I have signed up for the RLAP class in FL and have been practicing the maneuvers. It's amazing how much improvement a little time can make.

 

Thanks for sharing and inspiring others.

 

Nice work!!

 

It's great to see someone practicing these skills. Any time you can put your foot down to save a fall, the bike could have done it quicker without endangering your feet, ankles, and knees. A quick wiggle of your left hand allowing a bit more clutch out will save any fall.

You've already been told the dangers of putting your foot down so I won't discuss it anymore. Let the bike do the work.

Less experienced riders will turn their heads (because they are told to do so) then cheat their eyes by looking at cones, lines, etc. Make sure you are looking where you want to be, not what you are trying to avoid.

Practice circles using head, eyes, clutch, throttle, brake, posture. Keep going around until the boards are scraping. When you get to that point you've reached the bikes limit. Do it both directions then work on your transitions from one turn to another. With time you will be a great rider. Keep up the good work.

 

There is one more thing i feel obligated to warn you about. Slow speed skill riding is HIGHLY addictive ! The more you learn and practice the more you want to learn. You will get to the point where a bit of scratched chrome on your engine guards or "dropping your bike" mean nothing. If i had $10 for every time i "dropped my bike" i could buy a brand new road king! and have money left over .But i would not trade the skills i have learned for two cvo's !

 

You shouldn't need to put your foot down. If you use Jerry "Motorman" Palladino "Ride Like a Pro" techniques, you learn how easy it is to control your bike at slow speed using the friction zone (a combination of clutch control and rear braking).

 

This guy has you beat..

 

Looking good. Hey, foot dabbing when practicing is normal and you can work through that easy with more counter balance.
I would suggest that when you feel like you need to dab your foot down, add a modest amount of speed by releasing the clutch lever a little more. at first this sounds a little counter intuitive but the reason for dropped bikes is that most folks grab in the clutch when they feel like they are dropping and gravity says a bike with no speed will fall over.

 

This is exactly right, you have to learn it to master full lock turns. You have to get to that edge and then make yourself give the bike more power either by adding throttle or letting out more clutch. It depends on the RPMs, but letting out more clutch is much easier.

A trainer for a local rider class given by the Highway Patrol told us they train their officers that if your feet are off the boards and your bike is moving, you have have lost control. They harped on us to not even let the bike move from a stop until your feet are on the boards. That is still challenging for me, but the secret is rpms, clutch and timing of lifting your foot off the ground.

Slow riding in a strait line to get use to the friction zone is very good advice. I always start my parking lot practice with a few slow strait ride exercises on a parking lot line to get used to the clutch and throttle.

Also using the rear brake helps control the bike in slow riding too, but a motor police officer on this forum once told me that is still bad technigue unless as a last resort only to slow the bike down. Relying on the brake too much takes away from mastering the friction zone. I still use it too much because that is how I learned. But I am practicing not using it as much.

Slow riding is addicting, but it will make you a much better rider in traffic and parking lots. Folks don't realize how little control they have at slow speed because they are in the habit of dragging their feet or duck walking. For some reason sport bike riders drag their feet. I guess they think they look cool, but they look out of control to me.

Beary

 

beary is right about it being addictive. I always do a u turn to the pump when gassing up. I cant pass an empty parking lot without doing three....
I practice with rear brake and without and now really dont notice when I dont drag the rear brake.
I was looking at the opening shot of weavr99flht video at the amount of counter balance the motor officer is using.... thats epic and what it should look like with all the weight outboard.(counter balance)