What are some things you should never do on a motorcycle, and how do we fix them? Lets figure out why applying brakes suddenly in a corner, applying throttle as we add lean angle, riding motorcycles we don't know and riding with straight arms is a bad idea.
Here are 5 things you should never do on a motorcycle:
No 1. Hang On To The handlebars
When we ride our motorcycle, we use counter steering to tip the bike into the corners. In order to have control out input to the handlebars, we have to bend our arms and elbows. Many riders especially those riding sport bikes on the street, hang on to the handlebars because they get tired of the uncomfortable riding position.
Hanging on the handlebars means that the rider will give steering input to the bike, even when unintentional, destabilizing the bike. A very common reason for wobbling on a motorcycle is that the rider is hanging off the handlebars. The correct way is to bend your elbows and hold on to the handlebars like holding a baby chick on your hand. This way you can apply pressure to the handlebars only when you intend to, and let the bike stabilize itself when you are not intending to change its trajectory.
No. 2 Apply brakes suddenly in a corner
To understand why, try the following:
- Get a loose tire, try to push it onto the ground. See how much pressure you can handle.
- Now just hold the tire up loosely and punch it into the ground. It slides out.
This happens because tires are basically elastic. Which means they are sensitive to the speed at which a load is applied. Every sudden application of load, the rubber would be very hard and won't cover the bumps on the surface. If you ramp up the load, the tire would slide over the bumps on the road surface and provide more grip. If we try a brake in corners, meaning we brake before entering the corner and slowly release the brakes inside the corner, this also allows us to ramp the brake back up if needed. Because we are not shocking the tire with a sudden high load.
No. 3 Roll The Throttle As You Add Lean Angle
Many beginning riders have probably heard that you should roll on the throttle when exiting the corner, which could be misinterpreted as roll the throttle as you leaning into the corner.
Never add throttle as you add lean angle, what this means is that you want to lean the motorcycle over and when you have reached the desired lean angle, you can begin to add throttle. The reason for this is that when you lean the motorcycle over you are deforming the tires. There is a line between leaning the motorcycle over and completely deforming the tire, which gives us a larger contact patch.
No. 4 Ride Without Knowing The Condition Of The Motorcycle
If you are trying out a new motorcycle or perhaps riding your own motorcycle for the first time after it’s being standing still for a while. You have to at least do a basic check.
To make sure that the brakes work, which you can pulling the brake lever and pushing on the rear brake, and then looking at the brake pads, then have a look at the tires. Look at how much tread is left, and ask ever owners of the bike when they last checked the tire pressures. Also make sure that the footrests are fasten down properly. You have no idea how often the foot pegs are loose.
Motorcycles vibrate a lot, which can cause fasteners to come loose. Also have to check the chain and sprockets for excessive damage.
This very basic check takes a minute to do and can truly save your life.
No. 5 Try to Keep Up With Faster Riders on The Street
Anyone who is riding with a group of people has probably had the experience of being behind someone who rides way faster than they feel comfortable with.
Trying to keep up with a ride that is way faster than yourself is always a bad idea. If this leads to charging into corners with way much too speed, getting that scary feeling in you stomach like you were not going to make it. Further more, it can lead to panic and inside of corners going to straight instead of turning. This often happens when we ride over own abilities. Never ride like this on the streets.
You are not really learning any new skills by trying to keep up with faster riders in this way. If you are a street rider who wants to become a faster and safer rider, take a riding course on a race track. There is no substitute for it.
