According to Graham Jarvis (may his name be praised forever,
amen), doing exercises to improve your balance will make you a better rider.
If your balance is good you'll lose less energy to ride.
We completely agree!
In our first balance video, we looked at basic exercises which included riding as
slow as possible, legs bent and apart, low tire pressures, and slipping the clutch.
In that video, we said you should aim for being able to balance at a standstill.
Why?
Every time you stop and put a foot down, it will take at least a few
meters before you are standing on the foot pegs and balanced again.
If you can stop in gnarly terrain, but keep your balance,
you are perfectly prepared for upcoming obstacles.
It's also very handy when you have very little run-up to obstacles like logs.
And once you can balance at a standstill it's very useful for stopping in technical terrain
like a rocky descent if you want to look ahead and pick the best line without losing your balance.
Here is an excellent way to fast-track your stationary balancing skills.
First, find a small rut that provides a lot of contact with your front tire.
Go to 'full lock' and apply both the front and rear brakes.
Get someone to hold the motorbike until you find your balance.
If you are perfectly balanced, very slight turns of the handlebars will be enough to stay balanced.
You should just be able to see Scott here
putting slight pressure on the handlebars. back in distraction
A bit of distraction!
Remember to keep the brakes applied,
especially the front brake, as this anchors the front wheel in that slight depression.
When you are ready try getting up on the footpegs without someone holding the motorbike for you.
Once you feel comfortable, slowly ease your inside boot off the footpeg and see
if you can maintain your balance using your leg as an 'outrigger'.
This is a balancing technique often used in trials riding, and it's a great tool for cross-training.
Are you ready to take it up a level?
Try the same techniques but on flat ground.
Ensure the front tire digs just a small depression by using a few twists of the handlebars.
When you feel ready, apply all these techniques but coming to
a stop without digging a small depression for the front tire.
This makes the balancing a lot harder, but at the same time a running engine
provides gyroscopic force that will help you to balance the motorbike.
So in summary...
there are various ways to maintain your balance.
If you are perfectly balanced, very slight turns of the handlebars will be enough to stay up.
If that doesn't work, the next technique is slight movements of your body.
If you are still losing balance, you can stick your leg out as an outrigger,
Still not staying upright? Try slipping the clutch
and move the motorbike forward until you are balanced again.
Sometimes even rocking the bike slightly backwards
and forwards will just keep you balanced in the one spot.
An interesting point is that you can actually hold the engine revs up a
little bit for more gyroscopic force to help you keep balance.
Along with low tire pressures, this will make all of the above techniques easier.
Are you very serious about your balancing skills?
Try balancing on one foot when standing in queues doing the
washing or making love with some of the kinkier Karma Sutra positions.