- This topic has 25 replies, 17 voices, and was last updated 7 years, 9 months ago by Curtis.
Fear of Going Fast
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July 25, 2010 at 6:13 am #27750Gary856Participant
Keep your eyes up and look far down the road – that would significantly reduce the sensation of speed. Do not look down, or it’d seem like the ground and the scenery are rushing at you. This is especially important in the corners – look at the corner before you get there, but keep your eyes moving up the road so by the time you’ve physically arrived at the corner, you should be looking way past the corner already. Again, don’t look down when you’re in the corner – look at where you want to go.
The higher your eye level is and the farther you look down the road, the less the sensation of speed. At the same speed, my YZF600R feels faster than my DRZ400 because the YZF600R’s riding position puts my eyes closer to the ground. On the DRZ, 70 mph on the freeway feels like 40 because I sit so straight and high up; the sense of speed is so low it almost feels like I could run down the freeway that fast. I sometimes look down or sideways on purpose to get more of the sense of speed.
Wearing high quality protective gears is another thing that made me feel more comfortable at speed.
July 25, 2010 at 4:34 pm #27759lbhParticipantthank you all for your comments – i will definately try the ear plugs. I have a windsheild and all the protective gear (including full face helmet) and thought I keep my eyes focused on the horizon, but will now make an extra effort to make sure. As my good friend said, she was in my shoes a year ago and now rides 400 miles a day on some rides (she does wear earplugs)! Any other comments are still welcomed!
July 25, 2010 at 8:24 pm #27761Joseph HannaParticipantEar plugs although a very healthy choice simply are not the solution to your problem. An F-18 with afterburners lit makes you duck and do things you might not ordinarily do in the absence of that noise.
The sound of a Harley 883 ain’t gonna frighten anyone into submission. If it does riding is simply not gonna work out for you and earplugs wouldn’t work anyway.
Learn to ride, gain confidence and 50mph plus is gonna be easy
July 25, 2010 at 9:11 pm #27762eonParticipantNot sure I understand what you mean. At 50mph there is a lot of wind battering your head. Doesn’t matter if you are on a Harley or a silent electric scooter and that noise is all sensory input for your brain to figure out what the hell is going. Compare that to 50mph in silence. Now the only input telling your brain it’s doing 50mph and time to be scared is your vision. Eyes up and ear plugs in will help in managing these new experiences.
When I DON’T wear ear plugs it feels faster.
July 25, 2010 at 10:06 pm #27763Ursula AlusruParticipantI had to try four different kinds before I found some that work well and stay in my ears (I think mine must be small), I tries all kings of squishy foam and silicon putty affairs but settled on a pair that is joined by a cord and consists of a sift post plug with 3 king of gills on it – they drowned out a lot of noise and you can reuse and wash them with soap and water. I don’t really like wearing them in the city core because I feel like I can’t hear what’s going on with the traffic/ pedestrians, but they make riding on the highway 28% less intense. I found it took me a while to get used to a good crosswind and really the scariest thing bout it is the noise. I also feel much less tired after a long rider. I think that level of noise is mentally fatiguing – much like a close dryer!
July 27, 2010 at 1:55 am #27779megaspazParticipantpractice going fast on them big multilane highways. they’re straight and you can get up to speed little by little, slowly increasing the length you pin the throttle.
July 27, 2010 at 4:03 am #27780madjak30ParticipantBasically, it’s what you don’t want to hear…you just need to ride more and get your senses used the feeling of going that fast out in the open…when I first started (only two and a half months ago), I took the beginner riders course and the fastest that we went during the course was maybe 50kph (30mph ish) and on the last day they took us on the two lane hiway…I got up to 85kph (53mph ish) and thought I was flying along until I looked down at the speedo…and like everyone here is telling you about earplugs, they told me…I got some and like eon said, it didn’t seem so fast anymore…it also depends on the amount of traffic that is around you. If you are on busy streets, that can add to you stress and cause you to think you are going too fast as well.
I would suggest just going out in off peak hours and just getting some more experience…get up to 50mph and try 55 for a short period…then slow down to your comfort zone…if there are people behind you, pull over and let them pass…do not carry on “white nuckling” or you will be in a world of trouble…you will actually panic in an emergency…or overreact in a situation that only requires a small change…only go outside of you comfort zone for a short period to push yourself a little, then come back…eventually you will raise you level of comfort and be able to ride with the flow of the traffic…also if you are following your husband and he is going faster than you are comfortable with…let him go…he will realize you have dropped back and either wait, or you will meet at the destination…definately don’t speed up to keep up, or you could really scare yourself.
Good luck.
July 27, 2010 at 2:03 pm #27781briderdtParticipant…before I got onto the highway. I’d just been enjoying riding on backroads. One morning (a Sunday, so not much traffic) I decided it was the day, and took a short ride (maybe 1 mile) on a divided highway, just an entrance to the next exit. I was scared, felt like I was going way too fast (though I was just going the speed limit and getting passed like I was standing still), and couldn’t wait to get to that exit.
But… that whole feeling went away the more I did it. Within a couple months, I was fine on the highway.
July 28, 2010 at 2:30 am #27802lbhParticipantagain I appreciate all the comments and will keep checking for new suggestions. thank you all!
August 19, 2010 at 12:51 am #28152ScikoticParticipantIf they make a drivers backrest for a Sportster, get one. It will no longer feel like the wind is going to push you off the back of the bike while your riding, if that is your main fear about going faster. Otherwise I would ride early on weekend mornings on a nice straight section of interstate highway and try to ride as fast as you could go. Don’t look at the speedo and let a friend tell you how fast your going.
July 24, 2016 at 3:01 am #30329CurtisGuestdid you ever over come your fear? I just bought a sportster 883 and have only about a month of experience and I can't ride over 40 without feeling like I'm going to lose control of the bike. I've gotten more comfortable since the class but still can't go fast. What should I do?
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