There a few tried and true things that make a well skilled motorcycle rider. Eyes up, smooth inputs, doing things in the correct order, etc. But one that really stands out and is rarely ever mentioned: Patience.
Patience means patience with the throttle. Patience with passes, and overall, patience with picking the bike up off the corner.
This weekend Kevin Harvick chased down Martin Truex for the win at Texas Motor Speedway (NASCAR). Now, I know I'm one of the few motorcyclist who enjoys the shit out of Nascar and there is lots a motorcycle rider can learn from NASCAR, but let's stick to the lesson of patience. How did Harvick catch Truex with admittedly, not as well setup a car; patience. Harvick's discipline to NOT picking up the throttle too early even though Truex would accelerate away from him off the corner paid massive dividends down the straight away as he was able to pick the throttle up harder and pointed the right direction (down the straightaway). Truex's car would walk up the track and he'd have to put a lot of counter wheel into the car to keep it lined up. That's energy which is speed. That's also a handful and more stress on the machinery, tires and driver.
Motorcycles are exactly the same as autos in the discipline of throttle pickup. The two most common errors of riders as they ride unfamiliar roads and push themselves at the track/ street: not picking their eyes up AND picking up the throttle too early in the corner when the motorcycle is still in the cornering phase and not pointed for the exit. They simply decide they'll finish the corner off by adding throttle and lean angle and fortunately, tires are so good these days, they get away with it most of the time.
But they're not very safe in their approach and they certainly are slower in their result.
"Wait for it" is one of the most common things I try to remind people to do. Wait for the exit and then, pick the bike up off the corner and pick the throttle up in a linear fashion. On the street, a rider will eliminate surprises of finding the edge of the road too soon on a corner exit and on the track, they'll find their experience isn't as dramatic and oddly enough; sedate and feeling "slow". In reality, it's quicker and safer.
Your next ride, try to think about where you're picking the throttle up and if your'e having to make direction changes, throttle input changes, and don't know where the bike is going to end up when tracking out of the corner. If you're not able to take away lean angle (steering angle) when you pickup the throttle, you're most likely not pointed correctly.
Food for thought...patience. It's a virtue, but it's also an excellent rider skill!
Patience means patience with the throttle. Patience with passes, and overall, patience with picking the bike up off the corner.
This weekend Kevin Harvick chased down Martin Truex for the win at Texas Motor Speedway (NASCAR). Now, I know I'm one of the few motorcyclist who enjoys the shit out of Nascar and there is lots a motorcycle rider can learn from NASCAR, but let's stick to the lesson of patience. How did Harvick catch Truex with admittedly, not as well setup a car; patience. Harvick's discipline to NOT picking up the throttle too early even though Truex would accelerate away from him off the corner paid massive dividends down the straight away as he was able to pick the throttle up harder and pointed the right direction (down the straightaway). Truex's car would walk up the track and he'd have to put a lot of counter wheel into the car to keep it lined up. That's energy which is speed. That's also a handful and more stress on the machinery, tires and driver.
Motorcycles are exactly the same as autos in the discipline of throttle pickup. The two most common errors of riders as they ride unfamiliar roads and push themselves at the track/ street: not picking their eyes up AND picking up the throttle too early in the corner when the motorcycle is still in the cornering phase and not pointed for the exit. They simply decide they'll finish the corner off by adding throttle and lean angle and fortunately, tires are so good these days, they get away with it most of the time.
But they're not very safe in their approach and they certainly are slower in their result.
"Wait for it" is one of the most common things I try to remind people to do. Wait for the exit and then, pick the bike up off the corner and pick the throttle up in a linear fashion. On the street, a rider will eliminate surprises of finding the edge of the road too soon on a corner exit and on the track, they'll find their experience isn't as dramatic and oddly enough; sedate and feeling "slow". In reality, it's quicker and safer.
Your next ride, try to think about where you're picking the throttle up and if your'e having to make direction changes, throttle input changes, and don't know where the bike is going to end up when tracking out of the corner. If you're not able to take away lean angle (steering angle) when you pickup the throttle, you're most likely not pointed correctly.
Food for thought...patience. It's a virtue, but it's also an excellent rider skill!
