As some of you may know I had a couple of high speed offs, one on the road and one on the track. No real physical damage to me (very lucky) but plenty to the bike and my pride and confidence.

Confidence, now there lies the problem. I seem to have lost all confidence in my skills and also in my bike and the level of grip it is supplying me with. I was sure there was a problem with the setup, the tyres, the whatever that was stripping me of my confidence in the corners especially in wet and damp conditions. I haven’t really ridden many different bikes so I really had nothing of the same ilk to compare the Fazer to. To cut a very long and self-indulgent story short I went round to GB's on the weekend to sort out some new grippier tyres, anyway GB was kind enough to take me out on the back of my own bike to show me first hand that it was more about my perception of what the bike was doing as apposed to what was actually happening that was killing my confidence in the bends. We weren’t in track day mode by a long shot but he rode quickly and smoothly and the bike did what he told it to do. He also went for a run on his own on my bike to asses its pros and cons. It could do with better suspension and tyres which I already knew but more importantly he could find none of the symptoms that I was describing about the front end etc.

So although I am not cured and back up to the level I was pre offs I am assured there is nothing wrong with my bike and basically its all in my head. This is a very good thing as it means I no longer doubt the bike and can concentrate on slowly getting my confidence back to my old levels and start loving riding again.

I don’t want to tell anyone how to suck eggs but falling off at high speed on the road is ****ing painful and very frightening and I remember every split second of it. On the track its not as bad as there really isn’t much to hit apart from other bikes. These experiences will stay with me for ever and I may never be as fast as I once was because of it, but as I said to GB there is nothing else in the world like riding a bike, especially fast, so I cant give it up without trying everything.

So I will be taking it easy and building slow, I will be booking up the CSBS after pay day.

I have taken the first step in that I believe my bike to be capable thanks to GB. I will be taking regular advantage of GB's generosity and experience.

If you get the opportunity to go on a tutorial with him I can not recommend it enough, he is a very good natural rider and has the ability to explain the intricacies of riding a bike not only fast but safely and within your own abilities.

Cheers GB

Steev.