Keep Sliding

Sinque

Sinque

Sinque

Soldato
Joined
5 Aug 2004
Posts
7,386
Location
North East England
Recently got my Gilera DNA 50 and passed my CBT. I've been going to school on it and everyday and i've almost came off it already, either by slipping on metal covers on the road or just feeling like i'm sliding rather than rolling. I've just got brand new tyres aswell and i'm starting to get really cautious when turning 'cause it feels like the bike is just going to slide away from me.

First time was a metal cover on the road, it was wet and I went over it and the front wheel just went and handle bars went crazy but I managed to hold it. Second was going round a corner, not tight either, was just a nice curved corner, and it felt like I was just sliding around it and that I had no grip to the road. Finally I was behind a car and they braked rather rapidly at a crossing and I was literally about 10cm from hitting them, I couldn't stop and I just seemed to slide, even though my wheels didn't lock.

Not really sure what's going on, wether it's icy roads or what but it seems i'm just going to come off eventually with all this sliding.
 
You shouldn't go over manhole covers in the wet. Pretty much a no.1 rule if you don't want the bike's front end to slide away.
 
Rule number 1 of being on two wheels on the road - Avoid anything on the road other than nice, grey tarmac. This includes manhole covers and road markings on the road. If you are going to ride over markings then pick the skinnyest bit...for example the L in SLOW.

Rule number 2 of being on two wheels on the road - Treat every other road user as a blithering idiot who hasn't seen you and doesn't know you're there. Visualise them pulling out on you if they are waiting at a junction, or braking hard as they approach a corner and adjust your position / speed accordingly. That way if they do, you'll be ready for it.

Rule number 3 of being on two wheels on the road - Ride to the conditions. When I had my RS50 with teeny skinny tyres, I used to keep the thing practically bolt upright in anything other than the dry. Now I have my 400 I can ride in the wet quite comfortably, but my RS was a nightmare in the wet.
 
Brand new tyres take a few hundred miles to 'bed in' to get full grip, so, combined with the weather we're getting making the roads very slippery, you need to take it nice and easy is all.
 
MrSix said:
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I try my best but sometimes they are just unavoidable :(

doofer said:
Brand new tyres take a few hundred miles to 'bed in' to get full grip, so, combined with the weather we're getting making the roads very slippery, you need to take it nice and easy is all.
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Ah right, next time it's dry i'm going to blast about on it for a few hours then.

But even when I'm going barely 15mph because i've just come around a corner my front wheel still goes :(
 
You have just stated both the problems :p

1. going over wet metal manhole covers, big no no
2. Brand new tyres in the wet, unless you have done 100 dry miles in them, then they will still be slippy.
 
Especially scooter tyres... Though there are good ones these days. DNA's a nice wee bike by the way, good choice I think. A mate of mine had the 125, lovely.

I think it could be that you're misinterpreting the feel of the bike too, though... Especialyl with the braking-for-a-car example, if you slide on the brakes you pretty much always lock the front wheel, and as a new rider you would most likely crash... Saving a locked front isn't the easiest. Did you ever get this feeling on your CBT?

And yes- avoid manhole covers. You're not a car, you have about a thousand lines round every corner and obstacle. Also, if they've been salting the roads around you then that robs the surface of grip.
 
Northwind2 said:
Especially scooter tyres... Though there are good ones these days. DNA's a nice wee bike by the way, good choice I think. A mate of mine had the 125, lovely.

I think it could be that you're misinterpreting the feel of the bike too, though... Especialyl with the braking-for-a-car example, if you slide on the brakes you pretty much always lock the front wheel, and as a new rider you would most likely crash... Saving a locked front isn't the easiest. Did you ever get this feeling on your CBT?

And yes- avoid manhole covers. You're not a car, you have about a thousand lines round every corner and obstacle. Also, if they've been salting the roads around you then that robs the surface of grip.
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Yeah, they're brand new Avon tyres, £70 at the correct pressures. It's a lovely bike indeed, really nippy :)

Nope, on my CBT I felt as though I could get my knee to the floor (not that I would :p). But now I darn't even lean slightly!
 
Do you ride with the throttle to the stop?? this will cause spin-ups as soon as grip levels drop on the road.

I noticed this when I had a 125, goin up hills etc with throttle jammed open to get speed. When you go over a slippy bit of road the rear would spin. Only way to avoid this is to back off the gas just enough to keep your speed constant.
 
RVF said:
Do you ride with the throttle to the stop?? this will cause spin-ups as soon as grip levels drop on the road.

I noticed this when I had a 125, goin up hills etc with throttle jammed open to get speed. When you go over a slippy bit of road the rear would spin. Only way to avoid this is to back off the gas just enough to keep your speed constant.
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It's not the rear, it's the front :( It feels almost like pulling the front brake when going around a corner, the front tyre just slides away from under me.
 
Sinque said:
It's not the rear, it's the front :( It feels almost like pulling the front brake when going around a corner, the front tyre just slides away from under me.
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It may just be a handling characteristic of that bike, if the front was truly sliding you would no doubt have been down the road by now.

How much lean angle you trying to use? are you aggresivly attacking the bends?

The reason I ask is that most riders with CBT has little or no riding skills. It takes time to understand whats causing the problems you are experiencing.

Try and be smooth in every aspect of your riding i.e smooth on brakes, dont just chuck it into corners etc

The roads are very slippy this time of year so just take a chill pill and dont try and ride like Valentino ;-)
 
RVF said:
It may just be a handling characteristic of that bike, if the front was truly sliding you would no doubt have been down the road by now.

How much lean angle you trying to use? are you aggresivly attacking the bends?

The reason I ask is that most riders with CBT has little or no riding skills. It takes time to understand whats causing the problems you are experiencing.

Try and be smooth in every aspect of your riding i.e smooth on brakes, dont just chuck it into corners etc

The roads are very slippy this time of year so just take a chill pill and dont try and ride like Valentino ;-)
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Barely no lean at all yet, still picking up confidence, this feeling of it slipping away isn't helping me either :p I'm not scared but i'm weary about it.

The roads are dry today so i'll probably try wear the tyres in and hope it makes a difference.

Did you get an aftermarket exhaust fitted on yours? Really not enjoying the sound of a hairdryer :p
 
I had a 125 4 stroke that could top 75mph, slightly faster than the 50 you're riding but probably easier to ride due to broader spread of power.

Try and pick wide lines into corners i.e over to the left for right handers and more over to the centre for lefters (not too close the centre line though). Keep a steady throttle as you turn and dont crack it open till you can see the exit of the bend and the bike is more upright.

Cracking the throttle too early causes the front to go light and try to run wide, this could be what you are feeling. If this is the case then keeping a steady positive throttle should improve the feel of the bike. Also going round a bend with no throttle would have the same feeling.
 
The sliding feeling is a combination of cold wet roads and new tyres. Also the new tyres will give the bike a completely different feel as you tip it into a bend. New tyres often make the bike feel like it is dropping away from you. This is because older tyres get flattened off, the fresh curve of the new tyres means that your angle of lean increases in a linear manor rather than exponentially.
 
Dureth said:
The sliding feeling is a combination of cold wet roads and new tyres. Also the new tyres will give the bike a completely different feel as you tip it into a bend. New tyres often make the bike feel like it is dropping away from you. This is because older tyres get flattened off, the fresh curve of the new tyres means that your angle of lean increases in a linear manor rather than exponentially.
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Is that good then? :confused::p
 
It's great once you get used to it, however after riding on worn tyres your brain gets used to them and the change is what makes it feel slidey. It means you will have more predictable turn in on the bike.
 
Well i'm about go out on it for a while then go to a friends, going to test if it's just the feel of the new tyres and test the lean a bit more. It's dry :)
 
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