Your course should cover this but...
Your front brake has the most stopping power. Using it while in a turn, leaned over, is pretty tricky. Especially at low speeds. For low speeds, use your read brake, it actually helps you stay up a bit.
Where is Captain Crash when you need him? I think thats his name.... Anyway he has some good instructional videos on youtube.... I'll post back if I can find them.
I Met the Ditch Today...and I Have a Question
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Lion_Lady
- Legendary 1500
- Posts: 1885
- Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 6:44 am
- Real Name: Pam
- Sex: Female
- Years Riding: 24
- My Motorcycle: 2013 BMW R1200R 90th Anniversary
- Location: Lynchburg, VA
My best advice is to STOP PRACTICING UNTIL YOU've taken the course!! You're darn lucky you didn't get injured.graymojocat wrote:Yeah. It was a grass ditch. The heat shield bent a little and I think the bruise on my knee came from it, but I bruise easily so I can't be sure where the bruise actually came from.
Today was better, though. I had trouble starting. The whole being at a stop and getting into first and moving without stalling is getting to me. Our driveway is gravel, which makes it more difficult (in my mind) because I have this fear that I'm going to start to go and not get any traction and then I end up stalling anyway or eating gravel.
But aside from that I got the upshifting to go much better today. Yay me!
Especially since your bike is different than the range bikes, you're messing up your progress in class. You'll have to alter what worked on your bike, to successfully ride the range bikes (which have been abused and don't always do things smoothly).
Like being pregnant the first time... do you remember realizing after, how utterly clueless you'd actually been about what was going on with your body for 9 1/2 months? You couldn't even ask the right questions at the time, because you had no frame of reference to use.
P
Courage in women is often mistaken for insanity - Alice Paul
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roncg41677
- Elite
- Posts: 186
- Joined: Fri May 07, 2004 4:35 am
- Sex: Male
- Location: Dunnellon, FL
Going fast is naturally easier because the gyroscopic effect kicks in and the bike will pretty much keep itself upright anywhere above ~15mph. Controlling the bike at slow speeds takes 2 things; education and practice.
As others have said, it's all about riding the friction zone on the clutch and (for me) holding down the rear brake a bit. I give it a little bit of throttle and hold it, and think of moving the bike with the clutch, not the throttle, if that makes sense. You also want to make sure you are looking where you want to go. Looking at a ditch, or the ground, will usually get you there in short order. Your bike will almost always go where you are looking.
More than anything, don't learn bad habits you will have to unlearn in class. Practice in a large open area often. Work on things like slow speed maneuvers (U turns, circles, figure 8's, etc), emergency braking and obstacle avoidance.
As others have said, it's all about riding the friction zone on the clutch and (for me) holding down the rear brake a bit. I give it a little bit of throttle and hold it, and think of moving the bike with the clutch, not the throttle, if that makes sense. You also want to make sure you are looking where you want to go. Looking at a ditch, or the ground, will usually get you there in short order. Your bike will almost always go where you are looking.
More than anything, don't learn bad habits you will have to unlearn in class. Practice in a large open area often. Work on things like slow speed maneuvers (U turns, circles, figure 8's, etc), emergency braking and obstacle avoidance.
[i]Matthew 6:33 - But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.[/i]
'93 Yamaha Seca II
'92 Yamaha Seca II (Fixing up)
'93 Yamaha Seca II
'92 Yamaha Seca II (Fixing up)