Downhill riding

[erkishhorde]

I don't feel as comfortable riding downhill as I do riding uphill or on level ground. When I'm riding uphill I feel more weight over the tire and less on my arms so I feel more confident about leaning the bike and giving it a bit of gas but when I go downhill the extra weight on my arms makes me feel less confident. Any tips for riding downhill?

[Slide Panda]

That's a matter of sorting out your body position.  Work on using your core a bit more on the down hill to take some pressure off your arms.  Obviously if it's really steep, that will only help jsut so much since we can't beat physics.  But gripping with you legs and using your mid section can do a lot.

[superjohn]

That's a matter of sorting out your body position.  Work on using your core a bit more on the down hill to take some pressure off your arms.  Obviously if it's really steep, that will only help jsut so much since we can't beat physics.  But gripping with you legs and using your mid section can do a lot.

Exactly. I've been making a concerted effort to think about how much tension is on my arms when I ride and try and compensate with leg and abdominal grip. It makes maneuvering MUCH easier and feels more natural.

[Spider]

I was just reading an article on the same thing:

http://www.motorcyclistonline.com/howto/riding_motorcycles_downhill/index.html

cool, eh!

[erkishhorde]

Hmmm... More or less what I expected. Thanks for the suggestions. There was one thing I didn't quite understand in that article.

Use positive throttle control. You don't want to be on trailing throttle in a downhill corner, as this will tend to put a very high load on the front tire.

Does this mean don't use engine slowing? I'm thinking it does since that's what I do and it feels wrong.  Makes sense if I actually stop and think about it.

[Spider]

Well, firstly, I'm no expert...which is why I spend my time reading so much and thinking about what I do so often...I plan to be good at this sport!

last weekend I was coming down a mountain and fog had visibility to 50 meters the road was wet and cold.

so speed, or lack there of, was called for...I wanted to go as slow as possible...couldn't see what was coming, didn't know the road well, didn't know my traction levels.

I found that just like every other corner on my 2 valve is concerned that maintanence throttle (anything above having it shut off) was very important....because if I did that then the revs would drop to much, lugging the engine, feedback through the chassis and destabilizing the bike.

I wanted to get my braking done very early, giving the bike a further second for the suspension to settle, then gently putting the steering input in and leaving the throttle slightly open.

Also noticed that instead of gripping the top of the tank with my knees (using the outside leg muscle / rectus femoris)  I was gripping the start of the tank (closest to me) with my adductors (inner thighs). Don't know about the bike...the day after it felt like I'd ridden a horse!

I agree that the comment means no braking of any kind..including engine compression...as your loading your front tire whilst asking it to turn/lean as well.

[johnster]

Downhill turns are actually excellent for practicing throttling through turns, because the effects of closing the throttle mid-turn are amplified, due to the extra weight being transferred to the front wheel.....if I roll off during a downhill turn, the bike gets REALLY upset, beacuse the back tire, which is much bigger than the front, has next to no weight on it, while the front wheel is getting squished!! 

Paying attention to your body position while downhill cornering is huge, because if you can keep your butt back in the seat and your torso low, you won't overload the front with weight nearly as much....

[duc996]

How about staying on lower gear?

[EvilSteve]

That's a matter of sorting out your body position.  Work on using your core a bit more on the down hill to take some pressure off your arms.  Obviously if it's really steep, that will only help jsut so much since we can't beat physics.  But gripping with you legs and using your mid section can do a lot.

Doing this helped me a lot too.

[uclabiker06]

Downhill turns are actually excellent for practicing throttling through turns, because the effects of closing the throttle mid-turn are amplified, due to the extra weight being transferred to the front wheel.....if I roll off during a downhill turn, the bike gets REALLY upset, beacuse the back tire, which is much bigger than the front, has next to no weight on it, while the front wheel is getting squished!!

Paying attention to your body position while downhill cornering is huge, because if you can keep your butt back in the seat and your torso low, you won't overload the front with weight nearly as much....

Very informative. 

[CDawg]

"Set your corner speed early....a little throttle will go a long way"

That's my problem.

[Ducatista]

Make sure you always keep weight off your arms.  You should be able to just have fingertips on the bars (or clipons as the case may be).  When you make your arms rigid (even if they're not locked), every little twitch in your body gets transferred to your front suspension, upsetting everything that you want not to be upset when you are riding.  Hug the tank with your thighs.  Have all your weight in the seat and on the pegs. 

[Slide Panda]

There's a long, fairly steep, straight hill on a common route home for me.  I'll drop into a low gear, grip the tank and just lean back, to the point my fingers are just brushing the bars, or not even in direct contact. 

If you've got a hill like that, you can use it as a good practice ground for this "skill"

[misti]

Downhill turns are actually excellent for practicing throttling through turns, because the effects of closing the throttle mid-turn are amplified, due to the extra weight being transferred to the front wheel.....if I roll off during a downhill turn, the bike gets REALLY upset, beacuse the back tire, which is much bigger than the front, has next to no weight on it, while the front wheel is getting squished!! 

Paying attention to your body position while downhill cornering is huge, because if you can keep your butt back in the seat and your torso low, you won't overload the front with weight nearly as much....

Excellent points!  Downhill turns are often super hard because the tendency is to want to just coast down the hill instead of rolling on the throttle.  You are absolutely correct in noticing that the bike gets really upset when you roll off the gas in a downhill turn because all the weight goes to the front tire and there is little on the back tire.  Rolling on the gas will transfer some of the weight to the back which, as you've noticed, will make the bike feel better and more stable.  By doing this, you are actually putting the suspension in the correct range which is WHY the bike feels more stable. 

An important point here though, is what you actually do with the throttle through the turn.  Do you just crack it open, or hold it open a bit, or do you have to roll it on throughout the whole turn?

Misti

[jerryz]

use the rear brake as a steadier and trail it ,keep[ the revs up but use a little rear brake ,its an old timers technique but it works for me .