SUBMITTED BY Curve Negotiation Training H
ave you ever found yourself drifting toward the outside of a curve at high speeds? You find yourself easing off of the throttle, standing up the motorcycle, your eyes are fixated on the spot where you think you’ll leave the roadway. You feel your heart beating faster and your respira- tions increase. Then, you can hear your instructor’s voice, “Head
and eye placement, look through the curve”! All of a sudden, you move your head and eyes to the exit of the curve. Almost magically, you are able to restore your lean angle, increase the throttle, and you can successfully complete the curve. I can remember 13+
years ago when I finished my basic motor train- ing. I was competent on the cone courses and my braking was decent. My one big worry, though, was negotiating curves at high speeds, and it took about a year after basic motor training until I felt comfortable on curves. Does this sound familiar? I would wager that this is a fairly common occurrence, especially with new motor offi- cers without much previous riding experience. Motor officers frequently need to travel at higher speeds than the posted speed limit to catch up to speeders, perform escorts, etc. These duties, along with our increased time on the motorcycle while on the job, put us at a much higher risk than the recreational rider. Most motor officers receive sufficient training to ride cone courses, some receive partner riding training and escort training, some even receive training to combine firearms with motorcycle operations. Consider the number of curves that the average motor officer travels through at higher speeds and the amount of training that the average motor officer receives for curve negotiation, and you probably find there is an imbalance in your unit between the two. Our motor unit in Fort Worth saw a need for increased training to negotiate curves. We started out using a large oval track marked out in a parking lot to work on curves.
16 THE MOTOR OFFICER™ | SPRING 2015
OFFICER MICHAEL RICHEY FORT WORTH, TX
POLICE DEPARTMENT
We then decided to look for help from the civilian world, specifically the race community for instruction. Our unit first received help from Jeff Nash, six-time
professional national road racing champion. We learned invaluable lessons from the high-quality instruction we have received on local race tracks. Track rules and safety were the first lessons learned. The most ride-altering lesson learned was one that we always wondered about; Why do most motor officers ride curves at speed like we do on cone courses with our bodies perpendicular to the road, when we see professional racers shifting their body weight and leaning into a curve? I was never taught the benefits of altering the typical motor officer straight up-and- down riding style. If we can simply put weight on the inside foot board or peg and shift our weight in the direction of the curve, this will give the motorcycle a lower center of gravity with a decreased lean angle which increases the tire patch on the roadway. The benefit of an increased tire patch size and lower center of grav- ity will afford the operator more ease while negotiating curves. We can reserve that style of riding for the track or utilize it if we are riding
solo catching up to a speeder, etc. During normal day-to-day pair riding we still ride the “traditional” motor officer style. This next lesson we learned on the track is we can use the front brake while leaning the motorcycle. The front brake must be applied while beginning the turn, not applied midway through the curve. Using the front brake in a turn will compress the forks and decrease the steering angle to allow the motorcycle to “turn in” easier. Using the front brake in a turn will increase the front tire patch on the road and will give the rider the opportunity to use more braking. Respectively, the more the motorcycle is leaning in the turn, the less the brake is used. Remember, this is a track riding technique and may not be suitable for the public roadways.
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