Practice
Makes Perfect
by
Robert Vaughan
Your
skills are good. You ride every week. Last year you took the Basic Rider Course
and this year you took the Experienced Rider Course. Turning around in the
street, two-up, is a breeze. And you do your SIPDE so
well, watching 12–15 seconds ahead, that you can’t
remember the last time you had to do an emergency braking or swerving maneuver.
But
perhaps the problem is that you are so good at avoiding using emergency
maneuvers that you’re out of practice. If you ride properly, you don’t get
to practice some of your skills on the street. That doesn’t mean you should
let them deteriorate until the next time you take a rider course.
That’s
why they make parking lots. And you thought those painted yellow lines were just
there to corral the cars. Their real purpose is to provide a marked area to
practice so you can keep all your skills sharp—not just the ones you
use every day. The same skills which degrade in a few months can be retuned in a
few minutes of practice.
Quick
stops are easy to practice on a good parking lot with a good surface. Bring your
speed up to 15–20 mph, look at a distant object
straight ahead, and squeeze the front brake while you press on the rear
brake. You squeeze quickly, progressively and hard. Do not grab the front brake.
If you keep the speed the same for several tries while you start braking at the
same yellow line, you can measure your progress.
Now
comes the fun part-swerving around an object. Recently, one study found that an
expert rider could swerve as sharply on his Gold Wing as he could on a much
smaller bike. You won’t believe just how quickly you can swerve. Try swerving
around an eight-foot wide obstruction (tennis balls cut in half) at 15
mph. Remember, do not brake or downshift while swerving.
Once
you bring these two skills up to par, it’s time to put them together. Quick
stops on a curve require you to (1) straighten up before you (2) brake hard to
stop. Let’s look at that order again. First press on the handlebar near the
outside of the curve. (If you’re turning right, press left.) Press until the
bike is completely vertical. Be sure to straighten the handlebars as the bike
straightens up. Once you are straight, all your traction is available for
stopping. Look at a distant object straight ahead, and quickly and
progressively squeeze the front brake while you press on the rear brake.
You
have just put two skills (swerving and stopping) together (but not too closely)
to practice quick stops on a curve. Now you’re ready to go out and face the
world again, much better prepared than when you rode into that parking lot.
You’ve tuned yourself up for another few months.
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