Riding experience and riding abilities

[Dux]

So there are so many people out there riding either daily or weekends only , what is the riding experience or ability of the riders out there . Feel free to elaborate on your experiences .

[Offroadrider]

Riding and racing since I was 14, I only race in off road cars now as a navigator, at 53 I'm way more happy doing the odd adventure tour with my mates.

[Straatkat]

Dux I think that anyone who has been riding off road for a while and done some trips will be able to ride fairly OK, some will never learn and should stop riding immediately, but there are a few truly gifted riders that have a natural ability and their skill level quickly rise above the ordinary, they should go racing!

[Bliknêrs]

15 to 55 or 40 years riding here. Dirt bikes to superbikes to adventure bikes as I grew up and older. Never did any training but was on the track most weekends while on superbikes.
Even had a cruiser at one stage and the missus loved hanging out with the cruiser crowd. Twice I had to resort to scooters 1 vespa and one Skygo to keep my sanity due to being armgat but even that was great.

[Dux]

Dux I think that anyone who has been riding off road for a while and done some trips will be able to ride fairly OK, some will never learn and should stop riding immediately, but there are a few truly gifted riders that have a natural ability and their skill level quickly rise above the ordinary, they should go racing!
[/quote

Reason I did the poll is because of the shockingly bad level of riding I see out there , I am NOT a riding god , but really the skill level on the roads/dirt is really bad and I am surprised that there aren't more accidents , the really scary part is how many of these people think they can ride well .
Yes , of course there are always the naturally talented riders but that isn't necessarily the only reason to go racing .

[Rommel]

Classic case of:  if I ride slower than you I'm a twatwaffle, and if I ride faster than you I'm a hooligan.

[Mpandla]

Reason I did the poll is because of the shockingly bad level of riding I see out there , I am NOT a riding god , but really the skill level on the roads/dirt is really bad and I am surprised that there aren't more accidents , the really scary part is how many of these people think they can ride well .
Yes , of course there are always the naturally talented riders but that isn't necessarily the only reason to go racing .

I have also seen some guys that go out and think its play time once they hit dirt. But judging by the tyre marks around tight corners, they are pushing the limits of their abilities in dangerous situations
Coupled to that, what I have seen on some of the Honda out rides is the complete.. shall we just say misunderstanding/lack of common sense of the basics, like taking water with you if you are riding in the Karoo.
But I think the training that is now offered over weekend at Killarney will help guys a lot

[ClimbingTurtle]

I was never allowed a bike when I was growing up - Mama Beer so NEE!
BUT... my olman was a manager at Yamaha, and after that at Honda - so there was always bikes to ride - particularly on Customer Days at Killarney, so I started riding at about age 6.....
First own bike was at age 22 - XT500 that I still have.
I have never ridden a superbike or on a race track - I know i will not want to stop......
I have done a number of longer trips, including Kenya & back, however I consider myself to be competent, but not more - and certainly not good enough to race (secret dreams) and I pretty much always ride under my 80% ability - I like riding, I dont like crashing.....

[jaybiker]

There comes a sad infuriating stage when experience doesn't help, because ability declines anyway.   

I still want to wheelie and powerslide. I still want to leap high in the air and ride deep sand, rocks ruts and narrow tweespoor at 160kmh.

Even though I could never do those things before. 

[Mpandla]

There comes a sad infuriating stage when experience doesn't help, because ability declines anyway.   

I still want to wheelie and powerslide. I still want to leap high in the air and ride deep sand, rocks ruts and narrow tweespoor at 160kmh.

Even though I could never do those things before. 

I have realised that my fitness level.. or complete lack thereof.. lets the slight ability I do have decline quite rapidly while on a trip.. and that is also a bad thing

[Edgar]

Dux I think that anyone who has been riding off road for a while and done some trips will be able to ride fairly OK, some will never learn and should stop riding immediately, but there are a few truly gifted riders that have a natural ability and their skill level quickly rise above the ordinary, they should go racing!

Straatkat, thank you for the kind words, I appreciate it 

[73 Peanut]

I went to breedsneck and met up with Straatkat and another dawg for a ride last Sunday that turned into me having to ride slower than usual as my son wanted to go with on his BMW 650gs that he uses to college and back . Let's say that he is a very good and safe on the black stuff but nervous of falling and breaking his bike . Not to mention his abs would not turn off so I had to ride tar home. There are so many factors that influence the way people ride . I have realised that i might like the rough stuff but yet he doesn't want to damage his bike so need to compromise and only ride with him on the normal gravel . The size of your bike also plays a important role as a big adventure bike wont go or do what a light plastic can unless you aren't worried about falling . So it doesn't only boil down to experience.  I was fortunate to grow up riding motocross bikes on weekends but he wasn't.  We all have limitations and that means Louisxander better come ride more .

[Mikie]

I went to breedsneck and met up with Straatkat and another dawg for a ride last Sunday that turned into me having to ride slower than usual as my son wanted to go with on his BMW 650gs that he uses to college and back . Let's say that he is a very good and safe on the black stuff but nervous of falling and breaking his bike . Not to mention his abs would not turn off so I had to ride tar home. There are so many factors that influence the way people ride . I have realised that i might like the rough stuff but yet he doesn't want to damage his bike so need to compromise and only ride with him on the normal gravel . The size of your bike also plays a important role as a big adventure bike wont go or do what a light plastic can unless you aren't worried about falling . So it doesn't only boil down to experience.  I was fortunate to grow up riding motocross bikes on weekends but he wasn't.  We all have limitations and that means Louisxander better come ride more .

Why would ABS not turning off force you onto Tarmac?
I never turn my ABS off

[Welsh]

I went to breedsneck and met up with Straatkat and another dawg for a ride last Sunday that turned into me having to ride slower than usual as my son wanted to go with on his BMW 650gs that he uses to college and back . Let's say that he is a very good and safe on the black stuff but nervous of falling and breaking his bike . Not to mention his abs would not turn off so I had to ride tar home. There are so many factors that influence the way people ride . I have realised that i might like the rough stuff but yet he doesn't want to damage his bike so need to compromise and only ride with him on the normal gravel . The size of your bike also plays a important role as a big adventure bike wont go or do what a light plastic can unless you aren't worried about falling . So it doesn't only boil down to experience.  I was fortunate to grow up riding motocross bikes on weekends but he wasn't.  We all have limitations and that means Louisxander better come ride more .

Why would ABS not turning off force you onto Tarmac?
I never turn my ABS off

Because your brakes don't work properly off tar with ABS on, particularly on Hard Pack, with loose stuff on top..  I almost wiped out a founding member in that scenario the GSV just kept rolling when he had stopped...

[sidetrack]

I went to breedsneck and met up with Straatkat and another dawg for a ride last Sunday that turned into me having to ride slower than usual as my son wanted to go with on his BMW 650gs that he uses to college and back . Let's say that he is a very good and safe on the black stuff but nervous of falling and breaking his bike . Not to mention his abs would not turn off so I had to ride tar home. There are so many factors that influence the way people ride . I have realised that i might like the rough stuff but yet he doesn't want to damage his bike so need to compromise and only ride with him on the normal gravel . The size of your bike also plays a important role as a big adventure bike wont go or do what a light plastic can unless you aren't worried about falling . So it doesn't only boil down to experience.  I was fortunate to grow up riding motocross bikes on weekends but he wasn't.  We all have limitations and that means Louisxander better come ride more .

Why would ABS not turning off force you onto Tarmac?
I never turn my ABS off

Because your brakes don't work properly off tar with ABS on, particularly on Hard Pack, with loose stuff on top..  I almost wiped out a founding member in that scenario the GSV just kept rolling when he had stopped...

Experienced that first hand last weekend on a Parys ride, almost overshot a corner as the rear just kept shuddering with very little braking. Not a fan of ABS off road.

[Omninorm]

Yeah, I have noticed some people better in certain terrain too. I often ride with 3 good friends, all on 690's.
We are all pretty much the same on tar....one just takes more risks.
Then when it gets to riding in the sand one is way better than the other 3
The one that can ride sand well cannot really wheelie that well but one of those who cannot do sand is on the back wheel more than on two.
Then we get to karoo highway and another one who can't ride sand or wheelie looks like he was born on it, way more skill, slidign around sideways everywhere.
Then we get to technical slow stuff and the one seems a little more adept than the rest at slow speed rough climbs and drops etc.

It's really all relative.

[Mpandla]

Experienced that first hand last weekend on a Parys ride, almost overshot a corner as the rear just kept shuddering with very little braking. Not a fan of ABS off road.

I also dont turn it off on the AT. Never had that suddering of the back brake on the AT.
When I had the 800Gs it would do that. Always turned it off on the GS

[ClimbingTurtle]

I went to breedsneck and met up with Straatkat and another dawg for a ride last Sunday that turned into me having to ride slower than usual as my son wanted to go with on his BMW 650gs that he uses to college and back . Let's say that he is a very good and safe on the black stuff but nervous of falling and breaking his bike . Not to mention his abs would not turn off so I had to ride tar home. There are so many factors that influence the way people ride . I have realised that i might like the rough stuff but yet he doesn't want to damage his bike so need to compromise and only ride with him on the normal gravel . The size of your bike also plays a important role as a big adventure bike wont go or do what a light plastic can unless you aren't worried about falling . So it doesn't only boil down to experience.  I was fortunate to grow up riding motocross bikes on weekends but he wasn't.  We all have limitations and that means Louisxander better come ride more .

Why would ABS not turning off force you onto Tarmac?
I never turn my ABS off

If you are pushing it to the point that the ABS is affecting your riding on the gravel, you are under-estimating your lighties riding skill!! 
I forget to turn mine off sometimes, just take it a little easier, plan your braking and ride at 75% instead of 95%!
And he will probably learn from it....

[Mikie]

I went to breedsneck and met up with Straatkat and another dawg for a ride last Sunday that turned into me having to ride slower than usual as my son wanted to go with on his BMW 650gs that he uses to college and back . Let's say that he is a very good and safe on the black stuff but nervous of falling and breaking his bike . Not to mention his abs would not turn off so I had to ride tar home. There are so many factors that influence the way people ride . I have realised that i might like the rough stuff but yet he doesn't want to damage his bike so need to compromise and only ride with him on the normal gravel . The size of your bike also plays a important role as a big adventure bike wont go or do what a light plastic can unless you aren't worried about falling . So it doesn't only boil down to experience.  I was fortunate to grow up riding motocross bikes on weekends but he wasn't.  We all have limitations and that means Louisxander better come ride more .

Why would ABS not turning off force you onto Tarmac?
I never turn my ABS off

Because your brakes don't work properly off tar with ABS on, particularly on Hard Pack, with loose stuff on top..  I almost wiped out a founding member in that scenario the GSV just kept rolling when he had stopped...

I had a blood running cold moment once with my ABS on, but I was tired and not concentrating properly anymore, almost overshot a crossing
Was my own fault, the rest, I have done many many thousands of KM's around the country, always with it on and no issues

[Straatkat]

Thing is, when your wheel locks up even a little, the brakes will release and you will have zero stopping ability until the system allows you to brake again. In mud or a slippery surface it is much worse, to the point that I almost could not ride my 1200RT off road when wet. Sometimes you need to stop quickly and on the 500 I routinely lock up my wheels, both ends, obviously not at the same time, but my riding style is such that I will crash horribly if I cannot apply the brakes when I need to stop. ABS is a tar system, unless some clever techie found a way past it at xxxxxx manufacturer.