[Andrew]

Just got back from the first riding night and have some random thoughts. I was on a Rebel and the friction zone was a long way out from the grip. I stalled it 5 times in a row at one point. Instructor helped me out with keeping the clutch release slow and using some throttle to help get momentum without stalling.

Exercise 5 with the swerving between the cones in 2nd gear was the most fun I had all night. I ended up getting the swerving by not thinking about the push and by just leaning. If that makes sense.

We finished with exercise 6 and that was the hardest one of the night. The “California” stop where you slow as much as possible is hard. My head wants to start looking at where I am slowing too and then it affects my line. Needs some work. The weaving through the tighter cones was really hard for me. I got it a couple of times but I was inconsistent and it felt like I had to muscle the bike through the tight turns. Think I need to use my back brake or the clutch to control the speed and keep it consistent. Lining up one turn after another was hard also. Maybe I just need to break them down into individual turns. I was using my front brake to adjust my speed and I was told not to do that.

Had a hard time going in a straight line early on but the instructor fixed that by having me look further ahead than I was. So in general the faster the better for me but the slower stuff needs some work. Hopefully that gets easier with more practice.

I think I might switch to a Nighthawk for the next night as the Rebel wasn’t very comfortable IMO. Maybe it was all the sitting and walking but the square box under the seat is really annoying. Wasn’t keen on the forward placement of the foot rests and the shifter. Maybe thats because I’m a newbie to bikes? Now I’m 5′ 4 and the Rebel felt a bit cramped at times so I can’t imagine a big guy on it.

It was a fun night even with the frustration of the things that were difficult for me.

[shaggles]

When you say you got the swerving by just leaning do you mean using your body weight to initiate the turn? That’s not going to work when your moving at 25 mph and up.

[Andrew]

Yes thats what I mean. I might have been using my hips to help since they are a little sore this morning. I started doing that because thinking about the push made it seem very mechanical. I was thinking about it rather than just doing it. I might have still been doing it a little and just focusing on the lean but I’ll keep what you said in mind for the next class.

Another problem I had was remembering the back brake. Maybe it’s all the years of bicycle riding but I had to keep telling myself my back brake was under my right foot and to use it. My instinct was to want to use the front brake.

Andrew

[Rab]

‘ Sounds like you’re trying to steer the bike by using “Body English”. That’s old fashioned and doesn’t work very well.

On a motorcycle, at speeds under ~15 mph you turn the wheel to the left to go left and to the right to go right..

At speeds over ~15 mph, you need to countersteer.

Essentially, countersteering means you gently push on the handgrip in the direction you want to go. To turn right, push gently forward on the right grip. To turn left, push gently forward on the left grip. The harder you push the faster it leans over, so be very careful when first practicing this technique. I know this sounds counter-intuitive, but it does work and is what you need to learn to do in order to steer your bike accurately at speed.

[Andrew]

I was ok with the counter steer once I got the hang of it. I was just unsure how to tackle the slower twisting cones in that last exercise. I was steering like I would my bicycle because I felt like it was too slow for me to want to counter steer. Due to the weight difference I felt like I really had to muscle the bike through the tight turns. It was my first time on a bike so it might just be me having to adjust to how a bike handles in general.

Andrew

[megaspaz]

At the MSF, the cone slalom is meant to be done at 15+mph and is there for you to get a feel of countersteering. I was doing them at 25-30 mph and the instructers were happier than pigs in mud. The experienced rider course is where you try to do it really slow.

—
If there’s anything more important than my ego
around, I want it caught and shot now…

[Andrew]

The 2nd time we did the slalom the cones had been moved to either side of the center line where they started on a stagger. So it was sharp right, sharp left etc. Thats the one I thought was pretty hard.

Andrew

[Author]

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