How to improve your skills during everyday riding situations?

Hey Guys,

What are some things that you feel you need to work on to improve your overall riding skills and how can you practice those things during normal everyday riding situations?

Misti

I want to learn how much speed to take a corner, and what gear I should be in. For example a 25mph corner that is a hair pin going down a slight hill coming to a lesser grade.

This is just one of my questions. lol

Mainly throttle control and speed match (revs). I would like to ride as smooth as possible.
I'm trying to remember speed/revs ratios but my memory is not helping, on top that you should not ride paying more attention to the speedometer than to the road, so I'm trying to get a feel for it mostly by sound.
I practice this every time I'm riding the bike. I'm getting better but I still have a long way to go.


I also try to practice slow speed maneuvers:
Friction zone/Rear brake. I go straight as slow as possible then U-turns, etc.

When I get to an empty parking lot I also practice emergency braking.

I would be interested in the proper way to downshift. Some try to blip the throttle, some just slowly let it out. I have been trying both, and find both will kind of work for me in some situations. I am mostly a commuter, so most of this question would be for coming to a stop, but this can also be for coming up to a corner that needs less speed.

With my new bar-end mirrors, I have been trying to use my periferal vision to identify potential hazards more. Since I am now having to turn my head to see the mirror, I'm spending more time not looking where I'm going, so using periferal vision ACTIVELY is a must. It's good habit for anyone, really.

I had problems between 2/3 (going into turns) and 6 looking for 7 (on the highways)! I bought a Heal-Tech GIpro gear indicator - tiny and discreet - no more problems here. I'm now getting a real "feel" for what gear I'm in. I'll probably be selling the gear indicator soon LOL

My other problem is roundabouts - I have a good line, and look where I'm going, just need to pick up my cornering speed. I only became "street" legal without a shadow 2 weeks ago, so that will come.

I plan on doing several track days and also some rider safety courses - just to pick up new tips and methods.

My husband, who has been riding for 25 years, still practices emergency braking etc when no-one is around. He quite often pretends that there is something on the road, and takes evasive action to avoid it. Doesn't want to get rusty

Hey Kazza, can you let me know about those track days/learner courses ... I have been wondering what is around to help with your riding.

And to help improve your everyday riding I guess the best thing is to get out there and ride ! And if you can hook up with someone more knowledgeable than you to show you some tricks.

Kazza said:

My husband, who has been riding for 25 years, still practices emergency braking etc when no-one is around. He quite often pretends that there is something on the road, and takes evasive action to avoid it. Doesn't want to get rusty

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Must be something about us smart XJR riders , i do exactly the same thing only i dont imagine the problem , i'll use a marker like a leaf , tar snake or road kill :thumbup:

Humperdinkel said:

Must be something about us smart XJR riders , i do exactly the same thing only i dont imagine the problem , i'll use a marker like a leaf , tar snake or road kill :thumbup:

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Yeah, you're actually right. He does say he looks for leaves etc

If you both had imagination, then you wouldn't have an XJR......

Humperdinkel said:

Must be something about us smart XJR riders , i do exactly the same thing only i dont imagine the problem , i'll use a marker like a leaf , tar snake or road kill :thumbup:

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Nah mate. It's just us smart folk...lol. Every night coming home from work, I gas the crud out it over the final crest before home, and pull into the slip lane, and go from head down bum up to full emergency stop at a random marker. I do this at night, because I ride at night a lot, but also because everything is easier in the light, so I practice in the dark. It's gotten to the stage I can slam on the brakes to the point of front wheel modulating lock on just about any road surface, be it wet dry or other without even thinking about it.

Every now and then though, I release the brakes and dodge my imaginary danger, after checking my blind spot and mirrors. Awareness of what's around you and a calm measured decision to dodge a danger is every bit as important. Of course I then head up the road a couple kays to a nice little bit of twisty road before returning home...lol.

Unfortunately you can't really simulate actual "OMFG" situations, but I reckon every little bit helps.

I get my family to hide behind bushes near my house and throw bricks at me when I least expect it. Dodging bricks at 70kph is great obstacle avoidance practice.

One thing I reeeeeally want to get down though, is rear slipping tire control. I know how to handle it, for example the other day my bike was way out of alignment and snapped back after i hit a patch of dirt mid-corner at speed. someone had thrown it onto the road in the most absurd place, and i dealt with it well enough, but i was uncomfortable about it. I was loose on the grip and steady with the throttle and rolling ever so gently onto it as i came out of the dirt, but my arms really wanted to tense up and i gripped my seat with my butt-cheeks a little bit.

I really want to have a high level of confidence with my tires sliding around. Front slides even....

But this is something I don't think is able to be worked on public roads. Even at the track I don't think it's wise as I really don't want to dump this bike.

Maybe riding on the grass? I could do that I guess.

Also, heavy braking + down-shifting. I went to a track school and this was one thing I definitely had to work on. I am getting better with the blips, but find the wrist action of:

-blip throttle while squeezing brake lever while timing it with the quick-clutch-squeeze-release and downshift

usually takes quite a bit of focus so I usually only work on this coming to actual stops or slowing down on a straight with no corner coming up.

tricky part is not being on the throttle at all when the clutch comes out and not releasing the clutch too slowly and losing the revs i just built up.

it's tough getting it right every single time, even when there is no corner to think about.

ive tried it with corners coming up but i usually make a mess of it and am not in the right gear when i hit the corner. it's usually in too low a gear and the bike makes all kinds of noise and is more unstable than it needs to be as i try to mitigate the engine braking before i finally get back on the throttle midcorner-ish.

discgolfdude said:

I want to learn how much speed to take a corner, and what gear I should be in. For example a 25mph corner that is a hair pin going down a slight hill coming to a lesser grade.

This is just one of my questions. lol

Click to expand...

Let's take a look at this question first and then I'll address some of the others here. Thanks to everyone for the great responses.

So, what kinds of things do we use to help us gauge our corner speed? What things do we look for to help us determine how fast we should approach a turn?

Would you guys say you usually approach a corner too fast or too slow?

Misti

wlaroche said:

I would be interested in the proper way to downshift. Some try to blip the throttle, some just slowly let it out. I have been trying both, and find both will kind of work for me in some situations. I am mostly a commuter, so most of this question would be for coming to a stop, but this can also be for coming up to a corner that needs less speed.

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I think if you are mostly a commuter than either method works. When I ride on the street I usually blip the throttle when I downshift for corners and while I'm riding but if I'm coming to a stop light or a stop sign I'll just downshift and slowly let out the clutch. I think whatever you are comfortable with is fine.

One thing to keep in mind is that you should get a lot of your braking done before you begin the downshifts. I see a lot of riders do it is reverse sequence and they bang down a gear or two before getting on the brakes. You want to begin slowing down with the brakes and when you are getting closer to the corner and when your speed is slower then you downshift.

Cheers,
Misti

rpereira said:

Hey Kazza, can you let me know about those track days/learner courses ... I have been wondering what is around to help with your riding.

And to help improve your everyday riding I guess the best thing is to get out there and ride ! And if you can hook up with someone more knowledgeable than you to show you some tricks.

Click to expand...

Check out the RAC - they hold courses once a month - riding skills etc.

Also, Trakdayz do days at Wanneroo. Check out their website

Misti said:

Let's take a look at this question first and then I'll address some of the others here. Thanks to everyone for the great responses.

So, what kinds of things do we use to help us gauge our corner speed? What things do we look for to help us determine how fast we should approach a turn?

Would you guys say you usually approach a corner too fast or too slow?

Misti

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I think I approach the corner/roundabout etc, too slowly. Maybe it's a confidence thing

Misti said:

One thing to keep in mind is that you should get a lot of your braking done before you begin the downshifts. I see a lot of riders do it is reverse sequence and they bang down a gear or two before getting on the brakes. You want to begin slowing down with the brakes and when you are getting closer to the corner and when your speed is slower then you downshift.

Cheers,
Misti

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So your saying it isn't correct to use the engine/ transmission to break? I do this all the time when I drive a car that is a stick, and have assumed it would be best to do on a bike as well, as long as your not jumping to many gears where you'd cause your back tire to slide out on you like if you were to lock up your back tire.

Misti said:

Hey Guys,

What are some things that you feel you need to work on to improve your overall riding skills and how can you practice those things during normal everyday riding situations?

Misti

Click to expand...

I primarily concentrate on maintaining my avoidance skills. Scanning so I can anticipate, throttle and braking control so I can take action early, and the ability to swerve while looking at where I want the bike to go.

Scanning, that's easy to practice on every single ride.

10/10ths braking? That requires light/no traffic, and enough space to ensure it's survivable to practice....... if I'm potentially going to get into a situation that would result in my dropping a bike, I'd like to know what the bike will do in that scenario WITHOUT traffic being involved. Short of doing this on a track, a big parking lot can suffice. It's nearly impossible to replicate the actual situation a rider might face this way....... it's better to practice this on a dirt bike so you have rough surfaces, and loose material to contend with as well...... the analogy to an FZ6 on a highway is not 100%, but your brain will remember what wheel slip is doing to you, and which way the bike twists.

Swerving effectively; I practice that every ride as well. I counter steer around manhole covers. If I can move the contact patches from the left side of the cover to the right, pass over the cover, and return the wheels to my chosen path before the bike changes line.... I can counter steer the bike pretty quickly.

RJ2112 said:

10/10ths braking? That requires light/no traffic, and enough space to ensure it's survivable to practice....... if I'm potentially going to get into a situation that would result in my dropping a bike, I'd like to know what the bike will do in that scenario WITHOUT traffic being involved. Short of doing this on a track, a big parking lot can suffice. It's nearly impossible to replicate the actual situation a rider might face this way....... it's better to practice this on a dirt bike so you have rough surfaces, and loose material to contend with as well...... the analogy to an FZ6 on a highway is not 100%, but your brain will remember what wheel slip is doing to you, and which way the bike twists.

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I had to google it to get an idea of what is ment by 10/10ths. So if I'm understanding this right it's your driving ability and knowledge of the road vs the bikes handling ability?

Misti said:

Let's take a look at this question first and then I'll address some of the others here. Thanks to everyone for the great responses.

So, what kinds of things do we use to help us gauge our corner speed? What things do we look for to help us determine how fast we should approach a turn?

Would you guys say you usually approach a corner too fast or too slow?

Misti

Click to expand...

"help us gauge our corner speed?"
This question is harder than what I initially thought!!!!!!

I try to do all the braking before the turn. I'm still approaching the turns slow since I do not have experience enough to take turns fast and be comfortable with it.

So, while braking before a turn, I try to scan the turn (its angle, upcoming traffic, debris, road condition, kids, pets, etc.) and then I take the turn while rolling on the throttle (makes me feel the bike more stable this way)

Thanks

Misti said:

One thing to keep in mind is that you should get a lot of your braking done before you begin the downshifts. I see a lot of riders do it is reverse sequence and they bang down a gear or two before getting on the brakes. You want to begin slowing down with the brakes and when you are getting closer to the corner and when your speed is slower then you downshift.

Cheers,
Misti

Click to expand...

For me it depends on my REVs and traffic behind me:

If I have cars behind me, I always touch the brake to light up the stop light when slowing down.
Now, if my REVs are below 5-6,000 I downshift to keep the REVs around that range. If my REVs are higher than that then first I slow down with the brakes and then downshift.

Thanks,