Believe it or not, I find I ride faster, if i slow down a bit. - By slow down a bit, I mean ride smoother and concentrate on the line and pick the path earlier - and you seem to acturally go faster. Its quite bizzare and hard to explain. Mabee its that I speed up my thinking and then the riding just seems slower but you seem to catch up with your mates easy. Does anyone else find this? :tsk:
When I raced mx, a wise man once told me I can teach you to be faster. He said he does this by teaching one to ride slower. Or more to the point, how to ride slow. If you know the techniques and master the skills of riding slower, you will eventually ride faster and I guess to some extent that is true, because if you ride a little slower, for street purposes, you learn to pick up on what is going on around you as well as what you are doing, and like you said, you can focus more on your lines and being smooth. Oh, who is the wise man you amight be asking? Gary Bailey, the first American to beat the Euros at their own sport. No offense to the Euros.
I have to agree, when I first started riding one of my friends told me "ride slow and smooth, smooth is fast!" I didn't really understand at the time, but after riding my Katana and getting used to riding again after a 15 year leave, it turned out he was very right. He has really been a great help! He is actualy the same guy I bought my Interceptor from. So, I have to agree learn to ride slow and smooth and you will get faster.
I've always found my fastest lap times came when I was relaxed and not pushing it really hard. The laps actually felt slow and easy. Smooth is the key. My favorite drill on the track is 3rd gear or 4th gear laps with no brakes or gear changes. Really helps to learn your entry and exit and lines. Also, how much more you can really do out there.
