Low Speed Maneuvering

[WhiteBeard]

Hey guys,

been thinking a lot about my riding technique lately.

The FJ is my first bike (with the exception of a Yamaha DT50MX, which was fun at the time) and I've always felt that pulling off tight U-turns or cone weaves in walking speed is my weak point, especially with heavier bikes like mine.

At the motorcycle school we used GSX-750's, which still made me put my foot down once in a while. Even though I learned to regulate the speed with the clutch and rear brake when necessary, pushing with the inside leg against the tank when turning in order to straighten the bike up, and using my eyes and head like a hoot owl, I still have a long way to go in order to feel totally secure when it comes to very low speeds.  

Is this just me, or do some of you share this same problem?
How do you go about polishing your skills?  


P.s. I've watched some of the Ride Like a Pro videos and like them (even though I was explicitly told not to drag my rear brake when I did the riders training course). I always liked the idea of using the maneuvering techniques used in police training, having looked at a lot of impressive bike performances on YouTube.  Some of those guys sure seem to know what they are doing. Impressive.


Donnie Williams - 2nd run http://www.NTMSC.com

[Harvy]

No need to put their feet down - it can't tip over with everything scraping on the ground.

Harvy

[ribbert]

My brother took up motorcycling 4.5 years ago. He could not understand how it escaped him so long and took to it with a vengeance. He did 27,000k in the first year on VTR250 (250's being mandatory for the first 12 mths) and in the remaining 3.5 years has covered a staggering 120,000k on a GS1200, and, he doesn't commute.
He took every course and level available, read books, watched cd's, asked me things endlessly on rides (intercom), lunches and coffee breaks were spent discussing different aspects of riding, bike control, safety etc. and most importantly he treated every ride as an exercise and opportunity to practice skills. This approach has made him a confident, competent and safe rider.

My point.  He found the most elusive skill to master was low speed riding. And I doubt if he could even now do a figure eight on the steering stops.

I also see a lot of experienced riders on the road, or in carparks anyway, with fairly modest low speed skills.

I use clutch/rear brake (and a bit of throttle) and the bikes weight is not be a problem because I'm not trying to hold it up! That what the clutch and brake are for.

There is NO secret to this skill.

The key is practice, practice, practice..............................
Noel

[1tinindian]

No need to put their feet down - it can't tip over with everything scraping on the ground.

Harvy

Was thinking the same thing Harv, he already tipped it over, he just didn't realize it!

Kinda like sayin ya had to layer her down to avoid the wreck!
Guess what?, if you laid her down...you wrecked!

It's all a matter of clutch, throttle and rear brake to have control at low speeds.
When I ride with my kid, he likes how I come to a complete stop at a stop sign without putting my feet down.
Years of practice and trust in your abilities, is what I tell him.
He has been doing pretty well himself, with practice he may be as good as me someday.

Leon

[racerman_27410]

i think the hardest part to smooth slow speed riding is the transition from counter steering( Push right to go right- push left to go left) to tradtional steering ( pull left to go left and pull right to go right) ... its a total feel kind of thing.

Going slow...the rear brake is a great stabilizer when weighted against the clutch and in faster corners i also use the rear brake to help tighten my line up thru the corner.... works great without upsetting the chassis.


The super slo stuff i always practice in an actual parking lot with lines painted on it.... I'll set up a slalom using the intersections of the lines.... in my mind....aim for every three spaces to have your bike on the other side of the line.... then as you get more of a feel for it set the slalom for two spaces..... once you can slalom every other space you will have feet up slow speed handling down pat.

remember if you have the revs up slightly the spinning mass of the engine's internals will want to keep the bike upright...
 control the weight of the bike against the clutch with the rear brake helping to modulate your speed.

Unfortunately you are on your own with feet up stops... some people have superior balance... some people dont.

One other thing thats good to practice is high speed panic braking from the speeds you normally ride.....its very possible to make smoke come off a FJ front wheel without locking up the brakes!..... but if you dont know that threshold then you wont have the tool when it comes time to do the work.



Good luck and be safe practicing.


KOokaloo!

[A11an0n]

I think this guy did a better job than the cop, but I don't know if it counts as low speed or not.

Drifting Motorbike - Drift Gymkhana - Jorian Ponomareff

[ally]

yeah........I can do that...............just don't want to..........

[andyb]

Big deal, I've done that lots of times.  He just didn't fall off like I do, that's all!

[MyFirstNameIsPaul]

That's more along the lines of how I think: the goal to me has not been low speed maneuvering, but maneuvering in tight spaces.  The best tool for me was a sport bike - a 2003 ZX-6R that I bought brand new.  It's probably the most uncomfortable motorcycle ever made and with very little steering angle plus a shallow rake make for essentially zero ability to steer at low speeds - I nearly dropped it pulling out of the dealership.  A co-worker who'd been a lifelong motorcyclist and was a genuine go-faster showed me how to take off fast and lean hard.  It's second nature for me now in parking lots and driveways to just gun it and lean, although admittedly this doesn't work quite as well with the FJ because it's much longer wheelbase.

[diymanic]

i don't find the fj too bad as it carries its weight low down.
as above clutch and rear brake.
good thing is you're thinkin about it. 

[micah360]

I'm a pretty small dude for the FJ (5"9, 150lbs) but I think it handles great at slow speeds.  Even with my wife on the back it's not too bad.  Now pushing it up an incline... that's a different story.

And that police video is awesome.  I've been thinking about that video a lot when I'm riding the FJ now.

[WhiteBeard]

Thanks for the advice guys, it's very interesting to read about all of your personal experiences. 

These are the two low speed tracks that are part of the Swedish driving test (not me in the video I'm afraid, I think it's the Stigs scandinavian brother).
You are not allowed to put your foot down, except in the second track where it is part of the excercise.
The exercises make up the first part of the test, the second part consists of high speed maneuvering/braking and riding in traffic.

Lågfart 1 & 2 - Övning