Why don't riders come to Gymkhana?

[klaviator]

We had a great Gymkhana on Saturday and a decent turnout.  With the amount of advertising we did for this there had to be a hundred people (or more) who knew about it but didn't show up for every rider who did show up.

So why don't people show up?

The number one reason is probably that people have other commitments, I get that.  Life, and especially work often gets in the way of riding.  So that explains a lot of people not showing up but there are plenty of other reasons as well.  Here's a few that come to  mind:

1.  I might drop my bike.

2.  I might look bad with my lack of skills.

3.  Low speed riding around cones isn't relevant to "real world" riding

4.  It won't be any fun.

5.  I might miss a re run of Gilligan's island

6.  Did I miss any???


So are these excuses valid?

1.  I might drop my bike.  That's right, you might.  That's true every time you go for a ride.  The skills you pick up at Gymkhana may prevent you from dropping it in the "real world"

2.  I might look bad.  If that's the case then you will also often look bad any time you ride.  Besides, we won't laugh at you. ( well not too much :lol-049:)

3.  Low speed riding doesn't apply to "real world riding"  What can I say.  You are wrong. 

4.  It won't be any fun.  There is some truth too this.  When you first try it and start wobbling around the cones it might no be fun.  Stick with it and you will improve and then it WILL be fun. :DANCING-banana-032:

5.  Gilligan's island?   OK you got me there :lol-049:

[Chitza]

You forgot football. So did I when we talked about a date. We used to check the schedule when we planned a big GK.  :crazy:

[dredman]

9.  My bike wont turn like that (we got 3 of those yesterday)
10.  I have been riding since I was a sperm, I don't need any practice
11. I rode The Dragon and stayed in my lane MOST of the time - so I am all good
12. Riding around cones is silly, folks that are grinning are liars and fools
13. Not so much into riding as I am rolling, blipping, lookin cool 'n representin'

[klaviator]

9.  My bike wont turn like that (we got 3 of those yesterday)

Some sport bikes do have a limited turning radius but a guy showed up in Falkville last time on a Hayabusa and with a little practice he made it around the course. 

[dredman]

Yes I have ridden ONE factory bike that had ridiculous steering stops on it, that physically would not turn inside a 24 foot circle - just one, in seven years.

Don't get me started on custom bikes.......

Not sure why anyone would enjoy riding these on the street anyway?  :thinking-022:

[Chitza]

Yes I have ridden ONE factory bike that had ridiculous steering stops on it, that physically would not turn inside a 24 foot circle - just one, in seven years.

I think I know the bike of which you speak 8)

[dredman]

I think I know the bike of which you speak 8)

One and the same!!

[The Bikle Shop]

Well, I will put a chain on the ST4 and see. We may know of 2. It is same era and purpose. Add the dry Barnett clutch and it can flat be a hand full at slow speed.

My personal Opinion on it is.

1 The church of Football

2 Life (see #1)

3 I might drop My bike/ look bad. (I have way to much money in this bike and never spent a dime (money or time) to really learn to ride it).   
I kinda remember a Quote I heard
"I have ridden 27 years. I just figured out that that I didn't have 27 years riding experience. What I had was 1 year of experience 27 times."


I personally thing that the best thing that could happen is a real license test. At least Abate got it where you have to take a written test now. Maybe they can get the law changed so that correct test answers and law are not contradictory. 

[springer]

Yes I have ridden ONE factory bike that had ridiculous steering stops on it, that physically would not turn inside a 24 foot circle - just one, in seven years.

I think I know the bike of which you speak 8)

LEAN is what gets you around a corner, circle, cone, what have you...NOT steering lock. 

When I set-up a practice GP8 course I DO check it by riding through it in a up-right position AND not using ALL the steering lock.
Why?
Simple, I do the GP8 (and other courses)as a practice for me and anyone else that shows. I WANT it to be easier...at first anyways, than a regular GP8 (or other courses) at Gymkhana.
Why easier?

Because nothing succeeds like success. Success BREEDS  confidence. With the confidence that you CAN do it, comes the willingness to try something HARDER, TIGHTER, FASTER.  :respect-048:
Once everyone gets "okay" with the course's at GP8, I will tighten them up a bit or change them completely so the folks who show can practice things that present problems for them on the street. (This is the reason I am in favor of the "Circle of Trust" being the first course a new rider must do. It presents a minim skill level that a rider must have to do a Gymkhana. Plus it is easy to teach AND learn.)

My goal behind Gymkhana is that I, as well as others, can become BETTER riders.  :respect-048:

As far as why more folks don't show-up?

Fear, plan and simple.

Fear of dropping their bike.


Fear of ridicule.


Fear of their abilities to ride their bikes.




IF we can figure out how to remove that fear more riders will show up.



Anyway, that is my take on it.

[springer]

 Oh, and here are some examples of leaning in a Gymkhana course;

Even a damn Harley can do it;

[KrisCook]

Actually, Springer is on to something.  Starting the day with easier courses has always been great for me.  Also, given enough space, it's best if no one parks their bike within 10 or 12' of the circle of trust, or any other course.  It's a mental thing -- if I perceive something that would be bad to run into right beside the course, I get spooked. 

Running a faster, easier course, then tightening it up after an hour or two, then maybe even tightening it up one more time, makes for a very good day of riding practice. 

We also had one wreck because of a back brake getting too hot.  We might want to mention to new riders that there is that possibility.  Buzz incorporated a cone run that didn't require any trail braking, which was great thinking.   :applause-003:

[catang5oh]

Fear is definitely there for most. Well explained above, damage, embarrassment, injury, you name it and each person has some. Do I want to drop 5k or more worth of bike, hell no, but through these years I have learned a lot at these events. Am I great at it, hell no, but I keep trying so I can get better. Springer is dead on, confidence only grows more confidence. We're these courses easy, not on the Wing but I tried and almost got it. The circle kicks my ass, cause I'm on a big bike, no, most likely because I'm not doing what I should while trying to navigate a battleship through a thimble.
Yasu jumped in behind me and knocked it out of the park, but it took me leading him to the water to get him to drink it. He thanked me numerous times for leading the way. Was I confident, hell no, I was thinking I'm going to drop a month old $20,000 bike out here and everyone will think I suck, but I knew Yasu would not ride if I didn't, did it give him confidence, don't know really, but afterwards he kept on. I knew he could ride it like nothing, but it took someone else leading to get him out there.

To sum it up, you all have done a great job with these for years now. Many people have learned countless skills from all of us, myself I have improved but still am not where I want to be.

Keep up the good work, and quit critiquing yourselves, you are doing the right things.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[The Bikle Shop]

Ok, to finnish my thoughts. Lunch with Grandma and church take precedence.

I posted from the Bike Shop account for a reason.

Things I see in the industry and society.

Society
1 There is a move by part of the population toward Extreme Safety (to the point of giving up/taking freedom)
          I view this as a bad thing overall, but if it could be harnessed to some degree. Maybe people could be encouraged to learn more MC skills.

2 The Move of some of the younger crowd to rebel against #1.
        Bama Riders. This is a bad thing because it makes people (general public/ law makers) mad. As they get more publicity in one day than we have in 7 years of trying to promote good skills and responsible riding.

3 The move to real community by most people. Hanging out with people that share similar interest.
        This could be a real positive. Us old farts need to reach out somehow and invite the younger riders into our community of people. One thing we have to remember is that they didn't grow up working on things for the most part. We need to share knowledge about old things and how they work, but Mainly that you started on that Suzuki 185 or Honda 450 twin.

Industry
1 Bikes are expensive. Very expensive for a toy. Just because you ride everyday rain or shine don't mean its not a toy to most.
    I see that the industry has responded in some ways. Even HD has noticed that people cant afford/will not purchase a $35k CVO like they used to. The result is finally some smaller affordable entry level bikes.

2  Put a person on the most expensive thing you can push them to finance. (maybe 1b)
    Well when you put someone on an R1 or Hayabusa as a first bike maybe they will survive. Probably because they got scared so bad they don't ride it.

3  Dealer Need to promote safety. Sell starter bike with less profit built in.  Industry wide this is not done.
      Again to sing HD praises they are now offering MSF courses, and lower cost entry level bikes. The Japanese have some really nice stuff that is proven reliable too. If more dealerships get on the wagon it could make a difference. If learning to be a good rider is cool then more people will want to be good riders.

So what does this all mean. It means Catang5oh and Yamahammer are doing the correct thing. They both spent much effort and time to get a person to steep out and learn. Both of the people they put time in had a good day Saturday.

Springer is out there pouring his heart and time in the Thursday GP8s and we should support him by showing up when we can. We should be trying to get people out to ride. 

What else? As a riding community we should encourage more dealerships to host these events. If they have an event WE have to show up and support them.

How do you encourage shops to host?

Show up and ask them to put out Fliers when we have an event somewhere. 
Then show back up and thank them for supporting it if they do. Mention that we had about 50 people show up and had a great Day. Mention that several people really improved their riding skills.
Then ask them to consider hosting one in the future.

As a shop what did I want last Saturday.
I wanted to get people to my shop.
I wanted them to have a good time.
I wanted people to become better riders.
I need people to come back when they want something and purchase it from me.

Please! Don't mistake the next statement for complaining!
That even cost us a good bit of time and money to host. As it will any shop.

We considered Saturday a success. Just My .02 cent.

[KrisCook]

Well spoken.

[chickenlegs]

I just learning what Gymkhana is. Maybe I can make the next one.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk