Motorcycling and An Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder (OCPD)

I have taken the opportunity of enrolling on the Lower Hutt City Council sponsored and Roadsafe motorcycle course for Sunday 26 June, the course is also available on Sunday 14th August. The cost is only $20 and is from 9am to 4.30pm.

Though I have ridden many kilometres and had numerous bikes, over the last 15mths I did not ride very much at all, probably less than 1,000km. Now having recently bought a GSR600 it will be very worthwhile having a review by Andrew and Lynne Templeton from Roadsafe of my riding technique and to refresh on hazard awareness, slow bike control and open road riding.

I will come back to this blog entry after the course.

Lower Hutt City Council Sponsored - Rider Improvement Course
This is a very good condensed version of the Advanced Rider course. The course is split between 'classroom observation and discussion' from 9am to 12.30pm, and technical riding proficiency 1.30pm to 4pm. While I was somewhat expecting a short group ride this did not occur however I am more than pleased with the time spent with:

Slow bike control
One hand at clutch and no throttle progressing to use of throttle and rear brake.

Braking efficiency
Rear, front, front and rear. (Additional comment below - Knees and Pray)

Counter steering
Using only feet, then only hands/arms, then hands/arms and feet together.

"Classroom"
The morning classroom observation and discussion is a good precursor to the afternoon practical riding segment. The most common theme that is a real constant 'Look where you want to go' and avoid 'target fixation'

I Get Down On My Knees and Pray
Braking at 50kph and 100kph
Andrew asked if he could use my GSR600 to demonstrate bike handling and braking. I got down on both knees with hands together in a praying pose as he proceeds to take the bike down the carpark pre-checks the braking and returns to complete each of the braking segments (rear, then front, then together front and rear) the difference in stopping distance between 50kph and 100kph (together front and rear) as well as factoring in reaction time has always astounded me (and I have attended two of the advanced courses previously).
I was pleased that Andrew took my bike for the demonstration as it provided me with the opportunity to get his initial feedback on the bike and its setup - and the feedback was good and positive.

Conclusion
The course was a good opportunity to review and a refresh.

The Rider Improvement course met my personal reasons for attending the course - as I have mentioned the GSR600 is a new bike to me (only ridden less than 300km since I got it last month) and I have not ridden very much the last 15months. One riding element I wanted to focus on was rear wheel lockup, during the morning session I remarked that I have more confidence in front braking 'lockup and immediate release and reapply' than I do with rear braking when a lock up may occur during emergency braking - this was perfectly illustrated to myself and all in the afternoon session when increasing speed to around 80kph after the initial 50kph braking run, I just kept the rear brake on and on and on, and was 'locked into' my own mindset of not even thinking of releasing and reapplying the brake. I was left shrouded in blue smoke and burnt rubber. In a straight line looking up (not down) and straight ahead when the rear locks immediately release it was something I wanted to work on and to top it off I was also able to conclude a front brake emergency stop and within the last one and half metres lifting the rear wheel off the ground.


Sponsorship Closing Remark
In the course feedback I remarked that this type of training (particularly carpark practical riding technique development) is very useful and during the summer daylight saving the courses could be conducted every three weeks.

While it may not be realistic to expect the one professional motorcycling instructor to fulfil each and every 3weeks during daylight saving, initiatives could nevertheless be taken by suitably qualified Motorcycle Riding Mentors/Motorcycle Clubs and organisations to partner up with local council to conduct such regular events for motorcyclists in general wanting to improve their skill level.

The motorcycle riding improvement programs can be undertaken at the local regional community level and be fostered from within the motorcycling community.