RIDING TIPS - Throttle Control

Throttle Control – A typical panic reaction is to cut the throttle.

A. Examples:
1. While you’re in a curve, a deer jumps out in front of you. You immediately chop the throttle to slow down.

2. While you’re in a curve, you feel like you’re going faster than you would like. So you let off the gas.

3. While you’re in a curve, you find yourself going too wide — either towards the shoulder or the oncoming traffic — so you cut the throttle.

4. While you’re in a curve, you find yourself turning faster than you want to — you’re leaned over too much — so you slow down by letting off the gas.

5. You find yourself starting to skid. This means your wheels are pointed the wrong way, so you cut the throttle.

6. You hit a bump in the road and it startles you. So you chop the throttle before you even register what just happened.

B. When you chop the throttle, you lose traction instantly.
1. Your bikes weight shifts forward drastically. The effect is the same as taking the weight off the rear tire and putting it on the front tire.

a. If you were in a turn, you already gave up a lot of your traction by leaning over. You can’t afford to lose any more.
i Never brake while leaned over, without standing the bike up first.
• While leaned over, losing traction, any brake will kill what little traction you have left, and you will crash.
b. Reducing the gas will overload your small front tire.
c. Your rear tire, without any weight on it, will start to skid.

i Don’t chop the throttle now, either. Chop the throttle in a slide, and your rear tire suddenly weighs nothing, and it will whip right around.

ii A skidding rear tire can make you highside. While pointed off at an angle, the wheel can start to grip again. This will pop the rear end up and throw you over the handlebars. The bike will pretty much land on top of you.

iii What do you do if the rear end starts to slide?
• You can’t chop the throttle.
• You can’t suddenly increase throttle, either.
• This suddenly adds weight and traction to the rear tire. Which by now is pointed the wrong way. You will highside.
• Instead, just keep the throttle exactly where it is.
• The bike will slowly scrub off speed and recover.
• As the bike slows, you will need to smoothly stand it up.

C. Don’t chop the throttle when you’re going too wide.
1. It feels like you’re going wide because you’re going too fast.
a. That’s right. You are going too fast... for your lean angle.
2. To tighten your turn, simply lean more.
a. Don’t let off the gas. You will actually go wider, because the bike will stand itself up.
3. This is another reason to ride at only 75%. You never know when you’ll need a little more lean angle. And if you’re already on the sidewall, you’re screwed.

D. Because you don’t want to brake or cut the throttle in a turn, you want to do all of your slowing down BEFORE you enter the turn.
1. This doesn’t mean you need to use your brakes. Most of the time, you won’t need to.
2. A common mistake is to wait until right before you lean over, and then chop the throttle.
a. This requires you to coast for a long time before you can add throttle again, because you’re going too fast into the curve. Coasting is bad (see below).
b. In a race, this will really cost you. By staying on the throttle too long, you will actually lose ground.

3. The right way is to ease off the throttle as you approach the beginning of the turn, so you are all the way slowed down before you lean over.
a. This way, you don’t coast at all. You can use the entire turn for acceleration.
b. This is what separates the winning racers from the rest of the pack.
c. Don’t gas it too soon!
i If you hit the throttle before you’re all the way into the lean, then you won’t be able to turn as rapidly, and you’ll have to
stay leaned over longer.

4. Make sure you roll off smoothly.
a. This way, you maintain control.
i Your weight won’t shift forward suddenly.
ii You won’t upset the suspension.
iii You’ll maintain traction.
b. If you chop it, you’ll lose suspension, traction, and control.

E. Once you get into your lean, you should not brake or reduce throttle at all for the rest of the turn.

1. In fact, what you want to do is steadily add throttle.
a. For example, you can tell the winning racers just by listening to them in the corners. They are the ones who steadily add rpm’s all the way through. The rest of the pack goes on and off the gas, and they lose ground and wipe out.
b. On the street you want to do this as well.
i You need to get on the gas as early as possible — not to accelerate, but to balance the bike, and stop it slowing down in the turn.
ii Getting on the gas early affects weight distribution, stability, how well the bike behaves over bumps, and what line you can take.
iii It puts weight on the rear wheel, with its larger contact patch. This helps traction and stability. Also, weight on the bigger rear tire lets you hold a more consistent line.
c. Don’t be silly with the throttle while leaned over. Be smooth.
i When upright, you can play with the throttle like an idiot, no worries.
ii When cornering, you have less grip. The tires can cope with the same amount of throttle as upright, but not if it rushes in all at once.
d. Racing tip: Don’t downshift too much before entering a turn.
i Your RPM will be too high if your gear is too low.
• As a result, you will hit redline too soon, and won’t be able to accelerate for as long as you could have.
• Plus, while you’re leaned over, the effective diameter of your tire is smaller. (The distance from the hub to the sidewall is shorter than the distance to the centerline.) This makes your RPM higher for the same speed to begin with.
ii But don’t upshift to correct this.
• Upshifting changes your suspension too much, too fast. Your bike will get unstable.
• Instead, just stand the bike up a little.
• This way, you ride on a larger circumference on your wheels, which automatically lowers your RPM for the same speed.

F. The proper thing to do is to use SMOOTH throttle control.
1. Don’t jerk the throttle.
2. Keep the g-forces low, and the weight shifting will be minimal.
a. A steady acceleration at low g is perfect while turning.
i Turning will scrub off speed all by itself, due to the extra friction on the tires.
ii So a constant throttle will let you slow a bit if you need to.
3. After entering a turn, you ease your throttle open just a bit, then gradually add gas throughout the curve.
a. Again, this means you had to have done all your slowing down before you leaned the bike over.
4. A common mistake is to wait to add gas until the curve is almost over.
a. That means you were coasting for most of the turn. Coasting is lazy and bad.
i You lose traction, because too much weight shifts to the front tire.
ii Your suspension will overreact to the road.
iii Any steering inputs will be amplified, leading to twitchiness (which can be scary, and can cause yet more panic errors).
iv Your bike will start to wander off line, to the outside.
v The bike will scrub off too much speed.
vi Your gears are not engaged while coasting — and you only have control when the gears are engaged. If you’re coasting, you’ve given up control.

5. The right way is to add gas as soon as you have settled into your lean angle.
a. As soon as you are leaned over to where you want to be for that turn, you start to add gas smoothly.
b. Don’t bother waiting for the suspension to settle first. It will take care of itself when you add the throttle.