riding tips

7/28/2019 Riding Tips

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RIDING TIPS OUTLINE Nathaniel Burney2001 SV650 NY# YEHAAA

(Just focusing on skills, not tactics or strategies)

I. Dont Panic pg 1II. Steering pg 3III. Throttle pg 11IV. Body control pg 16V. Vision pg 20VI.

Braking pg 22

VII. Stunts pg 31

I. DONT PANIC: Everything about riding a motorcycle is counterintuitive.A. Your natural instincts serve you well in ordinary situations, but the physics of

motorcycles is anything but ordinary.

1. As a result, your natural instinct is almost always wrong.a. If you do what comes naturally, you will probably make a bad situation worse.

B. When you panic, even the tiniest bit, you automatically react by instinct, withoutthinking.

1. For example, while going around a curve, you feel an unexpected bump or slide, andautomatically cut back on the throttle and stiffen your body. It only happened in asplit-second, but you just made things worse.

C. So to prevent yourself from reacting instinctively, the best thing to do is to not letyourself get in a panic situation to begin with.

1. How can you prevent panic? Its a reaction to the unforeseen, right?a. Actually, no.b. Panic is what you do when your mind is already completely occupied, and you

cant give any extra attention to a new situation.


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i If you are riding near (or beyond) the limit of your abilities, then yourattention is completely used up.

ANYTHING new is going to make you panic a little.ii If you are riding faster than you can see (i.e., your roadspeed is such that

you cannot react to unexpected road conditions in time, once you see them),

then your attention is completely used up by things happening faster than youcan react to them.

ANYTHING new is going to make you panic at this point.2. The solution is to never ride at more than 75% of your ability.

a. Less is even better.b. When youre surprised, you have plenty of attention in reserve to give to the new

situation, and you will react properly instead of instinctively.

c. When conditions suddenly require additional skill such as a car cutting you off,or a curve in the road that suddenly gets even tighter you will have that abilityavailable to you, and you wont panic.

3. When riding with others, still dont ride past your limits.a. Riding faster than youre comfortable going is exciting, but stupid. You give up

your safety margin by riding close to or past your limits.

i You can learn a lot from keeping up with a better rider, but make sureyoure really following someone who you can learn from.

ii Dont try to keep up if you cant do it comfortably. Catch up later.iii Likewise, keep an eye out for less-experienced riders you might be

outpacing.

b. Maybe you dont want to lose face, maybe you dont want to get lost, but there isa strong temptation to keep up with riders who go faster than you can comfortably

go. Dont give in to the temptation.

D.Now that you can overcome your natural instincts, you need to know what the properresponses actually are.


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II. SteeringA. If you do nothing else, steer with your eyes.

1. If you look there, you go there.2. Remember the kid-eating tree. When dad was teaching us (and all the kids on the

block) how to ride bicycles in the back yard, every single one of us managed to ridesmack into the one tree there. Because we were all looking at it, instead of where we

wanted to go.

3. You will automatically steer towards whatever you are looking at. This is equallytrue for someone who has never sat on a bike before as for someone who has beenriding his whole life (as illustrated by the bike-eating tree).

4. Dont look at the obstacle. Look where you want to go. And you will go there.B. Countersteering if you ride, youre already doing this anyway, because there is no other

way to steer a bike thats moving faster than 5 mph. Better to do it on purpose rather thanby accident, however.

1. To turn left, you push on the left handlebar. To turn right, you push on the righthandlebar.

a. This is because of a combination of physical forces.i Gyroscopic Force When a sideways force is applied to a gyroscope, the gyro will lean into it. Pushing on the left handlebar tries to turn the wheel to the right. In effect,

there is a force pushing on the front wheel from the left side.

If the front wheel is spinning, it is a gyro, and it will actually lean overto the left as a result.

The harder you push on the handlebar, the farther over it leans.ii Steering Geometry When you turn the handlebars, the front fork rotates along an axis. This

axis is at an angle to the ground (its rake).

The contact patch of the front wheel is directly beneath the center of thewheel. The front fork ends at the center of the wheel. But if you extended

its axis of rotation all the way down to the ground, it would touch theground some distance in front of the contact patch, because of the rake.


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The distance between the contact patch and this imaginary extension ofthe forks axis is called the trail.

When you apply pressure on the left handlebar, the wheel does in fact turnto the right. But because of this trail, the wheel wants to fall over to the

left.

The more you push on the handlebar, the more the wheel wants to fallover.

Turning the wheel to the left, for example, steers the contact patch outfrom underneath the motorcycles center of gravity. The tire will bankover to the right (and because it is connected to the forks, it will take the

rest of the bike with it).

iii Once you are leaned over, the front end only stabilizes the bike. Steeringis done by the Rear end.

As a result, the front end only carries about 1/3 of the cornering load. This cornering load is still important. You want that weight on the

front wheel, in order to be able to lean and to change the lean angle.

2. A common panic reaction is when you want to swerve around an obstacle, or turnsuddenly, and you FAIL TO COUNTERSTEER.

a. You wanted to go right, and turned the wheel to the right.b. The bike will start to go left. Thats not what you want to happen, and you try togo right even harder.c. What happens is, you lowside the bike.

i The bike falls all the way down with you sliding along behind it.ii When you hear someone say That truck pulled in front of me, and I had

to lay the bike down, what theyre really saying is the failed to countersteer

and they lowsided the bike. Nobody drops their bike on purpose.

3. Dont steer by pushing the bike beneath yourself.a. Yes, you can steer the bike using just your body. But it is very inefficient.

i Essentially, body steering means you are pushing on the frame of the bike.This effort is transferred to the forks and is translated as a steering input.

It is impossible to body-steer, or do any kind of steering at all, if thehandlebars are immobilized.


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ii It takes significantly longer for body steering to take effect. Not a goodidea when you need to maneuver Now.

iii It takes a lot more effort than pushing on the handlebars. No matter how much force you apply to the frame of the bike, no matter

how hard you try to lean it with your body, the slightest pressure on the

handlebars the other way will turn you the other way.

iv It is not as easy to control.v When the bike actually does get around to turning, you wind up using

more lean angle than you needed.

vi It makes you fight the bike. Dont fight the bike. Lean with it.

b. To help yourself stay with the bike, put more weight on the outside footpeg whileyoure leaning the bike over.

i This keeps your bodys center of gravity closer to that of the bike.ii Its the same thing as shifting your weight to the outside of a slow tight

turn. This lets the bike pivot more quickly, with less effort.

4. Dont steer by pushing down. Push forward.a. The handlebars do not move up and down. They rotate forward and back.

i Any downward force you apply is wasted effort.ii Pushing straight down achieves nothing. Pushing down at an angle

applies some force forward, which is used, and some force down, which is

wasted. Pushing straight forward achieves everything with no wasted effort.

b. For maximum ease and efficiency keep your elbows down and your forearmshorizontal.

i This puts all of your energy into the actual steering, so you hardly need touse any muscle at all.

ii Pushing down on the bars hurts your wrists.iii Pushing down on the bars leads to stiff-arming the bike. Dont stiff-arm

it, stay loose. (see Body Control, below)

C.NOT FOR STREET RIDING One way to steer a tighter curve without leaning as much,is to hang off the bike.


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1. This is when racers put their knee down.a. What happens is, you shift your body towards the inside of the curve. This shift

in the center of gravity makes the bike turn more quickly with less lean.

i You lower your center of gravity without having to lean as much.b. This way, you keep more traction, more upright stability, and more lean angle in

reserve in case you need it.

c. On a sportbike, it also puts your center of gravity over the bikes wide tirefootprint.

d. You probably should never need to do this on the street. Just on the racetrack.Still, it can be a useful skill to have.

2. Never steer the bike while your butt is off the seat.a. What happens is, your handlebars become the bikes primary pivot point, instead

of your center of gravity.

b. As a result, your bike will wobble unsteadily all over the place. This is nevergood, but especially not when the bike is leaned over hard!

3. The technique is pretty straightforward.a. While youre going straight, stand up on the pegs. (Dont slow down yet.)

i Of course, you should be on your toes. You should only ride on the ballsof your feet, never on your arches.

ii This gives you more control, makes the ride smoother, and upsets thesuspension less.

b. Standing on the pegs now, you shift your weight to the inside of the turn. (Dontslow down yet.)

c. Set one butt cheek down on the seat. (Dont slow down yet.)i Dont wiggle the front wheel while youre doing this!

d. Okay, NOW you can roll off the gas and start to brake.e. Get comfortable. You dont want to shift around during the turn.f. Grip the tank with your outside leg and your body.g. Lean the bike over into the turn.


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h. To shift your weight even more, put your knee out (not down).4. If you are not comfortable with moving around on the bike, you can try putting your

knee out while remaining centered on the seat. You will slightly shift your center ofmass, but also the air-brake effect of your knee on the inside of the turn will make the

bike turn a bit more easily.

D. Mid-Turn Steering Correction a common panic error.1. You feel youre going too fast, or too wide, or whatever. So you change your

steering while youre in the turn.

a. Note: Little adjustments are normal, and are of course necessary. But if its bigenough to be noticed, its probably wrong.

i Unless the radius of the curve itself is changing. Then you do need tomake larger adjustments through the turn.

b. Mid-turn steering corrections can start a chain reaction of further errors, and youcan go down.

i Usually, what you do is lean more while jerking the throttle (which itselfmakes everything even worse).

ii This makes you unstable.iii So you stand the bike up to regain stability.iv Now you start to go wide.v So you lean over even more than before, trying to stay on the road.vi You go down.

2. You need to have confidence that the bike will make it through the turn.3. Most of the time, you dont need to make mid-turn steering corrections.

a. Unless youre making a significant change (as in a decreasing-radius turn), yourcorrections arent going to do much anyway. Youre going to wind up exiting theturn at the same place, despite your correction.

b. So why risk creating more problems if you dont have to? Try to keep yourself toone steering input per turn.

4. Make that one steering input quickly, and youll corner better.a. If you take longer to roll over into your lean angle, you need to start turning too

soon.


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b. The bike takes a wider line, the more gradually you lean. You can drift out ofyour lane.

c. Youll be forced to make corrections, as you first go wide, then pull in tighter tomake the corner. And you only want one steering input per turn.

d. Leaning over more quickly lets you make just the one input, you can get back onthe throttle sooner and harder, and you accomplish your cornering faster.

5. One steering input per turn.a. If youre going to get this right, you have to get the right lean angle at the

beginning of the turn.

b. You want as little lean angle as possible just enough to make the turn.i Dont go all the way over. You may need the extra lean if the curve gets

tighter on you. If that happens and youre scraping pegs, theres nowhere leftto go but wide.

ii Less lean angle is more stable.iii Less lean angle gives you more traction.iv More lean makes every bump, ripple and slippery spot more likely to

cause a slide.

v More lean requires better throttle control.vi More lean means you cant go as fast as if you were upright.

c. How do you keep the lean angle to a minimum?i In extreme turns, as in racing, you can get the knee down. But you should

never ever need to do that on the street.

Hanging off does let you steer more quickly, if you get your body intoposition and are stable before the turn. But remember, never steer whileyoure in the process of hanging off. It makes the bike wiggle.

ii

To keep the lean angle down, Steer More Quickly.

Flick your bike into its lean angle faster. This turns your bike faster, at the same road speed, with less lean.

This lets you get your turning done sooner. So you can stand it up sooner.


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You have more lean angle available in case you need it. The bike is more stable. You can go faster. Your traction is better.

6. Dont be afraid to lean way over, if you need to.a. It is so hard to drop the bike simply from leaning too far. The trick is to keep on

the throttle as that contact patch gets smaller.

b. Youre in too fast for real, or the turn got tighter unexpectedly, or a truck crossedthe yellow line. Whatever the reason, you need to tighten your turn. Do it.Thats why you only ride at 75%, so you have that extra room when you need it.

c. The bike can lean a lot more than you think you can, so go for it if you have to.d. In extreme leans, you risk overloading the tires. If you overload the tires, you will

go down. There are four ways to avoid this.

i Hold it where you are, dont lean any further.ii Stand it up dangerous because you will go wider now. Things like

buildings, trees and oncoming traffic tend to upset the alignment of your

skeleton.

iii Scrub off speed DONT let off the throttle, you will go down. Keepthe throttle where it is, and the tires will scrub off speed with their ownfriction.

iv Rear-wheel steering (a.k.a. oversteering) When youre at the limit ofyour tires, adding throttle will overload the rear tire. It will slide. It will slide

to the outside of the turn (it does this a little in all turns anyway, but this isaggravated sliding). This will pivot the bike into the corner tighter, and the

front wheel will stand up a bit (which is good, because you definitely dontwant to wash out the front wheel).

E. Turning too soon is a big steering error.1. If you start to turn too soon, then your turn is going to start out shallow. And youre

going to have to turn again (or maybe even a couple more times) to actually make itthrough the curve.

a. This opens you up to more steering errors, throttle errors, braking errors, visionerrors, body errors, etc. Why would you do that to yourself?


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b. You wind up being leaned over longer than you need to. Your traction andstability are being sacrificed that whole time. Why would you do that to yourself?

c. And its just plain extra work.2. If you steer later, closer to the apex of the curve, then youll only have to steer once.

F. Hesitant steering can be a problem.1. You doubt your ability to get the bike turned. Why?

a. Youre not familiar with this curve.b. You feel like youre going to go wide.c. You think youre going to have to lean too much.d.

Youre concerned about oncoming traffic.

e. Youre afraid of losing traction.2. This causes three errors.

a. You stay on the brakes through the turn, or you coast.i Dont brake while leaned over! Youll lose your gyro and go down. Youll lock up the rear wheel and highside.

b. You steer earlier than you should.c. You steer more slowly than you should.

i This makes you turn too soon.ii If you didnt turn too soon, then youre going to go wide.iii Either way, youll wait too long to get back on the gas.iv Either way, youre going to make mid-turn steering corrections.v Youll probably wind up using too much lean angle.vi And of course all the other panic errors will follow. Stiff-arming the bars,

tunnel vision, freezing up, etc.

3. Dont hesitate. Trust yourself. Trust the bike.


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a. If you think youre entering the corner too fast, ask yourself if its too fast for thebike, or for you. Your bike can probably handle it.

G. Choose your turn-entry point.1. Make this a conscious decision.2. This is a great way to defeat entry panic.3. It gives you an idea of where you are, where youre going, and where you need to be.4. It frees up your attention, so now you can think ahead.

H. Always set your speed before you even begin to lean.1. You dont want to have to slow down during the turn (See Throttle Control, below)2.

You dont want to be slowing or braking while youre in the process of leaning.Thats a recipe for disaster.

3. Do all of your slowing before you start to lean over.


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III. Throttle Control A typical panic reaction is to cut the throttle.A. Examples:

1. While youre in a curve, a deer jumps out in front of you. You immediately chop thethrottle to slow down.

2. While youre in a curve, you feel like youre going faster than you would like. Soyou let off the gas.

3. While youre in a curve, you find yourself going too wide either towards theshoulder or the oncoming traffic so you cut the throttle.

4. While youre in a curve, you find yourself turning faster than you want to youreleaned over too much so you slow down by letting off the gas.

5.

You find yourself starting to skid. This means your wheels are pointed the wrongway, so you cut the throttle.

6. You hit a bump in the road and it startles you. So you chop the throttle before youeven register what just happened.

B. When you chop the throttle, you lose traction instantly.1. Your bikes weight shifts forward drastically. The effect is the same as taking the

weight off the rear tire and putting it on the front tire.

a. If you were in a turn, you already gave up a lot of your traction by leaning over.You cant afford to lose any more.

i Never brake while leaned over, without standing the bike up first. While leaned over, losing traction, any brake will kill what little traction

you have left, and you will crash.

b. Reducing the gas will overload your small front tire.c. Your rear tire, without any weight on it, will start to skid.

i Dont chop the throttle now, either. Chop the throttle in a slide, and yourrear tire suddenly weighs nothing, and it will whip right around.

ii A skidding rear tire can make you highside. While pointed off at an angle,the wheel can start to grip again. This will pop the rear end up and throw youover the handlebars. The bike will pretty much land on top of you.

iii What do you do if the rear end starts to slide?


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You cant chop the throttle. You cant suddenly increase throttle, either.

This suddenly adds weight and traction to the rear tire. Which by nowis pointed the wrong way. You will highside.

Instead, just keep the throttle exactly where it is. The bike will slowly scrub off speed and recover. As the bike slows, you will need to smoothly stand it up.

C. Dont chop the throttle when youre going too wide.1. It feels like youre going wide because youre going too fast.

a. Thats right. You are going too fast... for your lean angle.2. To tighten your turn, simply lean more.

a. Dont let off the gas. You will actually go wider, because the bike will standitself up.

3. This is another reason to ride at only 75%. You never know when youll need a littlemore lean angle. And if youre already on the sidewall, youre screwed.

D. Because you dont want to brake or cut the throttle in a turn, you want to do all of yourslowing down BEFORE you enter the turn.

1. This doesnt mean you need to use your brakes. Most of the time, you wont need to.2. A common mistake is to wait until right before you lean over, and then chop the

throttle.

a. This requires you to coast for a long time before you can add throttle again,because youre going too fast into the curve. Coasting is bad (see below).

b. In a race, this will really cost you. By staying on the throttle too long, you willactually lose ground.

3. The right way is to ease off the throttle as you approach the beginning of the turn, soyou are all the way slowed down before you lean over.

a. This way, you dont coast at all. You can use the entire turn for acceleration.b. This is what separates the winning racers from the rest of the pack.c. Dont gas it too soon!


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i If you hit the throttle before youre all the way into the lean, then youwont be able to turn as rapidly, and youll have to stay leaned over longer.

4. Make sure you roll off smoothly.a. This way, you maintain control.

i Your weight wont shift forward suddenly.ii You wont upset the suspension.iii Youll maintain traction.

b. If you chop it, youll lose suspension, traction, and control.E. Once you get into your lean, you should not brake or reduce throttle at all for the rest of

the turn.

1. In fact, what you want to do is steadily add throttle.a. For example, you can tell the winning racers just by listening to them in the

corners. They are the ones who steadily add rpms all the way through. The restof the pack goes on and off the gas, and they lose ground and wipe out.

b. On the street you want to do this as well.i You need to get on the gas as early as possible not to accelerate, but to

balance the bike, and stop it slowing down in the turn.

ii Getting on the gas early affects weight distribution, stability, how well thebike behaves over bumps, and what line you can take.iii It puts weight on the rear wheel, with its larger contact patch. This helps

traction and stability. Also, weight on the bigger rear tire lets you hold a moreconsistent line.

c. Dont be silly with the throttle while leaned over. Be smooth.i When upright, you can play with the throttle like an idiot, no worries.ii When cornering, you have less grip. The tires can cope with the same

amount of throttle as upright, but not if it rushes in all at once.

d. Racing tip: Dont downshift too much before entering a turn.i Your RPM will be too high if your gear is too low. As a result, you will hit redline too soon, and wont be able to accelerate

for as long as you could have.


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Plus, while youre leaned over, the effective diameter of your tire issmaller. (The distance from the hub to the sidewall is shorter than thedistance to the centerline.) This makes your RPM higher for the same

speed to begin with.

ii

But dont upshift to correct this.

Upshifting changes your suspension too much, too fast. Your bike will getunstable.

Instead, just stand the bike up a little. This way, you ride on a larger circumference on your wheels, which

automatically lowers your RPM for the same speed.

F. The proper thing to do is to use SMOOTH throttle control.1. Dont jerk the throttle.2. Keep the g-forces low, and the weight shifting will be minimal.

a. A steady acceleration at low g is perfect while turning.i Turning will scrub off speed all by itself, due to the extra friction on the

tires.

ii So a constant throttle will let you slow a bit if you need to.3. After entering a turn, you ease your throttle open just a bit, then gradually add gas

throughout the curve.

a. Again, this means you had to have done all your slowing down before you leanedthe bike over.

4. A common mistake is to wait to add gas until the curve is almost over.a. That means you were coasting for most of the turn. Coasting is lazy and bad.

i You lose traction, because too much weight shifts to the front tire.ii

Your suspension will overreact to the road.

iii Any steering inputs will be amplified, leading to twitchiness (which can bescary, and can cause yet more panic errors).

iv Your bike will start to wander off line, to the outside.v The bike will scrub off too much speed.


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vi Your gears are not engaged while coasting and you only have controlwhen the gears are engaged. If youre coasting, youve given up control.

5. The right way is to add gas as soon as you have settled into your lean angle.a. As soon as you are leaned over to where you want to be for that turn, you start to

add gas smoothly.

b. Dont bother waiting for the suspension to settle first. It will take care of itselfwhen you add the throttle.


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IV. Body Control Another common panic error is to stiffen up.A. When you panic, you automatically stiffen your body (especially your arms) and tighten

your grip on the bars.

1. Because its an automatic response, you need to make a conscious effort to loosen up.a. Flap your elbows like a bird just before you enter a turn, to make sure youre

loose.

b. See how lightly you can hold the handlebars, especially while going around acorner.

2. If you are stiff-arming the bike, the natural vibration of the front end will gettransferred to the rest of the bike.

a.

Your body is part of the bikes suspension. When you stiff-arm, its likereplacing your front shocks with a solid rod.

b. The resulting vibration makes the bike unstable.3. The more relaxed you are, the more stable and smooth the bike will be.

a. Stay especially loose over dirt, gravel and bumpy roads.4. Stiff-arming also makes you go wide in a turn.

a. This happens because the front-end wobble will overcome the cornering forces.5. Stiff-arming makes you waste energy pushing down on the bars. That accomplishes

nothing.

a. When you push on the bars to steer, you push forward, not down.b. The lower your elbows are, the more forward you are pushing. The higher up

they are, the more youre pushing down.

i You can react faster and more strongly the lower your elbows are.ii The ideal would be to keep your forearm horizontal.

6. One cause of stiffening up is a strong wind.a. It does make you want to hold on for dear life.b. Instead, however, you should loosen up more, and lean your body forward over

the gas tank.


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i This drastically reduces the effect of the wind. Your body no longer actslike a sail, and because youre loose the wind wont affect your handling.

7. A related lazy habit, very common, is when riders keep their inside elbow locked, anduse the weight of their upper body on that locked arm to countersteer.

a. Thats bad.b. It prevents you from being able to make small steering corrections.c. It limits your control of the motorcycle.d. Any bump in the road will unsettle your upper body, and that movement will

transmit directly down your locked arm into the handlebar unintentionallysteering the bike.

e. Keep your elbows bent, and keep your weight off the bars.B. Dont grab the handlebars tightly.

1. Gripping the bars too hard is the most common source of motorcycle handlingproblems.

a. Any bumps in the road will jostle the throttle.i This makes the bike even more jumpy, and messes with your suspension

and traction.

ii It can really get bad, and of course you panic even more.b. Smooth and even control movements are hard to do when you have a death grip

on the bars.

c. Tight grip also makes your forearms get tired, and you dont want to exhaust yourforearms while riding. They are the source of power for all your braking and

shifting.

2. You do want to hold onto the bike tightly just not with your hands.a. Grip with your legs. Use your stomach muscles if necessary.b. Handlebars are for steering, not for holding on to the bike.

C. Body Positioning1. In general, keep yourself centered. Lean with the bike dont lean more than the

bike, dont try to stay upright.


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a. Several writers recommend to keep your head vertical while the rest of your bodyleans.

i They usually say its so you keep your eyes level with the horizon to avoidconfused visual cues and upset balance.

ii I think thats dumber than dirt. Why put a crick in your neck? Any pilotwill tell you its easier to simply look up to look through a turn than to cock

your head and then twist it. And your balance is steadier when your head isbanked with the gs than if youre fighting them by trying to keep your head

vertical.

2. A centered riding stance gives you increased confidence and control in a variety ofsituations.

a. Your outside knee will be in the correct position, and will help to distribute yourweight properly.

3. Sometimes, a little hanging off can help you maneuver.a. On slippery or wet roads, you can keep the tires more upright by leaning to the

inside of the turn. You can use more of the tires traction while still turning.

4. During an emergency pump-pump swerve, keep your body upright. [This is where,to swerve quickly around an obstacle, you quickly push hard on one handlebar then

the other. You remain upright and keep looking where you want to go.]

a. Dont lean with it. Its one less thing to think about.b. Youre not throwing your weight from side to side.c. You actually boost your countersteering a little by pushing off your own inertia.d. Youre going to want to be upright at the finish anyway, and the maneuver will

take less than a second. Dont bother moving your body.


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V. Vision When you panic, you also make mistakes with your eyes.A. You get tunnel vision, because you cant give any attention to the peripheries.

1. As a result, you have no time to make decisions as things come into your field ofview. And you panic even more.

B. You fixate on just one thing at a time, instead of scanning.1. This uses up all your attention, and creates tunnel vision and more panic.2. Plus, if you look there you go there. And if youre fixating on anything, its probably

on the hazard thats making you panic. As a result, you ride right into it.

a. Always look where you want to go, not at the obstacle youre trying to avoid.C.

You can only react to what you can see.

1. More accurately, you can only react to something if you see it in time.2. This is why youre not supposed to drive faster than you can see, which means so

fast that by the time you see a hazard, theres not enough time to react before you hitit.

3. Faster than you can see depends not only on how bright a day it is, but also on howmuch of the road ahead is visible.

4. If youre in a tight curve with trees alongside the road, then you cant see very far atall, and youd better not be going very fast.

5. If youre approaching a crest in the road, and you cant see beyond it, then you cantsee very far at all.

6. Only drive as fast as you can see.7. Visual panic errors reduce what you can see, as well as the time and space you have

for reaction.

D. You need to keep your field of vision wide open.1. This takes practice. It does not happen on its own.2. With a wide field of vision, you can instantly change where youre focusing your

attention, without moving your eyes around.

a. This prevents you from fixating on one thing at a time and getting tunnel vision.E. Give yourself visual space.


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1. You want to be aware of hazards in time to react to them.a. If you arent, then you will panic.

2. You want to know what to do before you have to do it.a. If you dont, then you will panic.

3. For example, spot where you will begin a turn well before you actually get there, andlook where you want to go before you start to turn.


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VI. Braking Braking errors are Slides and Skids.A. You brake both wheels independently of each other. Your right hand brakes the front

wheel, and your right foot brakes the rear wheel.

1. This requires the rider to balance the braking forces properly.a. Take into account that the weight of the bike shifts forward when braking.b. Slamming on either brake will overcome your traction and you will lose control

2. Concentrate on squeezing the brakes smoothly.a. This way, you dont upset the suspension, and you let the bike settle into its stop

without overloading its traction.

b.

The best way is to squeeze the front brake first, let the bike settle, then apply therear brake.

i Do this smoothly and you will avoid locking up the rear wheel.3. You still do it fast. Just smooth. No jerking or slamming.

B. Always use the front brake.1. Your rear brake is relatively useless by itself.

a. During a stop, the weight of the bike shifts forward. There is less considerablyless weight on the rear tire. This reduces its traction and its braking efficiency.

b. Front brakes are where all the stopping power is located. There are usually two ofthem rather than the single rear disc, to begin with. More importantly, most of thebikes weight has shifted onto that front tire when you applied the brakes. Thats

where all the traction and braking efficiency are focused.

c. Some people are afraid that, if they use only the front brake, then the bike willthrow them over the handlebars. This is not going to happen.

i The only way youre going to do a stoppie is if youre trying to, or ifyoure really overenthusiastic with that front brake.

ii Accident statistics show that the number of injuries from accidentalstoppies is statistically insignificant not even worth mentioning.

iii On the other hand, accident statistics for injuries based on day-to-dayreliance on the rear brake alone are overwhelming.


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What happens is, people who rely on the rear brake either lock up the rearwheel, or fail to stop in time.

Locking up the rear wheel is easy, because there is little weight on thattire, so there is little road resistance to the braking force being applied.

Locking up the rear wheel will make it skid. It will lose all tractionand start to slide.

Because it has lost traction, it is going faster than the front wheel, andhas to move sideways to get around it.

It will never continue to go straight. The slightest imbalance of weightor angle will throw the tire around you.

This is when inexperienced riders let off the rear brake and it highsides(see below).

If they dont lock up the rear, then they fail to stop in time. Mentally unable or unwilling to use the front brake, they ride the rear

brake all the way to impact.

d. The front brake is arguably the best safety device on any motorcycle.i Older but oft-quoted statistics show that the front brake has about 70% of

the bikes stopping power.

ii Due to major increases in brake, tire and suspension technology in the lasttwenty years, this proportion has probably shifted up to about 80% or 90%.e. Ride with two fingers resting on the front brake lever at all times.

i Reaction times are critical down to hundredths of a second. Covering thebrake gives you a significant and critical reduction in your reaction time.

ii You will be startled. A pedestrian, or a deer, or a car will jump out infront of you. By the time you decide to commit to maximum braking to avoida collision, you will have already squeezed in the front brake without realizing

it.

Essentially, your normal startle response has become a potential lifesaver.f. Dont cover the rear brake.

i Keep the balls of your feet on the pegs.ii If you cover the rear brake, youre going to hit it when you least want to.


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iii Unless youre in gravel or something like that, youre not going to use therear brake until youve already squeezed onto the front brake. So it is not

critical that you hit it so soon.

2. Its best to use both brakes but not equally. More aggressive braking renders therear wheel more weightless.

a. The faster youre going, the more front brake you use.i In parking lots, it can be 50-50 front and rear together.ii At 35 to 45 mph, you want to use less rear brake.iii At highway speeds, you might want to start off with just the front brake.iv Never use the rear brake at high speed, unless you are super good.

b.

As you slow, you can add more rear brake.

c. Using both brakes together ultimately gives you your maximum braking power.3. There are times when you use ONLY the REAR brake.

a. In gravel or deep sand. (I wish someone had told this to me before I had to drive30 miles to the shop with warped bars and no shifting pedal)

b. Very slow speedsc. Steep downhilld. Tight turns

4. Dont be afraid to brake as hard as you have to.a. Grab as much brake as you need, quickly and smoothly.b. In slippery conditions, youre obviously going to be concerned about skidding

out. But if youve got to stop, youve got to stop.

i Use your best judgment. If hard braking is necessary to avoid impact, youdont have much choice. Brake hard.

ii Either you will have the traction you need or you wont. Your bestjudgment will be better, though, the more attention youve been paying to the

way your bike is handling on that road.

iii But when the chips are down, theres no time to experiment. Do what yougotta do. If the traction is there, youll stop. If the traction isnt there, youwill slide out and perhaps crash.


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iv Any of the alternatives, however, is better than smacking into an obstacleat full speed. Use the brakes!

v From Jack Roe: While I use my front brake only for all normal riding, thefact is that

using both brakes to stop is the fastest way to stop in the shortestdistance, so I practice using the rear brake for those emergency situations.

Ideally, the best way to stop quickly (on a good surface) is to apply the

the rear brake slightly before applying the front brake, then apply thefront brake with a firm squeeze, increasing the pressure on the front brake

lever as the weight of the motorcycle transfers forward. The reason forapplying the rear brake first is because it helps settle the chassis and

keeps a little more weight on the rear wheel, allowing you to use the rearbrake more effectively without locking it. Too much pressure on the rear

brake will still cause it to lock. As the weight of the motorcycle transfersforward, ease your pressure on the rear brake to avoid lock-up, while

applying an increasing pressure on the front brake lever. This is VERYdifficult (damn near impossible) to do under "panic" conditions. Your

concentration should be on using the front brake to it's maximumeffectiveness, i.e.: just short of locking up. If you front brake does lock,

release it immediately and reapply. Unless you are a braking wizard andlucky as hell, a locked front brake means you're goin' down. The MSF teaches

you to keep the rear brake locked if you lock it. If you are leaned over, orin a curve, I agree. But if you are going straight, I strongly suggest

releasing the rear brake and reapplying it lightly. The reason for this isthere are many times when you will not be able to stop completely and will

have to make an emergency swerve to avoid the obstacle in your path. Youcannot make ANY steering changes with the rear wheel locked (instant crash).

So, if your rear wheel is locked, at the most critical instant, you mustremember to release the rear brake and allow the rear wheel rear to regain

traction before you swerve. That's an awful lot to remember, and do in thesplit second required to save your ass. And most people fail miserably at it

and hit the tarmac. Also, it is critical to remember to release your frontbrake before attempting your swerve, or again, you will go down in a

heartbeat. If this sounds like a hell of a lot of maneuvering to avoid acrash, it sure is. The ONLY way to get it right when you need it the most is

to practice constantly until these reactions become instinctive and reactiveunder duress. Hope this helps. Cheers, Jack

C. Threshold Braking Better than A.B.S.1. This is the fastest way to stop.

a. MSF Course was dead wrong they said in emergency braking just grab all yougot and skid straight.


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i I did threshold braking in the course, instead of their technique, andstopped several feet short each time. They made me do it over again,

swearing that I was braking too soon, but they saw that I was braking at theright place, just stopping faster than I was supposed to. Amazing, I thought

this stuff was common knowledge. Guess not.

b. MSF says lock em up in a panic stop. But if you lock the tires, your stoppingdistance is actually increased. Weve all seen accidents where a driver or riderlocked up the brakes in a panic stop and slid straight into the rear of the car ahead.

i You literally burn rubber. The friction melts the tire and you slide on apatch of molten rubber. Its like being on ice.

ii You lose traction regardless, because youre essentially in a controlledskid, and you slide rather than stop.

iii You lose all steering control.iv You can also put flat spots on your tire, which ruins it.

c. Conversely, if you brake too lightly, thats no good either.d. The fastest way to stop is to brake to the max, but keep the tires rolling.

i You retain directional control and traction.2. Threshold braking means you apply the brakes to the point where they have their

maximum ability to slow the bike, without losing traction.

a. This point is right before they lock up. The threshold.b. This requires practice and fine muscle control.

i It is critical to practice. You must know the feel of your brakes in order tobe able to exert maximum stopping power without locking up the wheels.

ii You need a sensitive touch to maximize braking power without exceedingthe threshold.

3. What is the braking threshold?a. It is the point at which you have max stopping power, with the tire still rolling.

Any more brake and you lock up and skid. Any less and youre not stopping fast

as you could be.

b. This point is not fixed. It depends on a variety of conditions.i The threshold will be lower on a wet road than on a dry surface.


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ii Snow and ice dramatically lower the threshold (though many drivers seemto be blissfully unaware of this, until they need to stop).

iii Some dry road surfaces have better grip than others, depending on thematerial used and the surface texture.

Some roads in Long Island have a really slippery compound that makeseven cars wipe out. The counties were supposed to replace it a few yearsago, but some places they never got around to it.

iv Bumps and irregularities in the road surface reduce tire adhesion, andlower the braking threshold.

v Banked turns and uphill rises have good adhesion, but off-camber turnsand downhill slopes lower the threshold.

vi Cold tires or a cold road also have poor adhesion.vii Meanwhile, overheated tires can get slippery and feel greasy.

c. TECHNIQUE How to do threshold braking.i Start max braking by applying the brakes quickly, but smoothly. Do not yank or stomp on the brake! Apply the brake. Accurate threshold braking requires a smooth and sensitive touch.

ii Apply the brake all the way to the point where the tire starts to lock.iii The instant the wheel starts to lock, ease off the brake.iv Ease back on the brake to get to the threshold.v This all happens very fast. Easing on and off the brake feels like youre

fluttering the finest muscles in your fingertips and toes.

You are NOT pumping the brakes. Pumping the brakes is an error. You need fine, smooth control here.

Not on-off-on-off jerking, but a smooth flutter.

Use the tiny muscles, not the big ones. You cannot get any finecontrol with your thigh. You can get lots of fine control with the tips

of your fingers and toes. Thats what you use.

vi How do you know if youre doing it right?


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You will know. Youll feel it, because you are braking with greatsensitivity.

You might be able to hear it. In proper threshold braking, the tire treadsmake a blip-blip-blip sound. This is because, as the tire continues to

roll, the treads grip and release, grip and release, grip and release.

You will not leave any skid marks, and you will stop in a much shorterdistance.

d. Practicingi It is dangerous to practice threshold braking in traffic. At worst, youll

skid out and hit something. At best, an inattentive car behind you might rear-

end you.

This is a skill that need to be practiced in a safe and controlledenvironment. Empty parking lots are good.

ii Youre working on building your sensitivity to the behavior of your bikeas it approaches and exceeds its braking threshold.

You want to be able to feel it instinctively, and react instinctively. So youhave to be familiar with the feel.

iii This really doesnt take much time at all. A little practice is all it takes.D. Slides.

1. Dont fight a slide. Fighting a slide is a panic error.a. Youd think that fighting a slide is a good thing, but again your automatic

response is going to be the wrong one.

2. Rear-wheel Slides.a. When the rear tire starts sliding, do nothing at all.

i If you leave the bike alone, it will automatically stabilize itself. The front wheel will naturally turn into the slide, and it will go just theright amount to stabilize the bike.

ii If you fight the slide, or tighten on the bars, the bike will pivot on the fronttires contact patch.

If you were in a car, it would now spin out, as the rear wheels revolvearound the front.


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Your bike, however, will highside. The bike will pivot. The front tire will be pointing forward. The rear

tire will be pointing off on an angle. The rear tire will still be

spinning, it will catch, and pop up into the air.

So dont tighten on the bars! Stay cool.iii If you chop the throttle, the sliding rear tire will regain traction before the

bike has recovered. [Chopping the throttle means letting off the gas suddenly.It can be partial or all the way off. Chopping the throttle is almost always a

bad thing to do. You want to be smooth with the gas.]

The rear wheel will regain traction, and you will highside. So dont chop the throttle! Stay cool.

3. Front-wheel Slides.a. When the front tire starts sliding, do nothing at all.

i If you leave the bike alone, it will automatically stabilize itself. The bike will slow, stand itself up, and get back under control.

ii If you try to straighten the front wheel, youll make it worse. The bike will wind up leaning even more, and youll slide worse. So dont straighten out the wheel! Stay cool.

iii If you chop the throttle, all your weight shifts to the sliding front tire. You will lose all traction and you will go down. So dont chop the throttle! Stay cool.

4. No matter which wheel is sliding, DO NOTHING.E. Skids.

1. A skid is a braking error.a. Youve locked up the rear wheel.

i It is now skidding to the outside of your turn (or, if you were goingstraight, it is going out to the side of the bike that had more weight on it, even

by a couple of ounces).


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ii You have lost your gyro completely!iii DO NOT LET OFF THE REAR BRAKE You will highside. Keep that rear brake locked up.

iv Dont fight the front wheel. Let it correct itself. In an extreme skid, you may wind up lowsiding anyway. Do it. Its far

better than the alternative.

b. Youve locked up the front wheel.i All your weight was up front for this to happen. And now youve lost all of your traction. And youve lost all of your steering.

ii Just let up on the front brake! The front tire will grip again, and youre back in business. Dont make any big steering changes before you do this, though, or youll

wipe out big time.

2. How do you prevent a skid?a. Dont brake in a turn or while swerving. Brake first, then turn. Or turn first, then

brake. Never do both at the same time.

i You lose your traction and suspension if you do both together.b. You can still brake hard.

i Dont be afraid to brake hard. Braking too gradually just makes you have to grab a lot of brake just as

you start to turn.

And turning with too much brake = crash. Braking too gradually can make you enter the turn too slow. Braking too gradually can make you miss your turn point.


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Braking too gradually can make you hit the obstacle in front of you.ii Just be smooth while braking hard. If you grab too much brake too quickly, youll bottom out the front

suspension.

If you grab too much brake too quickly, the front wheel will lock and skid,and you lose your steering entirely.

c. Dont use your rear brakes unlessi Save your rear brake until you need it. Dont risk locking up the rear wheel. It kills your gyro, skids you, and

makes you totally unstable.

In most situations, the front brake is all youll need. If you wind up needing more, by the time you apply the rear brake youll

be out of the danger zone for skidding.

ii Do use the rear brake in slippery conditions, on gravel, on sand, etc.iii Do use the rear brake in emergencies. Use the front and rear brake TOGETHER for super-fast stopping.


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VII. STUNTSA. Wheelies

1. Pick a good place to practice. You want to be safe and you also dont need to get introuble.

a. Privately-owned parking lots are often good. Try not to practice on public roads,where cops and traffic can interfere.

b. The surface must be big enough to get up to speed and move around.c. The surface must be flat. A cambered road can throw off your balance, and thats

the last thing you need.

2. In generala. As soon as the front wheel comes up, your natural reaction will be to chop the

throttle. Dont panic.

i The most common fear is that you will fall backwards or loop the bike. Have faith in the bike. This tends to happen only to experienced folks

who are trying to go too far.

You have to really make an effort to go back past vertical. When you think youre vertical, the bike is really only at about 45 degrees.

That front wheel has a good couple of yards left to go before it is going tofall backwards.

ii If you feel that the wheel has come up too far, simply lean forward andease off the throttle.

If you panic, youll chop the throttle and pull the clutch in. Try not to. Be warned! If you panic and whack the throttle shut, the bike will

drop HARD. If youre a guy, this can be painful its like gettingkicked in the nuts really hard. And you can warp the rim of your front

wheel.

Advanced riders can use the rear brake to stop a wheelie, but dont try thatuntil youre competent and comfortable with the basic maneuver first.

b. Build up your confidence gradually. Dont try to be Evel Knievel right away.3. Power wheelies throttle only


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a. In first gear, get up to 15 - 20 mph (or 3000 rpm, if you prefer)b. Lean backc. Slam the throttle all the way opend. The front wheel will come upe. Add gas to raise the wheel higher, ease off the gas to lower the wheel.

4. Power wheelies with front-loadinga. In first gear, get up to 15 - 20 mphb. Chop the throttle to front-load the suspensionc. Slam the throttle open and lean backd. The front wheel will come upe. Add gas to raise the wheel, ease off the gas to lower it.

5. Clutch wheelies use both clutch and throttlea. In first gear, get up to 15 - 20 mph (or 3000 rpm if you prefer)b. Pull in the clutch (disengage)c. Lean backd. Yank the throttle opene. When the revs peak, dump the clutch (engage)f. Add gas to raise the wheel, ease off the gas to lower it.

6. Going for distancea. Lift the wheel up to the balance point.

i This is where your center of gravity is directly over the rear tiresfootprint.

ii It will feel right. The bike will stay put with minimal effort.b. Change gears to keep going.

i Use the clutch.


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The bike will dip momentarily when you pull in the clutch, but use thethrottle to lift yourself back up.

ii You dont really need to go beyond second gear, but you can show off bygoing through the whole gearbox.

c. Smoothness is the key. The more youre chopping and waggling, the moredifficult its going to be.

B. Stoppies1. Stopped stoppies

a. A basic stoppie is done at a slow speed with all the braking force applied quickly.It usually lasts only a few seconds with the rear of the bike coming up quickly, allforward movement stopping, and then the rear crashing/ falling back down. As the

basic stoppie is done at a very slow speed, most people feel more comfortable

trying it. However because there is very little forward momentum or speed, if thefront tire skids, it will usually fall out from under you to one side and result in acrash.

b. First bring the bike up to about 25mph and practice stopping quickly andsmoothly while keeping the rear on the ground. Gradually try stopping as fast as

you can while still keep the rear on the ground

c. Make sure not to transfer your weight from one side to the other or front to backquickly. Start off against the tank with your thighs gripping it tightly. Your armsshould not be locked, but should nevertheless be stiff.

d. Now start braking quickly from about 25mph. At this point the front forks shouldbe heavily compressed. Once youre almost stopped (about 10mph or less) apply

even more brake, quickly. The rear end should pop up fast, the bike should almoststop. Then let off the brake and the rear will fall as the bike stops completely.

e. If the rear is coming up too fast, let off the brake quickly and drop the rear. If therear comes up so high and your STOPPED for a few seconds vertical at the

balance point (straight up and down) it is better to swing the rear to the side todrop the rear than let off the brake, because the bike may fall forwards.

2. Rolling stoppiesa. A rolling stoppie is done at speed with the rear end getting up smoothly. It is then

rode for a distance with the rear height being controlled by the amount of brakepressure. The rear can then be brought back down smoothly at about 10mph.

b. First bring the bike up to about 45mph and practice stopping quickly andsmoothly while keeping the rear on the ground. Gradually try stopping as fast as

you can while still keeping the rear on the ground.


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c. Make sure not to transfer your weight from one side to the other or front to backquickly. Start off against the tank with your thighs gripping it tightly. Your arms

should not be locked but stiff. This is extremely important at the beginning of arolling stoppie while the rear end is coming up. Be smooth and keep the bike

stable.

d. Start braking quickly from about 40mph minimum. For the first two or threeseconds apply the front brakes hard enough to heavily compress the front forks.

e. Now increase the front brake pressure significantly and the rear end should comeup. Once it's up, you have to slightly decrease the amount of brake pressure tokeep the rear from continuing to rise. Then as the bike is coming to a stop slowly

release the brake at about 10 mph lowering the rear, or ride it to the end and let itcrash down, your choice.

f. The height of the rear end is controlled by the amount of front brake pressure youapply. You will definitely be able to feel when the rear comes off the ground. The

first few times it will feel like the rear is way up in the air, but its probably only afoot high.

g. If the rear is coming up too fast let off the brake quickly and drop the rear.h. If the rear is coming up and to the side, let off the brake slowly and the bike will

straighten out by itself. This is due to the gyroscopic force. You can even keep therear up and do this. Never let off the brake quickly if the rear is coming up and to

the side. This will result in a tank slapper and most likely a crash. The bike's rearwill most likely swing to the right because you are putting pressure and some

weight on the front brake.

C. Burnouts1. Why anyone would want to do this to a perfectly good tire is beyond me. But they

sure are cool to watch.

2. Static Burnout staying in the same spota. Stand on ground, no weight on saddleb. Full front brakec. Gas itd. Lots of noise and smoke.

3. Rolling Burnout while moving, feet-upa. Check the surface first


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i Too grippy, youll stress the clutch, rip the tire, and have trouble rolling.ii Too slippy, youll push the front tire and you might flip it.

b. Get started (2 ways).i Version (A) Start a static burnout, full front brake & throttle, no weight on saddle. Let the clutch out abruptly Ease off the brake while hopping onto the pegs

Lift one foot onto a peg (dont put any weight on it yet) then hopstraight into a standing position OR

Lean on the tank first, and swing both legs pegward together.ii Version (B) Already riding feet up, very slowly. Pitch all the weight forward, as in a stoppie, and at the same time let the

clutch out with a lot of throttle

As soon as the rear wheel spins, ease off the brake Keep your weight as far forward as possible and ride away

c. Stancei Keep your weight as far forward as possible. This makes it much easier on you, and on the bike.

ii Keep your feet on the pegs. No shifting or rear-braking, please.d. Hands

i

Left hand should cover the clutch. If anything starts to go wrong, pull theclutch in.

ii Right hand controls the brake with 2 fingers and the throttle with the rest.e. Speed control

i More front brake = slower


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ii More revs = faster rear spin = less traction = sloweriii Less revs = less rear spin = more traction = faster (maybe time to pull in

the clutch)

iv The most critical thing to remember is to keep the wheel spinning and usethe brake smoothly. Any harsh movement will bounce the forks and its over.

f. Steeringi More revs = faster rear spin = faster sliding & pivoting. (Can result in a

low-side drop if you dont pull in the clutch and put a boot down.)

ii Steer by turning the bars in the direction you want to go. Countersteer tocontrol how fast the rear end comes around.

riding tips

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