I'm pretty sure after about 3 - 4 post drinking is assumed.

 

I also wanted to talk about downshifting and engine braking. Most people slam on thier brakes right before a corner, and speed up in the straight away. This is also wrong, and foolish. You should be downshifting and rev matching before the turn, accelerating through the turn. I shouldnt even see your brake light come on before a turn. Now go out and practice that, and tell me how much better you are.

 

I don't think you've ever seen me or my brake light.
Just left the KARMA thread. Not sure where you ride but is you ONLY downshift (which I've been doing for 50 years), with no brakes or light, in our traffic you'll get rear ended before the turn. People don't drive smoothly around here, it's all accelerations and hard braking.

 

I too learned countersteering the 'hard' way.

My second year of riding I began commuting over a twisty mountain highway, and had some difficulty one morning modifying a line, also because I tried to use body lean. Posted in a local motorcycle forum and they reminded me of countersteering, something I supposedly learned in the basic riding course. I went home countersteering all the way, it completely changed the way I ride, I've had perfect control of my lines from that day forward.

 

Not even close.... especially if you are going to tell someone how to corner correctly.

As former roadracer, you learn engines are used for accelerating. Brakes are used for decelerating. As always there are exceptions to this but in general this is how its done.

As you approach a turn you apply the brakes to set your entry speed, down shift (rev matching of course) into a gear appropriate for the turn. Both of those in pretty rapid succession. You get back on the gas as you enter the turn to maintain a constant speed till you reach the Apex of the turn. Once you reach the apex of the turn you start rolling on the gas.... If you did this right the speed which you slowed down to, entering the corner, should be the speed you maintain in the corner until you reach the apex.

IF you are accelerating immediately after you are off the brakes when entering a turn (not talking about trail braking) you entered the turn way too slow.

I roadraced two-strokes which have ZERO engine compression braking which truly drives home the point about using the brakes and carrying as much speed as you can through a corner...

Yeah these aren't racing bikes or two-strokes, but the concepts of cornering remains the same...

 

EXCELLENT diagram! Not only shows counter-steering but braking zone and accelerating zone...

Nowhere does it show "engine braking" entering the corner....

 

Counter steering is never more critical than when drinking. But because you are holding a glass in your hand (which hand depends on whether or not you have cruise control - whole nuther thread), you need to push AND pull that side of the bar depending on the direction you wish to go.

Then to do that and not spill any of your beverage is an art form. Some day I hope to achieve martini status. Right now I'm pretty solid at highball.


PS - love the engine braking/no brakes comment. Pure gold.

 

Thanks, Bob. I had no idea a state of No Spillage could be obtained. I have so much to learn. Normally I only drink while trailering but.....

 

Don't forget about keeping the 7-degrees upward press on the bar! Handlebar, not the other kind.

I find it most difficult to keep from dropping the ice.

 

The no spillage technique has taken me decades to achieve. And I'm still just a novice compared to some. I know a guy who's a no-spill badass. He's at martini level. One time he put on a demonstration where he laid down an Indian blanket, and then a yoga mat on top of that. He kneeled on it while holding a super full martini. Like so full that the liquid cohesion had the martini level above the rim! Then he had members of the audience drag him around the gymnasium while he held the glass. He didn't spill one drop! Of course it doesn't work as well if you have fruit or an olive in it.


But hey, don't sell yourself short Mick. Trailer drinking is an art form in itself. If you can back up a trailer with a drink in one hand you are killing it. I'm lucky if I can even hold a beer can while backing the boat down the ramp. For that I use Mic Ultra because I don't want to spill anything better.

I thought it was 18 degrees?

FNGonaRK - can we get a ruling on this?