The General Motorbikers Discussion Thread

[DaHitch]

Slaloms can be deceptively tricky.
The slower you go the more near your front wheel you look. For instance when doing trial you look 1 meter in front of you front wheel, but at that point you're basically standing still. As speed goes up you look a bit further ahead, but still looking where you want to go, so basically your head swivels left-right as you go through the slalom. At some point though it becomes easier to look straight ahead (I usually fix on a point on the horizon, or a cone much further down/last cone in the row) and look at the cones you're going round through your periphery vision. In the fast slalom I'm doing in the video above that's what I'm doing, my head doesn't move, I'm basically looking at the fence until I reach the last cone and then move my head in the direction I want to go. It's only in the slow slalom that I really make a point of putting my head on a swivel.
Finding this point where you do one vs the other takes practice, there's no speed at which I can say "now you do this, now you do this" it has to come naturally.

@47: The nearest competition that I know of (you're in Croatia, right?) is the Czech Republic, besides this I couldn't find any organisation that organises something similar in your area.

 

[jasonof2000]

MSF is a private organization that does rider training. The Motorcycle Safety Foundation (MSF) does basic and advanced trainings; if a new riders takes the Basic Rider Course they can get their road test signed off and just have to complete the written exam to get their license.

It depends on the state. In Maryland I just took my MSF completion card over to the MVA and they gave me a license without taking any other exams.

 

[argatoga]

It depends on the state. In Maryland I just took my MSF completion card over to the MVA and they gave me a license without taking any other exams.

It was the same in my case, the written exam however was part of the course. One day written, one day riding.

 

[argatoga]

For what that is, the price is amazingly cheap.

 

[Cellos88GT]

I bought it.

 

[Spectre]

PYC thread, now.

 

[Cellos88GT]

PYC Thread: https://forums.finalgear.com/post-your-car/cellos88gts-1998-honda-vfr-59819/

 

[mikas]

Next up, Top Fuel Dragster Hillclimb, featuring crazy Aussie riders and hosted in Iceland.

Please, make this a thing.

I think the unlimited class use nitro. Close enough?

 

[Blind_Io]

And for Manos, who keeps comparing everyone to MotoGP riders:

Spoiler

 

[Der Stig]

So I've decided that my next bike will be a Moto Guzzi Stelvio NTX. I'm determined to have the most reliable Guzzi on FG

Spoiler

 

[Redliner]

And for Manos, who keeps comparing everyone to MotoGP riders:

Spoiler

I don't get it.
Even among riders there seems to be a lot of variation on body positioning.

 

[Spectre]

I don't get it.
Even among riders there seems to be a lot of variation on body positioning.

Evolution of riding, I believe (though Doohan's riding style was always freakish). Look at the time periods involved. Also, body position has been massively impacted by the changes in tire technology and tire cross-section profile.

Despite what Handz thinks, none of these are really a good idea for street riding and are not what I'm telling people to do in terms of getting their ass off the seat, their weight out from over the centerline of the bike and optionally get a knee down. Rossi himself would be (and in fact is) the first to tell people don't ride street like he does on his race machine at the track.

This is what I have in mind for street riding usage, courtesy of the Total Control school:

And in a more extreme case:

Here are some TC instructors showing a student how the body should be positioned:

 

[47]

Marquez's body position is insane, the kid literally get's off the bike through a corner

 

[Cellos88GT]

So I've decided that my next bike will be a Moto Guzzi Stelvio NTX. I'm determined to have the most reliable Guzzi on FG

Spoiler

I want a Stelvio too... lol

 

[Redliner]

Evolution of riding, I believe (though Doohan's riding style was always freakish). Look at the time periods involved. Also, body position has been massively impacted by the changes in tire technology and tire cross-section profile.

I suspected it was that, but Doohan threw me off. :lol:

 

[altoid]

Marquez's body position is insane, the kid literally get's off the bike through a corner

Oh yeah, he's been off the bike in the corner this season a few times...

 

[bone]

how the hell does that work???
(i know they're set up for alcohol, but does that matter?)

 

[DaHitch]

I just got back from an appointment with pretty much the biggest driving school in Belgium. If all goes to plan I may be a licensed riding instructor by this time next year as I just got permission to enter their training program.

 

[Redliner]

Congrats!
Fingers crossed!

 

[Spectre]

I suspected it was that, but Doohan threw me off. :lol:

Every so often you get someone like a Doohan or a Freddie Spencer who absolutely prove that motorcycle riding is every bit an art as much as it is a science if not more. They ride in a style that shouldn't work but somehow does and very few if any can even begin to replicate it.

Spencer competing and winning the 1985 Daytona 200 race:

Looks amazingly current as a style and form despite the limited-by-modern-standards machine he was running.

This from a very good discussion of the latter man's career and skills:

The only thing I would like to add is that Spencer had absolutely incredible throttle and brake control. He would enter a corner so fast that he would literally overload the front tyre, *then* add throttle to relieve pressure on the front tyre and somehow avoid highsiding.... he was hyper-precise in what he did.

He was the master of throttle roll on and roll off, and could simulataneously apply various levels of throttle and brakes (to essentially settle suspension).

Make that "has." One of the most valuable experiences of my 45 years was doing the Spencer school in Las Vegas a few years ago, highlighted by a lap of the LVMS road course on the back of a CBR954 piloted by The Man himself. He may not be ready to do battle with Rossi anytime soon, but he still has some otherworldly skills. (Hence his nickname, 'E.T.') With two up, he'd have the bike leaned over at angles that most riders wouldn't try solo. And so smooth on the throttle and brakes as to make the whole affair seem completely effortless. Not to mention that he's an outstanding teacher and surpassing gentleman off the bike - one of the great ambassadors for all of motorsports.

As mentioned, his style's most marked difference is to go into a corner ridiculously deep before braking, hammer the brakes, overdrive the front tire and upset the chassis to the point that anyone else would crash, somehow keep it all together and then get back on the throttle ridiculously early - all while making it look seamless, smooth and perfect. There are still top-twenty guys in MotoGP and WSB *today* that weren't as fast as he was - and in some cases, still is.

Last I've heard, nobody else has actually been able to even generally replicate his style. People trying to, even skilled and experienced pro-racers, pretty much either crash or can't pull it off.

Carpal tunnel syndrome is what ended his career shortly after his incredible 1985 season (wherein he won both MotoGP classes of the day, a feat unequaled since); he was especially susceptible because of his riding style which demanded very heavy brake application.

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome became a major problem for bike GP riders in the mid-80s with the huge iron brakes, so much that several had surgery to open up the tunnels in order to continue their careers. Freddie took a wider view of life and wouldn't do that.

When carbon brakes came into common use, requiring only two fingers on the lever to get enough retardation, the problem tended to disappear in recent times.

You gotta wonder what might have been if CTS hadn't spiked his career.