Practice drills in parking lots? Cones? | GTAMotorcycle.com

Practice drills in parking lots? Cones?

Corsara

Corsara

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I was putting my man cave in order and found "Total Control" by Lee Parks book laying in a corner, which I bought some time ago but had forgotten about its existence. Kind of got carried away reading, and it contains a bunch of pretty neat drills and exercises that I would like to try doing somewhere.

So, I got the idea that I could buy 3-4 small orange cones from somewhere and some day go to a parking lot, set up my drills and practice a bit. Do you know if there are any implications of doing so? What are the rules regarding cops showing up and busting my *** for doing drills in the parking lot, or those places are considered private and only the owners (e.g. Walmart, Fortinos, etc.) would be entitled to complain?

Example cones:

1) http://www.canadiantire.ca/AST/brow...842038P/Field+Marker+Disc+Cones.jsp?locale=en

2) http://www.canadiantire.ca/AST/brow.../Orange+Marker+Cones.jsp?locale=en#product_aa
 
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Funnily enough... a few of us were talking about that earlier and thinking of trying to set something up.

And I would guess solong as you leave if asked to (by the cops of property owner) then you'll be fine. Can't really charge you for being there unless a sign says you're not allowed, or you don't leave if asked to.
 
I practice drills in parking lots all the time in Hamilton (Bike and when winter is fresh in my car).
Just make sure it is empty and stay away from potentially hitting anybody/anything other than concrete. No stunt sessions, rev limiter testing, annoying people in general. Keep it small (2-3 people tops) no large crowds. Reasonable hours if homes near by. Just use some common sense.
If they ask you to leave, leave. Don't give attitude it is still their property. It is considered private and they can call the cops if they want.
I would think that if you are reasonable, friendly & respectful that they wouldn't charge you for practicing/improving your driving skills & they would just let you go. I've never had an issue.
 
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just remember that the parking lots have not been prepped for what you are doing like we do in the classes. And make sure the surface is good as well. As for cones, you can take some tennis balls and cut them in half. work pretty good. Small and easy to take along on the bike.

If you have not taken the Class (Total Control) better yet come see us for some formal instruction first then go practice.
 
You can pack a whole stack of cones--- perhaps 20, of the first kind you listed, in a backpack. Some drills you might need a lot of cones (like a slalom or offset slalom).

If you are doing Lee Parks drills, take out some tire pressure as a precaution, so, unless the ride is close to home, I'd also bring a tire pressure gauge and a small tire inflator.

I would do some braking drills first to build heat up in the tires before doing cornering drills.

In addition to sportbike-type drills, you can do some motor-cop-type slow drills (counter-balance practice). I've used a DVD like Ride Like a Pro, and it's full of parking lot drills to do, along with cone layouts.
 
The problem with both the types of cones listed. First ones are plastic and do not give great traction when driven over. Second set ar tall and light and move when the wind blows.
 
Thanks everyone for the great responses! I especially liked the idea of the tennis balls cut in half. The tire pressure advice is good, but is it really necessary? It will certainly increase some of the traction, but on the other hand I want to simulate the real world as much as possible. Or your advice was due to the fact that I can't get the tires warmed up enough in the parking lot?

Anyway, looking forward to some parking lot fun this Sunday :)
 
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Corsara said:
Thanks everyone for the great responses! I especially liked the idea of the tennis balls cut in half. The tire pressure advice is good, but is it really necessary? It will certainly increase some of the traction, but on the other hand I want to simulate the real world as much as possible. Or your advice was due to the fact that I can't get the tires warmed up enough in the parking lot?

Anyway, looking forward to some parking lot fun this Sunday :)
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If your tire pressures arent set right, you'll end up on your head.

Just saying ..
 
infernobuster said:
If your tire pressures arent set right, you'll end up on your head.

Just saying ..
Click to expand...

I check the air pressure in my tires before every 2nd ride. My question was why it is necessary to lower the pressure from its standard values just for the parking lot practice session, and I assume it's because you can't keep the tire temperature (hence also pressure) high enough when you're on the parking lot grounds as opposed to the street.
 
I know what you mean by simulating street conditions. But, generally, when practicing, you'll probably push things a bit more than on the street. For example, you wouldn't drag your knee on the street (at least most normal people would not), but you could conceivably get a knee down in parking lot practice.

Because of the greater lean angles in parking lot practice, you'll want warm tires and somewhat lower pressure for added traction... just like you would for a track day. Taking out 4psi front and rear (cold) might be a good start, but it depends on your tire.

When I did the Lee Parks course in Houston a couple years back, they reduced our tire pressures before setting out. Then, before riding home, we had to add pressure back to avoid the extra wear on the street.
 
Moto Ronto said:
I know what you mean by simulating street conditions. But, generally, when practicing, you'll probably push things a bit more than on the street. For example, you wouldn't drag your knee on the street (at least most normal people would not), but you could conceivably get a knee down in parking lot practice.

Because of the greater lean angles in parking lot practice, you'll want warm tires and somewhat lower pressure for added traction... just like you would for a track day. Taking out 4psi front and rear (cold) might be a good start, but it depends on your tire.

When I did the Lee Parks course in Houston a couple years back, they reduced our tire pressures before setting out. Then, before riding home, we had to add pressure back to avoid the extra wear on the street.
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Thanks a lot for the advice, I'll be taking 4psi off before doing the cornering drills! You might have very well saved me from dumping the bike :) ...which I still might do, lol
 
As long as you realize the odd's are that this is going to end badly for you, have at er.

Outlaws Justice said:
If you have not taken the Class (Total Control) better yet come see us for some formal instruction first then go practice.
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Seriously! Take a course, achieve a good base set of skills, then practice and improve said skills.
 
Good luck, Corsara.

I will add that I had much more confidence doing the Lee Parks drills after I took his course. You can still get a lot from trying the exercises on your own, but there's nothing like seeing how it's done from the instructors, otherwise, you're left on your own to guess.

If it helps, we did drills with 40-ft diameter (20-ft radius) circles for cornering, in second gear, and speeds around 25mph (40km/h). To get a knee down, you might have to go a bit faster, closer to 60 km/h, for that radius. It's a pretty scary sensation at that speed because it's such a tight circle, just so you know!

Dumping can happen, hopefully not so often, but it helps to have some sliders on your swingarm/forks and some frame guards if you can. Moto Gymkhana guys crash all the time. At these speeds, you're not going to have serious damage with some protection in place.

BTW, I think Lee Parks stuff is a bit more advanced, and I would recommend Ken Condon's book (Riding in the Zone, IIRC), and his exercises might be more comfortable to do first.
 
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Moto Ronto said:
Good luck, Corsara.

I will add that I had much more confidence doing the Lee Parks drills after I took his course. You can still get a lot from trying the exercises on your own, but there's nothing like seeing how it's done from the instructors, otherwise, you're left on your own to guess.

If it helps, we did drills with 40-ft diameter (20-ft radius) circles for cornering, in second gear, and speeds around 25mph (40km/h). To get a knee down, you might have to go a bit faster, closer to 60 km/h, for that radius. It's a pretty scary sensation at that speed because it's such a tight circle, just so you know!

Dumping can happen, hopefully not so often, but it helps to have some sliders on your swingarm/forks and some frame guards if you can. Moto Gymkhana guys crash all the time. At these speeds, you're not going to have serious damage with some protection in place.

BTW, I think Lee Parks stuff is a bit more advanced, and I would recommend Ken Condon's book (Riding in the Zone, IIRC), and his exercises might be more comfortable to do first.
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This helps a lot, thank you!
 
Corsara said:
I check the air pressure in my tires before every 2nd ride. My question was why it is necessary to lower the pressure from its standard values just for the parking lot practice session, and I assume it's because you can't keep the tire temperature (hence also pressure) high enough when you're on the parking lot grounds as opposed to the street.
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What tires? and what pressures are you running?
 
infernobuster said:
What tires? and what pressures are you running?
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Bridgestone Battlax BT016 on the front @ 36psi
Bridgestone Battlax BT016 Pro on the rear @ 42psi

I run these pressures normally, they are the recommended ones in the bike's manual. I'm thinking for parking lot cornering, to drop down to 30psi front and 36psi rear, what do you think?
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