Ride Like a Pro.. on a Venture?

[Seaking]

Hi guys, I just finished watching the Ride like a Pro DVD (soon to watch the Deal's Gap DVD =)

 

And yeah, interesting concepts and a lot of what I already know but to watch them do it, the verbal reinforcement helps as well..

 

"However"..

 

They're using lower centre of gravity Harleys with better low end grunt on them which must make it much easier to do the dips and turns etc. The ONE issue I have with my bike when doing the advance maneuvers is that I honestly feel the bike will fold up on itself with the steering locked in tight and causing the bike to drop.. Though they say "rear brake and power" will stand the bike up, I always feel like it's going to force the forks over hard and lock it up causing the fall.. you know what I mean?

 

Then I see in their video later on where they say "these techniques work for all kinds of bikes" and show the various bike.. Yeah, nice Harleys, dipping down deep scrapping their boards blah blah.. then a Goldwing.. then a Valkyrie and then.. A 2nd Gen Venture dipping down hard and over negotiating a proper dip and turn.. HUH!

 

My bike is tuned up properly.. Lowering links, risers, even pressure in the forks, good shock in the rear and newish tires, proper inflation but yet when I do those turns, I really feel like I'm going to lock it up to the inside of the turn and drop the bike..

 

I know it would be hard to point out what's what without seeing or being there, what's the trick with our type of bike?

 

A month or so before we can get our bikes out around here.. I really want to hone up the skills for this season.. I can do all those exercises on a VStar, but still struggling with the sharper turns on the Venture..

 

(paraphrasing a quote from the video:

 

After 20 years of riding a motorcycle, I thought I had 20 years of experience riding a motorcycle but in reality all I had was one year of riding experience repeated 20 times, doing the same mistakes over and over again, until I learned how to ride a motorcycle properly.. )

 

Makes sense..

[jlh3rd]

i don't think there is a trick......you're right, the venture has a higher center of gravity and , because of that , it just takes more practise......the electra glide i had was a lot easier.....it weighed less also......i'm getting better with my venture......but , just like you, have the same feeling of going over........i think it just takes more practise....and because i don't wanna pay for dings and scrapes from letting the bike fall over......i take it slow with how far i go with my practise....

[KiteSquid]

You can do everything on the Ride Like a Pro videos on most any bike including the RSV IF you practice them.

 

I would not do it on a bike that has been raked or extended an any manner...

 

 

I have done it once...... rode a circle...... with a 15 foot radius........... and the bike had more to give me, but my pucker factor was high. I NEED TO GET OVER THIS.

 

 

 

Click HERE for more info on how tight a turn a stock RSV should be able to make.

 

 

BTW I am still working up the nerve to do 12 feet...

Edited March 5, 2010 by KiteSquid

[dynodon]

I have practiced the techniques in that video on my Gen 1VR. When I truly get to the lean angles they show, I have had high heart rates, and am not comfortable with them yet.

 

But they have helped me tighten up my turn-arounds so I can easily to it in a two lane road without fear. All it takes is practice.

 

I don't see where a RSV and an Ultra Glide are that different in center of gravity, both have gas tanks up high, both have V engines in about the same position, and both have similar body kits.

 

Keep practicing in a wide open parking lot, and you will get those tight turns, and it will take some time to get comfortable with them. But if all you get is BETTER at turns and make them tighter (if not super tight) you have gained valuable skills.

[jlh3rd]

i don't know where the center of gravity is on the harley or the venture.......i do know that it was easier turning the harley and it weighs about 60 lbs, give or take ,less....the harley doesn't have water jackets, radiator, ..the venture is just a bigger bike.....and it gets "interesting" when you tight turn it...

[jburrell]

You need to get over the idea that the bike is top heavy and just decide you can do the manuvers. I went one step further and went to the 130 width front tire and the handling is completely different. I can make any turn with my feet on the floorboards at almost a stopped speed. The top heaviness goes away and you can make any turn and you dont feel that handlebar weight anymore. Barring tire change you just need lots of practice in all the manuevers.

My

[WHiP]

I rode my 2000 RSV during a Rider's Edge Skilled Rider course at a Harley dealership. After a little practice I was able to negotiate the U-turn box as well or better than the Harleys (all eleven other bikes were Harleys). For me, the issue on all the slow speed manuevers was just keeping my head up. It seemed to be all about the rider not the bike.

BTW, I took some good natured ( I think good natured) ribbing about not riding a Harley. I gave the usual responses - I don't mind Harleys just don't like Harley riders - I ride too much to maintain a Harley, ect, etc. During the day one of the Harleys, a Road Glide, broke- the ignition would not turn on and the rider had to finish the course on a little Buell. Later, two old guys (meaning older than me) got into an angry arguement about their dealer sponsored HOG groups. I smiled all the home on my rice burner.

[Dave77459]

PkTexas and I took the RLAP course here in Houston. The only problem he had on his RSV is that he had handlebar risers on, and they hit the chrome tank cover and limited the ability to lock the bars. When they removed the chrome, he did all the maneuvers easily.

 

Worried about dropping the bike? Split some garden hose and put it over your crash bars. Now there is nothing stopping you.

 

BTW, the instructor did the maneuvers with me riding pillion. Want to talk about top heavy now?

 

Dave

[1BigDog]

I just took the Experienced Rider course with the GWRRA assc. I was the only non wing there. But what I think Seaking may have had in the back of his mind was actually dropping the bike and doing all sorts of expensive damage. Police training uses old, droppable bikes, not nice shiny new ones. I cringed at the tight turns and I know that thought crossed my mind quite a bit on the course. But practice does make perfect. And that "fear factor" needs to be gone.......

[Seaking]

Good comments by all.. "Practice" seems to be the key word here.. and I practice a lot. I spoke with one of the chief instructors here and he offered me some one on one time this spring to over come this little 'fear' factor.. He said he knows what I'm referring to and has a fix for it.. (big sticks, electric shock?)

 

I just finished watching the Deal's Gap DVD and wow.. I can hardly wait to try that road up, even with a bit of apprehension.. i did have one major exception about something they did on the video, though.. One segment they boast up the guy on the big yellow Goldwing and how he's chasing down these two sports bikes who end up riding above their skill levels and could potentially crash or cause a crash. He's "pushing" from behind, pulling their buttons to not let the touring bike pass, thus the idiots on the sports bike race forward to prevent the yellow bike from passing.. or try to. The narrator as so much says the same thing.. However, the yellow bike rider would be in as much as to blame should one of the sports bike riders had gone down.. They acknowledged that he was pushing to pass them and knew they wouldn't let him pass.. which now turned into a very dangerous game of cat and mouse.. basically seeing if he could push them hard enough to crash on their own.. see where I'm going with this? Its the only section of the video that soured me.. they could have narrated it differently with the same footage but meh.. I didn't care for it..

 

I drive / ride all the time and encounter such idiots who won't 'step aside' for a faster vehicle (mah and paw kettle in the sunday drive car on the back roads doing 30 under the posted speed limit...) Instead of cramming onto their tail and pushing from behind, it's always best to pull over and wait a while... or submit to the bovine state of mind of numbness being them.. better than than risk pushing them into an accident, or yourself..

 

Anyway.. that's just me.. your opinion or mileage may most likely differ..

[cecdoo]

I just took the Experienced Rider course with the GWRRA assc. I was the only non wing there. But what I think Seaking may have had in the back of his mind was actually dropping the bike and doing all sorts of expensive damage. Police training uses old, droppable bikes, not nice shiny new ones. I cringed at the tight turns and I know that thought crossed my mind quite a bit on the course. But practice does make perfect. And that "fear factor" needs to be gone.......

 

Exactly my problem, I have the dvd and have watched it quite a few times, I am not ready to drop my bike making tight turns, I would love to be able to do it, but not at the expense of trashing my bike. It would be great to take the course on a beater bike or one equiped to handle any fall. Like I said I admire the guys who do it and would like to be able to, but I aint crashing my bike to get there. Guess I just keep practicing. Craig

[Dave77459]

Guys, the reason you will drop the bike is that you are going too slowly. You will stop and the bike will fall over. I dropped my RSTD, 6-7 times? I had guards that I bought, but it was just plastic tubing. With all those drops, it was barely scuffed.

 

Maybe I am Hercules, but when my bike starts going down while stopped, I put my foot down and it doesn't lay on it's side.

 

The hardest thing in this technique is learning the friction zone so that you keep momentum.

 

What I am saying is that you don't need to fear a drop while practicing this. It's not like skidding on gravel, it is like coming to a stop light and forgetting to put your foot down.

 

Well, that's my experience. Yours may vary.

 

Dave

Edited March 5, 2010 by Dave77459
Spelling

[GigaWhiskey]

The 1st gen can eat up some twisties! it is a trip when the whip slaps the cliff just above your head when your hanging off in the corner.

[Seaking]

Exactly my problem, I have the dvd and have watched it quite a few times, I am not ready to drop my bike making tight turns, I would love to be able to do it, but not at the expense of trashing my bike. It would be great to take the course on a beater bike or one equiped to handle any fall. Like I said I admire the guys who do it and would like to be able to, but I aint crashing my bike to get there. Guess I just keep practicing. Craig

 

As they say in the airforce, you have to know your limits and then pull it back in a bit from there.. I've no probs dropping the bike in the parking lot, the bike locks up in a turn as if it comes to a dead stop with the wheel cocked over and I go for a tumble if it's abrupt enough.. The engine and bag guards are doing their jobs, albeit too much but it's trying to get that dip and oomph doing that's hard to figure out..

 

Once I get on the course next month I'll be able to sort it out..

[Sonnyboy]

:starz:I took the advanced course and rode the city police course with a friend of mine who is a city motorcycle cop. Didn't do it on my RSV but on my 1700. Hitting the back brake will stand the bike up, but as a mechanic I just can't slip the clutch like you have to, to maintain the slow speed control. My friend has one to two clutches put in his Harley in a year of city riding. But I did learn that I need a little more turning around room and pushing is okay with me, hopefully down hill. I also realized that the instructors who were doing these turns only look at where they want to go and not at where I was looking at, the pavement my floorboards were fast approaching. Amazing what age and wisdom can do to your judgement. I use to jump first, now I look first, think on it, figure out what it will cost to fix it if it breaks, then go and do something else.

[Sunrayman]

Well, I had a coupla Goldwings, a Valkyrie, and now two Venture 1st Gens.

 

I can easily make it around a two-lane u-turn with my feet up going a tad faster, adn counter steering, but when I go slow, slow, thru cones, etc., I simply don't see any problem with dragging my feet, not touching (but covering just in case) and have simply

full control in the event of a near fall.

 

I do this because I have had to make a panic stop right smack dab in the middle of the turn, and I MUST keep control o the bike, so I do.!

 

Use your feet more often.

[Brake Pad]

Clutch, Brake, & Gas, In 1st, will make your bike drop into netrual

[dynodon]

tried the clutch/brake/gas a lot of times with my Gen I and it never went into neutral. Maybe you have something wrong with your tranny/shifter? Are you accidentally hitting the shifter when you do this?

[GigaWhiskey]

tried the clutch/brake/gas a lot of times with my Gen I and it never went into neutral. Maybe you have something wrong with your tranny/shifter? Are you accidentally hitting the shifter when you do this?

 

 

Yea, are you? When doing that in a tight circle, I tend to put my toes on the footpeg, away from the shifter. Just habit. hadn't realized it till just now.

[Brake Pad]

not just me. we have a guy with a 2006 midnight, that rides with us, and hes, dropped his bike twice, because of it. and its only on the left hand tight turns???

[Seaking]

not just me. we have a guy with a 2006 midnight, that rides with us, and hes, dropped his bike twice, because of it. and its only on the left hand tight turns???

 

I had my 2006 Midnight out today and scraped the hell out of the pipes and floor boards by the end of the day lol.. wow.. Ok, the bike DOES want to lean and dip and do everything other bikes do with confidence and authority.. Impressive!!

[KiteSquid]

Clutch, Brake, & Gas, In 1st, will make your bike drop into netrual

 

Not my bike.

 

It works well.

 

 

Rember it is rear brake. NEVER front brake a parking lot speeds.

[OutlawRider]

I watched the dvd and am still trying to talk my self into trying it. Found a perfect place to practice, Just having a hard time getting started. Went for a good ride Weds. and came home pulled up and started backing up the driveway like I always do. Looked over my shoulder to see that I was missing the cars and something felt funny. Turned around to see that the bike was tipping at a stop,it was far enough all I could do is slow it down. I layed it on the side. Just the gaurds and the one muffler. I did find out that I can pick it up. I always wondered about that. Nothing hurt just imperessed.

[Seaking]

I watched the dvd and am still trying to talk my self into trying it. Found a perfect place to practice, Just having a hard time getting started. Went for a good ride Weds. and came home pulled up and started backing up the driveway like I always do. Looked over my shoulder to see that I was missing the cars and something felt funny. Turned around to see that the bike was tipping at a stop,it was far enough all I could do is slow it down. I layed it on the side. Just the gaurds and the one muffler. I did find out that I can pick it up. I always wondered about that. Nothing hurt just imperessed.

 

Funny enough, the Venture was the very first bike I ever owned that I had dropped to the ground. I got high mounted on an uneven roadway and when I put my feet down it was a lot deeper than my legs were long and down went the bike.. ergh..

 

BUT, one of the first things I ever did when I bought the bike and got it home was to lay down shop mats in the drive way and put the bike down on it's side and attempt to pick it up the way we were trained ages ago (pretty much the same as in the DVD).. and yes, though she's a heavy girl, anyone can pick her up..

 

(but that doesn't mean she's easy!!)

[OutlawRider]

Yes it is the first street bike that I have dropped or ever had down, besides dirt bikes which I have been down on. Some of the dirt bikes I have dropped the same way as you seaking.