Better Riding Techniques - Introduction

[Zwartie]

Fellow FJers,

It seems to me that there's been quite a bit of bad/sad news on this site over the past few months. Too many crashes (even one is too many) and also too many deaths from motorcycle-related accidents. I offer my condolences to all those who have been affected. Whenever I hear news about a motorcycle accident or fatality it makes me pause and think about the risks involved and what I can do to minimize them. Motorcycling is something that we do because we enjoy it, because it's fun. That being said, it does require skill, focus and practice, practice, practice. You may think "I've been riding for 10, 20, 30 or 40 years and x-thousand kms or miles without incident so I must be riding well" but unless you are actively working on your technique, maybe you've just been lucky. Think back to the past season or two – how many close calls have you had? Did someone cut you off or blow through an intersection and you had to take evasive maneuvers at the last second? What could you have done to have prevented that scenario in the first place? Maybe not every single accident is preventable, but I believe that in most cases, even the party that is not at fault could have done something to avoid the situation in the first place. Maybe you're riding at the posted speed limit but is it possible that's too fast for the situation at hand? Or you're in a hurry to get by a slow driver and they make a last second left turn forcing you into the shoulder – sure, they didn't have their left signal on but did you notice that driveway on the left and that they were slowing down just before it? What I'm attempting to get at here is that ALL of us can improve some aspect of our riding and in turn make it a safer experience.

I would like to post some "Better Riding Techniques" on this forum and I encourage others to do the same and to join in the conversation. If it means anything, I've been a Canada Safety Council certified motorcycle riding instructor since 2002 and for the past year and a half have been one of the Chief Motorcycle Instructors at Fanshawe College (London, ON).  The training that we do includes the typical weekend-long course for new riders in which we provide the bikes (125cc) and do the course on the College parking lot. This is known as the Basic, or M1Exit course. We also run an M2Exit course for those upgrading to their full M licence and that involves the rider (with 18 months to 5 years' experience) riding their own motorcycle on the street (residential, business and expressway sections) while we follow behind in a vehicle and critique their riding and then test them after 3-4 hours of practice.

https://www.ontario.ca/driving-and-roads/get-motorcycle-licence

http://www.fanshawec.ca/driversed

I'm often amazed at how much the students have "unlearned" between the Basic and M2Exit course. Unfortunately we don't have enough time available to reteach the basics but we do remind them whenever possible. Being an instructor I am always watching other riders on the street and it blows me away at how many crappy riders there are out there – and I'm not just talking about Harley and/or cruiser riders. There are plenty of riders and all kinds of bikes who just aren't that good at it. Oh, they're good enough to go out for an afternoon ride but if something should happen, do they have the skills to stay out of harm's way?

I already have an idea for the first topic and will likely post it later today. I hope you find it helpful.

Thanks, and stay safe out there!

Zwartie

[TexasDave]

Agree  100%. Look forward to any safe riding tips. Having 40+ years on two wheels I have not been involved in any accidents and don't want to be. I have had my share of close calls and in some cases been lucky. Unfortunately riding today is infinitely more dangerous than when I started with the advent of cell phones and tinted windows not to mention more cars. Like Zwartie said "focus and anticipate" what those cagers are going to do.  Dave 

[magge52]

Here's The Pace and The Pace 2, a couple of "timeless" articles from Nick Ienatsch.

http://www.motorcyclistonline.com/flashback/122_0911_the_pace_nick_ienatsch/

http://www.cycleworld.com/2013/09/16/become-a-better-street-rider-with-the-pace-motorcycle-safety-and-riding-skills/

Eric Trow does a monthly rider safety column Riding Well in Rider as well.
http://www.ridermagazine.com/rider-magazine-blog/stayin%E2%80%99-safe-advanced-rider-training.htm/

[andyb]

Best riding technique is "Pay attention".  Suits any situation and will improve anyone's safety.

[simi_ed]

Thanks for posting this!  I intended to post the eye-snatch (Ienatsch) articles, but didn't get it done.  He also had another recent article  called "The Brake Light Initiative" (or something close).  

The gist of the article was "enter a corner with the brake light on". but the pads just skimming the rotors.  No real slowing, but it's INTSTANTLY available if the need arises.  It's worth looking for and digesting.  I tried this the last few times I've been out, and it makes sense to me.
Anybody else?  Bueller?  Bueller?

[Country Joe]

Ed,
I read that article recently, it does make some sense, particularly if you are comfortable with using your brakes at lean angles beyond what most riders are used to doing.

Joe

[markmartin]

I've been making an effort to not drive (speed wise)  beyond my line of sight.  Unfortunately, this takes the thrill out of some of the turns and hill crests that we all encounter in our travels.  I broke this 'rule' again yesterday, traveling 2 up on an early morning outing and making my way around a  right hand curve that runs along a sheer rock wall for a short distance, causing me to out drive my line of sight for about 3 or 4 seconds.  Just as we're coming out of the turn, a white tailed deer that appeared to be preparing to cross the road, casually turns and heads back into the ditch and up the steep embankment just as we go by her.  We didn't even flinch--there was no time to :-).  There is no way I would have had time to react had she proceeded across.

This sort of thing can happen at any time, but out driving my line of sight as I did in this instance was a mistake on my part as it left me with no chance to react.

[yamaha fj rider]

Best riding technique is "Pay attention".  Suits any situation and will improve anyone's safety.

+1 Last year in Colorado heading back the KOA. Some guy in a suburban coming down the canyon taking up 3/4 of my lane for no reason other than he wanted to feel like ricky racer. If I had not been paying attention he would have turned me into a hood ornament. Just missed by him moving to the very inside of the turn and the edge of the pavement. Almost turned around and went after him but with no proof, just my word against his what would be the point. This is an excellent case for having a video camera. If I would have had some evidence a phone call to the sheriff and a complaint would have been filed.   

Kurt

[Capn Ron]

Zwartie,

Thanks for opening up this discussion...Anytime we can bring riding techniques and safety to a cognitive level, we stand a chance of preventing the next sad story.  I appreciate your perspective as one who teaches riding courses...Some may agree...some may dispute, but we will ALL get something out of this!   

[mark1969]

It might sound obvious, but regardless of how well we ride, we never quite know what is around the corner (quite literally). That said, I do believe in minimising risk through rider training whatever form that might take. And forums are a great place to learn from others.

One thing you come across occasionally is people saying a track day improves road riding skills. That may or may not be the case for some aspects of riding, such as machine control / handling, but nothing beats a busy real life situation with decent one to one rider comms from instructor to pupil. Learning 'on the job' so to speak.

Plus of course, people can often talk bull on internet forums, and big up their own position, experience, skill levels etc. So my advice (to myself as well!) is to get out there and get some decent advanced instruction, and remember that you never stop learning. The day we think we have mastered something is sometimes the day we fail, so respect helps too.

Confidence is great, but a liberal dose of expecting every driver to be incompetent helps too - preferably not followed by abuse   towards said driver..! That helps no-one, but is often hard to contain!

There endeth my sermon..  

[simi_ed]

Thanks for posting this!  I intended to post the eye-snatch (Ienatsch) articles, but didn't get it done.  He also had another recent article  called "The Brake Light Initiative" (or something close).  

The gist of the article was "enter a corner with the brake light on". but the pads just skimming the rotors.  No real slowing, but it's INTSTANTLY available if the need arises.  It's worth looking for and digesting.  I tried this the last few times I've been out, and it makes sense to me.
Anybody else?  Bueller?  Bueller?

http://www.cycleworld.com/2014/05/28/the-brake-light-initiative-treatise-on-motorcycle-control-using-your-braking-skills/

[the fan]

Thanks for posting this!  I intended to post the eye-snatch (Ienatsch) articles, but didn't get it done.  He also had another recent article  called "The Brake Light Initiative" (or something close).  

The gist of the article was "enter a corner with the brake light on". but the pads just skimming the rotors.  No real slowing, but it's INTSTANTLY available if the need arises.  It's worth looking for and digesting.  I tried this the last few times I've been out, and it makes sense to me.
Anybody else?  Bueller?  Bueller?

http://www.cycleworld.com/2014/05/28/the-brake-light-initiative-treatise-on-motorcycle-control-using-your-braking-skills/

Ed I have used this technique for most of my 40+ years of riding, and try to teach it when coaching trackdays. Its a great technique and definately adds to the overall control of a motorcycle wile cornering.

[ribbert]

Zwartie, if you wanted to open a can of worms, you could have just mentioned oil and saved yourself a lot of typing. Great idea for a discussion though. I am curious why, with so many topics to discuss about motorcycling safely, you would choose one that has so little bearing on staying alive (one foot vs two)

Anyway, you were no doubt expecting responses to this.

Added Benefits:  Other than being able to balance the bike more securely, there are a few other key benefits to stopping in the ready position. They include (but are not limited to):

To me, the bike is balanced when it is the neutral position, that is upright, not leaning to one side and having to hold it up with one leg. With both feet down the bike offers almost no resistance to staying where it is, leaned to one side, it feels like it wants to fall over.

1.  Now that your right foot is on the peg and not on the ground, you can use it to apply the rear brake. This lets traffic behind you know that you are intending to stop or remain stopped. It also leads into the next point.

How does this differ from the front brake?

2.  Since you have the rear brake applied, you can keep your right hand on the throttle. This means that once that light turns green, you can roll on the throttle and you're ready to go!

Being sufficiently dexterous and able to use the full range of brake and throttle with your right hand without the operation of one effecting the other I would have thought was a pretty basic skill for all but a newbie. Such as throttle blips on down changes while maintaining perfectly smooth braking, no matter how hard.

3.  Once you do get moving, you just have to put that left foot back on the peg and you're off. Once you have both feet on the pegs you are lowering the overall center of gravity of you and the bike vs. having both legs dangle like a pendulum as you ride through the intersection. The bike will roll through the intersection without weaving side to side.

You assume that both feet on the ground leads to trailing feet as you take off. I, as I'm sure most others do, have their feet back on the pegs before the bikes gone half a length.
The effect of C of G at this point I would think was minuscule in terms of stability.
Even if you did trail your legs, why would this cause weaving?

4.  Ever roll off when the light turns green and then you suddenly have to come to a quick stop because someone pulled in front of you or the car/bike in front suddenly came to a stop? If you started with both feet on the ground and didn't get them up on the pegs yet, guess what – you only have one brake to apply. In slow speed maneuvers the front brake is often exactly the wrong brake to apply, especially if you are in the middle of a left or right turn.

Back to my previous point, both feet are back on the pegs before the bikes gone half a length.
Your scenario assumes the rider is trailing his right leg all the way around the corner(by suggesting that the only foot on the peg is the one that was there back at the intersection)

I always have my bike in gear. The only time it is ever in neutral is first start of the day ( because of the clutch) The thought of sitting in traffic, in neutral, hand off the clutch makes me feel very vulnerable, I know I'm a couple of seconds away from regaining control over the bike. I like to know I can move in an instant if need be. I have lane split / filtered all my life so more often than not at an intersection I am between two cars or pulled ahead of the first car, not somewhere you want to be slower off the mark than the cars around you because you were distracted and missed the lights changing.
If you are sitting at an intersection in neutral with you hand off the clutch when the vehicles around start moving, it's amazing how far they travel by the time you've pulled / reached the clutch and mashed it into first and started moving. Anticipating this moment doesn't always work, especially if you're taking the in the vehicle movements around you and checking you mirrors.

Also, if you only have one leg down, the bike is leaned over, this means when you take off the bike will initially weave in that direction, not good when close to other traffic or between two cars. Both feet down allows a dead straight launch.

It doesn't have to be exclusively one or the other either. If I'm on a tall bike, I use one foot, you adapt to whatever you're riding. If I'm on a slope and I suspect one foot won't reach the ground, I just use the other one. A bike that is leaning to one side is off balance and doesn't feel right and the greater the load the worse it feels and the easier it is to lose it because it's already wanting to fall but you're stopping it with your leg rather than gently maintaining the balance point.

I also like to get the jump on all the other traffic at an intersection, not difficult on most bikes 250cc or above, and leave the pack behind, now that makes me feel safe.

Zwartie, as an instructor you must have a million stories and some great techniques to pass on but I find this an odd and almost irrelevant subject when it comes to safety. It's right up there with which hand do you scratch your arse with.

Noel

[Burns]

I've been making an effort to not drive (speed wise)  beyond my line of sight.  

That is survival.101.

The old saw is "don't go in if you can't see a way out".  Folks who dive into turns that exit beyond their line of sight are shooting the dice with their lives.  If you toss the dice often enough sooner or later you'll roll "SNAKE EYES"

[Burns]

Best riding technique is "Pay attention".  Suits any situation and will improve anyone's safety.

I totally agree with that. 

But skills are important too.  I'm planning on taking a road racing class, not because I want to go faster but because I want to go safer.