ikonoklass

So this weekend, I re-watched TotW II, as is my custom. You may recall the scene where the narrator explains the safety of riding the proper line, and then it shows a bike evading a cage that is encroaching on the rider's lane. Well tonight after work, I was riding in the Pleasant Park/Deer Creek Canyon area in Colorado (recently on the news because of forest fire), and sure enough, some jackass comes around a corner COMPLETELY in my lane. Fortunately, my position was correct, and it was a non-issue (other than my thinking murderous thoughts for several minutes). Thank you, Mr. Code. The value of your instruction is incalculable.

Newton's Third Law.

Vision does appear to be the key issue. Everything flows from being able to "see your line" with the 3-step!

I agree that the "active" vs. "passive" designations are complete rubbish. But semantics aside, I sometimes feel that steering with both hands--at least for me--helps me avoid fighting between hands more than just using the inside hand. If that's truly the case, is there any other reason not to do it?

Someone over at Advrider.com called countersteering with one arm "passive" countersteering and claimed that steering with both arms is "active" counter steering. Is there a reason this technique isn't taught? Thanks!

LOL No worries. I'm afraid the project I'm working on has made me a little testy.

Actually, I own and have read (multiple times) TotW I&II, as well as many other books on the topic of riding technique. I asked whether it was taught in Level III, not what it was. You ignorant buffoon.

Is this technique taught at school, or has it been subsumed by another technique? Thanks in advance. As much as I savor every minute of summer, I can't wait until November for Levels III and IV!! Yee haa!!

I'm taking levels 3 and 4 in November. Which video would you recommend if I want to work on my body positioning between now and then? Thanks.

Man, you guys are bad at math ... If I already paid $2,250 for a 10% improvement in ability, then surely I must owe an additional $2,250 if I improved by 20%! Either way, it was money well-spent!

Keith said something like, "You will have gotten your money's worth from this class if your riding ability improves by 10 percent." So if my riding improved by 20 percent, does that mean I still owe you guys money? : )

I haven't done Level III yet, so I'm no expert, but it seems to me that moving one's body off the center line toward the inside of the corner involves holding onto the bars and that unwanted, extraneous bar inputs could cause the bike to begin turning in before the turn point. Perhaps if you're able to get off the bike using your core muscles without any kind of bar pressure, this wouldn't happen, and the bike would merely lean toward the inside of the curve, without actually turning.

So Cobie, specifically, you're ok with pressuring the outside bar to keep the bike upright during this process?

I did I & II in Las Vegas two weeks ago. I could not believe how powerful those 600s were.

Lee Parks, who gives props to Keith all the time, recommends the following in his book: In approaching a turn, begin hanging off and weighting the inside peg prior to your turn point. Now, if you're going into a left-hander, put a little pressure on the right grip, to counterbalance your body mass, which is already hanging off the left side. This keeps the bike upright until you reach the turning point, at which you push left to initiate your turn. I've not seen this in ToTW2. Is this a bad technique?

This could turn out to be snake oil, but if the claims are true, this could be the biggest handling innovation since swingarm suspension.

Works for me. Thanks, guys.

I'm signed up for a 2-day camp in April. Does the staff adjust the suspension of the bikes to the students, or are they used as-is? Just curious, as every article I read about suspension makes such a big deal out of it. Thanks.

You sold me. I've got an R1200GS, too, with just about an 1/8 inch of chicken strips left on either side. If I could get rid of that last little bit as easily as you did, it would be money well spent!

I'm definitely familiar with page 76 of TotW II, and I've taken it to heart after realizing just how much I was countermanding my own steering inputs without even knowing it. Now my bike's in the shop for routine service, and they're waiting for a part to come in. It's driving me nuts!

Now I realize that even the slightest push gets the bike leaning. As to pivot steering, I had read about it in TotW II, but had kind of discarded it, as it seems at odds with other things I've read. For example, Ienatsch talks about weighting the inside peg to initiate a turn. But now that I'm comfortable putting very little weight on the bar, I'm going to experiment with it some more.

Interesting! Ienatsch says in his book that if you ask 10 expert riders how to turn, you'll get 10 different responses. I guess he's right. Pushing on the inside bar and not applying any pressure to the outside seems to give me the best balance, but maybe not the most leverage. I think I need to try weighting the peg more. I'm a decent rider for someone who hasn't taken one of Keith's classes (yet), but I need to get more comfortable with pushing the bar harder. It's just a matter of overcoming fear. Thanks for the responses!

Folks, I'm new to this forum, and it looks like a fantastic resource. I've read both ToTW books, plus some others, like Nick Ienatsch's. I live in Denver where hundreds of miles of pristine canyon roads lie only about 20 miles from my door. I have a question based on something I read that Keith wrote. He said that you have to take care when steering that you're not just pushing the bike underneath you. In other words, you must roll when the bike rolls. Sounds obvious, but after I read it, I realized that sometimes I was guilty of pushing the bike around underneath me. I found that pushing on one handlebar causes me to roll very naturally with the bike, whereas pushing on one grip while pulling on the other tends to stabilize me on top of the bike, preventing me from moving with the bike. Thoughts?