Motorcycle Turning, Part 4 - Hanging Out

Hanging out is most probably a technique which the average rider would have never done, heard or even seen before. It is a cornering technique which requires the rider to shift its butt out for weight shifting inorder to possess a greater leaning angle. Thus, the term, Hanging Out. It might even look like a monkey hanging off a branch or somethin' to you...

First of all, I do not encourage hanging out riding in city streets. Why?

Due to the complexities of this technique, it is not very helpful to the everyday rider in avoiding accidents. Secondly, you are most likely to be taken off your rear brakes when executing hanging out, thus not very efficient for street riding (though front brakes take up most of the braking power). Thirdly, and I hope it's the most common sense, you do not need to take corners so fast on public roads.

Hanging out simply means that you've reached the maximum leaning angle of your motorcycle's capability, thus you need to create more leaning angle by shifting your body weight. In a street riding context, hanging out disorientates your vision and, the off-synchronisation of your body and the chassis might cause problems when facing critical situations. Conclusion? Do you really need to go that fast on city streets, to the point of hanging out? I believe it's already quite notorious to scrape your foot pegs.

Ok enough of the crap. However, hanging can be useful @ times (very unlikely though), but it's most often used on the track. Let's get on to the technique.

-unfinished-

Motorcycle Turning, Part 3 - Bodysteering

Hanging Out
Ofcourse, I probably didn't do it as well as the pros. It was done at a street of some rural area in Singapore, the only regret I had was I didn't bring my gloves out. Have you ever wondered why the necessity to hang out? It's about weight-shifting.

In bodysteering, it's important to know where your weight is going, because it is what that determines how your motorcycle leans/corners. To start with, there are 3 kinds of leaning method. Namely lean with, lean in, lean out. However, weight shifting should still be the basis of these 3 cornering techniques.

To start with, a correct leaning/weight-shifting method should involve mainly only your lower limbs.

Firstly, the outer thigh should push against the tank so that your upper body will be prevented from falling towards the direction of the lean. (Grip the seat if you don't have a tank, else, just countersteer)

Secondly, the inner foot should push diagonally towards the inside of the foot peg, so that it further stabilises your whole body and giving "downwards" weight to the lean.

Thirdly, your eye level must be horizontal to the ground and look far, it is to orientate your mind of the actual world level that you are travelling on.

Fourthly, your arms should be stress-free, as you are supposed to keep your hands free for counter-steering and adaptable to any road changes. Stiff hands would only amplify the uneven-ness of the road to your body, thus making your turning wobbly.

Click HERE to check out how the pro does it.

However, countersteering should still be the main focus of motorcycle turning. IMO, countersteering is the best way to initiate a lean/corner whereas bodysteering is just a tool that puts your cornering technique more steadily and readily into use. Infact, though you might not know it, your arms are subconsciously countersteering while leaning through a corner.

I love Sony Ericsson!

Great day... A bit hot though. My friend who just came back from UK bought the Sony Ericsson S700i, surprisingly it's quite sharp and fast. Very luckily, my friend managed to catch a nice (but kinda blur) shot of me doing wheelie. It was done on a clear road with safe clearing infront, please do not try this on public roads. And wear safety gears.

But still, I don't like Sony cameras, and all their sole products.

With regards to the wheelie, I shan't comment much as I'm not a pro in it and I do not encourage it as well. There are many sites which teach you how to pop the front wheel, go figure.

Motorcycle Turning, Part 2 - Countersteering

Have you ever tried putting the weight of your whole body on the inside of the turning chassis but the motorcycle doesn't budge? This is especially true at the moment of hard acceleration. When you are hard throttling your bike through over 150km/h, you can barely bank, even if you did, the bike wobbles to get down on its side. How do you overcome this? The art of countersteering lies within...

Defying Logic
As mentioned before, travelling at speeds above 25km/h would result the handle bar and front wheel to stiffen up and any movement on the handle bar would cause an unexpected wobbling of the machine. But how true is the movement unexpected?

The fact is that your bike is moving towards an opposite direction of travel from your handle bar. Most of us try very hard to push the bike down hard and move the handle bar towards the direction of travel, but the outcome is often undesirable and sluggish. That is because you are working AGAINST physics.

The proper technique to initiate a cornering/banking on high speeds is to actually perform a countersteer. In which, we turn the handle bar away from the intended direction of the corner. By turning your wheel/handle bar, it helps your bike to lean faster towards the opposite direction thus initiating a faster turn. E.g turn handle bar right when you want to corner left, and vice versa for cornering right... turn your handle bar towards left.

Why the phenomenon?

It is the end result of momentum forces actually, the centrifugal force.

When at high speeds, if we push the handle/wheel towards the left, the chassis and the rear wheel of the motorcycle will be led towards the direction of the front wheel. However, due to the massive inertia force created by the high speed travelling of the motorcycle's weight, the initial left turning led by the front wheel will cause the body to be pushed towards the opposite direction of the turn. The reason being that, the strength of the gyroscopic(turning wheel) and momentum force(weight) of the moving motorcycle attempts to upright and correct the angle of steering and push/bank the chassis to the opposite direction of the moving handle bar/front wheel. So you end up turning right than the intended left turn on the handle bar.

So the movement of the countersteering in a nutshell is actually a travel to the direction of the front wheel then followed by the banking towards the opposite direction. This is especially significant on slower speeds, and the banking happens almost immediately on faster speeds.

Knowing It
The reason why most riders find it sluggish to corner at high speeds is because they try too hard to turn the steering bar towards the intended direction while leaning. This action causes a counter-reactive effect by which the steering towards the intended direction initiated the lean towards the direction, while the rider consciously tries to pull the bike down to the intended direction. The machine ended up not going anywhere and wobbling down.

Countersteering is a motion that should be done consciously in the initial stages of practice as it is an uncommon technique not logical to the amateur rider. It should be done to the point where a rider chooses to use it instinctively. Countersteering is used to initiate the banking. While the chassis has reached a desirable angle of banking/turn, the rider eases the countersteering and maintain the angle through the corner. When the rider needs to retrieve the bike back into an upright position or even the opposite banking, he merely has to turn the wheel down by pushing the outer side of the handle bar to allow the bike to flip back upright.

Countersteering is especially effective when you need to dodge something which is most unexpected...

Motorcycle Turning, Part 1 - Physics

I'm nowhere near a veteran, but infact I'm very much a newbie. But I hope to share what I've experienced, read, learnt and felt about riding. Following is a series of tech speak compiling from various instructors, column writers, famous authors and personal experience. Hope it helps you.

Gravity Defying
A common rider would usually perceive motorcycle steering in speeds of ~25km/h and above unnecessary. Because the gyroscopic and inertia force of the moving motorcycle would lock the steering bar in a straight and forward-going manner. Any form of turning or cornering at that kind of speed would require a shift in weight, which is usually performed by the banking/leaning/tilting the machine chassis to create a counter force against the forward motion, commonly known as Centrifugal Force.

The common myth is that, any movement on the handle bar during high speeds would result in a unpredicted haywire wobbling and movement of the motorcycle. Thus most of us would just lean as required when cornering. But it's nothing more than just a mystery. How many of you really understand how a motorcycle really turns?

Considering the fact that the front wheel doesn't really move at higher speed cornering, what makes a motorcycle move in a circular motion when leaning? 2 main factors, the shape of your tires and your directional front wheel.

Upright Tire
As depicted from the picture above, the contact point of the tire is always flat. This is due to the acting of the motorcycle's weight on the tire, flattening the contact side of rubber. This flat surface hence create a larger contact patch and allow better traction.

Banking tire forms a conical shape
However, when the tire is leaned to the side, the flat surface occurs over the contact patch as well. The occurance immediately results in a circumference differential between the inner and outer tire. This phenomenon thus creates the physical properties similar to that of a cone. In which, it allows the inner tire which has a greater circumference (in yellow) to travel further on the difference of the smaller outer circumference (in red). And therefore, the motorcycle which is travelling on convex tires can corner/turn just by banking.

Ofcourse, another main reason which allows motorcycle to turn is the front wheel which controls the direction of the moving chassis. Though you may not realise it, but the fact is that the handle bars are off-center and turning towards the direction when cornering. Because of the fast moving speed, the adjustment of the front wheel is limited according to the reaction of the banking angle reacting to the centrifugal force. Thus the movement of the handle bar is not noticeable.

The State of Mentality

Kudos to the one whom I saw today. Wearing a fullface helmet, black leather gloves, jacket and pants. Riding a vintage vespa, ET. Man... It's so cool. Sometimes, aesthetic appeal is in the eyes of beholder. He's the ultimate icon to me.

Spider Sense
I mean... instincts to detecting danger. Everyone has it. You and me. Unless you lack of the simplest analytical skills to decipher logic. Almost anyone has the juice to perceive, analyse, decide and act, it's a matter of path you choose to make things happen.

"Approaching the end of slip road into the expressway, as I sneak into the side mirrors, the coast appears clear but a sense of doubted danger tinges in my heart. Should I, or should I not, lift my head over the shoulder to check my blind spot? Most of the time, nothing stays in the blind spot for too long... Though prickling, but the assumption was that nothing should happen. I've always been checking the blind spot, but nothing ever appeared."

The machine swerves out of alignment from the slip road with the slightest adjustment from the weight shifting."

*BAAA BAAA!* -Car horns-

The motorcycle scraped the side of the car's bumper. And the rider had a scare of his life.

I believe this appears nostalgic to you. Besides, this is only one of many examples to encountering riding dangers from ignorance. Did you ever overtake that big lorry infront of you at speed of sound despite you anticipating that a vehicle hiding infront of it might dash out from your blocked vision?

I merely broke down the lightning fast thoughts that went through that everyday rider's mind. Do you really want to ignore that danger instinct in you and take the chance? I myself admit to having such ignorance previously, and will probably commit such atrocities again. But I hope I can write this down on this blog to remind myself everytime I make updates, so that I will never take chances. Never succumb to your ignorance, whatever the reason might be.

You have only one chance to live.

I'm a Prophet

Wah biang... I so zhun ah. Was just talking about riders with inadequate riding gears and saw a man lying flat at the exit of Grange Road into PIE. He was exactly wearing shorts, shirt and sandals... With his scooter far away from him. I commend the acts of fellow motorcyclists who stopped to help him and directed the traffic away, I feel proud being a motorcyclist too.

However, I'm sure the infliction of injuries on the scooter motorist was not any minor. Though he was lying flat, I could see him communicating with the other motorcyclist who stopped by at the side trying to help. I'm not exactly sure what happened, but it's most likely a case of poor defensive riding, or machine fault. If it had been a case of piston jam, learning how to skid would have saved his life. However, I'm sure he could have got up if he wore protective gears. I'm sure of that.

Please do not let this happen to you my fellow riders.

You Superficial Brat

Just got my rear tire changed today, fitting the same model as my front. Bridgestone Battlax BT020 Radial series. It's a pair of tires meant for sports-touring, meaning the endurance of the tires are higher, taking up a longer time to heat up and get sticky. But it can last longer than most racey tires and grippier than the average crap.

Still can get pretty fun if I want. Ofcourse at the end of the day, I just don't want my safety to be compromised. Will you spend it for safety? Or excitement? Or just let it be and spend the money on food and women when you can't even live to see the next light?

People have been telling me riding motorcycles is dangerous. But is that statement helpful? Or detrimental? It's not going to change the fact that I'm riding, and telling me that it's dangerous doesn't help me to become a safer rider. I will probably turn a deaf ear and ride as usual. How many of you so-called professionals out there know what's motorcycle safety about? You superficial bastards.

Yes, statistics have shown deaths are more prone from motorcycle accidents and the fact that they're the most prominent figure out of all vehicle accidents. But does these statistics tell you that most of these riders who are involved in accidents do not have adequate safety precautions and perception?

Just an example, the percentage of accidents/falls happen on a race track is definitely more frequent compared to the amount happening on roads, but why are the death statistics on a track lower? Because they're wearing over a few k worthed of equipments, and they're doing the right things on the right events.

Do you think you can survive a skid over at 90km/h without gears? I can survive a fall from 200km/h with leather suits. So? Invest in some proper gear today man. Save up and wake up your bloody idea, scooters can well go over 100km/h as well. I do not have to wear a flamboyant Grand Prix racing suit today, but at least I can wear an abrasion-resistant leather jacket to save my life in case of a fall at road limits. At the very least, don't wear a fucking pair of shorts and singlet with sandals. It screws up your image and insults your bike, you deserve it if you die in an accident for insulting yourself, your bike and compromising your own safety. Besides, wearing something that covers you from top to toe and fit to tough gives you extra confidence when handling your bike. Try wearing your fucking shorts and singlet with sandals and compare it with your jeans and long sleeve shirt with covered shoes.

Education
I must say the education given by the driving centres are not adequate to provide enough safety information to the everyday rider. Plus, how many of you are still actually following the guidelines taught by the school now. Take a little test, how many of you are braking into corners/banking and holding on to your clutch as well? I bet 80% of you are.

You superficial bastards probably don't know why it is necessary to drive through a corner than slip into a corner. And you'll probably die without knowing why. I just took my friends out yesterday night to give them a little example of "decreasing radius" and limited vision @ Old Upper Thomson Road (A map below for your reference). And I believe Andy can understand that intention best, he almost crashed for slipping in through the corner too fast without realising the decreasing radius. Most importantly, he wasn't confident of banking further down to clear the corner because he was not trained to. I can see that he still has abit of clearance to go for cornering, but can he do it? Or does he think he can do it?

It's just a little education that I can let them in on before they need to handle such real-life critical situations again. Were you ever briefed on such practical road usage?


Old Upper Thomson Road

Safety Checks

Last time when I used to go for my defensive riding and motorycle courses, they put a significant amount of attention on pre-ride checks. Like checking if your signal light is working, your brake fluid enough or not, got engine oil, tyre got any stones inside it.

Actually I think it's bullshit. Firstly it's impractical for the everyday riding commuter, 2ndly it's hard to really check things when your bike is not moving at all.

1. Tyre/Tire
   Do you really think you can feel the pressure of the tires just by pressing your nibby fingers on them? Dream on. Start riding it out and figure out whether the tires wobble when you bank, if they do, check and pump up some pressure. Also check if there's any leakage, e.g punctures, nails or so ever... 2ndly, who the hell in the world has time to turn your wheels and check if any particles are really stucked between the thread? I have not seen anyone doing that, especially for average time-conscious singaporeans.
   
   Pumping your tyres should be done periodically. Not everyday see see feel feel and let it cloud your judgement. Let the meter do the talking if you really want to check.
   
   *TIP
   For those interested to check for tire leakages, you may want to buy a pressure meter or go to any petrol station with those retro analog meter pumps. Simply go to any of those petrol kiosk and set it to about 5~10 psi lower of your average tire pressure and see if the meter jumps/sounds. If it does means your tire is leaking, because tires take very long to lose the air inside (I can go without refilling the air in the tires for more than 6 months and the pressure only drops 1 psi). If not confident, pump to your average required pressure and check again the next day to see if there's any minor leakage.
   
   1 psi = ~7kPa
   PSI = Pound Per Square Inch
   kPa = Kilopascal
   
2. Brakes
   Aiyah, just take your ride out of carpark and you know whether if it's working isn't it? Besides, do you think you can really check if your bike is running on drum brakes? These checks should be done periodically with discipline. Not every morning come down check n check. I don't believe your brake pads can be used up within a month if you service it regularly.
   
   Unless you visit the track.
   
3. Engine Oil
   Just check if there's any seriously wet pool of oil under your bike. But don't worry if there's a patch of damp oil, because it may not be from your bike. Sometimes parking lots are full of such patches because engine oil takes very long to dry up, it might be left over by some Lao K. Just look out for fresh damp pool of oil. If in suspect of anything, just check your oil level.
   
   Why is it not necessary to take out the oil dip to check everytime before you ride? Firstly engine oil does not evaporate into thin air by itself, or simply just dry up. Loss of engine oil is usually due to engine block leakages. Besides, do you really have time to upright your bike and unscrew your oil dip and see if there's oil? Even if there's a oil monitor, there's no way for you to stretch your head down to look at that piece of small glass panel while uprighting your bike. Maybe you can, I don't know.
   
4. Lightings
   Though it is not a crucial part of riding, but it can save your life when it comes... This is the only part of the checking which I would encourage checking. Plus checking your lightings is one of the easiest pre-ride check that can be done.

The Everyday Commuter

To those whom you think you are using the motorcycle as a form of transport only, and you think upgrading your handling skills is not necessary as you do not have to push your bike any similarly to racing. You are FUCKING WRONG.

A rider does not even have to use half of its bike's capable banking angle when commuting as a daily transport, but what if you went into the slip road into the expressway off KJE into BKE, and it's a decreasing radius corner. Will you hit the brakes and slow down and felt as if you lose your balls while you can actually bank lower to clear the corner with confidence?

A rider does not expect the use of 100% braking if he does not ride fast. The car in front of you jammed its brake but you skidded and bite the car's bumper. How many of you so-called singapore veteran fagg riders know you are supposed to use front brakes more than rear brakes? Even if i skidded my rear wheel, can I remain in control and regain traction?

The fact is that I can do all these, I can even ski my wheels out of a corner. The fact is that I'm educated and trained to do this. Not just to handle track capabilities, but to save my own life and NCD/B(no claim bonus from insurance).

Safe But Not Slow Rider

Thankfully I seemed to have matured from riding ever since the 45. I have began to realise the road is not a race track, and it's no longer a place where you can push your machine to the limits, simply because unexpected events occur or waiting to occur. A safe rider is not one who rides slow, but one who is careful.

The reason for upgrading (in terms of handling skills) is not for competition, pride or any form of ego-booster. It's meant to save lives, your life, and others. Many would argue that riding fast and hanging off knee down scraping your sliders is a form of showing-off to that slow malaysian rider behind that you are techy and good. But is he really impressed? Put yourself in others' shoes and imagine you are the rider behind seeing you attempted this act... "Sibeh boliao, if you buang then i laugh at you, do knee down at slip road? Wahaha... Fuckin' Funny, cannot make it."

Does it make you more proud to say that "I have rode a bike for my whole life and never met an accident", or "Falling and accidents are nothing to me, see there are so many scars on me". Just remember, speeding on public roads is a no-no and any road user would never acknowledge public-road racing as a form of good-willed expression. Because showing-off is the main reason to speed, but it's never a glory to others when you do it on public streets.

Am I trying to say I encourage racing/speeding on enclosed circuits/roads? Not really, but neither do I discourage such acts. Every human need some form of thrill & excitement in their life. Also, pushing your machine to the limit would mean you have extra confidence and handling capability to spare in times of emergency. But ofcourse, do this with proper gear, safety equipments and given EDUCATION before you attempt any hard-riding. Infact with safety measures, speeding and racing is safe. Just look @ statistics, the amount of people riding died in tracks is very much lesser compared to those on public roads and even car-races.

Well, it's hard to suppress the inner desire to speed, therefore I encourage it on a controlled traffic. If you really need to. At the end of the day, do you want to convince your mom & dad that riding is something absolutely cool n safe to do, than coming home bruised, one limb lost or even the need to prepare for your funeral?