Day 2

It has been 33 miles of criss-crossing the old neighborhood today after a total of four hours of riding. The temperature rapidly climbed into the high 80’s, so I stayed out of the saddle during the mid day, opting instead to replace the after-marked Leo Vance pipes for the stock ones. Thanks to a gift of Joe Rocket warm-weather mesh riding jacket from my Father, I was able better tolerate the heat in order to get in a few more miles before the sun set today (more about that later).

I must say that throttle and clutch control was much easier and more intuitive than it was yesterday. I really think that ‘sleeping on it’ almost always makes a significant difference when it comes to learning new physical skills. Yesterday saw me struggling to grip the throttle correctly, sit with a relaxed posture, and slow the bike without breaking traction. Today, after sleeping on my first practice session, I immediately felt more comfortable keeping up and managing my speed, rolling on throttle, and breaking effectively. I finally got comfortable in the saddle, and was able to focus on staying relaxed, keeping my elbows down, and covering the front brake and clutch with two fingers each throughout the day.

My Trainer’s Challenge for today:

Task #2

Stop on an incline, and start again without stalling the engine ten times in a row: Success!

The hill drills took a bit of practice, where I needed to get used to hearing and interpreting the engine noises as feedback regarding clutch position all the while coordinating foot brake release.

I also found considerable shortfalls in the quality of my short, slow turns. Specifically, I found myself making wide turns while engaging the clutch higher RPMs. I felt myself panic and nearly miss the opposite curb a few times today. That is when I decided to focus on starting and turning technique. Therefore, I spent the last hours of sunlight practicing right and left-hand turns at intersections while rolling, as well as making turns from a dead stop.

The day ended on a good note as I started getting used to the principals of counter steer. I look forward to gaining enough skill to automatically push the inside hand grip even harder, while rolling on a little more throttle the next time I feel myself going wide in a turn.

It is now four hours, three litters of water, and 60 pages of David L. Hough’s “Proficient Motorcycling” later, and I am ready for the next practice session.