Mission accomplished.Originally Posted by shortleg0521
I did not know that leaning "down and in" while negotiating a sharp curve increases traction and actually straightens the bike up, gaining more ground clearance. I did not believe this when I heard it, I figured they had it backwards because this maneuver is for higher speeds only. Nope. I was scraping pegs like no tomorrow when I tried it, and sure enough, it allowed for quite a bit more leaning and higher speeds through the course.
Other reflections:
- I am a better rider than I thought I was. Going in, I was not sure of my abilities to handle the bike. During the course, I felt very comfortable going through the exercises at a pretty high rate of speed compared to others.
- I hate to admit it, but I think I was apprehensive about scraping the pegs before today. I kept thinking it would startle me and upset the bike. I was scraping all morning during the ARC today and actually grew to enjoy it until they told me to correct it with the technique above.
- I learned that we, as riders, are in control of most situations that result in crashes.
- I increased my trail braking proficiency quite a bit by the end of the exercises.
- I feel much better about emergency braking now, a skill I always procrastinate on practicing.
Overall, a good experience. I highly recommend it to any rider with experience. The instructors said that the curriculum is changing, which will result in the outdated classroom-based portion being eliminated and keeping it all on the track with facilitated discussions in between exercises. I may take it again next year to check it out!
Interesting tidbits:
-There were two members of the Armed Forces present today ... apparently, those enlisted with motorcycle licenses are required to take a steady diet of training courses. I guess the military wants to protect their investment.
-12 participants, 9 male, 3 female
-12 bikes; 7 Harleys, a CBR 250, an F6B (me), an early 80s Yamaha Cafe Racer, a Yamaha cruiser of some type, and a VStar 950.
-Ages ranged from 20 to 73
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