I love going fast. That?s one of the reasons I love riding motorbikes. But going fast is just so dangerous, isn?t it" Well, no not really. I don?t think it is, anyway. Because we all know that it?s not going really fast that hurts, it tends to be the stopping all of a sudden when you hit the floor that does the damage. So no, fast doesn?t mean dangerous, and this is why.

Concentration

When you?re trying, you?re concentrating. Anyone who?s ever raced a bike, done a trackday, or just got a bit of a move on, on the road, will no doubt agree with me. When you?re pushing on, your eyes are on stalks, every sense is on high alert and you?re ready for any eventuality. Well, almost any.

I?ve lost count of the times I?ve seen people make mistakes on track, because they?ve knocked it back to 90%, thinking they?ll be doing themselves, their bike or their tyres a favour. It?s all good and well knocking the pace back 10%, but if you knock the concentration down 10%, bad things happen. Your bike?s not going to thank you for stoving it into a tyre wall because you stopped concentrating fully.
And the same goes for road riding. Obviously I would never ever condone riding over the speed limit, and I wouldn?t dream of doing it myself. But I?m fairly sure riding a few mph over the speed limit and actually thinking about what you?re doing, is better than driving a few mph below it and tuning your wireless in, or something.

Skill

If you get comfortable riding your ...