North Auckland Street Skills - NASS

[Timmeh:P]

Think you are talking about me bro. I do lean off from time to time as I get sick of sitting flat footed.
Most of the time I ride street, Im right up on my toes.

I know what your saying about the crossing over thing. Its a habbit I need to ween out. Still havent got a knee down, been pretty close.
Im blasting down to the Bay of Plenty tonight and taking the Kaimais road after Matamata. Will give some of your tips a practice

No problem, happy to give tips if you want to hear it. The track is definitely the best place to get your knee down. Once you have mastered the knee, then move to your elbow!

[Timmeh:P]

Most of the time I ride street, Im right up on my toes.

Small suggestion... all good riding on your toes on the road if that is what you like doing, but if you need to emergency brake then having your foot closer to the rear pedal could be a life saver!

Just like covering your front brake while riding on the road, covering your back brake could shave valuable time getting to it and decrease braking distance.

[LankyBastard]

Had a good time.

Had a few braking mishaps lately, nothing bad! Just being told I use too much rear brake has made my braking a little off.....and last time we did emergency braking I chipped a knuckle!! So was a little apprehensive to do the exercise.

Thanks Mr White Triumph for the feedback, really helpful!

Glad I could help, you did make massive improvements to your braking technique in very short time, I was impressed!

I must admit I thought everyone was going really well, it was great to see!

Looking forward to next week

Oh and Timmeh, did you not see me hanging off completely whilst taking a very slow left hander?? I was looking totally badass with my knee 2 metres away from the road

[GravelRashKid]

Also, let your body slide forward on the seat. If you hold yourself off the tank while emergency braking then you are increasing the load on your front forks. I would rather stop faster and have sore nuts than find myself crashing into something.

Great tip(s), thanks Tim. I think I was the main offender for this one. Definitely something to work on, to place less value on my nuts.

Another tip that's been mentioned before, is to keep your eyes up. Helps with the low-speed stuff, as well as the attaining-low-speed-quickly stuff.
btw I'd guess my balance is more thanks to Yoga than riding skill.

Very good point about riding on the toes too. I've recently changed from having the arch of my foot on the pegs, to the ball of the foot on the pegs.
My reason for this change in riding position, was due to getting my foot caught under the brake/gear lever then jammed between the road and the bike on corners. Just a little too exciting for my liking.
The change has allowed me to improve my riding in a number of ways, however this has introduced a weight transfer and subsequent instability every time I brake or change gear. Plus of course the delay you mentioned in getting to the rear brake pedal.
One option I haven't explored is adjusting both the brake and gear levers, so my feet can rest comfortably above the levers without activating them. Perhaps if I had a cruiser - but then I wouldn't be going around corners anyway.

[GravelRashKid]

Here's one for a future session...

How to handle the situation when you go from "Oops, I've misjudged this corner getting tighter on me", to "Oh Crap, no matter how hard I strain, the edge of the road is getting closer!".

I understand that ideally you should:
a) Keep your head and eyes up and aiming to the exit of the corner, as opposed to the gravel on the edge of the corner.
b) Generally not decelerate or brake mid corner.
c) Relax the outside arm, and steer with the inside arm on a corner.
However 'understanding' is different to 'doing' when you discover yourself in that Oh Crap moment.

Any ideas on how to practice these skills safely in the carpark?

[GravelRashKid]

Once you have mastered the knee, then move to your elbow!

Then once you have mastered the elbow... Have you seen the clip of the guy getting his shoulder and then helmet down?

Do you know of anyone who manufactures magnesium strips for helmets? There could be a marketing opportunity...

[DanielM8]

Perhaps if I had a cruiser - but then I wouldn't be going around corners anyway.

Hey... okay it's true

[Timmeh:P]

Any ideas on how to practice these skills safely in the carpark?

Yup, I know of something... However it is only as safe as the fact there wont be traffic and nothing to hit other than what is in the car park. Potential for a low-side is still there.

This exercise is good to practice turning on windy roads and when the corner is tighter than expected.

Using the car parking lanes we mark out this particular shape - points 1 - 6.
Then travelling at around 15kph you adjust your speed and lean angle when entering the corner and apply steady throttle when riding around the points. Idea is to keep the throttle steady.

If you wash wide - then look for the exit point and apply more pressure on the appropriate handle bar.
Cutting the corner - look for exit point, DONT look down (usual reason for cutting a corner) and apply more pressure to the appropriate handle bar
Exit Wide - Look where you want to go and apply more pressure to the appropriate handle bar.

It is all about entry points, apex points and exit points. looking where you want to go, and learning to be steady on the throttle and leaning with the bike.

Also, biggest mistake I see riders doing ALL the time is entering a corner too early. They end up cutting the corner and usually have half their body hanging over the lane markings. (not so fun if a car happens to wash a little wide coming the other way). The later you enter the corner, the further you can see around that corner and less likely to cut the corner. It takes practice, but try and be concious of it while riding and take it slow at first!

[GravelRashKid]

Legend!
I'd rather low-side at carpark speeds than, let's say for a random example, on Woodcocks Rd...

[Timmeh:P]

Legend!
I'd rather low-side at carpark speeds than, let's say for a random example, on Woodcocks Rd...

HAHA, yeah... Low siding at Woodcocks wouldn't be fun at all... **looks in the direction of Lanky** Especially if you are trying to keep up with a fellow rider.

[cdmdotnet]

Now to grow some balls and try this out. I wonder how busy a BK carpark is on a Friday night....

[The Reibz]

We need to do a ride one night where we practice riding in a staggered formation.
Im used to riding this way during my club rides and runs. We got a few learners coming through at the moment that seem to fuck the formation up a bit, I do it from time to time when im rough on the throttle. If you ever plan on doing charity runs or poker runs where more than a 100 bikes are involved you need to be switched on and learn how to ride staggered. It can be shit scary for newbies but I feel alot safer riding staggered down the motorway. Moving as a unit rather than just a mess of individuals gives a greater road presence and generally cars will stay out of your way and slow down for you to pass. My 2c for NASS this year.

Time to hit the back roads on the busa now. Seig.

[GravelRashKid]

HAHA, yeah... Low siding at Woodcocks wouldn't be fun at all... **looks in the direction of Lanky** Especially if you are trying to keep up with a fellow rider.

LOL, that's it exactly! My thought process went something like:
"Yeah OK, it appears that I can match the current pace of this rider I'm following..."
"Must remember that the posted speeds on Woodcocks are very different to the rest of NZ, take it easy..."
"But I should be able to match his pace through that corner..."
"Oops..." to "Oh Crap..."
To discover later that the rider I was following had also seriously overcooked that corner.

[Timmeh:P]

I feel alot safer riding staggered down the motorway. Seig.

Yep, staggering riders is good practice on straight roads, but as soon as they become twisty roads it is always best to drop back further behind the rider in front and turn into corners at a point which you do not cut the corner. I wouldn't suggest riding staggered on twisty roads.

[LankyBastard]

HAHA, yeah... Low siding at Woodcocks wouldn't be fun at all... **looks in the direction of Lanky** Especially if you are trying to keep up with a fellow rider.

Yep, oh this corner is tighter than I expected, no worries, apply more lean, look where you want to go, peg is down, all good, keep throttle steady, big bump in road mid corner that hits your peg, unweights rear wheel, less friction due to less weight, rear decides it'd be way more fun to be a front wheel instead, you slide down the road thinking hmmmmmmm best stand up I suppose, so you do, using your sliding momentum (looks way more badass that way) watch you bike decide to give itself and oil change in the middle of the road, and at the end of it all, you just think



FUCK