bull7419

Any word on the release date for the new Twist DVD?

I agree! Great topic. I initially said throttle control, but now that I have for the most part corrected that error; I think maybe turn entry point is my priority. This leads to "How quick can I flick (a Harley)? Which will dictate my turn entry point. The point is there is no right or wrong answer. Maybe the question is: What is your top priority at each level? As we improve the priority changes. Impart because or attention is no longer fixed on say "throttle control" because it becomes second nature. However, maybe we haven't master the visual skills required to effectively pick a good turn point?

uh, no thanks on riding in the snow (at least on a track) unless I really had to C I just looked at this picture. How much slicker then rain is that snow. My understanding of ice and traction is that the friction melts the ice causing whatever (tires, ice skates, shoes) to hydroplane. Anyone have any input on this. I guess my theory is that unless there is ice on the track, the snow would melt under the friction of the tire and become essentially rain water (very light rain water; it doesn't take much water to make a bunch of snow). So would it be like racing on a cold rainy day? Rain/water can get in my head sometimes. We trained for several days in heavy rain (blowing side ways) and at first it messed us up. During the competition we had a fun run in which a fire truck soaked the course simulating rain. Heavy rain. The guys who trained in the rain all week did far better then those who stayed undercover, but it was all in there heads. The traction was for the most part identical to dry pavement. Now I'm not talking about racing, its a very slow course manuevering the police motors in very tight turns at slow speeds dragging everything but the frame (it is timed though, so in a anti-climatic way its racing). As soon as I learn how to post a video on here I will. The speeds are not at all impressive, but the manueverabilty of those big Harleys is.

That's funny, I was just going to ask if there was a DVD on Twist II. Is it interactive?

Thanks Kevin, I wish I could get to the school, but right now with two kids in private school and a host of other priorities, I will have to live those dreams vicariously through all of you guys. One day hopefully. I may break a hip LOL, but it would be worth it. Unfortunately, my training ground is the street while at work.

Set up turn: Is this the same thing you would use for a decreasing radius turn to get you a little deeper into the turn before you do your turn in and roll on? I believe Twist II refered to this, but I am not sure what chapter I don't have my book with me.

Yes, the Harley's do have their limitations, but riding is riding and riding at work is not much like work most of the time. Even with the limits, the book has helped me a great deal already.

O.K. here goes! I don’t even qualify as a newbee, because I don’t own a sport bike, have never raced a sport bike and have very very limited experiences with sport bikes. So having recently read Twist of the Wrist II and recently (as in today) applied these or some of these techniques (as many as I could concentrate on at a time) on my police Harley Davidson Road King in a track/race setting (disguised as “Monthly Training”) humbly believe the following in order of importance: 1. Throttle control- if done right it can save you even when you mess things up from the start. 2. Quick proper turn-ins- it sets the line thru the corner and allows you to go deeper and carry more speed at turn in. “The speed you have at turn-entry is free…..” Remember page 108 TOTW II? The sooner you get turned in and settled, the faster you can roll on and get out. 3. Proper braking- also allows you to go deeper and carry speed longer before turning in. Knowing your braking limits is also important. Example: At the end of the day I was at threshold braking on more then a few corner entries. I could feel the ABS just starting to engage before coming of the brakes and turning in. Each time I felt I had more space to go deeper before running out wide. Having confidence in my braking allowed me to experiment with the depth I went in. Now I know that if I can quicken my turn-ins, I can brake later, use up more space, go deeper and carry my speed longer before turning-in I can make up some serious ground on the guys that are much faster then me. These are my humble thoughts after my first real day applying what I got out of Twist II. Am I onboard with these concepts or do I need to read it again before I hurt myself? Please let me know if I am off base, so I can fix it. Thanks!

Cobie & Bullet thanks for the replies. I had my first monthly training day since reading Twist II. I gained about 4 seconds maybe more on the track by the end of the day (I started at a 1:19 and ended with a 1:15 maybe faster; we were racing and not timing at the end). I caught myself doing so many bad things that I have been doing since day one and never knew. The biggest was tensing up, but when I relaxed I could feel the difference. I also caught myself using the rear brake alot especially after the turn in, kind of trailing it like a safety blanket or something trying to slow myself down while rolling on the throttle thinking I would run wide into the grass. Even after I realized that I was doing it it was nearly impossible not to do it. I found that by the end I had made good progress, but I could really benifit from working the turn-in portion. Every one of our turns are decreasing radius turns so it was challenging getting set up, but I know I could shave seconds by getting a faster turn in, going deeper and getting rolled on faster. I am thinking of going to a parking lot and setting up cones. A brake cone and a turn-in cone and keep moving them closer as I progress. What do you think? I did have a few turns where I felt the rear tire kind of squish right after turning in and rolling on the throttle pretty hard. Is this what I am looking for right at the verge of wheel spin. It was kind of unnatural at first, but the bike held its line as I rolled it wide open. The track terrifies me on that road king, but man is it fun!!! I can't imagine racing like you guys do. I have a lot of schooling to do. One other thing. We have a new guy who is not yet on a motor. He passed our motor class, but is not a full time motorman yet. He was consitently turning 1:15's on the track today. When he told me he rode sport bikes prior to this and has a bunch of friends who race it all made sense to me; which reinforced the need for Twist training in our program. Now the question is how to implement it. Thanks for the help.

Thanks for the info. I have already felt the difference and the speed increase in the corners. I'm also begining to see where I have more room and could have gone faster which in my work translates to a safety margin. The big bike seems more stable too. Ride safe!

Brand new to the forum. I have been reading the cornering posts for a couple of years and it has helped me a great deal. I really appreciate all the info put out here it has saved my A@# on more then a few occasions. I have been riding (all Harley Road Kings) for almost 7 years now and for the past 4 years I have been a full time motorcycle officer in a fairly large southern city. I average around 2000 miles a month maybe more. Almost all of it in the excitement range. In my opinion we have one of the best training programs in the nation in place. 120 hours of intense training followed by several qualification runs for time and accuracy. Only about 2-3 out of every class ever see a motor. We learn all the standard stuff braking, curve negotiation, rear wheel lock ups, lots of slow stuff and track work (a very small off cambered track). However, the track can only handle speeds up to 50-55 mph in the straight away and about 20-25 mph in the curves. The problem with this is that most of the work we do is well above these speeds 70 and up. All of our experiences above 55 mph have been on the job in the real world and aside from this forum trial ny error. I have been in a wobble in a curve at 80 mph on the Road King and settled the bike down with a little throttle thanks to this forum. One of the motor officers and I were discussing this void in our training and the liability it presents. We are working on a proposal for some track time(hopefully with an instructor) at a race track with our department Harley Road Kings. I just finished Twist II after finding it by chance at the book store. What a wealth of knowledge. Most of the stuff is news to me, but some of it I have learned thru my experiences and by observation. Mostly slides and rear wheel lock ups. I say ALL of that to ask this: Is there anything that I have read in Twist II that should not be done on a Road King? anything that flat out wont work? I really enjoyed the book and will start practicing on the street as soon as my motor is out of the shop.

The bikes above look like BMW's or Honda's. I qualified with both in Police motor instructor school a few months ago. Compared to the Road King these are superbikes. Lol. I absolutely loved riding them and will one day get an FJR for a personal motor. The best thing your friend can do with the harley is ride with the high beam on (visibility) and learn proper braking slow smooth squeeze on the front brake first then she can go to the rear brake once the weight has transfered. 70% (I think more like 75%) of the braking is done with the front brake on a big tour bike.The one thing I noticed about the sport touring bikes is that the rear brake really doesnt do much for you especially on the BMW, but thats the way they are designed I guess. I was told that some sport bikes get as much as 90% of there braking from the front brake? One thing I know works for sure on the Road King is the gentle roll on throttle when the bike starts to wobble in a curve. I have been in a lean at 80-85 and rolled on the gas to stop a wobble and it settled it right down. Now I read it here first, then I baby powdered my balls (it scared the hell out of me) and went out and tried on the police Road King. Slow at first then at speed (60-70); it works. If you happen to find out anything about tour bikes let me know. Thanks ride safe!

Brand new to the forum. I have been reading the cornering posts for a couple of years and it has helped me a great deal. I really appreciate all the info put out here it has saved my A@# on more then a few occasions. I have been riding (all Harley Road Kings) for almost 7 years now and for the past 4 years I have been a full time motorcycle officer in a fairly large southern city. I average around 2000 miles a month maybe more. Almost all of it in the excitement range. In my opinion we have one of the best training programs in the nation in place. 120 hours of intense training followed by several qualification runs for time and accuracy. Only about 2-3 out of every class ever see a motor. We learn all the standard stuff braking, curve negotiation, rear wheel lock ups, lots of slow stuff and track work (a very small off cambered track). However, the track can only handle speeds up to 50-55 mph in the straight away and about 20-25 mph in the curves. The problem with this is that most of the work we do is well above these speeds 70 and up. All of our experiences above 55 mph have been on the job in the real world and aside from this forum trial ny error. I have been in a wobble in a curve at 80 mph on the Road King and settled the bike down with a little throttle thanks to this forum. One of the motor officers and I were discussing this void in our training and the liability it presents. We are working on a proposal for some track time(hopefully with an instructor) at a race track with our department Harley Road Kings. I just finished Twist II after finding it by chance at the book store. What a wealth of knowledge. Most of the stuff is news to me, but some of it I have learned thru my experiences and by observation. Mostly slides and rear wheel lock ups. I say ALL of that to ask this: Is there anything that I have read in Twist II that should not be done on a Road King? anything that flat out wont work? I really enjoyed the book and will start practicing on the street as soon as my motor is out of the shop.