"Soft Hands"

[Ken H.]

Soft hands, no I’m not talking about Avon Skin-so-Soft!

 

This month’s BMW ON has an article by Jim Ford which speaks to controlling a bike with a light touch. I won’t plagiarize his whole article, but I do like some of his concepts;

 

“Conjure in your mind a “lightness of being” as you straddle your bike.”

 

“…guide your motorcycle more into doing your bidding rather a more forceful means of control.”

 

“..use those stomach and thigh muscles to maintain posture and ensure continuously that your arms are loose and your hands light on the controls.”

 

“Also ride with the balls of your feet on the foot pegs.” "Your legs become real shock absorbers keeping you light in the saddle while soaking up road bumps as you motor along.”

 

Good thoughts and more, I encourage your to get a hold of a copy if you can.

[ShovelStrokeEd]

Go and watch a good equestrian rider for a perfect example of what he is talking about. Doesn't matter the discipline. If you get a chance to witness a cutting horse competition, so much the better. It takes mere ounces of pressure on the bars to execute most turns, it is all in how you maintain your "post" on the bike and where you distribute your weight.

[Stan Walker]

Jan is always telling me how soft my hands are.....

 

but wait, perhaps that's not what we are talking about?

 

 

Stan

[Albert]

Ed, didn't equestrian make a 650 back in the 60's?

 

Actually I agree with the sentiments from the author. After taking the Ride Smart last year I find myself "practicing" executing turns with my hands just hovering over the bars. It's amazing how fluidly one can manage a motorcycle using nothing but body inputs.

[DouglasR]

This is a great point, Ken. The vast majority of my riding experience (hours, not necessarily miles) has been on dirt bikes. The "soft hands" approach is absolutely critical to managing a dirtbike in the relentlessly uncertain traction/obstructions/holes/rocks environment of off-road riding. If you aren't loose on the bike, riding on the balls of your feet, allowing the bike to move around under you, etc. it is a rugged and exhausting experience. If you relax and ride with "soft hands" it is another experience altogether. I think all my dirt riding experience translates very well to long distance sport touring and sport riding on asphalt. These machines are incredibly capable and will perform beautifully if you just allow them to do what they are designed to do and don't fight them.

 

Here's a simple example of what I'm trying to get across: next time you take your big heavy motorcycle off the sidestand, turn the handlebars full right then lift it to vertical. Try it with the bars full left and lift it to vertical. When the bars are full right you are working WITH the geometry of the machine and it comes up with very little effort; full left and you are working against the geometry and it requires much more effort to raise. Same story when picking a dropped bike up - there are ways to do it that work with the inherent stability of the bike and ways to do it working against the bike.

 

It's the same with any of the other action sports I love - skiing, bicycling (road and mountain), highway motorcycling. If you are tense and gripped about it, your actions are jerky or overly dramatic and any mistakes or lapses in technique are magnified. Hang on, pay attention, but relax and let the machine do it's job and the ride is so much smoother and enjoyable.

 

Just to be clear, I'm talking about being physically relaxed, not mentally relaxed! Gotta keep that "radar" dialed up to full power at all times! And as we all know, being intimately familiar with the mechanical operation of your machine is critical. Practice, practice, practice!

[eddd]

This same technique is utilized in mountain biking. If you're hanging on with a death grip you'll tire quickly and not be able to react.

[Lone_RT_rider]

Wow... I think I heard this before somewhere...

 

I swear it was at a class somewhere up on the blue ridge parkway....

 

Shawn

[Ken H.]

Wow... I think I heard this before somewhere...

 

I swear it was at a class somewhere up on the blue ridge parkway....

 

Shawn

Well of course. The article, our own RidingSmart program, all the 'experts' in the books and on the tracks, we're all humming the same basic mantra. Just more and more ways to get 'the word out.' And that's a good thing.

[LuckyLeif]

For those of you who do not know Jim Ford, he is also a general aviation pilot. I believe that many things that Jim teaches are carryovers from operating an airplane. Another thing that he preaches is to keep you engine rpm just below the torque peak (4 - 6000, depending). He has offered weekend classes in street riding.

[mefly2]

This same technique is utilized in mountain biking. If you're hanging on with a death grip you'll tire quickly and not be able to react.

 

Ab-so-rootry ... especially over washboard!