Dulling the Senses

[csmith12]

As riders, we soak in all types of information while in motion. Some info is purposely sought after and other info is integrated into our very existence and cannot be tuned out. All these play major role in the rider’s ability to comprehend, react and predict the actions that should be taken into account based on the situation at hand. As far as riding goes, experienced riders know that too much feedback will negatively affect your riding, no matter the form it takes. Some are subtle, while other screams out in attention.

Let’s take a look at some of the ways riders deal with visual, audible and touch data as it floods in.

Sight
Your eyes are the window to the world of riding. Why would you want to dull the effectiveness of such a valuable tool? Simply put, it allows the rider more freedoms and control over the perception of time, space and speed. Maybe “dulling” is the incorrect word in this case, controlled masking possibly is more appropriate in this context. An effective way to mask your sense of speed is to look farther ahead. Training your visual skills to look farther ahead for a reference point has been shown to slow the way time is rendered, vice versa for closer focus points. The farther away an object in focus is, the more time is perceived to reach it. The goal of gaining this extra time and space is to boost confidence and allow time for a judgment on a course of action. A rider must also be careful with visual distance as it can leave a rider visually lost without enough time and space to stay in control. Finding the distance in which to look that works for any given rider is largely based on that riders comfortable pace, ability to process what they are seeing with perspective and in enough time to react confidently & accordingly.

Where does peripheral vision fit in? It’s a vital tool for tracking speed, depth and lateral line selection. Let’s face it, do you turn you head to look over at the rider beside you mid-corner or do you just see them out the corner of your eye? Another vital use of peripheral vision is tracking and accounting for focus points that are no longer priority but still need to be factored into descisions. An effective way to maximize the use of peripheral vision is to take advantage of the event and trigger data it provides. Event data may come in the form of seeing a rider to your outside, alerting you to hold your line. An example trigger is hitting a turn in or braking marker as it seen peripherally. New riders effective field of view is narrow, as riding experience grows and a riders eyes are further trained, a wider view can be achieved and utilized.

Sound
Does your helmet allow for easy entry of wind? How many riders do you know that where earplugs? Why do they do this? Is it solely to protect their hearing or are their other benefits? At 150mph the decibel level of wind is substantial and provides yet another indication of speed. Another factor is the high revving sound of the engine you’re riding. You hear a high revving engine, so you must be going fast right?

Dulling or muting these sounds can relieve a rider of artificial queues of excessive speed or allow for greater tolerances of speed based on audible clues. It is also worthy of note that some French researches have linked sound to a decreases latency in visual responses. Many track day riders and racers will also attest to earplugs gaining them the ability to drop 1-2 seconds of time off their pace per lap.

Touch
How well do your gloves fit? What materials are they made of? And how tight do you hold on to the bars of your bike? How about your boots, are the soles worn thin? Have you taken a really close look at your seat? Why are the seats of race bikes different?

Depending on the rider, gear, bike and the riding surface, a rider may experience different levels of feedback from the bars, pegs and even via the seat. For example; on a bumpy surface being loose on the bars and light in the seat, removes excessive input from and to the rider. Riding light in the saddle also will aid your suspension to work more effectively and displace much feedback received through the buttocks and spine. Attention to the vibration through the rear sets can be a distraction from the rumbling twins of a RC8. On the flip side, some riders rely heavily on the feedback received through the bars and seat to alert them of the performance and level of traction of the bike.

And then there is touching body parts on the riding surface. What do these inputs tell a rider and what effect do they have? Why do the fast riders “touch and go”?

Let’s also not forget that the sense of touch plays a massive role in the feeling of stability and balance.

How do you dull your senses so you can go faster?

[Motofool]

[ally99]

Like it!

[Joekuh]

That sound paragraph is really good info I never thought about before. Good stuff.

[JeffM]

Very nice Chris. Instead of "dulling" vision I like to think in terms of "soft focus".

Jeff

[lgk]

Originally Posted by Joekuh

That sound paragraph is really good info I never thought about before. Good stuff.

when i was helping with sound abatement in industrial buildings.
noise was a prime factor in loss of concentration, productivity, and energy.

when we lowered the the sound levels to a manageable level. the staff was much more productive and quality improved immensely.

[NevadaWolf]

I like having my ears open so I can hear the bike. But now I'll try ear plugs to see if it improves my feel of the bike since that is one input I'm unaware of.

Thanks!!

[lgk]

Originally Posted by NevadaWolf

I like having my ears open so I can hear the bike. But now I'll try ear plugs to see if it improves my feel of the bike since that is one input I'm unaware of.

Thanks!!

definitely give them a try, if you have a good exhaust you'll still hear the bike.

you'll feel less tired after a long ride with the plugs.

[RedOctober]

To all those who "I don't wear plugs because I can't listen to my bike"...try it.
Don't try the foam ones, try the silicone plugs you can mold to your ear. You will still hear the bike, it'll take a bit of time to get used to it but you will be able to shift at normal points. I used to be in the "ride by hearing" camp on the track, then got tired of being half-deaf by end of the day. Now I feel uncomfortable without earplugs.

[Gurk]

Great type up chris. Agree on all accounts.

[csmith12]

Great add Andrei. I totally forgot about fatigue from the barrage of sound from riding all day.

[Motofool]

Weekend bump for a great riding guide.

I had to use the technique during this week, when I encountered heavy rain and cross wind each day of my commute.

It was way too easy to get distracted by the many new sensations associated to those: sticky gloves, slippery gear lever, noise form cars splashing around, the mist and droplets on the visor, the crossed gusts getting stronger when close to big trucks, the certainty that no driver could or expected seeing me, the more slippery seat and the impaired vision through the rear mirrors.
Even the noise and vibration of the engine and the feed back from the tires felt different.

The mind naturally gets more receptive when sensing things that are different than everyday sensations.

I remembered this thread and made a conscious effort to dull my senses and to filter only what I knew was necessary for survival and smooth riding.

[NewbieNinja]

Wow, what great poetry this makes.

[csmith12]

If you liked that write up, I could be convinced to do more. Just shoot me some subject matter that is interesting to you and give me some time to do my homework, research and or recall my experience.

[oblivion007]

cool stuffs

[NewbieNinja]

How about the thrill of entering a corner at full speed?

[csmith12]

Originally Posted by NewbieNinja

How about the thrill of entering a corner at full speed?

I could do that, not sure how it would work out though, as it's different for everyone. I think I have a good video that could come with that write up.

[NewbieNinja]

You could talk about the roaring of the engine as the bike pushes you threw the apex as you hold on to the edge of the bike with full trust.

That should get you started.

[csmith12]

I have learned something new in relation to this topic. The more your bumps and such your suspension eats up, the less you feel. Not that it wasn't obvious before... but it took me too long to link these two things together.

[EternalNewb]

Definitely a useful write-up. I like the bit about riding with earplugs.

[Sirref]

Originally Posted by csmith12

I have learned something new in relation to this topic. The more your bumps and such your suspension eats up, the less you feel. Not that it wasn't obvious before... but it took me too long to link these two things together.

hahaha, this is true but that's typically indicative of a softer suspension which only offers vague road feel and doesn't inspire confidence.

On the sound point I've personally found that earbud headphones tend to cut out my sense of wind and engine sound which causes me to ride at a much quicker than normal pace on back roads without realizing it, highway riding is pretty much the same speed though since I always ride slightly faster than the flow of traffic on the highway.

On the touch note, I recently picked up and built up a pregen 250 and the differences from my 300 in the gas tank/seat/pegs are massive to the point where the bike feels almost foreign to me despite the fact that I have put thousands of miles on my pregen in the past before blowing it's engine. It's shocking how such minor differences alter my perception of speed

[alex.s]

i realized that recently i dont trust my ears anymore for engine noises. i've been keeping a tach on the bike now and find myself glancing at it often. i used to wear earplugs but i stopped for no reason... i dont listen anymore. i think honestly it is a side effect of doing race starts. you can't hear your own bike for **** so i started associating it with the tach instead

[csmith12]

Launching at the drag stirp has taught me this.

I put my wedding tackle right up on the tank and lean forward a lil bit, you will definitely feel the vibration there. I also can't hear my bike very well at during a race start, so I have substituted it with feel. I only glance at the tach during the 2 board.

[alex.s]

Originally Posted by csmith12

Launching at the drag stirp has taught me this.

I put my wedding tackle right up on the tank and lean forward a lil bit, you will definitely feel the vibration there. I also can't hear my bike very well at during a race start, so I have substituted it with feel. I only glance at it during the 2 board.

as far as BP for launches, i'm all way way up on the tank face shield is basically on top of the wind shield, not using the seat at all or pegs, hold on to the bars tight, redline smooth out pops a nice wheelie in first but not big enough to loop it if you're on the front wheel, left foot comes up first to the shifter to put on the pressure and right when i hit redline in first the wheel is coming down i'll use the kill to go into second at wide open. third is a regular shift on the 250 though and at the local track you're already fighting for a spot in the first turn. but i have to use the tach first and get my rpm set at the right throttle position... yeah definitely can feel the rpms in the nuts when you're on the tank. you're right. but hard to know how much buzzing on the nuts is enough buzzing you know? i guess now that i think about it more.... its easy to feel redline on the nuts. so i guess i just bring it to redline then back it down a pinch

[csmith12]

I connected another dot after thinking about a question I received in a PM last night.

If your head is very low and to the left or right of the tank during cornering, the bike is blocking a major area of your FOV. Since you can't see through the bike anyway, might as well look to where there is benefit. ie, you're using body position to filter out visual cues that are not as important to the task at hand.