"Look where you want to go"

[PowderToastMan]

I went to a little CHP event last year where the officers gave us a little lesson in following them around in tight circles, hounding on us to keep our eyes right in the middle of the circle.. great exercise. I want to take the police moto course some time when I have time.

[AzBob]

(08-19-2014 08:31 PM)PowderToastMan Wrote:  I went to a little CHP event last year where the officers gave us a little lesson in following them around in tight circles, hounding on us to keep our eyes right in the middle of the circle.. great exercise. I want to take the police moto course some time when I have time.

While that stuff is certainly fun, it's not really applicable to street riding too much. You lean the opposite direction and you go slow. On the street, you lean with the turn and go much faster. It may help you in the parking lot, and it's not bad skill to have, but your money/time are much better spent doing a track day and/or advanced riding course which apply to 99% of your daily riding.

[dBuster]

(08-17-2014 05:21 PM)wildezt Wrote:  This is riding 101. Also it's A point which is always mentioned at the BRC/ARC .. anyone whom I see who tells me they want to start riding I recommend them to take the course ..also to fellow riders who has not taken it before...doesn't matter how many miles we have put, we learn a new thing or two everyday...

There is a lot that many riders can learn from these courses even the seasoned riders. I took the courses and still practice what I learned today. I even go up to where they do the riding part and if the lot is clear I brush up on some skills.

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[meowguy]

I ordered The Upper Half today. Thanks for posting. I've been working a lot harder on this ever since you posted this topic. I am getting better at it, but need a lot more work.

[HikerToo]

Yep, I've been trying to do this to, maybe subconsciously, everyone does it to some extent, but I've been working at it lately.
I also took AzBob's advice and ordered the below paper back, had considered eBook to my wife's Kindle, but she did not want her Kindle in my bathroom reading area :-)
Found on Walmart.com delivered to FedEx for free.

"Total Control: High Performance Street Riding Techniques by Lee Parks. This book is probably the most practical for every day riding, even though it seems like a lot of it is about sport riding, it's applicable to absolutely everything one does on the street on a motorcycle."

[ZenBiker]

I've been practicing this for decades, and I still haven't perfected it, that is, been perfectly consistent. Sometimes I find myself looking for road debris, at stuff on the shoulder, or too far inside the curve searching for oncoming vehicles, etc. Also, occasionally I still find myself pushing on the outside grip instead of counter-steering in curves. Combined with not looking where I want to go, I can end up in some very floaty, wobbly curves, followed by some vigorous self-counselling on exit.

I take the MSF advanced rider course every other year. In one class our instructor told the story of a touring biker cruising through Kansas when he ran off the road into a vast, wide-open cornfield--well, almost wide open. There was just one thing in the field, in his path: the center pivot for a traveling irrigation system. He hit it. Target fixation 'n all.

[AzBob]

(08-24-2014 05:38 AM)ZenBiker Wrote:  Also, occasionally I still find myself pushing on the outside grip instead of counter-steering in curves.

I assume you find yourself turning in the wrong direction when you do that? Or you saying you find yourself pulling the outside grip instead of pushing the inside grip? (either works, you just have more leverage doing the push on the inside than the pull on the outside).

[ZenBiker]

(08-25-2014 01:32 PM)AzBob Wrote:  

(08-24-2014 05:38 AM)ZenBiker Wrote:  Also, occasionally I still find myself pushing on the outside grip instead of counter-steering in curves.

I assume you find yourself turning in the wrong direction when you do that? Or you saying you find yourself pulling the outside grip instead of pushing the inside grip? (either works, you just have more leverage doing the push on the inside than the pull on the outside).

To clarify, I mean twisting the handlebars rather than counter-steering. That is, pushing on the outside grip, and pulling on the inside grip--as in turning a T-handle on a press, or turning your Big Wheel handlebars when you were a kid, or a like a clown on a clown bicycle, etc. Not pushing and pulling hard, but just leaning, twisting, and floating through the curve. Watch some wipe-out videos on YouTube and you'll see what I mean. I'd tell you to try it sometime, but don't.

[Mikey350D]

I learned the "look where you want to go" technique by riding in the dirt. It is an essential skill for offroad...see big rock...hit big rock. Takes a while for your hands to completely trust your eyes. Took me a while to train myself to NOT look at obstacles..