Do you practice skills? If so, what?

[Firehorse]

I do. I always start my ride with an emergency stop session on the first side road or parking lot.
Makes me improve and tells me my brakes are working nicely.

What skills do you practice or need to practice?

If you never practice, why not?

[akima]

I usually test my breaks (and other things) before I start my ride.

I practice all the time really. It feels like the act of riding is practising. I concentrate on my ride and think about how to do things better.

Emergency stops are one thing I don't practice on public roads. That could go wrong! I tend to try them every now and then in an empty car-park (our term for: parking lot). I'm actually not very good at them, so I need to practice more.

[ally99]

This post should be in the riding skills forum!

I love practicing. It's so empowering! I try at least a couple of times a year to find a big parking lot and spend an hour or so there. I practice U-turns, figure 8s, weaving/swerving, and different braking techniques. However, I use every ride as a practice for something. If I have the road to myself and get surprised by a light turning red, I will practice fast braking on the road (but not if there is another soul anywhere behind or in front of me). I also practice swerving around spots on the road when riding.

Great post! I love hearing how and what others practice!

[csmith12]

I practice a few things routinely.

Smooth throttle rolls every single time I am out on the road.

There is a house I pass with a dog that loves to chase me. I use this "bad" condition to practice roll offs. I roll off then roll on to effect the dogs judgment of interception point so I can pass with a lesser chance of issue. Sometimes the dog is not there, but I do it anyway just in case he is hiding behind the car parked in the drive.

My mail box is 189ft from my house and has a large gravel patch around it. I use it to practice braking on a loose surface.

I also hit the parking lots every now and then for practice. Front brake only, rear brake only (feathering the rear brake) & both at the same time. Decreasing radius circles around a cone in both directions & various other low speed techniques.

Great thread!

["A"]

I have a 2 mile circuit in an empty office park just 1/4 mi. from my driveway.

I practice just about everything (on and off pavement) at most different speed with plenty of space to spare. Occasionally catch some air with my Ninja 250.

[ninjaprof]

I view riding as practice. I maintain a constant "inner dialog" to remain focused. For example, coming to a stop I tell myself " check for gravel etc. when the bike is going to stop and where your feet will be". When turning I tell myself " Look through the turn, where you want to go" etc. I do that constantly and am always trying to determine what could happen or go wrong in every situation.

There are two specific things I make sure I do at least once every ride:

1. Stop and start on a hill.
2. Make a U-turn.

Practicing these things when there is no traffic gives the confidence to be able to do them in traffic under pressure.

[Alex]

Originally Posted by ally99

This post should be in the riding skills forum!

/moved

[Xoulrath]

I agree with those who say riding is practice. Obviously you are reinforcing what you do, so if you only commute on a straight road with light traffic, it isn't much help. If you have mixed riding conditions like I do, commuting and ripping up back roads, then you would be amazed at how much practice you can get in a typical ride.

I constantly practice roll-ons/offs; maintenance throttle; smooth, gradual braking; looking through corners; turning as fast as possible for the turn; panic braking at lights with little to no traffic; the list just goes on and on.

I also work my slow speed moves often. I know I have to freak people out with not putting my foot down. There is a three way stop I have to go through four times a week on the way to and from school. I usually have to travel about 1/8 of a mile through traffic waiting to get through the intersection. My foot never touches the ground unless there is an officer around or someone looks shifty when I start to leave the sign.

[pilotgeorge747]

I've been practicing almost every other night or so for the past week or 2 and have really improved a lot. I found a nice vacant road at night. The course is pretty nice because I start with acceleration, 2 turns in each direction, quick stop, u turn, and repeat back to the original starting point and repeat. I think this course helps with a lot of important skills (accelerating from a stop, cornering, quick braking, and slow turns/u turns.

[Firehorse]

Thanks for the move, Alex. I thought about that section but I wasn't sure if putting it there would be preaching to the choir?

My last newbie practice session was taking off and having to quickly get from 1st to 2nd like when traffic is moving quickly and I need to get out of my driveway.

Earlier this week, it stalled when I did that.
I always release the clutch REALLY smoothly and progressively since they drilled it into my head at RTI (thanks instructors..)
It also stalled about 5 mins into my ride when I had it going after a light and gave it some throttle. ???

Doesn't stall on hills where I was expecting it too. Am I giving it too much throttle? Not enough before but now too much?

I have no trouble with going really slow and just using the clutch/brakes to control tricky maneuvers (feet up) so that takes away my idea that it's just my inexperience with the clutch.

That's going to be my practice until it never happens again.

[Firehorse]

Looks like I'm not alone in my practicing. For someone watching..."I'm honing my riding skills..." - sounds much cooler.

One of the things I never got to try but have heard of is doing the circle while leaning to the opposite side of the bike. Something about counterweight??

Has anyone learned this or know where I would need to use it? I thought maybe tight corners but I tend to lean in the direction of the turn. What am I missing about that maneuver?

[akima]

Originally Posted by Firehorse

It also stalled about 5 mins into my ride when I had it going after a light and gave it some throttle. ???

Doesn't stall on hills where I was expecting it too. Am I giving it too much throttle? Not enough before but now too much?

When slipping into first gear and moving away my instructors said to:
1) give it a very small amount of throttle
2) slowly release the clutch lever until you feel it bite (the engine starts to slowly try and drag the bike forward)
3) give it more throttle
4) slowly release more of the clutch as you need more speed.

I don't recall stalling my Ninjette once, so this technique seems to be working for me!

Originally Posted by Firehorse

I have no trouble with going really slow and just using the clutch/brakes to control tricky maneuvers (feet up) so that takes away my idea that it's just my inexperience with the clutch.

When I was learning my instructors agreed that in their experience the girls have much better balance than the guys for the tricky, slow speed manoeuvres. They said where the girls often did worse than the guys was quickly getting up to the required speed in traffic.

Just thought I'd share that!

Originally Posted by Firehorse

One of the things I never got to try but have heard of is doing the circle while leaning to the opposite side of the bike. Something about counterweight??

Has anyone learned this or know where I would need to use it? I thought maybe tight corners but I tend to lean in the direction of the turn. What am I missing about that maneuver?

The very first time I did circles and figure of 8's, I did that thing where you shift your butt to the side of the seat that is outside of the turn, and I kept my body upright while the bike leant over. I did it because I saw an instructor doing it. The next instructor I got told me off and said that I don't need to do all that shuffling about!

The 'counter leaning' (or whatever it is) did seem allow me to get tighter angles at slow speeds though. Maybe that's what it's for.

[exploring/carolina]

Practice being "smooth" transitioning into & out of curves, shifting, brake application, and throttle application.

I enjoy working on up hill & down hill sweepers on Route 181 north of Morganton NC.

[csmith12]

Originally Posted by exploring/carolina

Practice being "smooth" transitioning into & out of curves, shifting, brake application, and throttle application.

I enjoy working on up hill & down hill sweepers on Route 181 north of Morganton NC.

Knee to knee, smooth across the seat. Hell yea! And don't you just love the corners that have elevation change! I have a lot here in KY. Some are even blind curves.

[exploring/carolina]

Originally Posted by csmith12

Knee to knee, smooth across the seat. Hell yea! And don't you just love the corners that have elevation change! I have a lot here in KY. Some are even blind curves.

Started riding as a teenager, got married, had kids, and stopped riding for a while. In the mean time transferred with work to North Carolina. My Son wanted to get into riding motorcycles, so Dad had to buy a motorcycle, too.

Long story short discovered twisty/sweeper riding in the NC mountains, and love it!

Enjoy practicing every kind of twisty/sweeper with various elevation changes, too!

[choneofakind]

During the riding season, I go to the parking lot at the high school and practice panic braking and those u-turn in a box maneuvers they have you do at the msf course. I'm pro at those things I use them when I'm riding whenever I pass a driveway in a neighborhood, or a parking spot in the parking lot. My left hand u-turns are a little better than my right handers...

[JeffM]

Originally Posted by csmith12

Knee to knee, smooth across the seat. Hell yea!

+1 on this and all transitions. I practice being smooth as I can and not upsetting the chassis.

Oh, braking, all the time, everywhere, and at all speeds (if possible).

Jeff

[Xoulrath]

There is a great editorial by Andrew Trevitt in the latest issue of Sport Rider. It basically talks about smoothness and the need to slow down to go faster.

[WhiteRice]

I'm lucky I have a MSF course like 5 minutes away from me. I practice stopping and small figure eights.

I also do runs on the ERC track to practice my cornering.

[exploring/carolina]

Had a guy to tell me how he could not win a race until a friend told him not to push so hard, but have some fun and enjoy it. He started winning races.

It's really fun trying to see how smooth you can be. Along the way your pace picks up without trying. Believe being smooth makes you a safer rider, too.

[akima]

Slow is smooth, smooth is fast - or so they say.

[Lil_Green_Demon]

I sometimes practice u-turns & emergency stops at my job. I can only hit about 30 mph at work because anything above that sucks while riding over speedbumps.

[LoD575]

I practice emergency stops, u-turn, figure 8, stopping in a curve. The MSF course track is not far from my house which for me is a perfect area to practice.

[Firehorse]

Originally Posted by akima

When slipping into first gear and moving away my instructors said to:
1) give it a very small amount of throttle
2) slowly release the clutch lever until you feel it bite (the engine starts to slowly try and drag the bike forward)
3) give it more throttle
4) slowly release more of the clutch as you need more speed.

I don't recall stalling my Ninjette once, so this technique seems to be working for me!

Thanks Akima! That's what I do with emphasis on slowly and progressively releasing the clutch, I feel the sweet spot, I get going but it's after I get going that it sometimes stalls. I even managed to stall it when I had just shifted to 2nd and started to give it throttle. It would have been at about 5-6k rpms? Maybe a touch higher?

It doesn't happen all the time or even often so I don't think it;s something wrong with the bike but I don't want it to happen even once

When I was learning my instructors agreed that in their experience the girls have much better balance than the guys for the tricky, slow speed manoeuvres. They said where the girls often did worse than the guys was quickly getting up to the required speed in traffic.

Just thought I'd share that!

Hmm, you'd think they would gear their training to accommodate the differences? It was the same at my courses. Women too slow, men too uncoordinated.
Maybe because we have a lower center of gravity.
Try this to demonstrate, it's hilarious:
Sit on your knees on the floor and place a tissue in front of you so that it's just far enough away that you can touch it with your nose when you lean. Now with your hands behind your back, pick up the tissue with your lips.
Now get a male friend to try that.

It's payback for all the mean center-of-gravity jokes.
Oops, back to practice...

The very first time I did circles and figure of 8's, I did that thing where you shift your butt to the side of the seat that is outside of the turn, and I kept my body upright while the bike leant over. I did it because I saw an instructor doing it. The next instructor I got told me off and said that I don't need to do all that shuffling about!

The 'counter leaning' (or whatever it is) did seem allow me to get tighter angles at slow speeds though. Maybe that's what it's for.

Maybe good for tighter U-turns. I'll have to try it.

Thanks!

[Boom King]

I need to hit the parking lot again to practice figure 8s and quick stops. When I go on my rides and pull out of the driveway, I'll usually practice swerving from side to side in my lane for the first couple of stop signs. I'll target sewer manhole covers or darker spots on the road. I find that this quickly helps me get a better feel for balance rather than just starting out my ride by going in a straight line.

Once I hit the main roads, I practice smooth on/off throttle control, shifting, smooth turns and paying more attention to concepts like initiating a delayed apex. I've been also doing practice with blipping while braking. I have the blipping part down but my problem is if I also have my fingers on the front brake, when I blip the throttle with my thumb or palm, this also pulls my fingers on the brake and causes the front end of the bike to dive a bit.

[akima]

Originally Posted by Firehorse

Try this to demonstrate, it's hilarious:
Sit on your knees on the floor and place a tissue in front of you so that it's just far enough away that you can touch it with your nose when you lean. Now with your hands behind your back, pick up the tissue with your lips.
Now get a male friend to try that.

It's payback for all the mean center-of-gravity jokes.
Oops, back to practice...

I just tried that. It was easy!! So is that supposed to be harder for guys then? I want to hear what happens when the guys in here try it.

Originally Posted by akima

The very first time I did circles and figure of 8's, I did that thing where you shift your butt to the side of the seat that is outside of the turn, and I kept my body upright while the bike leant over. I did it because I saw an instructor doing it. The next instructor I got told me off and said that I don't need to do all that shuffling about!

The 'counter leaning' (or whatever it is) did seem allow me to get tighter angles at slow speeds though. Maybe that's what it's for.

Originally Posted by Firehorse

Maybe good for tighter U-turns. I'll have to try it.

Thanks!

I'd like to point out that I did that counter-leaning thing on a lighter and more nimble (for slow speed stuff) 125CC bike. I haven't tried it on my Ninjette. That's basically a disclaimer! For all I know the Ninjette hates it and will scream and buck you off if you try!

I didn't want to learn to ride on my Ninjette and potentially drop it while I was an ultimate noobie, so I rented a 125CC bike to learn on. I didn't end up dropping the 125CC bike, but I'm still glad I learnt on it. The slow speed stuff is a bit more difficult on the Ninjette compared to that bike I learned on, so I'm glad I did my test on the 125CC.

[cuong-nutz]

Every commute to work and back I practice smooth in-fast out, keeping my lines, learning every nook and cranny in the road, emergency braking, braking in turns, and u-turns. I'm still working the slow speed u-turns.

[CC Cowboy]

I practice not getting hit. Everything else comes naturally.

[dark_sparkles]

Originally Posted by akima

When slipping into first gear and moving away my instructors said to:
1) give it a very small amount of throttle
2) slowly release the clutch lever until you feel it bite (the engine starts to slowly try and drag the bike forward)
3) give it more throttle
4) slowly release more of the clutch as you need more speed.

I don't recall stalling my Ninjette once, so this technique seems to be working for me!

Thats great, i find it much easier to know what to do when i can see things in steps. Hopefully it'll reduce the amount of times i stall at the lights Thanks for that!

[hybridkid]

Originally Posted by Firehorse

I do. I always start my ride with an emergency stop session on the first side road or parking lot.
Makes me improve and tells me my brakes are working nicely.

What skills do you practice or need to practice?

If you never practice, why not?

Probably one of the best skills to practice. I think I'll do this at lunch today

[Ytse Frobozz]

The only thing I practice, whereby practice I mean "do something other than just try to get better at what I always do while riding" is downshifting while braking. It doesn't come naturally to me yet, despite all of my video game experience using sequential manual transmissions. Every once in a while I will dial up an emergency stop if no one is around, just to make sure I can still do them well.

[NYC Diesel]

I usually just swerve for a little and quick stop, theirs some great tips here that I'll have to try next time I get a open parking lot.

[cynicalkit]

I practice not falling. I haven't succeeded recently.

[rockNroll]

Bunny hopping

[itsa250bro]

I practice while riding too... I made a game out of avoiding manhole covers, miss one +1, go over one -1. It helps me stay sharp on avoiding road hazards, and emergency swerving and if I get too many-1's in a row I know its time for a break.

Next time I bunny hop one I'm giving myself a + 10!!

[akima]

Originally Posted by rockNroll

Bunny hopping

* Wonders what will turn up if she types "sport bike bunny hopping" into youtube *

...

Link to original page on YouTube.

[KawiKid860]

I practice while riding too... I made a game out of avoiding manhole covers, miss one +1, go over one -1. It helps me stay sharp on avoiding road hazards, and emergency swerving and if I get too many-1's in a row I know its time for a break.

Next time I bunny hop one I'm giving myself a + 10!!

That's a great idea! Gonna try it now lol.

Sometimes I do a quick emergency stop, and I always use both brakes when stopping so I have a good feel for both of them. The other night I was in a big empty parking lot and I was like what the heck ima do some u-turns. AMAZED myself! was doing them so perfectly, well within the limits of the msf box, which I had trouble with on the msf bikes and was alright with on my own bike, but now I'm even better! Still no master though lol, lately when turning I've been really focusing on looking where I want to go and it helps a lot, makes turns seem a lot more stable

[Firehorse]

Hmm, just noticed another weakness in my riding that I could use practice on...

When turning left at an intersection where my lane is single and the other side of the road has two lanes (turning lane and straight through lane), I tend to cut the angle quite a bit.
Wonderful at night when no one's around but should really work on the sharp part of that turn. Loooong arc and then a quick straighten out while looking over my right for people turning right.

Oh, dear, another excuse to go riding!

[alex.s]

i just changed my tires, but before i did every turn i practiced my drifting skills.

[KawiKid860]

I usually practice clutch drop wheelies. Cant wait to get a l1terbike so I can just control my wheelies with the throttle