Nick Ienatsch is an American motorcycle racer, writer, and motorcycle riding instructor who writes a weekly blog celebrating the motorcycle life on CycleWorld.com. Read his thoughts on why it’s important to look at the “big picture” while riding your motorcycle.
“‘It’s like cheating,’ said Dave, a student at last week’s Champ School. Dave is a racer on a track-prepped BMW S1000RR and had just rolled into the pits after a mini-drill centered around vision.
Of all the basics you will hear from any riding instructor or mentor, “Get your eyes up” is a standard mantra. “Look farther.” “You go where you look.” All good advice and certainly Dave and the rest of our class had heard all that over the years.
But what instigated Dave’s cheating comment was a slight twist on this theme. At YCRS, we teach “Look sooner. Scan back if necessary.” Secondly, we encourage riders to try new techniques at something less than 100 percent effort and lap times.
And to be more exact: Dave and the class learned that the moment when you roll off the throttle on to the brakes is the perfect time to look way into the future. Cast those eyeballs past the corner entry, past the apex, past the exit, and as far as you can see. Then scan back to your entry point or apex or whatever else concerns you, like a pothole or seam. Kyle Wyman tells students it’s ‘looking two steps ahead, one step back…two ahead, one back.'”
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