Do Less? | GTAMotorcycle.com

Do Less?

Misti

Misti

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I often tell my students (at the California Superbike School) that they should DO LESS when riding. What do you think this means, or in what ways do you think riders work too hard and do too much on their bikes?

Misti
 
The first thought that came to mind was turning. Use counter steering to steer instead of forcing the bike to turn or leaning more than its needed.
 
Lets see what comes to mind with- Do less?
- think less
- Be more gentle and let the bike do the work.
- Don't tense up on the bars/grip
 
You sound like a philosophy professor, asking what we think YOU mean when you say something. Why don't you tell US what you mean by what you say :p

That being said, my guess is that you mean to allow your bike to do what it wants, and to not spend energy "fighting" your bike. Loosey goosey not tighty whitey!!
 
Less shifting/braking, ie keep it on the boil and use the throttle to control speed/set up entries; less lean/less time leaned, ie go deeper into the corner and square off the apex; less speed in the tight turns, ie "go fast in the fast parts" and smooth in the slow parts; fewer thoughts of sex when riding.
 
conservation of energy.

Use precisely the amount of input needed for a given output. No more, no less.

In other words, if you don't need to do it, don't.

Examples of 'doing more': fifty pencing (constantly adjusting in turns), early turn in (getting anxious/tense and turning in too soon), et al

When do riders do too much? too much pressure on the bars, too quick control movements (eg/ slamming on the brakes, opening throttle too quickly), entering corners too quickly ('I need to be first' mentality), being tense in general (overthinking)

I think relaxation is key. If your overthinking things and thus aren't fairly relaxed while riding, then you probably need to 'Do Less'
 
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wearelopey said:
I think relaxation is key. If your overthinking things and thus aren't fairly relaxed while riding, then you probably need to 'Do Less'
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I agree with everything you said but that last bit really stands out. People panic if they're new and don't know what to expect. I don't think a lot of new riders are mentally prepared as much as they think they might be. An example would be riding in higher winds. If you relax it's much easier no matter what type of bike you're on. My personal example from years and years ago was leaning into corners. Didn't take long but it was a mental thing at first.
 
Xhumeka said:
You sound like a philosophy professor, asking what we think YOU mean when you say something. Why don't you tell US what you mean by what you say :p

That being said, my guess is that you mean to allow your bike to do what it wants, and to not spend energy "fighting" your bike. Loosey goosey not tighty whitey!!
Click to expand...

I agree.

Except....I don't, "guess", I'd ask WTF you're talking about, lol. Say what you mean and make it clear to your audience or don't bother saying it is my motto.

Point is, make YOUR lesson one of impact and don't leave anything open for interpretation. Not when it comes to staying alive on a motorcycle anyway.
 
Do Less = Let The Bike Do The Work.

Of course, this encompasses a lot of things that rider needs to do, and not do.. but that is (to me) definitely what that means.
 
Xhumeka said:
You sound like a philosophy professor, asking what we think YOU mean when you say something. Why don't you tell US what you mean by what you say :p
Click to expand...

Ripcord said:
I agree.

Except....I don't, "guess", I'd ask WTF you're talking about, lol. Say what you mean and make it clear to your audience or don't bother saying it is my motto.

Point is, make YOUR lesson one of impact and don't leave anything open for interpretation. Not when it comes to staying alive on a motorcycle anyway.
Click to expand...

Really?
 
Do Less?
it would be hard to do less, I ignore the lawn, dont vaccuum the pool, never clean the BBQ so i can ride more. Not sure how much less I can do. Looking forward to your help here.
 
I don't answer questions from people that already know the answer.

OP hasn't even logged in since asking. If she knows, she's not intent on explaining; that or she tells her students things and doesn't know why.
 
Big man on SS looks like humping football is OK but should do less rutting noises.
 
Do Less = Do as little as possible to keep moving.

I'm pretty good at riding without my hands on the bars, so I'll take this as a recommendation to ride hands free.
 
If I were an instructor, i'd probably want to give students something a bit more definite for them to think about when learning to ride. Given the variances in the thread, and also the lack of answers or the general confusion, you can be certain there's a good number of students out there on the road right now, in bc and cali that are like "wtf did that mean?"
 
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