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What after MSF class and a few days riding in traffic?
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March 14, 2009 at 1:56 pm #2604ridesyetiParticipant
I completed the MSF class in Denver a few weeks ago and got my first bike. Due to car troubles I ended up commuting in traffic sooner then I planned. My confidence is improving though I’m finding myself leery of leaning while cornering, taking quick evasive maneuvers, and slowing quickly if a light turns red. I don’t want to leave my skills development to trial and error. So what route do you recommend next? Other classes? Track days not focused racing?
March 14, 2009 at 6:05 pm #17045Jon D.ParticipantI wholeheartedly support what Elwood recommended. Since you are in a situation where you have to use your bike, take any spare time you may have to practice and get more comfortable with your bike. The leaning into the turns will become more natural as time progresses. Think of how a child rides his bicycle the first time out vs. the way it is handled after more time is spent on it. Your muscle memory will come into play much quicker than you realize, but it all comes with time, patience, and practice. Be careful,aware of your surroundings, and time will ultimately take care of your misgivings as experience developes.Ride safe and God bless. Jon D.
March 24, 2009 at 7:07 am #17305Gary856ParticipantI started riding this year and have about 1400 mils so far, so I’m still learning lot of new things everyday. I also wondered if attending a non-racing type track school was the way to quickly learn beyond the basic MSF course, but it turned out there are a lot learning you can do on your own. A few things I’d like to share:
1. A lot about riding is mentally knowing what to do. I spent a lot of time reading books and motorcycle related internet sites. One of my favorite site on Motorcycle Tips and Techniques is http://www.msgroup.org/default.aspx
2. I think u-turn must be mastered early on by practicing in the parking lot. Practice it from a stand-start, and turn at different speed from 2 mph to 10 mph. Then practice a bunch of figure-8 from 2 mph to 10 mph in the parking lot. Varying the speed lets you see how steering transitions from direct-steering at low speed to counter-steering at around 6 mph. Don’t practice it in the street at first cause when you get confused you’d run out of room quickly. One day early on I rode 90 miles with no problem and felt pretty good about myself, but ended up messing up a 3 mph u-turn in front of my house, hit the curb and dropped the bike. I knew I should have practiced but didn’t take the time before dropping the bike. Once you’ve mastered the low speed u-turn you can handle any low speed maneuvers.
3. Uphill starts confounded me at first. I couldn’t imagine how anyone could deftly manipulate the rear brake, the throttle and the clutch just right to get moving. I finally figured out it’s as simple as staying in the friction zone longer, allowing the bike to pick up some speed before letting out the clutch completely. It’s very simple in retrospect, but it wasn’t obvious to me at first since I had my hands full trying to juggle the rear brake, the throttle and the clutch.
4. Twisty mountain roads are terrific training ground, but the first time I went on a twisty road it really took me by surprise. The sustained turns are very different from a simple 90 degree low-speed turn in the city. The first curve I hit I went wide and nearly went over the double-yellow line with cars coming from the opposite side. That scared the hell out of me. The road was damp, winding and steep, cars were on my tail, and I didn’t know how to determine entry speed, so that was a white-knuckled ride. I pulled over to let the cars behind me pass. That took the pressure to go fast off and I continued at my own rather slow pace. Later on I figured out although I knew all about counter-steering (push in the direction you want to go), I was so nervous so that when my right hand was pushing to turn right, my left hand was also pushing on the handle bar which nearly cancelled my steering input to go right, causing me not turn sharply enough. The solution is to deliberately push in the direction you want to turn and consciously back off the opposite hand. After a couple of hours riding in the twisties you’d get into a rhythm and the bike seems to magically steer itself without you consciously thinking about it. But, still, keep it slow and deliberate until you know you can trust your muscle memory to always provide the right steering input. And after taking enough turns you’d figure out the entry speed just by looking at the turns.
5. Ride as much and often as you can. I find myself loosing that riding rhythm after not riding for even just one day.
March 24, 2009 at 1:43 pm #17307Clay DowlingParticipantOur high school parking lot is set up very nicely for driver’s training, with somewhat narrow lanes marked out, a variety of parking scenarios, and a pair of figure 8 tracks that are tight for a car but fun at higher speed on a motorcycle.
You might find something similar at your local school.
I use the marked intersections for practicing swerves and sudden stops, and the figure eights to see if I can make my foot pegs shorter.
Your concerns over leaning are the easiest to address. Go pull figure eights in a parking lot, increasing speed until you can hear the foot pegs scrape. Just keep your feet tight against the bike and your knees against the tank. Wear full gear, including pants and heavy boots, so that if you misjudge things you won’t get any injury other than a bruised ego.
March 24, 2009 at 3:16 pm #17309eonParticipantRidesyeti, at your stage I would echo what the others are saying, parking lot practice. Then try to get riding experience in light traffic so you can concentrate on how to handle the bike, take corners etc. Learning to watch for traffic is a whole another skill that will develop over time.
Gary856, Lee Parks describes the scenario you experienced where your hands are fighting each other and your steering becomes erratic. He recommends mentally “letting go” of the hand on the outside of the corner. Make it go limp so it is not fighting the arm that is counter steering. It is a good exercise to practice and really does help.
The first time you head for a twisty road I would make sure it is a dry day and there is as little traffic as you can mange. You need to be concentrating on taking the corners so try to get as much going for you as you can. I would not worry about your entry speed at first. Just take it slow and try to be smooth.
The first time I hit a twisty road the bike was squirming all over the road. I was taking the corners slow but the bike was basically out of control. I knew what I was doing wrong but it was a hard thing to fix. I was rolling off the throttle before the corner and waiting to see the exit before getting back on it. I knew I was supposed to be on the throttle during the corner but it was a huge leap of faith to do apply the throttle when the bike is out of control. But once I did, the bike behaved exactly like they said it would (it sat down on the suspension instead of wobbling around the corner) and life became easier.
There was still a long way to go as many, many times I would panic going round a corner and hit the brakes. I would get mad at myself for doing exactly the wrong thing but what made it worse was the bike would stand up and stop comfortably. I was going SO SLOW I could do completely the wrong thing and still get away with it. That was a humbling experience but by continuing to practice I have managed to reduce (if not eliminate) the “oh shit” moments, have developed the confidence to lean more (instead of hitting the brakes), and can now take the same corners faster, smoother and safely.
Maybe it’s because I’m old and cautious but it took me time to get comfortable taking corners at reasonable speeds. But I am ok with that. I figure my skills will develop faster if I am not lying in a hospital bed or my bike is in the shop.
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