Slow Speed Maneuvers

How do you ride really slow, with control?

There are three foundational skills necessary:

1. Proper use of head and eyes
2. Managing the friction zone
3. Speed control through rear brake (trail braking)

Head and Eyes

You look where you want to go. You physically turn your head and eyes to the spot you want to go and the bike will follow seamlessly, if done correctly. You must turn your eyes along with your head or the technique will not work.

What is a friction zone?

We call it the ’sweet spot’. This is the area between a fully open and fully closed clutch. It is found when you slowly release the clutch, simultaneously, gently rolling on the throttle and the bike begins to move.

Knowing that spot on your machine is crucial to doing slow speed maneuvers (under 5 mph).

All maneuvers are done in first gear in the friction zone, so you are holding the clutch in the ’sweet spot’ to maintain forward motion. 

1. Start to release the clutch slowly, and open your throttle between 1200 and 1500 rpms. Stay in the friction zone as power is supplied by throttle.
   
2. You are NOT going to control your speed with the throttle! The purpose of the throttle in slow speed with this technique is to keep power supplied to the engine to keep the bike moving forward.
   
3. Your speed will be controlled by ‘feathering’ the rear brake. To slow down simply apply more pressure to the rear brake. To speed up release pressure.

In the photograph, notice the rider is looking to the exit gate in the cone pattern not looking ahead.

This cone pattern is an 18 foot circle (about two parking spaces). The head and eyes fixed on where you want to be is what allows you to make really tight turns.

The hardest thing NOT to do is look forward. But if you look forward, even just a glance, you will widen your turn. 

In this exercise, enter the gate in the extreme left position available. Turn right, and aim for the 3 o’clock cone. Come as close to the cone as you can then immediately turn your head and eyes over your shoulder toward the gate. Turn the handle bars to a full lock and let the bike lean. Some riders counter balance by positioning their body away from the lean. The quicker you turn the quicker the bike will come around.

This is not an easy skill to master as it is counter intuitive. Start out with larger circles, say 24′ and work your way down if your so inclined.

 

Things NOT to do:

1. Do NOT look at the ground (you will go down). Keep head up ALWAYS and eyes on where you want to go
2. Do NOT at any time use the front brake (you will go down). 
3. Do NOT disengage the clutch (you will go down). Disengaging the clutch will cut off power. 

If at any time you feel like the bike is going to fall over just open the clutch and this will stand the bike straight up. You’ll go over some cones (if your using cones) but this is okay. We killed many cones during our training. 

Why practice this?

Nothing screams novice rider more than walking your motorcycle at slow speeds dragging your feet.

Maneuverability is an advantage and strength of the bike, use it. 

You want to know and use the full capability of your machine should the need arise to move out of the way quickly, especially at stopped or slow speeds.  

Dragging your feet while maneuvering your bike at slow speed can cause injury, legs primarily.