First day of practicing in parking lot

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freddievercetti

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So I got a CBR125 today in the morning, decided to start practicing this afternoon at a semi-vacant parking lot that was close and just across the street.

I set up some saucer discs I bought from Canadian Tire on the lot to practice slow speed steering, which I didn't do so hot during RTI. You can take a look at the picture for the setup.

http://i.imgur.com/QHrJUPK.jpg

I did make a few minor changes like making the turn less snappy 90 degree turn, but I'm still having trouble not running over the saucers. I forgot to take a picture at the end because I moved on to push steering, but there were quite a few wrecked saucers.

Also for push steering, I'm not sure if I'm actually doing it. Sometimes it just feels like I'm leaning the bike over to cause the bike to turn the direction (speed was around 20km/h on the speedometer, can't get any faster in the parking lot). I don't really know which is coming first, the push and then lean, or the lean and then the push. I feel like I'm cheating the push steering by leaning first.

Can any riders give me some advice?
 
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Where are you practicing? I would love to join ya! I have a CBR125 too :)
 
Push steering will become more apparent the faster you go, it's hard to practice it in a parking lot scenario. It's a combination of both lean and push, however push steering is how you actually turn a motorcycle, leaning will not take you around a corner.
 
At high speeds the only way to lean the bike is by countersteering. The bike will not budge otherwise.

If you're going slow then you can just lean the bike underneath you without countersteering and lean your body in the opposite direction to counterbalance the bike.
 
Oh and in both cases be conscious to not hold on to the bars too tight. Try to hold on to the bike with your lower body and keep the arms loose. If you grip too tight you will feel unstable trying to turn.
 
Juice said:
Might not completely pertain to what you're asking, but watch this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVWNinsmkAw
Click to expand...


Juice said:
Might not completely pertain to what you're asking, but watch this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVWNinsmkAw
Click to expand...

THANK YOU VERY MUCH!

That was very explanative, if that is a word? Is the stuff after 30 minutes worth watching? Its going onto the track, and I would prefer to keep "lessons" in patches first.

Have to be stable with throttle control, (which I'm not), have to not lean the bike but really push the handlebars, have to give a little speed turning out of each slalom u-point or u-turn practice, and trust in my bike's tire (they still have alot of tread I think).

But I still need some help with the slow speed steering. I remember RTI taught us how to use the throttle, the clutch and the rear brakes together to keep it standing, but I still don't get how to control all three of them together very well. Especially the rear brakes, what do they do to help straighten the bike?

Appreciate all the help!
 
Yes, watch that video. It taught me a lot about riding.
If you are practicing in the west end, i'd like to join.

You can practice counter steering with a slalom setup, weave in and out of the cones. (That's what we did at rider training)
 
The skills explained in the video apply to the street as well, even though they're demonstrating it on a track.

I would suggest watching the entire video once, and then go back to reference whichever technique you're trying to practice.

You should also get the book, it explains things a lot better.
 
Good to see you out learning and working on things you need to work on.

My advice which I learned and at first had a hard time doing that corner... Head up and look into the distance. I thought at first it made no sense and thought I would always hit the cones but its like magic lol. As for using the rear brake and throttle/clutch control think of it almost like stretching your bike and causing it to stay balanced. Throttle trying to pull forward while rear brake trying to pull back.

Practice practice. Get to know the bike and how to handle it. It will come to you with practice.
 
First off, I applaud you for taking the initiative to get the cones and practise on your own.

Slow speed riding is an art and needs regular practise. Anyone can go fast in a straight line. The trick is that you need to feather your clutch in your friction zone, maintain an elevated throttle and ride your rear brake to balance the bike. Your speed is controlled by your clutch control.

For your 90° turn, angle your bike to the right for a right handed turn. Same as above for your turns as well. Slow speed manouvering is something that we all have to practise.

Enjoy!
 
Why don't you practice the m2 course over and over as we'll with your bike. you'll get used to all the angles with your ride.
 
I was practicing at the parking lot of a community church called Westside yesterday and today. I got a warning to ask first next time at the front office I want to practice since its private property, but they let me practice for the rest of today at the vacant end of the lot. I apologized and will not be practicing there next week as I think they don't take too kindly to motorcyclists anyways. (stereotyping I think, since its a church property after all, so they like to keep activities clean there like choirs and sports).

I took a leap of faith and went onto Sunday streets in search of a new parking lot. After 4pm or 5pm, Square One's farmer market on Sunday empties out, which makes it a great place to practice faster speeds, around 30km/h, so it helped me understand push steering alot better now, don't be afraid of the bike leaning, the bike is still gripping the ground. But some of the grates are kinda deep so can get bumpy.

I tried setting up a square to practice just slow speed steering in a circle first. It was actually kinda helpful, forces you to keep looking right or left depending which direction you going. Was rough at the start but ended up getting better. Still not great but better than the start with alot of flat/broken saucers. I went out to practice without the advice here, so I will try just having some throttle, and using just clutch and rear brakes to control speed. But whenever I turn, I lose control on the throttle and the clutch alot of the times. Need practice keeping the controls stable while steering the bike.

Also practicing using the left turn and right turn signals on the bike before I left the Westside church parking lot. Signal, stop, look both ways, go, look again then keep going for a while.

Also when you mean angle your bike to the right for a right handed turn, do you mean leaning it? So steer right and lean right as well? I tend to fall and I stab my foot out to prevent falling, do you accelerate at the end to keep you from falling?

Kinda getting long-winded here, but near 6 or so I went out on the streets to have some fun on Mississauga Road. Realized riding on Sunday afternoon was really great, relatively few traffic, didn't encounter any sort of dangerous drivers getting to Mississauga Road, generally really confidence boosting. Spotted a few riders on the same stretch of road, some give a low-five, some don't. Also, how do those guys with half-helmets on cruisers ride without getting their face shot? I have had a rock hit my visor, no damage but I supposed it would hurt if it hit the face? CBR125 is a real noisy bike to get any speed lol. Getting to 30 on first gear is just hilarious :P.
 
Try this one

[video=youtube;xJ1SmTqyfc0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJ1SmTqyfc0&feature=c4-overview-vl&list=PL125B9E486F8F8B3E[/video]
 
Baggsy said:
Try this one

[video=youtube;xJ1SmTqyfc0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJ1SmTqyfc0&feature=c4-overview-vl&list=PL125B9E486F8F8B3E[/video]
Click to expand...

I notice that the rider is maintaining the same speed, whether its straight, doing the 180. During the turn he leans and also steers to the direction he is turning into while maintaining the same speed. Is that the key? For me I definitely can not maintain one speed doing the slow stuff. Will try just slow speed straights next week.
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