I can go through the exact same corner 1,000 times and it will be slightly different each
and every time. Maybe the wind pushed me into it a little wider, a little faster.
Maybe my tires are fresh and grippy or worn and tired. It's hot. it's cold. There's a
layer of debris from a recent rain shower. I have full tank of gas or it's nearly empty.
Even on the racetrack, what many would call a "controlled environment",
except we can't control all that much. Maybe I drafted another rider or there's a ride on
my line and I have to use a different line. It's nine corners repeating themselves, but
maybe since the last lap a rider went off track and now there's a tuft of gravel near the apex.
It's the exact same corner that's never quite the same. So maybe "controlled environment"
isn't as accurate as "closed course." Back into the real world, no two mountains
or canyons are the same. So now we add in the randomness of corners themselves,
all with a different slope, radius and infinite variations in the surface.
Every corner will be different every time. Nature never repeats itself. It's a fundamental
law of the universe but doesn't show up in the laws of physics. No two stones are identical.
No two leaves are identical. There's billions of stars in the sky, but there's no geometry.
How is it the laws of physics produce a natural world that never repeats itself?
So then why do we apply regimented sequences, based on our location within
a corner to solve constantly changing problems? Listen, riding based on our location within a
corner isn't nearly as effective a riding based on direction. Well, what do I mean by that?
When I took the Yamaha Champ School, Champ U online riding courses, this clip practically
made me jump out of my chair and cheer out loud. - We're going to ride the bike based on direction,
not based on where it is on the racetrack. We're not going to go to the brakes there, and turn-in
here, and used the brakes until this one point. That's not how we ride. We don't ride by rote.
Whatever is changing in our sport, which there is always things that are changing,
we control our speed based on direction and we get the bike pointed no matter what.
- Nature never repeats itself. Those fixed points, riding by rote, can work in a perfect scenario,
but how often are we perfect? I mean, it might be perfect this time, but will they even work next
time when everything is slightly different? Just like doing all of our braking and then
accelerating throughout the entire corner is problematic in a lot of situations,
so is doing the regimented slow until you get to the apex idea.
It absolutely matters where we are in a corner. But we're better served when we
make decisions based on where the bike is pointed. It's better when we ride
based on speed and direction, not by sequence. Listen, here's what we know. In simplist terms,
for a given lean angle, speed equals radius. The faster we go the bigger the circle. We also know
that the slower we go, the smaller the circle. We know that the front brake makes the bike slow
and turn. It's how motorcycles are designed and engineered to work. We know that with
acceleration the bike stops turning and wants to run wide, unless we add more lean angle which,
subsequently, adds more risk. And lean angle is not infinite. We may not have grip, or clearance,
or even comfort to "just lean more". Since every corner is a constantly
changing puzzle that we need to be solving in real time, riding by direction means slowing
makes the radius decrease. Steady throttle, or maintenance throttle and the radius stays
the same. And acceleration, the bike stops turning and the motorcycle wants to run wide.
Think of it like this, we need to have weight over a tire before that tire has grip.
So if we're accelerating or even at maintenance throttle, where is our weight?
Where is our grip? It's not on the front tire. What tire do we need to slow into the turn? The
front tire. By using our front brake into turns, we're putting weight onto the tire we need. The
front tire. So that we can slow more if we need to. If the turn's tighter than we thought it was
going to be, or animals, or slow traffic, or an oncoming car in our lane. Whatever.
Now we're into the middle of the corner and if it's a long sweeping corner like this and
we're happy with our direction, we have the bike pointed through the corner the way we want, and we
have good visibility, we may very well want to go back to neutral throttle, or maintenance throttle.
Maintain our speed and maintain our radius. We always cover the front brake so that if
we need to slow more we go off the throttle and ease back into that front brake again. And line,
our radius, will get smaller. Remember, smooth, linear inputs. Wait for the
weight to go to the tire we want to be using. Now we're reaching the end of our corner. We
can see the straightaway out in front of us. The corner is coming to an end, we can see our exit
and we can take away lean angle. Now is when we can begin to actively accelerate. What's going to
happen as soon as we go back to the gas? The bike is going to stop turning and want to run wide,
right? Exactly what we want the bike to do at this point in the corner.
But keep in mind, grip comes from weight so we want to roll on the
throttle in a smooth linear way and allow the weight to shift back onto the rear tire
becore we can ask the bike to accelerate. So what do we need to be careful of? Well,
first and foremost is inpatience. Most of us are eager to turn on the go fast so we
struggle with going back to throttle too soon and too quickly. Most of us will struggle with giving
up on the front brake too soon or too quickly. We are riding the bike based on direction,
so we need to be patient. Let the motorcycle turn. Get direction.
When we get to the point of the corner where we can see our exit and take away lean angle,
the straightaway beconing to us. The bike eager to run and breathe deep. Remember,
we're riding by direction. Get the bike turned. Get direction. Then you can let 'er run!
The whole idea is that we no longer ride a bike hoping. Emotionally hoping. We ride
it technically. The front brake makes the bike want to slow down and turn. Neutral or
maintenance throttle, the bikes radius stays the same. Acceleration makes the bike stop
turning and want to run wide. Use the control we need in the moment, to do what we need the
bike to do. Nature never repeats itself. We want to use strategies that account for
and accomodate all that variability. We ride the bike based on direction.