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Interesting....lack of participation on this topic


Bent

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I find it interesting how little this part of the forum is used.  Rider technique has everything to do with safety, enjoyment, and endurance when riding a VFR.  I can change my body position and technique to meet the riding requirements, wants, and needs at will.  Ride long enough and it comes naturally.  Some people complain of the VFR being uncomfortable.  Better riding position can change that instantly.  It's practically useless to describe that.  Watch certain Youtubes and you'll find that the best riders in the world (MotoGP) have very different riding styles that are, essentially, self-taught.  Everybody is different so generalizing how to do what in riding schools has always seemed to be self-limiting.  Riding schools are good to a point but so is practicing good habits.  Schools can teach you good habits.  Practice will help make them repeatable.  FWIW.  

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I think your closing point is kind of the reason. We can generalize, but you'll find what works for you if you ride enough. Maybe it'd be better to focus discussion on what not to do, things that are pretty much universally bad? Crossed-up while leaning hard, for instance.

Then, I think, it doesn't hurt to put what you do out there for others to try and see if it works for them. Most of us haven't been professionally coached, though, so maybe hard to describe.


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1 hour ago, Bent said:

essentially, self-taught. 

 

I think this is pretty much true with everybody, even those that attend some riding schools, because despite an opportunity to learn at a school under supervision, there is limited time during those events to really get a technique down and it requires the rider to develop their own particular style after the school through hours of self-training (which some do and many do not).

 

I think in recent years there are racers who attended a track school to at least get the basics as they started their climb up the ranks towards a MotoGP slot.  Those fortunate enough to attend advanced racing schools such as California Superbike School, Yamaha Champions Riding School, Freddie Spencer High Performance Riding School, or even Lee Parks Advanced Total Control, are learning in part from instructors of a previous generation of racers who most often were "essentially, self-taught".  They were pioneers so to speak, that develop the techniques being used today, just as the current winners are developing techniques which will be used tomorrow to win.

 

Unlike in the early years, today racers and riders have more resources to learn from with instructional books, DVD's and millions of YouTube videos (some good, most bad), which they can lean on to at least see and hear from those more advanced in riding and then mimic to develop their own style and work towards perfecting a technique that works for them.

 

For those riders who lack the money and time to travel the distances required to attend the better schools, and for those who are fortunate enough to have access to these schools, self-training (practice) is the key to honing the skills and develop the technique they see in school or in a book, DVD, the internet, or watching films of races.  Over the years I have filmed more than a few riders (especially back before the GoPro) and it was always an eye opener to the rider to see themselves and be able to sit back and compare what they actually look like to how they thought they looked like!

 

Today we have a verity of GoPro cameras and other action cameras which are relatively cheap.  I recommend after the rider has their riding gear, good tires, and before they start spending bucks on slipper clutches, after market suspension and other dodad's, get an action camera or two and press on various stick-on mounts and start evaluating their own riding.  If an experienced mentor is available that is great, but most of us just haven't the access.  A riding coach is also good, but are they available on the street or the track, other than a parking lot!  The camera catches what really happens and very seldom will lie to you.  A riding friend who can film you from both in the back and in the front offers a big advantage.

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We have a local track riding outfit called Zars. They teach at our local Dakota County Technical College (DCTC). As well as track time, they provide an Advanced Rider Course. I've taken one of these classes at the beginning of each of the last three years. Not only are they fun, I've learned a ton and made some of these techniques subconscious, where they become "automatic". And they allow me to fine tune, with guidance and evaluation, my every-day technique. Soon I hope to do a whole track day at Road America in Wisconsin. That track is fabulously beautiful to be on. The Spectators Tour Of The Track (45 mph max) during the racers lunch time, goes over the hill and through the woods.

 

And the best lessons I've learned was with the VFRD "practice class" CornerCarver gave at a recent T-Mac in Franklin NC followed by a ride over the hills and through the woods in the area. MAN! What a blast.  Thank you CC.

 

And you, Bent, my first teacher, along with Ezilla, in over the hills, around the corners, in the rain, and through the woods riding. I'll never forget that second day.

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"Advice is free, Skills cost money" Ken Hill, probably the best riding coach in the world right now. Free podcasts full of great info http://khcoaching.com/

 

Many "experienced" riders have been riding the same ride for 10, 15, 20 years, yet claim to have "skills" because they have ridden a long time......

 

Reading, watching, listening, riding are all great, but nothing will improve a riders skills as much as time spent with a good Coach. 

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When I teach my son how to do anything I follow this pattern.  1) Tell him how to do it.  2) Show him how to do it.  3) Let him do it with me.  4) Let him do it on his own.  

 

That's how I've approached motorcycling.  I am "self-taught" like most others, but I am in a constant state of reading, observing, experimenting, and therefore learning.  Just when I think I've learned enough, life and experience always throw something new at me that lets me know that I still need to learn.  That alone has saved my skin many times.  Statistically, they say that the most motorcycle crashes and fatalities occur in the 3rd year of motorcycling -- just enough time to think you've learned it all.

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