3 Skills to being FASTER

[Cav]

This is something I subscribed to and arrived in my mailbox yesterday.. I agree with the 3 key points although I believe there should be 5: braking and body position. 1 and 2 might be new to some of you but 3 is something I'm sure everyone knows about - look where you want to go and you will go there.

Skill 1 – Steering

People have been jumping on two wheeled cycles for decades with little thought going into how they should steer.

Typically the rider will figure things out naturally and in no time they’ll be able to change direction with ease.

But by becoming aware of how we steer and how differences in steering can change things for us, MASSIVE amounts of potential can be unlocked.

You see, our steering efforts are a MAJOR limiting factor for taking speed into a turn.

Did you know that?

A rider that can steer faster (that is, get to their desired lean angle quicker) will be able to take more speed into a turn than a rider with a slower steering/lean rate.

For this reason it’s a great idea to become aware of how we steer the bike so that we can begin consciously working on our steering rate.

Those with slow steering rates will also be hindering their exit, because they’ll be forced to begin turning earlier.

This ultimately means that your exit is going to be restricted because your shallower entry line is making you run wider on the exit.

So upping your steering rate not only improves entry speed, but exit speed too!

This is a skill that should not be ignored!

Skill 2 – Throttle Control

When many riders hear the words throttle control, they typically think that their most important throttle efforts are at the exit of a corner.

While it is true that corner exits are vitally important for fast lap times, when we talk about throttle control we are talking more about how we use the throttle in the middle of the corner and how that helps us.

The throttle isn’t just a tool to speed the bike up. Oh no.

It actually has a pretty important job outside of that. It has the ability to affect (and improve) a key component to a happy motorcycle.

Stability.

The way the throttle is able to do this is the simple (yet often overlooked) way it affects the bike’s weight distribution.

In the middle of a corner where stability is vitally important what with being much closer to the edge of traction, we want to use the throttle to give the bike the stability it wants, and the stability it/we need.

To do this, we want to crack the throttle and start a slow roll on to stop the bike decelerating.

In fact, we actually want to roll on enough to cause the bike to speed up slightly so that we can achieve the ideal weight distribution, which is a slight bias to the rear.

Once you get that throttle cracked and rolling on, you’re giving your bike exactly what it wants and in turn giving yourself one very stable machine underneath you.

This benefits your exit too because you’ve already transferred some of the weight to the rear, so the tyre is less likely to be ‘surprised’ when you start your exit routine.

Learning the right way gives your bike exactly what it wants, allowing you to do exactly what you need to do.

Skill 3 – Vision

In my opinion the most important (and overlooked) skill for going seriously quick.

Vision is something that is typically tucked away in the back of the mind of a newcomer to the track.

That’s a mistake.

Your actions out on track are governed by the decisions your brain makes based on the information your senses are feeding it.

Vision is by far and away the most crucial sense to have working for you if you want to reach even a remotely competent level on the track.

In the end, a rider is no better than his visual skills.

The above two skills certainly need to be there first, but it is your visual ability that lets you utilise those skills to the fullest.

Not only that, but having your vision up to scratch is what will get you (and keep you) out of trouble when the going gets a little rough.

There’s a reason why all the motorcycle magazines tell you to ‘look ahead’.

There’s quite a bit more to the ideal visual process than that, but as a general rule it is very good advice.

If you can see what’s coming, where you’re headed and where you want to be, you’ll be doing a lot better than a lot of people out there.

Trust me.

Using reference points and looking at the right things at the right time really does unlock masses of potential in the way of time and rider mentality (being calm and in control).

If you want to be seriously quick, work on your visuals!

[duke63]

So not:

Twist the throttle further

Brake less

Don't fall off

Must be where I am going wrong.

[Kwacky]

Body position is my biggest problem. It's hard switching from a defensive upright position needed every day for commuting.

[Perkles]

being fat is my biggest problem

[TonyB]

Wouldn't worry Perkles, bet you're planted in the corners

[Kwacky]

We put a kebab on the back of an instructors bike - you should see Perkles chase it down.

[Cav]

This is more about the individual parts that make you a faster rider.

The fastest way around a track is different - you should be at full throttle for as much as possible in a lap, braking as little as possible and rarely using neither the brake or throttle. The line you take should take this into account. Whatever bike you are ride should be taken into account too

[Perkles]

I did quite a few donnington evening sessions with tuition from nial Mackenzie and my mate who owns rst
They told me to stop dragging my knee ,square the corner off ,use all of the track, look for the exit of the corner and pin the the throttle more.It took a lot of confidence to really pin the throttle to the stop and learn how to stand the bike up quicker but it definitely worked

[Cav]

That's exactly it.. it works on the road to an extent too. I can either ride with my knee dragging on 8 out of 10 corners or get 1 out of 10 but be miles quicker.

The only corners I consistantly had knee down were Redgate, 'hairpin' at bottom of craner, coppice and melbourne hairpin. I'm pretty sure I could drag knee on every corner if I wanted to but it's not fast. Also saves £40 a time on knee sliders

[steveo9913]

Body position is my biggest problem. It's hard switching from a defensive upright position needed every day for commuting.

The thing I always remember for this is imagine trying to headbutt the mirrors, you won't be far wrong then!

[Cav]

The thing that shock me most in my own track photos in terms of body position is how effortless I look on the bike but while I'm on it it's far from effortless!!

Someone could be forgiven for thinking I wasn't trying hard enough haha

I do think people get caught up on body position too much though, I'm faster when I don't drag knee that much for example