For the novice rider, crashing his or her motorcycle can be one of their biggest fears, but this is typically overcome with experience. The main issue for every novice is not knowing how close they are coming to crashing. An understanding of the physics involved with motorcycle riding is helpful, but in basic terms the machine’s limits of grip between the tire and the road or dirt surfaces must be understood and respected.
The grip available from either a front tire or a rear tire is finite. For example, if a rider brakes as hard as he can (using the front brake), then adds a lean angle by initiating a corner, the tire will lose adhesion and begin to slide (a condition known as under-steer). In the case of the rear tire, the grip will be lost by accelerating too hard on a loose or wet surface or as the machine is leaned over too far (over-steer).
For many riders their first experience of riding a motorcycle was on a dirt bike when they were young. In general, this is the best place to start the learning process, as a mistake tends to be less damaging to both the rider and the bike. Regardless of the rider's age, learning how a motorcycle handles, on grass or dirt, will help the rider gain valuable knowledge of a bike's limits (limits that the motorcycle will warn the rider of as he approaches them). Anticipating a bike's point of no return is what will keep a rider from crashing in most cases (mechanical breakages and other road users excepting).
Cornering
The line that the rider/motorcycle follows is often the cause of problems. For example, if a rider starts to corner too soon, he will run out of road toward the end of the curve. This problem can have disastrous consequences if experienced on the street as the bike can head toward oncoming traffic; for example, as when driving on the right side of the road, and negotiating a left turn, in the US. This problem typically manifests itself when a rider is on an unfamiliar road; it calls for a reduced speed on corner entry to leave a safety margin at the corner exit (more angle of lean being available).
Entering a corner too late means the rider has already run out of road (often caused by leaving his braking too late). Again, speed is the problem, in this case too much speed on the straight before a corner.
Although riding on dirt will help considerably with choosing a line around a corner, or feeling for the tires braking away, dirt does have its limitations for the leaner. For example, unless the rider has clearly marked out a corner (ropes, straw bales, cones etc.), it is all too easy to let the bike run wide onto another part of a field, for instance, which will give the rider a false sense of security (highways don't generally have runoff areas on corners).
Another problem associated with learning to ride a motorcycle on dirt is the rider's line of sight will closer to the track just in front of the machine. If the track is relatively smooth, and the rider can see the full curve in front of him, he should practice looking further ahead as street riding will typically include much higher cornering speeds which require the rider to look forward much more than on dirt.
Braking
As mentioned at the beginning of this article, tires have a finite amount of grip available. Street bikes being ridden in good weather will have very good retardation (braking) due to the coefficient of friction available between the road and the tire. If a rider applies too much front brake, the tire will lose adhesion and skid.
If a rider applies the front brake during cornering, the front tire can lose adhesion as its contact patch may be at the limit dealing with the grip required for cornering alone. It should be noted that an experienced rider will typically brake a little as he begins to corner--generally releasing the braking pressure as more grip is required corner.
With regards to the rear brake, weight will transfer from the rear of the bike to the front during initial applications of the brakes; if the rider maintains the same amount of rear braking pressure as the machine slows down, the rear will lock causing the tire to skid.
Accelerating
For motorcycles with relatively low powered engines, the problems associated with accelerating too hard are not normally encountered; however, many motorcycles will easily spin their rear wheels if too much throttle is applied at the incorrect time (while leaning hard over in a corner for instance). Learning to ride on dirt will teach a rider where traction is typically lost. However, the problem of a motorcycle power sliding on dirt is relatively easy to correct, but not so easy on the street. Readers will be aware of the term "high sided" when watching motorcycle races, especially during the years when traction control was not used.
The phenomenon of high siding is caused by the rear tire initially losing grip then suddenly regaining it, typically caused by the rider snapping the throttle shut. Learning to control a power slide is best left to either riding on dirt or professional racers!
(Note: There are many excellent books on the subject of motorcycle riding. In particular, Keith Code's book A Twist of the Wrist: The Motorcycle Road Racers Handbook, although intended for road racers, is very insightful.)
The grip available from either a front tire or a rear tire is finite. For example, if a rider brakes as hard as he can (using the front brake), then adds a lean angle by initiating a corner, the tire will lose adhesion and begin to slide (a condition known as under-steer). In the case of the rear tire, the grip will be lost by accelerating too hard on a loose or wet surface or as the machine is leaned over too far (over-steer).
For many riders their first experience of riding a motorcycle was on a dirt bike when they were young. In general, this is the best place to start the learning process, as a mistake tends to be less damaging to both the rider and the bike. Regardless of the rider's age, learning how a motorcycle handles, on grass or dirt, will help the rider gain valuable knowledge of a bike's limits (limits that the motorcycle will warn the rider of as he approaches them). Anticipating a bike's point of no return is what will keep a rider from crashing in most cases (mechanical breakages and other road users excepting).
Cornering
The line that the rider/motorcycle follows is often the cause of problems. For example, if a rider starts to corner too soon, he will run out of road toward the end of the curve. This problem can have disastrous consequences if experienced on the street as the bike can head toward oncoming traffic; for example, as when driving on the right side of the road, and negotiating a left turn, in the US. This problem typically manifests itself when a rider is on an unfamiliar road; it calls for a reduced speed on corner entry to leave a safety margin at the corner exit (more angle of lean being available).
Entering a corner too late means the rider has already run out of road (often caused by leaving his braking too late). Again, speed is the problem, in this case too much speed on the straight before a corner.
Although riding on dirt will help considerably with choosing a line around a corner, or feeling for the tires braking away, dirt does have its limitations for the leaner. For example, unless the rider has clearly marked out a corner (ropes, straw bales, cones etc.), it is all too easy to let the bike run wide onto another part of a field, for instance, which will give the rider a false sense of security (highways don't generally have runoff areas on corners).
Another problem associated with learning to ride a motorcycle on dirt is the rider's line of sight will closer to the track just in front of the machine. If the track is relatively smooth, and the rider can see the full curve in front of him, he should practice looking further ahead as street riding will typically include much higher cornering speeds which require the rider to look forward much more than on dirt.
Braking
As mentioned at the beginning of this article, tires have a finite amount of grip available. Street bikes being ridden in good weather will have very good retardation (braking) due to the coefficient of friction available between the road and the tire. If a rider applies too much front brake, the tire will lose adhesion and skid.
If a rider applies the front brake during cornering, the front tire can lose adhesion as its contact patch may be at the limit dealing with the grip required for cornering alone. It should be noted that an experienced rider will typically brake a little as he begins to corner--generally releasing the braking pressure as more grip is required corner.
With regards to the rear brake, weight will transfer from the rear of the bike to the front during initial applications of the brakes; if the rider maintains the same amount of rear braking pressure as the machine slows down, the rear will lock causing the tire to skid.
Accelerating
For motorcycles with relatively low powered engines, the problems associated with accelerating too hard are not normally encountered; however, many motorcycles will easily spin their rear wheels if too much throttle is applied at the incorrect time (while leaning hard over in a corner for instance). Learning to ride on dirt will teach a rider where traction is typically lost. However, the problem of a motorcycle power sliding on dirt is relatively easy to correct, but not so easy on the street. Readers will be aware of the term "high sided" when watching motorcycle races, especially during the years when traction control was not used.
The phenomenon of high siding is caused by the rear tire initially losing grip then suddenly regaining it, typically caused by the rider snapping the throttle shut. Learning to control a power slide is best left to either riding on dirt or professional racers!
(Note: There are many excellent books on the subject of motorcycle riding. In particular, Keith Code's book A Twist of the Wrist: The Motorcycle Road Racers Handbook, although intended for road racers, is very insightful.)