Reprinted from the February, 2007 BMW Owners News, with permission of the BMW MOA and Roger Wiles
by, Roger WilesLast month, we discussed some basic concepts that you, as Mentor, might find helpful as you shepherd your novice rider in their early riding experiences; this month, we’ll discuss actual riding practice.
There are two major maneuvers that most motorcyclists, especially the un-trained and the un-practiced, do not do well: cornering and braking. Guiding and shaping the experiences of a new rider, so that they quickly develop competence in these two life-saving areas can be thought of as perhaps your mission, as mentor. Understand that a new rider is “unconsciously not-yet-competent;” that is, they do not yet know what they don’t know. Learning is a process, As mentor, your calling is to guide, shape and shepherd the new rider through the learning process in such a way to accelerate their learning, and to steer them away from the hazards which they are not yet likely to recognize.
Do not make the common error of assuming a newly-trained rider is now fully competent. At best, the new rider has learned basic motorcycle control skills to some level of competence. In professional training, the rider has learned how it ‘feels’ to perform a maneuver correctly, and conversely, how it feels should they perform the maneuver badly – and how to correct it the next time. However, as Einstein once noted, “Learning without experience is merely information.” Plan to gently guide and structure the “experience-phase” that they will undergo, so as to accelerate learning and maximize safety. Their newfound information can become his or her personally-created and personally-owned knowledge of how-to safely and enjoyably ride a motorcycle.
BEGINNING Your Joint Riding Experiences:
During professional rider training, each technique was first explained in detail, and then demonstrated to the student-riders by a trainer. Now class is over, and you have become the demo rider! Your riding is now under close scrutiny. Initially, plan to take the ride-lead position. This enables you to make most of the navigation and traffic-management decisions.
Here are some basics: maintain good riding posture. Use both brakes to slow and stop, every time brakes are called for, using all four fingers to operate the front brake. Operate both brakes to slow before most corners, and get off the brakes and back on the throttle just before pressing on the handlegrip to enter a turn. Gently accelerate through turns and curves. Learning to ride is partially a process of learning new muscle-movements and developing muscle-memory, sometimes though of as physical habits. Our instinctive reflexive reactions are nothing more or less than the physical ‘muscle-memory’ habits we’ve built, and are based on the skills we’ve developed while in the early and intense learning stages. Reinforce those basic and life-saving skills by demonstration.
Remember that a new rider, particularly in the first few riding sessions, is running nearly wide-open, mentally; their mind is functioning in both survival mode, while simultaneously remembering all they’ve been taught about the actual operation of the bike, plus what to look for in traffic. Thirty minutes riding-time can seem like several hours. Plan to take frequent breaks, and let your partner know how long you plan to ride before the next break. Frequent breaks have another important benefit: much of learning occurs just after a ride. As their brain and mind relaxes, decouples, and leisurely considers the experiences they’ve just encountered. Help this process along by encouraging them to talk about their recent riding session; lead the novice-learner to talk about their experiences. Avoid the very real temptation to drift into advanced riding tips and techniques.
Set a realistic novice riding-pace. Exaggerate your physical actions, such as performing big, early head-turns. Brake more than you, as an experienced rider, may need before entering a curve. Briskly roll on the throttle and accelerate out of curves. Choose and magnify good cornering lines. Put extra emphasis on early braking and late turn-in to begin building proper cornering skills. Let your partner know that when your brake-light illuminates, they should be on their brakes in the same places, and when your brake-light goes off, they know that you are back on the throttle, accelerating through the turn as you roll on gradually.
A beginning rider needs to learn and ‘feel’ the proper cornering technique of accelerating through turns. ‘Rolling on’ settles the bike’s suspension and makes the motorcycle increasingly stable while turning. A new rider is still building the muscle-memories of proper cornering motor-skills – rolling on throttle through a curve generally makes a motorcycle want to stand upright, and turn wider; the rider may need to use moderately increasing handgrip pressure to maintain the correct cornering line – tactile feedback that assists in learning proper muscle-memories
The day will come when the newer rider senses and ‘feels’ that they are in the turn ‘too hot,’ due to misjudging the turn-entry speed. Lacking proper skills, the inexperienced riders’ instinctive, and improper, reaction is to slow down. Cornering a motorcycle is a balancing act between the opposing forces of centrifugal force, and tire-traction. Cornering ‘consumes’ a certain amount of traction, and there may not be much remaining traction to support braking while leaned over in a turn. Yet, the untrained rider is likely to instinctively, and incorrectly apply brakes, and frequently the result is a low-side crash. Professor Hurt’s research discovered that nearly 40 percent of single-vehicle motorcycle crashes were the result of ‘over-braking and under-cornering.’
Even abruptly closing the throttle is to be avoided while cornering, since it produces engine-braking forces, which can push the rear tire past its traction limit, and begin sliding the rear wheel outward. New motorcyclists’ must learn, when the “uh oh, I’m going too fast for this curve!” moment comes, to maintain a steady throttle, continue to press the inside handgrip into the turn, and focus the head and eyes on the exit of the turn, even if hard-parts touch down. Decreasing the throttle a modest amount so as to eliminate any further acceleration is appropriate, but a steady speed should be maintained. Don’t let a new rider see your brake-lights while you’re leaned over in a turn, and let them see you accelerate with modest enthusiasm, while you’re cornering.
As you demonstrate the various aspects of safe motorcycle operation and traffic-management, appreciate that a beginner will learn perhaps half of what they see you doing. Exaggeration of your maneuvers and movements helps them learn nearly the proper amount of most the important skills and actions. Your early, overdone head-turn will help learners begin to turn their heads as a turn is entered. Lower-than-necessary curve-entry speeds will help them learn proper entry-speeds by working up to this value, rather than the common error of entering a turn too fast.
Keep the riding pace realistic for traffic conditions, with emphasis on selecting roadways where a moderate, relaxed pace can be maintained. Try to vary speeds as much as possible, so a beginner will find it necessary to use braking, throttle, and shifting actions frequently; this accelerates understanding of how the motorcycle reacts and feels under different situations.
Lead a new rider to build the habit of using both brakes to slow or stop, every time brake-use is called for. Guide them to understand the importance of building muscle-memory, of building proper habits against the time coming when they will have no time to think, to plan, or consider their options – just time enough to react. The on-demand ability to stop quickly in all conditions is one of the most important skills possessed by competent motorcyclists. Maximum braking – stopping safely, and in full control, in the shortest possible distance – requires the use of both brakes. Very few new riders could be considered fully proficient in maximum braking – for that matter, it’s likely that an uncomfortably high percentage of veteran riders are not nearly as proficient in emergency braking as perhaps they should be.
What about ‘engine braking?’ Downshifting to a lower gear, easing out the clutch, and slowing the motorcycle using the drag-effect of the engine while not under power? Here’s what the new rider needs to know: engine-braking is a slowing-effect we experience as a result of the normal and proper operation of our motorcycle as we slow to approach a curve, or slow down in traffic. Engine-braking is not an operational action which we perform for the sole, or main, purpose of slowing the motorcycle. Rather, it is an event we experience as a result of downshifting the transmission before entering a curve, so as to be in the proper gear when we will roll on the throttle gradually as the turn is entered. The action of downshifting, and the experience of engine-braking takes place while the motorcycle is still vertical. A new rider should not rely solely on engine-braking to establish entry-speed. Even if a particular turn or curve could be safely negotiated, beginning with an entry-speed established only by engine-braking, your novice must learn the habit of using both of those brakes to slow the machine, in conjunction with engine-braking.
Consider the actual physical movements of braking suddenly and unexpectedly under the extreme stress of finding oneself going too fast into a turn; these motions are more likely to be sudden and abrupt, probably resulting in improper technique – ‘grabbing’ the front brake, and ‘stomping’ on the rear. Finally, think about the timing; if the rider has misjudged the entry speed due to relying solely on engine-braking, the sudden and likely-improper braking will is apt be applied afterthe motorcycle is already leaned over the turn, greatly increasing the potential for a low-side crash. Traction-management while learned over in a turn is always a delicate balancing act for the rider; engine-braking is a largely-unpredictable form of braking, difficult to modulate and control precisely and finely, as compared to proper operation of the front and rear brakes.
Next month, the final installment of “Mentor Your Novice Rider” will conclude the ‘engine braking’ segment, and discuss emergency-maneuver practice tips.
The BMW MOA Foundation’s MotoSafe is intended to present responsible viewpoints on thoughtful and safe motorcycling skills and practices; the authors, the Foundation, the BMW MOA and the Owners News do not guarantee readers’ personal safety, and can take no responsibility for readers’ application of this material.
BMW MOA members who are professional motorcycle safety trainers are invited to submit articles for inclusion in MotoSafe Please contact Roger Wiles (roger@rogerwiles.com or 9223 Hill St, Blairsville, GA 30512) for submission guidelines and instructions.
The BMW MOA Foundation is a not-for-profit, tax-exempt Public Educational Foundation dedicated to increasing and promoting the safe and enjoyable sport of motorcycling to all members of the moto-community. Tax-exempt donations to the Foundation will provide funding for current and new Foundation Projects & Programs. Contact Foundation Headquarters at: PO Box 3982, Ballwin, MO 63022 - (636) 394-7277 - for further information