Keep your dang feet on the pegs . Watch for Smurfs !
Keep your dang feet on the pegs ! Yes you heard me lol . Ok so what am I talking about ? Well let me paint the picture for you. When I took a motorcycle course years ago they taut us to come to a stop using both brakes . Then you put your feet down . Ok sounds normal right ? Ok let me go further , now your at the light with both your feet down , light turns green you start to go your feet are dangling through the intersection THEN! it happens a smurf runs out in front of you . You try to swerve but because your feet are dangling your bike wobbles unbalanced instead of steering and manoeuvring. You grab the front brake with the handle bars turned ,,,, SKUPUNK!! flop on the ground you go! What just happened ? Simple you were not in full control of the bike.
Fast forward to the courses today. Now we learn to come to a stop with both brakes the same , or if your at low speed below 16kms or 10 mph you can just use the back brake . Never just use the front brake only , Why ? you need the back brake to stabilise the bike. If you just use the front brake only it will dive the front end and if your bars are not fully straight you can dump the bike. Even though the front break gives you 70% of the stopping power you need the back break to be smooth. Its best to use both brakes on ideal surfaces , if its a rough surface use the back brake only . If you lose traction on the back wheel you skid , if you lose traction on the front you fall. So what does this have to do with feet on the pegs ? Everything ! Ok you come to a full stop now instead of putting both feet on the ground you just put your left foot down. Your right foot can now cover the back brake . Light turns green your start to move your bike is more balanced with one foot already on the right peg , you bring your left foot up as soon as you can . Out comes a smurf in front of you but now you can make a manoeuvre with full control and precision .Its simple , when your feet are on the pegs your bike is balanced , when your feet are off the pegs the bike is unbalanced. This is why I keep saying practice your low speed handling .Now just watch for smurfs!
Fast forward to the courses today. Now we learn to come to a stop with both brakes the same , or if your at low speed below 16kms or 10 mph you can just use the back brake . Never just use the front brake only , Why ? you need the back brake to stabilise the bike. If you just use the front brake only it will dive the front end and if your bars are not fully straight you can dump the bike. Even though the front break gives you 70% of the stopping power you need the back break to be smooth. Its best to use both brakes on ideal surfaces , if its a rough surface use the back brake only . If you lose traction on the back wheel you skid , if you lose traction on the front you fall. So what does this have to do with feet on the pegs ? Everything ! Ok you come to a full stop now instead of putting both feet on the ground you just put your left foot down. Your right foot can now cover the back brake . Light turns green your start to move your bike is more balanced with one foot already on the right peg , you bring your left foot up as soon as you can . Out comes a smurf in front of you but now you can make a manoeuvre with full control and precision .Its simple , when your feet are on the pegs your bike is balanced , when your feet are off the pegs the bike is unbalanced. This is why I keep saying practice your low speed handling .Now just watch for smurfs!
As per your request Reg:
ReplyDeleteKeep your dang feet on the pegs ! Yes, you heard me lol. Ok, so what am I talking about? Well, let me paint the picture for you. When I took a motorcycle course years ago they taught us to come to a stop using both brakes and then putting your feet down. Ok, sounds normal right ? Well, let me go further: now when you’re at the light with both your feet down, the light turns green you start to go your feet are dangling through the intersection THEN it happens! A smurf runs out in front of you!! You try to swerve but because your feet are dangling your bike wobbles unbalanced instead of steering and manoeuvring. You grab the front brake with the handle bars turned ,,,, SKUPUNK- flop on the ground you go!! What just happened? Simple. You were not in full control of the bike.
Let’s fast forward to the courses today. Now we learn to come to a stop with both brakes , or if you’re going at a low speed (below 16kms or 10 mph) you can just use the back brake . Never just use only the front brake. Why? Because you need the back brake to stabilise the bike. If you only use just the front brake it will dive the front end and if your bars are not fully straight you can dump the bike. Even though the front brake gives you 70% of the stopping power you need the back brake to be smooth and even on the road. Therefore, it’s best to use both brakes on ideal surfaces. However, if it’s a rough surface then use the back brake only. If you lose traction on the back wheel - you skid and if you lose traction on the front- you fall. So what does this have to do with keeping your feet on the pegs? Everything! Ok, you come to a full stop now and instead of putting both feet on the ground you just put your left foot down. Your right foot can now cover the back brake. Light turns green and you start to move but now your bike is more balanced with one foot already on the right peg. You bring your left foot up as soon as you can . Out comes a smurf in front of you but now you can make a manoeuvre with full control and precision . It’s that simple! When your feet are on the pegs your bike is balanced , when your feet are off the pegs the bike is unbalanced. This is why I keep saying practice your low speed handling. Now just watch for smurfs!