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B y J i m G r a y b e a l In the first four sessions of our “Ride Better” series, Jim Graybeal analyzed some basic riding situations typically encountered by any rider during everyday riding. For the next few sessions, Jim turns his focus to the more specialized skills encountered in the GWRRA Top Gun competition exercises. While these exercises present situations that require skills a rider would use rarely in everyday riding, by practicing the elements that make them possible—use of the friction zone, looking where you want to go, keeping your eyes up, measured use of throttle, etc.—you reinforce the skills you use daily. The GWRRA Top Gun Manual (© 1995) can be found at www.gwrra.org. Use the pull-down menu on the left side of the Home Page. Select “National Divisions.” Then select “Rider Education.” From this page, select “References.” Scroll down to “Top Gun.” The GWRRA Top Gun Manual is downloadable as an Adobe file. E x e r c i s e 8 : T h e B o x i n T h e G W R R A T o p G u n M a n u a l The objective of this exercise is to test your ability to control your motorcycle’s balance, throttle and clutch control and eye placement. Using a circle painted on the pavement of a flat, clean parking lot, the rider initiates a continuing tight circle to either the right or left. For novices, the circle’s radius is 26 feet; for experienced riders it is four feet smaller. For expert riders (typically drill team-level skill riders), the circle’s radius is a mere 18 feet. The trick to this exercise is to turn your head far back, looking back over your shoulder on the inside of the turn. Do not look down at the painted circle on the pavement—instead, rely on your peripheral vision and your “feel” for where the bike is.You ride three tight circles and are judged by your best circle ride within the circle of the radius of your class, so placement of your path of travel is as important as tightness of your circle. As you enter the tight circle, aim your ride just as if it were a decreasing radius turn on the highway, aligning your front tire track with the inside of the circle.Try to center yourself in that circle. Snap your head and look to a point at which you would exit the circle, yet continue to turn, constantly adjusting that exit point fixation. You must keep your engine revs up and stable, feathering (slipping or fanning) the clutch to apply power to the rear wheel and using delicate rear-only (trail) braking to govern your speed and lean angle. When doing a tight circle to the left, I look back over my left shoulder and set my eyes Class Circle Radius Expert 18’ Experienced 22’ Novice 26’ Jim enters the circle. beyond my CB antenna (that is mounted on the left side of my Wing’s travel trunk). On a tight circle to the right, I look over my right shoulder and fix my vision beyond the radio antenna mounted on the right side of my Wing. Note that in both cases, this is an extreme twist of the head and spine, so I recommend some limbering-up exercises if your neck is a little tight! Even though these tight circle exercises are never used in drill team competitions, our drill team riders practice them over and over to heighten their abilities to feel the controls and balance of the motorcycle. Often this sense of touch or feel is needed when the rider is looking where he’ll go next while still maintaining stability in his current maneuver. If a rider can make an 18-foot circle with consistency and comfort, the theory is he can make any size circle at any time with total comfort—and that does have application in day-to-day riding. We recommend working on this skill turning both ways—left and right.That way the rider can feel the balance of the motorcycle a little better. Most people find it easier to turn one way or the other. Practicing your less-favored direction of turn may feel awkward, but it is very well worth it. When we teach local riders (many of whom are fairly unskilled when they begin our sessions), we repeat turning, braking and friction zone exercises over and over until they’re second nature. By the end of the course, almost all our students are competently doing exercises like The Box at least at 46 Wing World
Jim's eyes are looking back over his shoulder. Jim's bike leans as he feathers the clutch. Jim's brake lights show he's using trail braking. Although it looks like it's about to fall, the bike is stable under Jim's control. the novice level. And many are astonished and proud that they can now do what they swore they’d never accomplish! If a rider knows that he or she is able to accomplish turns, stops, leaning the motorcycle, and swerves under controlled conditions, then if that situation ever occurs on the street, they will have gone through it without having to try to improvise at the time. We hope that with repetitive exercises, there will be an automatic response built into their riding. Improvising on the highway—I wouldn’t recommend it! ● May 2007 47
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