Slow speed practice.

[wrightme43]

This is one of the harder skills for me. I am getting better thru working and practice but it is still hard. I have read that a quick way to tell how good a rider is by watching them at slow speed, in tight turns. I want to be a better rider, and I am sure other people are interested as well, and may not of seen these.

http://www.largiader.com/slow/

 

[JONAC]

Nice thread Steve ... In the UK if we put a foot down on the U turn excersise when on your test it is an instant fail !! they make it as tight as possible too.

Dropped a Honda CBF500 on that very same thing minutes before my test lol
It didn't fill me with confidence but I somehow managed it on my test.

Just bought and fitted some frame sliders so I can practice my slow speed stuff with a little less fear of dropping it ... Don't want to damage my pride and joy

 

[OneTrack]

Although I initially found my FZ6's somewhat 'sharp' clutch engagement a bit difficult to manage when first doing slow-speed maneouvers, the wonderful balance of the bike overcame that quite quickly. I find that doing figure 8's is a bit easier in 2nd than 1st gear, which 'softens' the sharpness of the clutch engagement just enough to not be the main issue.
Smoothness and concentration is where it's at. Bad things happen awfully quickly in a U turn if the bike almost stops rolling or the clutch is fully engaged, or if you don't plan your turn's entry and exit point ahead of time.

 

[Khyren]

I learned how to do all those manuvers in the MSF class recently. And in taking it to get certified was much better than making an appointment with the DMV guy, he's a deck...

Khyren

 

[DrBart2]

Great post! Thanks for the info. I need to practice a lot. As I get older it is even more important to keep my riding skills up.

btw- you wouldn't believe the difference in slow riding the FZ6 compared to slow riding my old V-Star 1100!!! The 6 is soooooo much easier to balance and maneuver than that cruiser!:thumbup:

 

[sideshow_downs]

Like it said in the article i find tight turns easiestwhen i look over my sholder where i want to go to and when im in the turn to lean to the outside.

 

[saddletramp]

Good subject matter. Having been an MSF instructor and Trials rider (heavy on the been), I well understand the mechanics of doing these maneuvers. (didn't say i was good at it)
It can be very satisying to learn to master the skills needed to have confident control of the motorcycle in all regimes. Takes a lot of practice, and self-critisizm; something most of us don't like to do. One key point: LOOK where you want to go, look down only for reference.

 

[saddletramp]

A friend, and former MSF instructor sent me this link. I would have loved to've seen this competition. If you check the (I think) second rider, you'll see the point about where to look (head position). In a way, we're kind of like horses. You turn them by turning their heads. We're no different. Look where you want to go.
2007 Motorcops.com National Training and Skills Championship

Don't know that much about links, so you may have to cut and paste. (sorry)

 

[fisheye]

I took a training class from Ride like a pro.
It's a modified version of the police motor officer course. I saw them perform at one of the local bike shows and signed up for their course. It improved my slow speed skills 100%.

 

[mikebike]

I can ride slow well....mostly because of the transfer of skills from Bicycling.

I can balance my road bicycle standing dead still for a whole traffic light.

also when mountain biking I do alot of trials like balancing on the technical trails.

plus if you drop your bicycle there is not $100's of damage

 

[wrightme43]

That is cool Mike.
Did you read about the MotoGP pros using road bicycles in the off season for balance and heart training?

 

[DefyInertia]

I can ride slow well....mostly because of the transfer of skills from Bicycling.

I can balance my road bicycle standing dead still for a whole traffic light.

also when mountain biking I do alot of trials like balancing on the technical trails.

plus if you drop your bicycle there is not $100's of damage

+1 did I type that???? Being 6'3" helps me a lot too.....if I ever drop my bike at slow speed I think it will be from my foot slipping (oil, sand, etc.) too much to recover from.
________
Marijuana bubbler

 

[grommit]

Try riding to work/paper shop without putting your foot down. Sounds hard and it is.

It does lots of things, but in the main makes you plan ahead and improves your slow speed riding.

 

[strike_force]

Very good article :thumbup: In GR we don't have the U turn excersise but a tight 8 which if you put your leg down it is instant fail like th UK. But i have found that the down town Athens traffic to be a hell of a "teacher". This is why I can ride slow very good but haven'y draged a knee yet . Ah what the hell I am geting there!!!

 

[831fz6]

Those guys have skills.

One question...what about gear??? You'd think they'd at least want to be wearing gloves, especially after seeing the one guy pull the side drop and land on his hand. Just a thought.

 

[sideshow_downs]

What i did to get better at slow speen handling when i was learning was to take my moms GS500 into a low traffic neighborhood and did u-turns and figure 8s untill i was dizzy. The one day i did 4 miles on figure 8s. It only takes practice and it gets easy.

 

[HavBlue]

This is one of the harder skills for me. I am getting better thru working and practice but it is still hard. I have read that a quick way to tell how good a rider is by watching them at slow speed, in tight turns. I want to be a better rider, and I am sure other people are interested as well, and may not of seen these.

Slow School

To me riding is an acquired skill at any level be it slow or fast as each have their own respective characteristics. I have been very fortunate in that I started in the dirt and lived in the desert playgrounds of southern California before ever hitting the streets. I can't tell you how many folks I have come across that can't make a turn from a standing start with the steering head locked one way or the other. Why not? This is an easy answer which falls back to not training for it. How can you do something you have never practiced at and if you haven't practiced how can you expect yourself to be any good at it. You and I both live close the the Green Hills mall. I use the back parking lot behind Dillard's twice a month for drills. Once on the FZ6 and once on the Sporty. I use the painted lines to weave back and forth using speed and the clutch only to snake down the 150 yards of open parking spaces which generally requires many lock to lock turns. In these turns the brakes are not my friend and a good knowledge of clutch and throttle inputs will keep that bike up and moving. Another problem folks seem to face is the desire to look down which to me is a big mistake, look where you want to go and feather your inputs always maintaining enough speed to carry you through the turn. After a while it becomes second nature and you will find it requires very little speed for you to ride and maintain an upright position without dragging feet. That film link was an excellent example of practice makes perfect.... Forget the bike, look at the rider's focus points, always looking where he is going an never down.

 

[wrightme43]

LOL

My favorite practice place is WKU's new parking lot next to the soccer fields. On the weekends at night its empty, only has two entrances, and the whole parking lot, is closes in, so its not a short cut for anyone, plus it is well lit.

I am sure I will see you around sooner or later.

 

[HavBlue]

LOL

My favorite practice place is WKU's new parking lot next to the soccer fields. On the weekends at night its empty, only has two entrances, and the whole parking lot, is closes in, so its not a short cut for anyone, plus it is well lit.

I am sure I will see you around sooner or later.

Yeah, count on it. I have waited for that ride four years...... It's easy to find another Sporty rider. Not so easy to find another FZ6 rider.

 

[Cloggy]

love this thread, the tips and the vid (how those guys make it look so easy with big heavy bikes).
I took my bike test in Holland and we had to do the figure of eight and turn within a tight circle 3 times and then turn back the way we came. I could do it pretty good during lessons but this was about 10 years ago now, maybe I should start practicing again.