Safety training and correct cornering!

A small but important journey through the topic of safety training and correct cornering!

They say: if you look wrong, you ride wrong!

And if you don't look at all (forward-looking), you should better stop riding your motorcycle. For your own benefit and that of other road users. Hard but true words.

There will surely be one or the other among you or among us who will say: all nonsense, I don't need safety training and certainly no smart advice, I know everything, and I can ride a motorbike. If that's the case, then that's the way it is. Then it's best not to read any further here. Unless you are interested in getting a different and better point of view on this topic and you can still learn something about it and take something positive from the words for yourself. The further development of knowledge has certainly never harmed anyone.

Anyway, let's ride off and get going.

A beautiful day for motorcycling. Temperatures around 18 degrees, pure sunshine, and the desire to get around the world on two wheels. Perfect weather for the motorcycle. Get on the machine and let's go. Winter is just over, and the streets salt-free. Heart and soul, what more do you want?!

Well, riding is still a bit wooden. But will definitely be back. You wave through the curves. Suddenly there is this truck that gives you too little space in the curve. Or were you too far over, too far left? The look into the horrified eyes of the truck driver, who expects the impact at any moment, just won't let you go. Where to, what to do, what does the rescue look like? How was that, push the machine or brake or, or...?

And that's the problem. automatisms. Damned automatisms, which were internalized at some point, no longer work for various reasons. Almost inexplicable and a little rusty. The first point, those skills from years past or the previous year just haven't been needed or used for a long period of time. Second, panic sets in, making the situation many times worse. Panic and fear are the worst helpers in such a situation. They cause muscles to cramp and therefore it is no longer possible to act appropriately in the situation.

Of course, as a professional, you have everything under control!

A small example in between.

Every one of you, or at least the majority of you, drives a car. I'm sure you already experienced that, you're driving through a construction site on the highway. Speed is certainly also important, but it plays a subordinate role here. The construction site has 2 lanes, as a "professional" you drive in the left lane, fast lane. To your right or to the right in front of you drives a truck (one of the BIG ones), on the left is the crash barrier. Not much space!

The truck driver certainly has something to do with keeping his vehicle properly on track. Now and then it happens that he starts a little commuting. There are drivers who drive between the truck and the crash barrier, either side by side or just overtaking. But these drivers don't commute, they seem to be able to drive their way through this narrow alley effortlessly. Others will start oscillating and will likely overreact as a result. And that's it. Either it crashes into the truck on the right-hand side or into the crash barrier on the left-hand side.

Now let's think about the line of sight again. So, you imagine that you are now exactly between the truck and the crash barrier. Of course, you are interested in the distance between the right rear-view mirror and the truck or the distance between the left wheels and any obstacles on the left side, such as concrete borders or the like. Exactly that will become the problem. You go exactly where you look. When you look at the truck on the right-hand side, you are drawn to the truck almost as if by magic, almost magnetically. NO, you steer the vehicle there yourself without actually being aware of it yourself. Trust your inner instinct, and your subconscious, and look ahead into the middle of the lane. This does NOT mean that you are looking at the road 5 or 10 meters ahead, because you will have the same problems with that. Looking ahead means at least 50 to 100m. Always look into the center of the alley in front of you.

You will quickly find that you will automatically have a calm driving style and that you can drive perfectly and stress-free between the truck and the crash barrier.

If you should crash now, then it wasn't because of the direction you were looking, it was simply because the alley was simply no wider than 2m wide. In other words, it was stupidity trying to squeeze through there, without anticipatory driving.

These words may not sound pretty to everyone. But it's not about blowing or writing nice words, it's about being able to take something meaningful out of these words. And always think of the subconscious, the subconscious is capable of so much more than you can ever imagine. You just mustn't slow down or irritate your subconscious, e.g., by looking in the wrong direction.

Lean angle.

Another point, why do we have respect for leaning beyond 20 degrees?

Thanks to evolution! A running (or hunting) person comes to exactly 20 degrees when he runs corners. But these people have been hunting longer than they ride motorcycles today. That's why we first must slowly get used to the lean angle and secondly get to know the limits of the motorcycle. The best and therefore highly recommended is lean angle training with a motorcycle that has outriggers. Falling over is not possible. With this training, you get the accident-free chance to actually go to the 45-degree lean angle possible with most tires.

Your goal should be to optimize the unity of human and machine. Only fluid, immediately retrievable actions combined with the ability to get your two-wheeler safely close to the limit guarantee confident handling of the motorcycle. The "oneness" with the motorcycle is a nice and pleasant feeling. Ride with respect, common sense, and above all without fear. Knowing where your limits are. Knowing how much of your skills you need right now. Being able to determine for yourself what risks you are taking.

These are the basics so that stress-free motorcycling becomes a real riding pleasure on 2 wheels.

"Inner voices".

And something else that is extremely important when riding a motorbike, yes, your own belly feeling.

There are just those days when a voice tells you: today just isn't my day. Everyone certainly knows that no matter what the background is, on days like this... just leave it. Tomorrow is another fun day.

Human intuition may not be equated with animal instincts. Nevertheless, we have "inner voices" that have already saved us from so many things or will save us in the future. Sometimes we just don't trust those feelings and don`t hear the "inner voices" and always want to bang our heads through the wall. According to the motto, I WANT it now and I'll do it now, I am not interested in what comes afterward.

Short story on the side and a big thank you to my familiar "inner voices".

I recently drove a longer route; I had already been on the bike for a relatively long time that day. Of course, I still enjoyed the ride, but I also wanted finally arrive at my destination. A great road, in front of me a "very slow car". Yes, indeed, he was getting on my nerves. Oncoming lane free, with good visibility for at least 500 m. So, no problem and easy-peasy to overtake this car. Sure, anyone can do that. But somehow, I didn't want to, something stopped me.

My gut feeling slowed me down. About 100 m later, a large truck pulls out of a small unidentified side street on the left and onto the main street. Not only did he use his lane, but also our lane, so that even the slow car in front of me had to brake unexpectedly hard. I certainly don't need to explain what would have happened if I had started to overtake. There would have been no escape or way out. Neither past the truck on the left nor between the truck and the car.

With this in mind, I wish everyone a lot of fun and maybe we'll see each other one day........and always remember:

If you look wrong, you ride wrong! 

And always heed and internalize the advice with the line of sight.

And for your safety and comfort on your ride: Essential safety gear every rider needs!

Always have a good ride!