| |
|
Tip of the Week
Drive over obstacles more smoothly
by doing what doesn't come naturally.
This tip, and all of our tips-of-the-week, are general
principles provided for your consideration. They are not
hard and fast rules that should be applied without thinking
in all circumstances. Always use your judgement and take all
current safety factors into account while riding.
What's The Problem?
Sometimes you have to drive over an unavoidable obstacle in your
path. (A speed bump, which is designed to be unavoidable,
is a perfect example.) You probably find this a jarring,
unpleasant experience.
You feel an unpleasant thump as the bump is transmitted through
your front wheel and into your arms and knees, and you probably
wonder if the thump has damaged your wheel. You may feel a loss of
steering control, especially if you didn't hit the obstacle
square-on.
Ordinarily, a bike's front suspension is designed to smooth
out bumps in the road. The problem with an obstacle like a
speed bump is that you saw it coming and your natural reaction
was probably to brake before you hit it.
Think about that. What happens when you hit the brakes?
Your front forks compress, and the front end of the bike dives.
With the front forks compressed they have no slack left to absorb
a bump - they have effectively become solid metal bars.
The force of the bump is efficiently transmitted into the
bike and your body.
Solution
You need to learn to manage the condition of your front suspension.
In this case, we're going to de-compress the front forks before hitting
the obstacle, by "blipping" the throttle at the right time.
Try this.
First, find a safe street or parking lot, and ride at a moderate constant
speed. Have a friend observe your front forks while you brake.
He'll tell you the front forks compress.
Now have your friend observe while you "blip" the throttle.
Blipping means quickly snapping the throttle open a quarter-turn or
so, then back to where it was. Quickly - the blip should last less
than a half a second. You get a "brmmmm!" engine note
that quickly rises in pitch then returns to normal. Your
friend will tell you that the front forks de-compressed
for the moment after the blip. That makes sense - it's
the opposite of braking.
This is very important. We are not talking about accelerating.
The blip should last a fraction of a second, and you should
travel only a metre or two at the higher engine speed. We don't
mean you hear "bwaaaaaaaAAAH" and accelerate down the road.
Now find a stable obstacle in a safe place. A 3-inch speed bump
in a quiet parking lot is ideal. Approach it at a moderate speed
(20 Km/h or so). Brake to slow down if necessary, but finish braking several
metres before you reach the obstacle. Then,
just before
you hit the bump, blip the throttle.
Again, blip quickly. You want to accelerate for just a fraction of a second,
and time this so your forks decompress just before you hit the bump.
The decompressed forks will absorb the blow much more
effectively than the compressed forks that resulted from braking,
and you'll feel much more comfortable and in control.
Later, try combining this with another technique: slightly
reduce the weight on your seat by pressing your feet down on
your foot pegs, again, just before you hit the bump. With the
blip and weight reduction done properly, you will barely feel
the bump.
The MRC Tips of the Week are a collection of riding tips written by, and drawn from the riding experience of, the MRC instructors, a group with hundreds of years of cumulative riding experience. The tip changes every week. Check back to our main page every week to learn more from experienced riders.
|
|
