It's kind of hard to believe that just three (3) short months ago I couldn't even start the bike off from a standing stop without the bike
bucking and heaving violently. Stalling out at almost every stoplight. I've logged over 6000 miles on the ZZR. Most all of them ridden on twisty backroads.
I've made a lot of mistakes, but
I have also learned from all of them. My riding has improved each day.
I'm now at a stage where my corner entry, and turn-ins are much more consistent. I'm able to save my cornering mistakes instead of totally abandoning the turn. It's also a lot easier to adjust my line within the corner. There hasn't been any overstepping of the centerline. I've become more relaxed during high-speed cornering. I now expect vehicles to always be coming around the corner, and don't mind when they do, as I focus on my "exit" to ride past them - sometimes looking through the vehicle to accomplish this.
My endurance has gone way up. Now my wrists don't hurt like they used to, as I've learned to use my torso muscles more to balance my weight. Standing starts and launches are now reliable. I can perform u-turns both to the right and left within 18 inches of roadspace.
I've gotten my knee down, scraped both pegs, and can finally ride smoothly (smooth enough) in 1st gear.
When going around corners I'm comfortable letting the suspension and tires soak up the bumps and sand in the corners. I'm also managing power throughout all the gears a lot better. I can even do clutchless shifting, but I use it rarely. One handed swerves/corners, lock to lock riding at low speed, riding on the expressway, riding in traffic; I do it all now and I can also finally enjoy the ride.
However, there is still so much room for improvement. I try and practice every day. Some movements are fluid, but not completely automatic. Sometimes I slip back into hanging onto the handlebars during a lean, instead of holding my body up by pressing on the pegs and using my torso muscles. Sometimes I misjudge or improperly execute the turn-in point, and end up fifty-pencing the corner. I wish my throttle inputs after turn-in were much smoother a lot of the time. Sometimes I put too much weight on the handlebars.