Echoing everyone else, but track days will do much for your confidence level. It also makes riding on the street a lot less fun.

My husband and other racers that instruct during the track time always tell me that they would rather have someone be a little slower but smooth and predictable on the track with them, than some irratic but "fast" person.

From what I have seen, I wouldn't describe you as smooth or irratic. Something more like blurry.

There are some great books out there as well....

I am about to start reading "Sport Riding Techniques" by Nick Ienatsch. Looks to be a great overview.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51NB6KYVY9L.jpg

X2 I'd be happy having half the skills of "The Awesome"

On the street its about having big nutz.

The thing about being smooth is something that keeps the suspension settled and the tires on the road. If you are moving fast and not smooth you chance to lift the tire off the road and slip.

I'm half joking. I agree with the idea of striving to be smooth and everything being said here, but I really do love the Bayliss riding style. He took everything conventional wisdom says about how to ride and threw it in the trash. His body position was horrible, and he was in a wrestling match with his bike from flag to flag. In the mean time all of the guys doing it "right" just had to scratch their heads and watch him disappear, leaving behind a cloud from using the dirt as extra track surface.

I think "The Patient" might be a more suitable nickname.

Confidence comes with mileage (kilometer-age?)
Mileage comes with time

Get out there and hit some twisties on a regular basis and you'll get better :wink:

Or, if none available, hit the track regularly.

Practice is difficult--REAL practice. Repetition is not real practice. Real practice is looking at what you've done, how you do it, finding the weak link, and deliberately pushing yourself outside of your comfort zone to extend your limits. Again and again and again. Braking somewhere too early? Good...push yourself to brake 5 feet later. Not gassing it enough? Good, force yourself to roll harder on the throttle earlier. It's hard, and you could potentially fuck up. But you do it incrementally over and over and next thing you know, you can still see the guy in front of you at the end of The Snake.

If you can't afford pants go get yourself a set of MX shinguards and wear them under your jeans. You can usually get some decent leather pants on craigslist for pretty reasonable prices. God only gave you two knees.

Side note: don't be too worried about keeping up with the "fast guys". The "fast guys" inevitably have no life outside of that thing they do and do it every weekend. They're the guys that show up at the track on Friday night and leave for work on Monday morning.

I'm shitty at left turns. My rights are WAY better.

I'm the opposite... I know it's irrational, but I think I unconsciously get worried that I'll drag the can on the ground.

I had a SV, good luck with that one.