Hardest technique to master

[Misti]

Hey Ladies,

Just wondering what you each find is the hardest motorcycle riding technique, or part of riding, to master? Does it have to do with cornering, shifting, throttle control, body position? What do you find is a hard technique to get right?

Misti

[cv_rider]

I suck at looking through the turns. I feel uncomfortable not being intimately aware of what the front tire is about to roll over. I tend to focus primarily on what is in front of me. I know I should be looking further ahead and "trusting" that the road immediately ahead of me is good 'cause I was just looking at it a moment ago.

[Oops, this was the ladies forum, didn't notice. Some men (at least me) have troubling mastering some techniques too.

[crabby117]

I'd have to say taking off from a stop on an incline. I'm a bit short, so on an incline I'd rather have both feet down. But on a steep incline, I need to use the rear brake and throttle to prevent from rolling back. My hands aren't big enough to use the front brake and throttle simultaneously while opening the throttle (closing is no problem). I need more practice w/ it, but where I live is a very flat area and no particularly challenging inclines. Visited an area w/ a steep incline and stalled the bike twice trying to take off at a stop light. Better than the alternative of rolling back, though! Luckily the car behind me was patient enough not to honk at me while I struggled.

[Kazza]

My biggest problem is keeping the right line through roundabouts. I always tend to ride straight through the oil patch in the centre of the lane, no matter how hard I try not to.

[dean owens]

Originally Posted by crabby117

I'd have to say taking off from a stop on an incline. I'm a bit short, so on an incline I'd rather have both feet down. But on a steep incline, I need to use the rear brake and throttle to prevent from rolling back. My hands aren't big enough to use the front brake and throttle simultaneously while opening the throttle (closing is no problem). I need more practice w/ it, but where I live is a very flat area and no particularly challenging inclines. Visited an area w/ a steep incline and stalled the bike twice trying to take off at a stop light. Better than the alternative of rolling back, though! Luckily the car behind me was patient enough not to honk at me while I struggled.

i know this is the lady's section... and i'm not misti...
but we have a few hills around here. i too am short and can't flat foot the bike. i have to stop on my tiptoes. here's what i do when on an incline.

- come to a stop in first gear squeezing clutch and front brake.
- slowly let out the clutch
- at the friction zone you will feel the rear of the bike start to "lift" and the front start to "dive"
- at this point i can usually let off the front brake and the bike will stay put
- to take off start to give a little throttle and let the clutch out a little more

it takes a little bit of practice but after a while you'll get it. if you can find a loading dock at a shop/factory or behind a store they are a great place to practice.

i look forward to hearing if misti has a better technique to help us shorter people out.

[lytehouse]

I think I'd have to say cornering....I find myself always slowing down (alot) when I see a corner coming up that I can't see around. Fear of what I cannot see, I guess.
I would like to do a track to help my confidence about leaning it too, but in Colorado they require full leathers. Not really happy about having to buy full leathers just to do a track day!

[Kazza]

Also have to admit to having problems with hill starts - not too bad any more. Practice makes perfect.

Used to have trouble with cornering - I would brake through the corner. Now have the confidence to brake before and accelerate through the corner. As long as you look through the corner and don't panic. Have confidence and keep your line. Doing this makes the bike handle a lot better - well, for me anyway.

Still, a trackday would be the best practice of all. I have to do one. Next time Trackdayz come to Perth, I'm there...

[Misti]

Originally Posted by cv_rider

I suck at looking through the turns. I feel uncomfortable not being intimately aware of what the front tire is about to roll over. I tend to focus primarily on what is in front of me. I know I should be looking further ahead and "trusting" that the road immediately ahead of me is good 'cause I was just looking at it a moment ago.

[Oops, this was the ladies forum, didn't notice. Some men (at least me) have troubling mastering some techniques too.

Hahaha, no worries. I'll post this question or one similar in the riding technique section for all riders but I'll comment here anyway, even though you are a guy

This is a common problem and it effects your riding in several different ways. First of all, you tend to "GO WHERE YOU LOOK" so if you allow your eyes to be looking too close in front of you and not through the turn it becomes easier to target lock on things that you don't want to hit, like gravel in the road, a pothole a patch of water etc. Secondly, when you don't lift your eyes up to look through the corner you sense of speed goes up and you end up feeling like you are going faster than you really are and that can caus you to use more brakes than necessary or brake mid corner when you didn't need too.

So, how do you break this bad habit? You have done the first step here by acknowledging the fact that you don't look far enough ahead. The next step is to start lifting your eyes up a little bit further each time you ride. If you are looking 5 feet in front of the bike, next time try to look 10 feet ahead and see if you notice a difference with your riding and how the bike responds, also see what it does for your confidence.

Have you guys ever heard of the term Vanishing point? Does anyone here look to the vanishing point when riding? What do you think the vanishing point is and how can it help you with your riding?

Misti

[Misti]

Originally Posted by crabby117

I'd have to say taking off from a stop on an incline. I'm a bit short, so on an incline I'd rather have both feet down. But on a steep incline, I need to use the rear brake and throttle to prevent from rolling back. My hands aren't big enough to use the front brake and throttle simultaneously while opening the throttle (closing is no problem). I need more practice w/ it, but where I live is a very flat area and no particularly challenging inclines. Visited an area w/ a steep incline and stalled the bike twice trying to take off at a stop light. Better than the alternative of rolling back, though! Luckily the car behind me was patient enough not to honk at me while I struggled.

Sounds like you are doing the right things and in this case it might just be a case of practice makes perfect. I'm short as well and I was never able to have both feet on the ground at the same time, so instead of teetering with both tip toes, I got really good at planting just ONE foot on the ground. I would slide my butt to one side, plant that foot and turn my hips INTO the bike. This made me feel very stable and I wasn't afraid of dropping the bike.

Another thing that might help, and it relates to the other comment about not looking through turns, is to see WHERE you are looking when you are stopped. What a lot of us shorter people do is tend to look right in front of us when we are stopped. Ever try to walk a balance beam while looking right at your feet? You lose your balance much easier than if you look further ahead. Same rings true for when you are balancing a motorcycle on your tip toes, look down or directly in front of you and your balance is not as good as if you keep your head up and looking down the road. See if that helps

A common theme here it seems is visual skills. WHERE your eyes look while riding is directly related to HOW well you end up riding. How do you notice your eyes helping or hindering your riding?

Misti

[Kazza]

Originally Posted by Misti

Hahaha, no worries. I'll post this question or one similar in the riding technique section for all riders but I'll comment here anyway, even though you are a guy

This is a common problem and it effects your riding in several different ways. First of all, you tend to "GO WHERE YOU LOOK" so if you allow your eyes to be looking too close in front of you and not through the turn it becomes easier to target lock on things that you don't want to hit, like gravel in the road, a pothole a patch of water etc. Secondly, when you don't lift your eyes up to look through the corner you sense of speed goes up and you end up feeling like you are going faster than you really are and that can caus you to use more brakes than necessary or brake mid corner when you didn't need too.

So, how do you break this bad habit? You have done the first step here by acknowledging the fact that you don't look far enough ahead. The next step is to start lifting your eyes up a little bit further each time you ride. If you are looking 5 feet in front of the bike, next time try to look 10 feet ahead and see if you notice a difference with your riding and how the bike responds, also see what it does for your confidence.

Have you guys ever heard of the term Vanishing point? Does anyone here look to the vanishing point when riding? What do you think the vanishing point is and how can it help you with your riding?

Misti

I think the VP is the last point you can see in the road ahead/around a corner. You keep looking there when riding. You naturally start riding towards this point. If you look down at the pavement, you end up riding into it. You have to look right through the corners, head up.

I hope I've explained myself properly...