RIDING TECHNIQUES: Steering No.4

Brouggy's Steering Bible: Part Four - Throttle control

So... now we know how and where to steer... how many times should we do it in a corner?

This one's easy. Write this down and commit it to memory. 'There is one steering change per corner'. We'll discuss the exceptions a little later. What this means is you only steer the bike once for it to complete the turn. After you counter-steer, to complete the turn, the bike wouldn't really care if you weren't even on it! Okay, that's a little glib, but after steering, all the bike requires from you is to exercise good throttle control to allow it to complete that turn successfully.

This is our ultimate goal. If you only have to steer the bike once at the entry of the turn, you no longer need any other input to remain on that arc through the turn. Once you have begun the arc you desire by turning it once at the correct point, all that is left for you to do is to stabilise the bike with the throttle. This alone will keep the bike 'tracking' through the corner.

In earlier columns we have discussed the concept that there is a sequence of things you must do to successfully negotiate a turn. It is how well you execute this sequence of actions that determines your cornering outcome. We should be steering the bike only once for any corner and this is an important part of the sequence. Before steering you must have your speed setcorrectly for the corner. If you are still attempting to get your speed right at your turn point, will you be able to effectively steer the bike only once?

After steering the bike, we want to be on the throttle as early as possible and progressively accelerating through the corner. Can you smoothly and progressively apply the throttle if you are trying to make adjustments to the steering? NO

To be effective with any particular action of riding, you must have completed the previous action before initiating the next. In short, you can only do one thing at a time.

You may find that on longer corners that you can't just steer the bike once and have it complete the turn the way you want it to.

These type of turns are commonly known as 'double apex' turns, but I like to think of them as being two corners masquerading as one. In a double apex corner you do have to make a second steering change to remain on an arc that will see you exit the turn where you want to be. Most times the second steering change is so subtle that riders can do it without even realising it, but make no mistake, it is there. The reason it is so subtle is because the bike is already leaned over in the turn, making the amount of input needed at the bars only a very small percentage of what would normally be required to get the bike to begin a turn from being fully upright.

So how does this second steering adjustment effect our sequence of doing one thing at a time? Well... can you accelerate and steer at the same time? Not really. Can you slow the bike down and steer at the same time? Again, notreally. So how do you get to do the second steering input without upsetting the sequence? Simple really. You must roll the throttle on from the first steering input, otherwise the motorcycle won't track around the first part of the turn. For the second steering change we can't keep rolling the throttle on and we can't exactly roll it off either, as either of these won't get us the desired result. Tricky, huh...

In the first instance you will probably find the bike won't tighten the arc (which is what you're wanting it to do) and in the second it will load up the front of the bike and make it tend to run wide. What you can do though is simply stop rolling the throttle on for a moment.

That will not exactly slow the bike down, but it will slow the speed of acceleration, meaning a small amount of weight will be transferred to the front, making it easier to steer. By holding the throttle constant for that moment while you put in the small steering input, you are not interfering with the bike in any other way and it allows you to continue rolling the throttle on immediately after steering, which will once again stabilise the bike.

Whether you're in a long corner that requires you to put in two steering efforts, or a short corner where only one is required, if you have to sacrifice speed or position for any part of the turn, you do it in the early part, so you can make gains on the exit.

Good luck with your riding.

Steve Brouggy is the owner of the

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