i have k7 600 and have about 7 months with it. i want to go ride GMR but dont know if its gonna be too technical for me. the only canyon riding i have done has been topanga canyon and im always the slowest. im just not comfortable taking long turns at a low lean angle. what could i do to improve my skills. should i just wait for my track day?.

Your best bet is to go with the SBN crew and let Gamboa show you the road. She is the designated leader for all the new riders. Make sure you have full leathers as well. As long as you take it slow you will be fine.:cheers

dont rush, get to know the road. i just got back from ACH and i was finally able to be comfortable.

If you're a new rider or new to canyons GMR is going to be too much for you. The problem with GMR is that once you go up on it, there is absolutely nowhere that you can make a U-turn safely if you decide you want to head back down.

A short while back 2 people have gotten seriously hurt when a newbie ran wide and went into their lane causing a head-on collision. Practice riding Azusa first since its much easier, and once you get more comfortable they take an easy ride up GMR.

We use to ride GMR all the time a few yrs. ago. At one point everyone stopped going cuz it was so dirty from the cars ect..I crashed up there twice..It's Fun ride, but there NO resting..I've seen many a new rider almost crash due to lack of skill and confidence.

What I would do if I were you, is Take it to the track, you will be in a better postition to learn more faster, plus most track day orgs have good riders that can help you with any problems you may have, imho Track Daz is a good one. Also, try and do the Streets Of Willow (SOW) for your first time out. When you get out there, pay attention, but Relax and have Fun..trust me, you'll be addicted after that, and the canyons won't seem that much fun anymore.

i have k7 600 and have about 7 months with it. i want to go ride GMR but dont know if its gonna be too technical for me. the only canyon riding i have done has been topanga canyon and im always the slowest. im just not comfortable taking long turns at a low lean angle. what could i do to improve my skills. should i just wait for my track day?.

You should never worry about how fast others are going. The most important thing is that you ride "within your means". This is how alot of accidents happen because you stop concentrating on what your doing and concentrate on catching up. Just go at your own pace you'll see them at the end of the run. I know when I go out with some slower people I would much rather wait five minutes for them to catch up then wait on the side of a road for an ambulance/tow truc/police to arrive.

I can't advise on the particular ride your talking about but judging by the post's before me you should prob get some track experience then hit up the canyons.

Hope this helps.

I don't know the road in question but have an observation. Since cars seem to be able to navigate this road, you should be able to ride it safely on a motorcycle, especially a sportbike. The issue is how fast you go. Since there is no time limit, no track record and no trophy, you should be able to just ride the road, right? Do you feel that riding at the posted speed limit would put you in danger?
It's very important that you not expect too much from yourself and not feel you need to run a certain pace just because other riders can. Every motorcycle rider brings his or her own skills to a ride and nothing more. If you allow yourself to be sucked in by the speed of others or even your own perceived "shortcomings" or "lack of bravery" as a sport rider, you'll get hurt.
The most sensible advice offered so far in this thread has been to take it to the track. Trackdays are the best and safest place to learn high performance riding. Even once you've become a highly skilled pilot, consider this. Even an AMA Pro racer would not be safe running a twisty mountain road at high speed unless it was A) closed to the public and B) swept clean of debris before the ride.
For trackday info, try TrackdayMag.com (http://www.trackdaymag.com/)