Article: Smooth Riding

[justsomeguy]

Material copy pasted from here:
http://www.durbanbmwclub.co.za/rtips.php?txt_art=2&title=Smooth%20Riding

Smooth Riding
Reg Pridmore - Smooth Riding the Pridmore Way

FOR MANY RIDERS, RIDING ON THE TRACK IS LIKE BEING SET LOOSE IN A CANDY STORE. It�s also a great laboratory in which to hone their skills. But at the same time, they must temper their exuberance with discipline! (Ian Donald Photography)
However, over the years I�ve developed a sense of urgency and concern for my students. More and more, I challenge them in the classroom. This doesn�t mean I get verbally offensive. But when I see they�ve gained confidence, I try to wake them up. Because with confidence comes complacency. And there is no place for compla�cency in motorcycling.
The fact that you�re reading this book tells me that you have some idea of the risks of motorcycling and the level of care and focus that�s required. You�re making an effort to im�prove your skills, and that�s great. You also know that on the track, simple mistakes can hurt you badly. On the road, they can get you killed.
Much of this book will focus on the concrete skills of motorcycling. For example, throttle management, braking, proper lines, and rpm range. But all these things rest on a foundation of attitude. Without proper attitude, you won�t be able to utilize these concrete skills and become a better, faster, safer rider.

[justsomeguy]

LESSONS LEARNED
I made my career in racing, but I came from a Street background. I rode the streets in England pretty hard, and I learned quite a bit along the way. factually got off the roads for a while in my teens because I sensed I was putting myself in danger. It seemed like I was heading for �the big one.� I knew I would be better off at the track, where I could work on my skills without the vari�ables of traffic, bad roads, and other environ�mental hazards.
My son Jason did the reverse; he started out on the track and learned a lot prior to riding on the street. When he finally did ride on the roads, he was very aware of the hazards. Track riding gave him a deep sense of where he had to be to avoid danger. It also taught him restraint. He learned a lot of lessons in the track environment.
You don�t need to ride on the track to be a go street rider (though I guarantee it will help you). But wherever you ride, you need to be acutely aware of your limits. And you need to treat every ride as a learning opportunity. I found out a lot of these things the hard way. I�m offering you the benefit of my nearly 50 years experience so that maybe you won�t make the same mistakes.

[justsomeguy]

CONTROL: IT�S ALL IN YOUR RIGHT HAND
If people attending CLASS learn one thing, it should be this: control. That�s the big one for me. It�s so important that I put it right in everyone�s face, on a big white board in the front of the classroom: C-O-N-T-R-O-L. It�s what we all should be searching for as motorcyclists.
I think we all have a bit of Jekyll and Hyde in us when we�re riding. We need to recognize that there are those two persons within ourselves. There is the person that always wants to go faster, and the other person who is reasonable and safe.
There�s nothing wrong with wanting to go fast. But going fast without control is a killer. So many riders get on the track and don�t recognize the importance of this subtle balance. Riding on the track is like being set loose in a candy store. Keeping the balance�recognizing Jekyll and Hyde within yourself�takes forethought, con�centration, and practice.
I have a saying: �You must slow down to go fast.� You need to have the patience to do it right before you can do it fast. Frequently at school people describe a problem with a certain corner, and stall by saying, �Well, I came into it a little too fast and Stop right there! They�ve just described the problem. They need to slow down. They know it themselves, but they won�t listen to the voice in their heads. If that voice is telling you to slow down, then slow down.
I understand that people come to CLASS to test their limits, and within reason, I encourage this. It�s human nature, and it�s part of the learn�ing process. But at the same time they must tem�per their exuberance with discipline. Things can go awry very quickly when their abilities are not adequate for the speed they�re carrying.
Let me give you an example. Once a guy came to school on a powerful new V-twin. He told me ahead of time that he and his friends were �fast guys� and they wanted to be sure CLASS wasn�t too mild for them. We discussed
it and they decided to join us. By 10:30 am he�d gone down in a slow-entry sweeper that gets very fast on the exit. He broke his front brake le�ver and wasn�t able to get it replaced until the next day, but he hung around to observe the school and be with his friends.
After a couple of hours he commented to an instructor: �I notice a lot of people go really fast through the turns, but not super-fast on the straights. That seems backward to me.� The in�structor grinned and replied, �They have the pa�tience to work on technique, rather than pure speed. They know that if you slow down to go fast, the rest will follow.� It�s easy to go fast on the straightaway. But it takes control, and prac�tice, to be fast in the corners.

[justsomeguy]

CONSISTENCY: GETTING IT RIGHT EVERY TIME
One of the ways I challenge my students is on their consistency�or lack of it. I�ve known a lot of my students for a long time, and some of them can get around the track very fast. But one of the things that makes me faster, and safer, is my consistency.
I define consistency as the ability to repeat a certain exercise properly, over and over. You should constantly critique yourself and strive to be better, Don�t repeat bad habits.
Consistency doesn�t come naturally. It�s learned. For instance, students might string to�gether three or four good corners using the cor�rect line, weight shift, and throttle control�but how many of them could do five out of five per�fectly? How many of them could do the same corner perfectly three times in a row? It�s not as easy as it sounds.
Discipline is one of the keys to consistency. Be�ing a good racer requires lots of discipline: the disci�pline to train and stay in race form, the discipline to do what it takes on the racetrack, and the discipline to stay as safe as possible. It takes discipline to hold back rather than try to pass when the stakes are too high. It takes discipline to stay focused and tell your�self: �This is where I need to be, in this gear, and this is where I begin my turn.� You need discipline to hit your shift and brake markers at the same place each lap. When you go beyond these markers, you do so deliberately, as a means to study the effects. In this way discipline provides a foundation from which to experiment�a path to self-knowledge. If you are disciplined enough to know your exact cornering line, then you can begin to experiment with a second
or third line. In a race, this provides a means to pass or outwit your competition.
On the street, discipline means positioning yourself in a way that makes you visible to other vehicles at all times. It means always maintain�ing the right rpms to accelerate out of a bad situa�tion. It means constantly painting a picture of what might happen around the next corner. In a blind right-hander, you need to imagine the big�gest, ugliest thing possible waiting for you around that bend. This way, you can meet any challenge that�s ahead.
Focus is another key. Often on the road or track, our thoughts are in the wild blue yonder. We�re thinking about what�s for dinner, family matters, or our jobs. There are times when you can get away with this�but there are times when it will bite you. I actually have students say to me: �I think my attention is pretty good. Out of all the laps I did today, I only overcooked turn 11 a few times.� That�s not consistency. That�s ab�sent-mindedness and complacency.
But consistency doesn�t just apply to the track. You must be extra disciplined and focused on the street. Do you ever ride around without knowing what gear you�re in, or with your foot poised over the rear brake? When crisis strikes and that car pulls out in front of you, these things can mean disaster. You won�t have the rpms to accelerate out of danger, or you�ll stab the rear brake and go into a slide. These are bad habits and you should correct them�now. Do you dis�cipline yourself to constantly scan for upcoming hazards, such as a car pulling out of a driveway? Making the right choices in these matters can save your life.

[justsomeguy]

STAYING HUMBLE
I�ve been humbled many times on a motorcycle. I�ve also seen many other riders humbled, some�times with grave consequences. I meet riders all the time that have very high opinions of them�selves. As far as I�m concerned, there�s no place for that attitude in motorcycling. Wearing scuffed leathers may be a badge of courage to some, but it�s not worth the price you may have to pay�and pay only once. No matter how com�petent you are, you need to know that there is an envelope in which you can ride safely, and that there�s a limit to your abilities�one that can be approached very rapidly and without warning. I don�t need to tell you what�s on the other side.
Humility is important regardless of the bike you�re riding. We see some incredible machines at CLASS: fast Honda CBRs, Ducatis, Yamaha Rls, and Suzuki GSX-Rs. All have tremendous horsepower, and many are further enhanced with Power Commanders, exhaust systems, and race tires. But there�s often one thing that still needs a tune-up: the rider.

[justsomeguy]

EGO: THE ENEMY
I handle the word ego carefully; it offends people to think about it. Naturally, most people think they have their egos in check. But to me, anyone who thinks that way is already in danger. Do you think you have it all under control, and that noth�ing is going to happen to you? If so, my message is, be careful.
As you can imagine, teaching CLASS is a learning experience for my instructors and me. We�ve gotten to where we can see who�s going to get in trouble if they don�t change their ways.
Several years ago, when my son Jason was still teaching with me, we would actually pick riders we thought wouldn�t make it through the day and put their names on the back of the chalkboard. We�d even tell the students that we�d done this. You�d be amazed at how this gets their attention!
I think that simple exercise helped lots of them turn on their brains and listen�they didn�t want to become one of the riders on that wall of shame.� Others would fulfill our predictions by crashing. Their egos carried the day. They fig�ured: �He couldn�t be talking about me.�
Fortunately, it isn�t this way with all our stu�dents. Many of them have been coming to CLASS for years, and some complete several days of CLASS in succession. They know that they can always learn more, and that improve�ment is a never-ending process. Many of these longtime riders are extremely fast, but they are also humble in the face of all there is to learn. That�s the attitude that leads to a long and happy life in motorcycling.
Another example of ego�s harmful effects oc�curs during the last few laps of the day at CLASS. By this time people are feeling good. They�ve been turning some good laps. They�re confident and excited about their day. But it�s also the danger zone. If someone is going to fall off and get hurt, that�s when they seem to do it most. It�s just like downhill skiing: It�s always on the last run of the day, when you�re feeling your best, that you break your leg.
The lesson? Don�t think you can�t be hurt just because you�re feeling good. In fact, that�s ex�actly when you�re likely to be hurt. It�s the time when a smart rider puts his ego in check and
pulls back from the edge. This is where disci�pline comes into play; it can save you from a lot of pain and expense, and ensure that you�ll be ready to have more fun tomorrow.

[justsomeguy]

TRUST NO ONE
In CLASS I purposefully discourage racing against other students. This isn�t because I don�t want them to have fun, or that I want to part them from their competitive natures. It�s because I want riders to develop their own skills, not mea�sure themselves against others. I also don�t want people placing faith in other riders by riding too close. I tell students to assume that the rider in front may not have a clue about good riding. As a rule, I don�t trust anybody when I�m on a bike.
In racing, it�s a different story. You have to trust the other competitors to some degree be�cause there will be close scrapping and battling going on. But other people have caused some of my worst racing accidents. Even highly profes�sional riders can make unexpected moves.
One example that quickly comes to mind was in �97 at the �Battle of the Legends� at
Daytona�a great series sponsored by BMW. We were all on identically prepared bikes and I was happy to be included with some of my heroes: Gary Nixon, Yvon Duhamel, Jay Springsteen, Roger Reiman, Mark Brelsford, and others. We were going at it hard corning into one of my favorite corners: turn one. The most exciting thing about Daytona for me is going deeper than anyone else into turn one before putting on the brakes. We were three or four wide, and I was to Nixon�s right on the outside. He didn�t know I was there, and for some reason he suddenly moved over�right into me! I was already as far outside as I could be, and the right cylinder of his BMW twin actually lay on my left shoulder long enough to leave burn marks on my leathers. With a little luck and a lot of skill, we both stayed upright. But it was a lesson for me. Gary is one of my heroes, and someone I feel I can trust implicitly on the track. But there is an element of risk riding that close to anyone.
Ironically, I pulled something similar on him later in the same race. I was leading the pack, and Nixon decided to follow me through the chicane. Springsteen was right behind him, nose to tail. These guys are some of the best flat trackers ever�both are multi-time national champions and Hall of Fame riders. We were on the gas hard in a right�hander just before the exit of the chicane, when my rear wheel broke loose and the rear end came around to what felt like maybe a 70�degree slide!
In all my years of racing I don�t remember ever having a slide like that. I didn�t panic�I just kept the throttle open and managed to recover. I went through the grass and still led them up onto the banking. Nixon told me later in his gravelly voice that I could flat track with him any time!
The point is that even riders you think you can trust with your life can throw a surprise at you. When you�re on a motorcycle, you can�t com�pletely trust anyone.

[justsomeguy]

GETTING IN A ROUTINE
There is no such thing as a simple, no-brainer trip on a motorcycle. Every time you get on, you need to be in the moment. You may just be going to the corner for a carton of milk. You hop on, put in the key, push the starter button, and off you go. But you know what? You may be in for the biggest surprise of your life. That left-turning car could be around the next bend. Part of your rou�tine must involve taking a moment to wake your�self up and focus on your surroundings and where you�re going.
Tune your brain in. Have a little discussion with yourself every time before you ride. Even if it�s just five miles to work, you need to survey the situation. It�s a way of being in control. After all, you can be killed leaving your own driveway!
No single mental technique is the key to being a faster, safer motorcyclist. To be a really good rider, you need to put all these pieces together at once. It takes thought, planning, and practice. It all starts in your head.
<hr>Courtesy - Reg Pridmore - Smooth Riding the Pridmore Way
ISBN 1-884313-46-9

Note: The entire article was copy pasted here incase the original link stops working for whatever reason.

[R6_kid]

read it, again and again again and again again and again again and again again and again again and again again and again again and again again and again again and again again and again again and again again and again again and again again and again again and again again and again again and again again and again again and again again and again again and again again and again again and again again and again again and again then give it a try!

[R6_kid]

read it, again and again again and again again and again again and again again and again again and again again and again again and again again and again again and again again and again again and again again and again again and again again and again again and again again and again again and again again and again again and again again and again again and again again and again again and again again and again again and again then give it a try!

p.s. thanks for going to the effort of this, im actually gonna read it soon.

[Korea]

Mmmm... it's quite a long read, but an important one... could be summed up with just "Don't be cocky", but we'd all miss the point then, wouldn't we?