T.I.P.S.

North Georgia Motorcycles.com

Copyright © 2000 by  M. Hilton Taylor.   All Rights Reserved by T.A.M.S.

It ain’t rocket science  . . . is it.

When climb aboard any motorcycle and fire up the engine you feel the energy run through your body.  You get an exhilarating feeling for the outdoors. This is even truer for the “Sport Bike Group” as they are “looking for the curves.”  It can be a lot of fun to go blasting around the twisting turns feeling the g-forces and speed as you maneuver from one turn to the next.  It also gives you a sense of accomplishment for your riding skills. While this is all great and loads of fun, a small mistake can send you sliding down the asphalt quicker than you think.

One of the first things you need to learn is what your limits are. How far can you hang your toes over the edge before you fall? You should also keep in mind that the racers you see on Sunday gracefully going around the race track are in a safe riding environment . . . on the road you are not! The roads have grease, sand, antifreeze (slicker than oil), rocks, dead animals, and many other such hazards. These are things that can ruin a great day of riding, so you must be constantly aware of them.

A good rider’s course and some “track day” time can go a long way to honing the riding skills. Riding on a track (safe environment) gives you the chance to practice the different types of turns.  Here are some basic things about curves that you should know and will ultimately help you to master them. Not all curves are created equal.  You have constant radius, decreasing radius, increasing radius, off camber, and banked turns. Let’s analyze them one at a time.

Constant radius turns are like riding around a circle.  The turn or radius remains constant for the entire turn, sort of like a ball on a string when you spin it around.  You are usually in these types of turns for a long time and because of that the long sweeping constant radius turns create a lot of g-force or centrifugal force. You will begin to feel as if you are being pushed off of the turn or increasing in speed.

Decreasing radius turns are turns that get tighter as you negotiate the turn. If you go into a decreasing radius turn at a given speed, the tighter radius of the turn forces you to turn tighter thereby increasing the centrifugal force, and forcing you to turn even more. What may be a safe entry speed may become an unsafe exit speed. These types of turns will cause more mistakes by street riders than any of the other types. They are also more difficult to recognize on entry.

Increasing radius turns are turns that begin tight and then open up or become less of a turn. These are the most forgiving.  It is like having run off space if you go into the turn too fast.

Off camber turns can occur in conjunction with the other turns.  Off camber is the opposite of a banked turn. Instead of being flat the outside of the turn slopes in a downward direction which forces more lean angle.  The force on the tire lessens since the road is falling away from the tires.  In this situation more lean is not necessarily a good thing as it is pushing the traction away from the treaded area of the tire.

Banked turns are those turns where the outside of the turn is higher than the inside of the turn.  It is like riding around the Daytona Race track. These are the easiest type of turns to negotiate as they require less lean angle and allow more tire traction.

Now you know what they are, you need to be able to recognize them instantly while riding so you can plan your approach.  Here is what happens when you approach a turn.  You must adjust your speed, set your lean angle, set your steering, and adjust your body weight.  This all occurs in seconds and they are equally important.  This process is called setting up for the turn. This process begins after you determine the characteristics of the turn. This is one of the big differences between the race track and the street. On the race track you encounter the same turns every lap so you know what is coming and what the process requires.  Most of the time on the street, you do not know what is coming unless it is a road you ride quite often.

Now that you know the types of turns you need to know how to find the apex of the turn.  In simple terms the apex is where you make a change in direction in a turn and where you can see the entry and exit of the turn.  You can see in the picture where the arrow is pointing to the apex of this turn.  This is where you would make the change in direction.  You and easily see how turning at a different point would create difficulty in negotiating the turn. As you begin negotiating the turn you do so by looking straight through the turn and riding it in segments that you can see.  I like to refer to this process as spotting. You pick a spot and ride towards it and as you progress through the turn you continue to change your spot until you can see the exit of the turn. Always look to the inside of the turn.

Enter the turn slow (relatively speaking) and smooth to exit fast. You can begin your acceleration once you can see the exit to the turn. On the street always leave a little margin for error to account for obstacles in the road. Also remember that you should apply the brakes when the bike is in the vertical position and not while being leaned.  If you get into a turn too hot do not panic and apply a lot of brake.  In most cases the bike is capable of making the turn at what you feel is too fast, although it may increase the “pucker factor” and scare you into reality. Remember to look to the inside of the turn and push downward on the handlebar on the inside of the turn to increase the lean angle. If the speed exceeds the bikes capabilities you will normally do a slide out or low side get off, which is much better than a high side over the bars. If you find yourself in a low side fall, try to place as much of your body against the ground as possible to increase resistance and to reduce the length of the slide. The further you slide, more heat is generated. If you are wearing proper equipment you should survive with minor injuries and live to ride another day. Tennis shoes, shorts, and t-shirts are not considered proper equipment for riding.

If you find a road you like to ride then take the time to ride the curves at a slower speed to determine the types of turns you are dealing with and be sure there are no obstacles in the road.  Ride it a few times at a slower rate and gradually increase your speed to an exhilarating but safe level.  An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.  Another thing to keep in mind is that roads change every day.

This is not enough information to make you the next great “Superbike Star”, but is does give you the information you need to create a safe style of riding that can give you an increase in the “fun factor”.

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