Total control ; High Performance Street Riding Techniques

163 Pages·2003·21.119 MB·English

by  Lee Parks

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Total
Control
High Performance
Street Riding Techniques
Lee Parks
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Contents
Foreword 6
Acknowledgments 7
Introduction 8
Part 1:Chassis Dynamics
Chapter 1: Traction 12
Chapter 2: Steering 17
Chapter 3: Suspension 22
Part 2: Mental Dynamics
Chapter 4: Fear 32
Chapter 5: Concentration 37
Chapter 6: Right Attitude 42
Part 3:Body Dynamics
Chapter 7: Vision 46
Chapter 8: Line Selection 50
Chapter 9: Throttle Control 58
Chapter 10: Shifting 64
Chapter 11: Braking 68
Chapter 12: Body Positioning 76
Chapter 13: Low-Speed U-Turns 86
Chapter 14: Riding Two-Up 89
Part 4:Machine Setup
Chapter 15: Suspension Setup 96
Chapter 16: Ergonomics 102
Chapter 17: Aerodynamics 110
Chapter 18: Chassis Tuning 120
Part 5:Rider Setup
Chapter 19: Fitness 124
Chapter 20:Riding Gear 130
Chapter 21: Track Days 138
Appendix 150
Index 158
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Foreword
By Darwin Holmstrom
A lthough it’s taken me the better part of forty if the rider possesses the skill to ride at that level. Simply
years, I’ve finally discovered one great truth throwing money at a lack of skill won’t help a bit.
about riding a motorcycle: I still have a hell of a Perhaps because I lacked the small fortune necessary
lot to learn. I’ve been riding since the age of 11, and I’ve to pursue the latest and greatest technology, I chose to take
lived and breathed motorcycles even longer than that (I’ve my riding to a higher level by concentrating on improving
actually authored a book called The Complete Idiot’s Guide my skills. I swallowed my pride and began to ask questions
to Motorcycles), so this was quite a realization. of the best riders in our group, not worrying about whether
This shift in my universe came about as a result of my or not those questions were stupid. More importantly, I
finally being exposed to road racing. I’d always been a listened to their answers with an open mind, and went out
standard or sport-touring kind of rider, one of those guys who and practiced the techniques they advised.
relished 1,000-mile days. My dreams of glory involved winning I began investigating high-performance riding classes.
the Iron Butt Rally, not winning any road racing champi- To my great surprise, one of the most highly recommended
onships. Up until a few years ago the most sporting motorcy- riding classes was the Advanced Riding Clinic taught by
cle I’d ever owned had been a Honda ST1100. Then, a few none other than my old friend Lee Parks.
years ago, I discovered Speedvision (now Speed Channel). By this time I had taken a job as an acquisitions editor
Suddenly motorcycle road racing was no longer some remote at Motorbooks International. My job involved conceiving
activity that I read about in the back pages of Cycle World, book ideas and finding people to write them. The next step
months after the fact. Now a coaxial cable was bringing same- didn’t require an extraordinary amount of thought. Lee
day coverage of that racing right into my living room. teaches a highly respected high-performance riding course.
Speedvision was the first step down a slippery slope. I Lee is a talented and experienced writer. Obviously, Lee
began hanging with a bad crowd. I’m not talking about the should write this book. Which he did. Although Lee’s busy
flip-flop-wearing squids riding 100-mile-per-hour wheelies on schedule and his meticulous attention to detail meant that
metropolitan freeways. I fell in with some serious Sportbike the book took some time to create (and gave me an ulcer
riders, mature, highly skilled folks, many of whom had at least big enough to run an Aprilia Mille exhaust header through),
an amateur road-racing license. With very few exceptions, the result exceeded my wildest expectations.
these are sensible men and women who practice sound You hold in your hands the result of a lifetime of thought
riding techniques. They just practice them at a very high and experience. You hold the key to becoming a better, faster,
level. To become a responsible member of this group meant and safer rider. When I first began watching people like Colin
I had to take my own skills to a higher level. Edwards and Nicky Hayden race, it seemed that the things
My experience is not uncommon. Every year it seems they did on a motorcycle were completely impossible. This
as though more and more people are motivated to ride at a book demystifies the skills practiced by such riders. While this
higher level. Unfortunately, far too often this motivation book won’t turn you into Valentino Rossi overnight, you will
manifests itself in the purchase of the latest and greatest learn the same basic skills Rossi uses when practicing his
technology. Many riders think the key to riding better is to craft. In Total Control, Parks breaks down the elements of
purchase better equipment. They purchase this week’s high-performance riding into easily understood steps that
fastest open-class Sportbike or the hottest new 600cc anyone can master if willing to practice them. I have been
machine. They spend small fortunes upgrading their amazed at how practicing these exercises has improved my
motorcycles with top-shelf suspension components sold by own riding skills. Even though I still don’t have the best and
companies that spell their names with umlauts. They brightest Sportbike on the market—I ride a Yamaha
increase the power output of machines that are already too YZF600R—I now find I’m waiting at stop signs for riders who
fast for their level of riding ability. Undoubtedly, better used to leave me behind. I hope you find this volume as useful
equipment makes it easier to ride at a higher level, but only and practical as I have. Ride safe.
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Acknowledgments
Ioriginally figured that writing this book would be a Of course, I have to thank my parents for allowing me
cakewalk given that it was simply supposed to be a the privilege of riding motorcycles at a young age. My dad
written version of my Advanced Riding Clinics (ARC), taught me the basics of riding and supported my two-
which I know like the back of my hand. I could not have wheeled addiction until I could afford to do it on my own.
been more wrong. Fortunately, I am blessed with amazing He also gave me my first professional writing, editing, and
friends and family whose outstanding support helped graphic design jobs and taught me how to use a camera.
make this book a reality. My mom spent many weekends transporting my friends
First and foremost, I’d like to thank my editor, Darwin and me to the local motocross track and tried to read her
Holmstrom. Not only did he convince me to do this book in novels as we made lots of noise and covered her in dust.
the first place, but he proceeded to kick me in the butt on She also taught me most of what I know about teaching.
a weekly and even daily basis for close to a year until I I can’t stress enough the contribution of my students
finally got it finished. Without his efforts, this book would over the years. Through them I was able to refine the riding
still be a wistful fantasy. and teaching techniques until they just plain worked. I
Next I’d like to thank Race Tech founder Paul Thede easily learned as much from them as they did from me.
who showed his selfless nature by allowing me to take a Although much of the riding technology in this book is
career’s worth of his writing and whittle it down into the original thought, it has been built on the extensive bodies
two suspension chapters, which are better than I ever of research of those who have come before me. In a letter
could have done on my own. to colleague Robert Hook on February 5, 1676, Sir Isaac
Also high on the list are those friends who contributed Newton said “If I have seen further it is by standing on the
their time, expertise, principles, and words to help make shoulders of giants.” In that spirit, I would like to acknowl-
sure the book was both accurate and completed on time. edge my giants: Keith Code, David Hough, and Freddie
My engineering editor, Ray Engelhardt, took on the Spencer. On many occasions here they are quoted or
daunting task of explaining many physics principles to me credited with words or ideas, but anyone familiar with their
without the aid of mathematics. It’s amazing either of us work will recognize their collective influence throughout
survived it. My fellow ARC instructors Tracy Martin and Ed this book. It would not have happened without their
Pearsell not only helped me shape and teach the curricu- individual contributions to my riding and thinking.
lum, but also acted as photo models for many of the shots. Finally, I’d like to acknowledge Landmark Education
NESBA control rider Kent Larson contributed chapter 21, (www.landmarkeducation.com) and its Curriculum for
Track Days. Tom Riles taught me all I know about action Living. This work made my career possible.
photography. Terry McGarry, L.T. Snyder, D.C. Wilson, Ken I’m sure my mediocre memory has left out some other
Marena, Jason Elzaurdia, Peter Tavernise, Priscilla Wong, important people who in one way or another contributed to
Debbie Webber, Amy Holland, Kevin Cameron, Kevin Wing, the creation of this book. So I apologize, in advance, for their
Andy Goldfine, Mansoor Shafi, Denise Sullivan, Randy omission. Obviously, a lifetime of experiences and interac-
Hatch, Kent Soignier, Michael Martinucci, and Kim tions with my fellow earthlings can’t be summed up in a
Andersen also made contributions too numerous to detail. single page of text. If nothing else, this book is a testament
And a special thanks goes to the folks at Avon tires for to the generosity of the human spirit. Thanks to you all.
contributing many photos to the cause.
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Introduction
T he speed and capabilities of modern motorcycles them, let alone fix them. Long conversations with Hough and
now far exceed the average rider’s abilities. In fact, Code finally got me thinking about the physical dynamics of
the difference between stock street bikes and full- riding and I began a quest to figure out an easy way to fix my
blown racing superbikes is a tiny fraction of that between riding when necessary.
sports cars and their racing counterparts. This has created a
need for more and better rider education. A New Way to Learn
As it turns out, many of our readers were also looking for
The Problem of a similar “easy” way to improve their riding. I kept getting
Learning to Go Fast complaints from street riders that there was too big a gap
Having spent many years in riding and racing schools, I between the MSF ERC and the track schools. Some wished
am a big supporter of rider training. The knowledge I have for a “middle step,” and others had no interest in ever going
gleaned from these classes has literally saved my life on a track—despite my encouragement—and just wanted
numerous times. For a sport rider who wants to improve his something a little “stronger” than the ERC. To make things
technique (especially high-speed cornering), there are two worse, many also complained that the only books on the
basic options: the Motorcycle Safety Foundation Experienced subject were written for racers and were too complicated for
RiderCourse and the various track schools. Unfortunately, them. They wanted simpler solutions for high-performance
while both are worthwhile, each has drawbacks that limit how street riding, not sophisticated racing strategies.
much a rider can improve by participating. After listening to enough of these “middle-stepper”
The problem with the MSF ERC (although I highly complaints, I eventually decided to do something about it
recommend it) is that all the drills are at such low speeds that and began work on a new genre of riding school. It would
the fear of going fast is never handled, and the advanced combine the advanced techniques of the track schools,
skills used by racers to control their bikes at high speeds are with the lower-stress parking lot environment of the ERC.
not taught. Track schools, on the other hand, have the Just as importantly, each skill would be broken down to its
opposite problem. The speeds are so much higher than most simplest form and practiced individually in a building
street riders are used to that many are afraid to try new block format.
techniques for fear of a high-speed crash. This is a real Using many friends as guinea pigs, the curriculum and
shame as most track schools have solid skills to teach, but drills began to take shape. My basic teaching philosophy
the racetrack environment is not ideal for the average street was simple. Rather than ask a rider to try something at, say,
rider to learn the basics of high-performance riding. Once a 20 mph faster than he ever has tried such an exercise before
rider has the basics down, however, there is nothing better (which happens at some track schools), I would ask the
than a good track school to refine and expand on those skills. student to try going faster in small, 2-mph increments. This
As part of my duties as Editor of Motorcycle Consumer prevented him from getting too scared.
News from 1995–2000, I had the privilege of working with For example, let’s say that a full race pace around a
both David Hough and Keith Code on many riding skill 40-foot diameter circle is around 32 mph. A typical street
articles. They really sparked my interest in the subject. Even rider might be comfortable going around it at 17 mph. The
though I finished 2nd overall in the AMA 125 GP nationals in important thing here is to keep the student comfortable so he
1994, I realized while working on these articles that although will be willing to try something new. First, I teach the proper
I was fast, I still had much to learn about how to control a technique at 0 mph. To do this I have the student get on his
motorcycle. I became concerned because I mostly learned bike and along with several other students to help me, we go
how to race by “feel” and wasn’t entirely sure exactly what I through a mock turn by leaning the bike all the way over and
was doing. This made my riding inconsistent. When I had back up while I help properly position the rider’s body in real
problems on a particular track, I didn’t know how to diagnose time. We do this several times until the student can do
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