MotoVixens

Ride Confident, Hard and in Control

You are here: Home / Archives for Throttle control

Body Positioning

By

There is tooimages much emphasis on looking the part than the real reason we teach body positioning.  I have seen it all too often, the frequent track enthusiast who tries to nail this technique, but refuses to take a class where we can work one on one with you to help you feel what the proper technique should be.  The truth is what you think you are doing is no where close to what you are imagining in your mind, it requires having someone follow you, meet you in the pits and put you on one of our bikes (which are on stands) and physically adjust your feet, torso, arms and head to really understand.  If you can film yourself by placing a camera on the tail section of your bike this can help you visually understand what it is you need to do to get yourself in the position you’d actually like to be in.  What you feel and what you are actually doing are two very different things and this will help you work on it productively to improve.

Now for the reason we actually stress body positioning…Safety.  Less lean angle, quicker you can get the bike up, quicker you can add throttle safely.  I know it looks cool, but it has another purpose, less lean angle means less hard parts scraping (foot pegs that are stationary are not things you really want to scrape since they may catch and launch you).  The more you get off your bike, the more contact you have with the pavement, the more traction you have…you get the picture.  We want to get people off their bikes to allow more traction because more traction is safety.  Have you noticed people who get wicked lean angle?  How long are they in that position? Do you notice that people who have better lines and less lean time are actually quicker?  Hmmmm…starting to make sense?  Once you start that lean angle you can only maintain that speed with tiny and I mean tiny changes, it is only when you start to stand the bike up that you can actually start to add throttle safely.

Then there’s the knee dragger…don’t be in such a hurry.  Get the technique, lines and confidence up because then you can really add speed into the equation and guess what?  Dragging that knee will come naturally.  We are aiming for smooth here, since smooth is what your bike likes and if you aren’t smooth don’t even think about throwing that knee out there to try to get proof.  All you may end up with is the need for new leathers or repairing your bike all for the sake of getting some street cred.  I am not trying to discourage anyone, I just want to stress the importance of getting everything down before taking the next step.  It is a bit like learning to walk, we had to crawl first then walk, it was in steps…so it is with riding and in riding it is about smoothness, technique, body positioning and speed.  They all need to work in perfect harmony.  Riding is like a beautifully technical dance and there is no feeling in the world when everything is perfect, that is the feeling we try to achieve every lap we take.  It doesn’t happen all the time, but when it does there is no feeling like it.  The season is over, but we have a new year to set new goals for ourselves, let’s aim on being safer and faster.  Be safe and as always…Vixens Ride!

Steering

By

Is the front wheel or back wheel is responsible for steering your motorcycle? Well, they actually both play a role, the front end turns the bike or changes the lean angle, but once the motorcycle is leaned over and stable it is the rear that takes over to maintain that lean angle. Once you are leaned over in a turn, the front end stabilizes the bike, but does not steer it. It still has importance in that it is still carrying 30-40% of the cornering load which accounts for that same percentage of cornering speed. Let’s say you took that 30-40% and added it to the rear, that would account in a full on slide. When you hear guys talk about getting their bike to “bite” they want to get that weight on the front end to load it for the turn. Understanding that the rear of the bike is mainly responsible for stability when the bike is leaned over helps us to make decisions based on that fact. The front end needs enough weight to stabilize itself and allow the rear of the bike to steer it in the direction you have placed it in, assuming you have constant throttle throughout, you will hold that line.

In Chapter 14 of Twist of the Wrist II, there is a question that is asked, “How many times do you steer your bike in any one turn?” *DRUM ROLL*…The answer is: One single steering action per turn. Mid-turn steering corrections occur when you try to correct your mistakes (going into a turn too hot, too wide, unsure where you are, etc.) and are purely a result of rider error. While one steering action is ideal, we tend to panic when we get ourselves into a situation that feels uncomfortable and we compound the problem by say rolling on or off the throttle and adding more lean angle. This causes problems with either loading one end or the other which then affects suspension and traction. This is where maintaining constant throttle is important, rolling on causes more weight to shift to the rear, rolling off causes it to shift to the front, keeping it constant keeps you from disturbing the bike in a turn and avoids that panic to lean more to correct that throttle inconsistency. Less is more in this instance.

There is a purpose and a goal to steering, I think Keith Code says it best, “The purpose of steering is to make direction changes. The goal of steering is to get through the turn accurately, with as little lean angle as possible (for the speed you are traveling).” It is true that there will be more lean the faster you go and this is due to centripetal force pushing you to the outside forcing you to steer at a steeper lean angle to hold that line. However, less lean angle means you have more of a safety margin, more traction and the ability to go faster with spare clearance (no pegs scraping) and it can all be obtained by just flicking the bike quicker into the turn. Learn more about “quick flicking” on Chapter 15 in Twist of the Wrist II.

There is more to cover on steering, but I hope that this intro into it sparks those brains cells into action and you apply some of the principles discussed (keeping it the speed limit of course, it must be said) out there on the road. Tackling some of those twisties with your newfound knowledge and giving you the confidence to overcome those once dreaded curves. Nothing feels better than that sense of accomplishment and the drive that follows to conquer even more. Ride on Vixens!

Throttle Control – Suspension & Traction

By

I know, I know, another blog on throttle control, but I hope in doing this I can stress how important it is in our riding.  How it can make a ride enjoyable or really crappy really fast.  We have more control than we know when we ride, in fact, we have all the control of the outcome of each and every ride.  So let’s talk more technical about how suspension and traction play a role in the big picture.  Throttle control can affect the suspension and traction on the bike in a positive or negative way depending on how you brake and roll on the throttle.  If you break up acceleration into thirds, where cracking it on is the first third, acceleration(midway) being the second third to full acceleration to the last third, stability and traction are best in the middle third.  Say you hit the throttle hard to start, your front end gets light and tends to shake, but as it settles you feel the traction kick in and stabilize the bike allowing you to apply more throttle for more acceleration.  Throttle control affects suspension through weight transfer, too much at one time loads the back end of the bike (stiffening the rear suspension) and as a result reduces traction.  The ideal weight transfer is 10-20 percent to the rear tire which allows the suspension to work in an optimal range (and traction too) especially when cornering and that 10-20 percent can literally only be millimeters of movement in your wrist.  Cornering is especially tricky when it comes to this (and while there are other principles that apply to this including turn points, body positioning and lean which we will discuss in another blog), the earlier the throttle is applied and rolled on the less forced acceleration you will need to complete the turn and the more responsive the rear suspension will be.  According to Keith Code’s “Twist of the Wrist II” the standard rule of throttle control is:  “Once the throttle is cracked on, it is rolled on smoothly, evenly and constantly throughout the remainder of the turn.”  Yeah, easier said than done when you have a moment of panic that causes you to make a decision under duress.  The trick is to stay calm.

Rolling on smoothly like “Barry White” from my other blog has major advantages, like a rear end slide, you can avoid sliding more or a highside if you just stop rolling on and keeping it constant to allow your bike to slow briefly as it tries to align itself.  Remember your bike wants to be stable and will make every effort to get there, unless of course you disturb it in the process.  If the back end is coming around and you let your throttle go, cutting off power, the weight transfers off the rear wheel which can cause it to slide more or even overload the front tire causing it to slide.  Cutting off power by letting go of your throttle causes rear and front suspension to compress and you lose cornering ground clearance.  If you panic during your lean and cut your throttle you could potentially be lifting either one or both of your wheels off the pavement, now that’s an Oh Shit moment!  As you can see, throttle control is more than just acceleration and deceleration, there is an art to it and understanding how it applies to every aspect of riding.  I hope this little blog about how it affects suspension and traction helps to make your ride more enjoyable and through constant practice, second nature.  This doesn’t apply to street and/or track riding only, it applies to all types of riding.  Ride C.H.I.C. (Confident, Hard and In Control) Vixens!  Don’t forget to sign up for the Ducati “Women’s Event” in June where we will put these principles to the test with 2Fast and WMST.

 

 

 

 

Throttle Control

By

A lot can be said about throttle control and how crucial it is in riding and cornering.  As riders we have the ability to make it easier, harder, smoother or scarier based on how we control our throttle.  I learned from an instructor in an MSF class that you should treat your throttle like “Barry White” (SMOOTH) and you won’t be surprised by a choppy and unpredictable ride.  This also rolls into rider input, the fact that if we do not relax our hands and arms, it can lead to disastrous results.  Today’s machines are so perfectly balanced that if you let go and just rode, the bike would right itself, we are the cause that things go wrong when we ride.  Try it and see, don’t death grip your bike, gently roll on and off (the bike immediately responds), push on the bars (gently) and see how easily it turns?  You have so much more control and it required way less effort.  The trick is being confident in your abilities and to relax, but to relax we need to have confidence in our abilities, yeah it is always a catch 22 isn’t it?

When coming off a stop I personally like to be in that friction zone, that place where you can pull in the clutch a bit to roll back and if you twist on a bit of throttle you will roll forward, either way it keeps you from stalling your engine.  This is so important when you are stopped on an incline, so mastering that technique is important.  Then there is the turning the key hand position so as not to fatigue your hand.  If you hold your hand as if you are turning a key in a door your hand doesn’t get tired and cause you to reposition it often and have an unpredictable position on your control that requires adjusting often.  Your hands should have a firm, but gentle grip on the throttle (relaxed) and it should be easy to engage and release the throttle with little to no effort.  This will allow you to ride for lengthy periods of time without your hands going numb or tired, it is all about a light touch.

Cornering is where throttle control can cause you to either panic and have that “Oh Shit” moment or that feeling of absolute exhilaration as you hit that throttle and nail that corner.  Cornering is something we all want to be confident in and be able to take confidently at speed, but many of us can be intimidated by it.  Just seeing that turn up ahead can cause us to tense up and then give the bike way too much input.  Just relax and loosen your grip on the bike and know that you can do this, practice, practice, practice.  Taking a class with a racetrack school where everyone is learning how to corner and corner well is a safe place to learn how to corner precisely and gain that confidence you will need for the street.

I distinctly remember an “aha” moment at a school I was attending where the individual who was reviewing my video of my laps asked why I wasn’t cracking on my throttle earlier?  I remember thinking, “I don’t know, I think I may run wide?”  He was quick to say that I would run wide only if I didn’t crack my throttle on early enough.  He made it very basic for me, he said upon entering a turn you brake, that breaking creates instability for your bike which you need to get it into position to turn. Once you have gotten into the lean position (which should have started before you entered the turn) and are in the trajectory you intend to go, you hit the throttle to stabilize your bike to complete that turn.  In every corner crack on the throttle as soon as possible (not too early though as it will cause you to run wide) and keep a light acceleration through the middle of the turn with the most aggressive turn on at the end to exit.  It was at that moment, I realized that my own fear was keeping me from initiating and completing that turn smoothly and precisely.  It was all about throttle control, when and where to apply it and how much.  Once you get throttle control mastered or at least partially mastered, you can ride knowing that you have the skills necessary to take on any situation and that is powerful.

Throttle control is the key to enjoying your ride, so master it and you will find out how much more enjoyable your riding experience will be.  For some reading during the off season, try Twist of the Wrist and Twist of the Wrist II from Keith Code or get the DVD’s and brush up on your techniques before the season starts again.  Please check out the forums under riding techniques where I will be posting some subjects to discuss.