Cornering tips for R15 Throttle control is the key to unlock corner speeds. The throttle application should be a progressive one and not a sudden jerky one. In short the torque that the engine makes goes to the rear wheels and while accelerating, the torque should be delivered in increments and while decelerating, the torque should be decreased in the same linear manner. If suppose you can visualize a graph, then the acceleration and deceleration figures should be a smoothly rising line on a graph. As discussed earlier, this goes to both opening the throttle as also closing it. Sudden throttle inputs make your bike’s suspension to react suddenly and this disturbs the whole balance between the suspension and throttle input causing the rider to fall down or may be come close to crashing on the floor. The sign of a good throttle control is the minimum suspension movement while one turns in, then reach the apex of the corner and finally power out of a corner. The suspension movement would be progressive and would infact aid you in the cornering. Controlling your vision while riding is an important task. Many a times, people (me included) tend to look out for voluptuous distractions on the road and get distracted forgetting the task on hand that they have of riding the motorcycle properly. This results in accidents. Looking further ahead the road gives your brain the time to process the information smoothly and the involuntary reaction would cause the hand to handle throttle work more smoothly. Corner speed is usually a by product of the exercise of cornering and not the ultimate aim, so focus more on your hands. The suspension should also work perfectly fine on a bike which is moving smoothly. The throttle inputs play a key part in getting the suspension to work smoothly. Hands on the handle bar shouldn’t move too quickly as quick movements mean less precision. Being quick and precise at the same time means lots of practice. Enough of use of the word smoothness in this article and I am sure many of you would be dying to know the finer nuances of how it is done. First thing is practice. Try it out on a deserted stretch of road or even in the parking lot to get a better hang of things. The best thing to do would be to have the bike roll around in first gear only. Speaking of gear, always practice with proper riding gear on or for the least, wear a helmet. Not using proper riding gear may cause fatal accidents or even crashes (the latter is less likely if you are practicing in the aforementioned places). After slotting the bike into first gear, try rolling on and off the throttle without getting the typical pitch of the suspension. I know it is hard for those of the street smart guys reading it but trust me, it can be done. Visualize any of your favorite Moto GP stars, may be this would help. However don’t try this practice initially in higher gears. What you are actually trying to learn here is how the suspension forks expand and contract with throttle inputs and the 1st gear helps amplify the suspension movements. Now is the time to check out some corners. Most of the people I know and am sure you also know complete a corner with a series of throttle applications. If you are riding on a street, then its no problem because street riding doesn’t ask you too much from your bike’s handling capabilities. Start attacking corners with a lower speed. What you are looking out here is to roll on the throttle again once you have turned the bike in the corner and progressively twist the throttle more and more. This should be done until the throttle is properly open and the apex of the corner is passed and now you are finally on the exit. Since you are starting out, forget the corner speed. Remember what I discussed earlier about corner speed not being the ultimate goal and its only being a by product. Mentally focus on the contact patch that your bike might be making from its rear wheel. Your derriere is a good place to actually feel that. Once you are an expert at rolling the throttle progressively, you can determine as to how quickly and hard you can do this without any violent suspension movement. If you are bringing in some one from your friends group to watch you at practice, ask him to take a video of your throttle movements. Seeing the video after the practice would make you realize where you are making mistakes and if the throttle is progressive enough or are there sudden spikes in the acceleration and deceleration part. However do keep in mind that you aren’t supposed to be looking at the throttle hand while riding. Look through the corner as you would do in normal riding. Needless to say, this corner practice should be done at a very safe place.
Posted on: Mon, 08 Dec 2014 13:17:10 +0000
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