Ride your ride and if the group you are in is making you feel uncomfortable....catch up to them when they stop. Trying to keep up when you feel your skills are inadequate makes it unsafe not just for you, but for everyone in the group. Nobody will think less of you for doing so, and will respect your desire to ride safely.

"I bet I haven't scraped metal in at least 10 years...."

BD.....I got this....

"I'll bet you haven't seen your pecker without it being hard in at least that long too"....!!

Ahhhh....The voice of experience.
I've not been to WAWA land, but you should look up the word 'mirror' it's not a new invention.
We have them here so they must be available some where near your state. They're quite handy.

[blowndodge]

Originally Posted by blowndodge

I know there's a joke in there somewhere but I'll be danged if I can find it!

Originally Posted by Netnorske

I gotta agree with Gerry on this one....never ride over your skis...that's just . The idea is to safely get where you are going and enjoy the ride along the way. Ride your ride and if the group you are in is making you feel uncomfortable....catch up to them when they stop. Trying to keep up when you feel your skills are inadequate makes it unsafe not just for you, but for everyone in the group. Nobody will think less of you for doing so, and will respect your desire to ride safely.

"I bet I haven't scraped metal in at least 10 years...."

BD.....I got this....

"I'll bet you haven't seen your pecker without it being hard in at least that long too"....!!

Been that long since Tim's had his braces off???

[Netnorske]

Originally Posted by Loafer

Ahhhh....The voice of experience.
I've not been to WAWA land, but you should look up the word 'mirror' it's not a new invention.
We have them here so they must be available some where near your state. They're quite handy.

Indeed...the voice of experience...! I have managed to rectify that situation over the last couple years though...so now when I look south...I see something other than where the food that falls off my fork is gonna land....!!!

[ringadingh]

Originally Posted by Tiger J

Thanks for the advice everyone! I rode as a teenager on a Honda V45 Magna and a Suzuki Intruder 800 back in the FL panhandle, but never rode long distances or with a group. I sold the ole Intruder in college and, other than sporadically riding around the block on a friend's or relative's bike, I never rode again til last year and I am about to turn forty!

I did take the MSF course to get my endorsement... however, the MSF course was on a parking lot course and we used 250cc Honda Rebels which have little in common with the Nomad! I did fine with the MSF course.

The all-brand r/c that I rode with last year here in St. Louis area is a good bunch of folks... but I can attest that they do disregard rural speed limits with some degree of frequency which I believe is unfair for a AMA-chartered club that actively seeks new riders to join. I have not ridden with them or any other group this year and have been a true "nomad" thusfar this season! I am practicing my lines and turns and I am pretty comfortable taking curves at the posted speed limits for the curves... but, again, the groups seem to make a point of blasting through them! I am just not yet comfortable enough to lean the bike so hard as to scrape the floorboards and I tend to ride within speed limits except a little over on the long highways.

I do want to reach a level where I can go on group rides and not have to worry that I will not be able to keep up or that I will cause the "slinky-coil" effect in the group. I would like to be able to make trips to VBA rallies etc. At the moment, I have no problems with the long rides and road trips... I just have the premonition that I will be a drag to the rest of the group riders I am with!

Most group rides that I have been on are rather leasurely, and its not hard to keep up with the group. If a couple guys want to fly ahead, let them.

[Loafer]

Originally Posted by Netnorske

Indeed...the voice of experience... I have managed to rectify that situation over the last couple years though...so now when I look south...I see something other than where the food that falls off my fork is gonna land....!!!

Don't knock the usefulnes of the portable tray, 'Hot Coffee' could really curtail any sexual
activity for an extended period of time.

[ToeJam]

Also good to know is the bike WILL lean farther and hold in a curve more than you think. Scraping on the Nomad isn't an indication that you're at a lean limit, it is more the result of the bikes build. Victory MC's have quite a bit more lean angle before scraping - in fact, they brag about it.

[MarkG]

Tiger, it sounds like you are riding within your limits. Always ride your own ride and let the speed demons go on ahead. I have scraped the floorboards a couple of times and do not make a habit out of it, mostly when I had to turn sharper than I originally intended. The bike is not going to go down when it happens so don't panic.

[bouson]

If your gonna ride in a group ask when the last time they had an accident on a run was. If it's years go riding if it's hours ride by yourself.

I still don't like riding close to someone I don't know well and I've been riding since '72'.

If you watch the old TV show C.H.I.P.s at the very beginning they spent weeks training two officers to ride next to each other and they rarely change partners. Also you'll notice that the outside guy was always the same guy. Reason being that each would react a certain way in any given situation.

So what it boils down to is safe is safe and dumb is dead!

[schoeney]

Part of the issue could be the group make up.

The Nomad is a big heavy and relatively slow bike. Designed for comfort and all day riding. As a general rule people who ride Nomads (and other large cruisers/baggers) like to "smell the roses" most of the time.

If you are riding with a group made up of many different types of bikes (crotch rockets, sport tourers, dual sport, cruisers, etc) many will be lighter/faster than the Nomad. The owners of these other bikes probably have a variety of different reasons they bought these lighter and faster bikes. Some because they want to ride aggressively and their bike was designed for it, others because that is what they could afford, and others because that is what their buddies have.

You may want to try riding with a different group where most of the bikes are a similar type to your Nomad and/or the age of the riders are older or wiser and are over the whole speed demon thing (or at least understand a group ride is not the time place for testing your limits or your bike's limits) a group ride is just that...a ride, not a race.

A different group still won't guarantee you anything as you will still have a variety of personalities in a group ride but I have found that rides with similar bikes usually results in similar reasons for riding.

Others have given you excellent advice....ride your own ride, don't ride beyond your ability or comfort zone (in a group) and don't buckle to peer pressure.

To be quite frank large group rides with more than say 4 bikes are not that enjoyable to me because you spend more time focusing on the bikes/riders around you rather than enjoying the scenery.

Once in awhile me and a buddy or two will go out and be aggressive on a ride by ourselves but if that was my focus I would have bought a different type of bike.

Enjoy your ride!

[mobandy78]

There are a lot of great points here. I think if you're not comfortable keeping up with group that likes to run through the speed limits, then I'd find another group to ride with. St. Louis is a pretty big area, there are probably several riding groups around you. It's just a matter of finding them.

I know some of said ride at the rear of the pack and catch up at stops. Not a bad idea, take your time and go at your own skill level (if you continue riding with the same group). But, I once read an article when I bought my first bike, that said in group rides, the newer riders should be at the front of the pack. This allowed the group to ride at the speed and skill of the newer riders and the more experienced riders could handle the "slinky" effect a lot easier than a less experienced rider could.

[Monkeyman]

Some riders just don't know how to ride in groups. I went on a poker run a couple weeks ago. The guy just behind me kept getting in my "space". I was taught to ride a couple seconds behind the guy directly in front of me and about a second behind the guy in front of and to the side of me. That gives everyone room to react in case of something happening. If there are lots of riders in a group with little experience riding with others, I won't go.

I think I've gotten a bit off track. What was the original question?