Motorcycle Riding Techniques
© 2002 - 2008, Raymond Wood

Being prepared

Question: How do you ready yourself for unexpected hazards especially in towns and villages?

Answer: By getting more functionality from your right hand (and I don't mean this in any self-gratificational way!)

You can double the functionality of the right hand by resting the first two fingers over the brake lever while the remaining two fingers and your hand are around the throttle. This is one of the most useful techniques when preparing yourself for the unexpected and unforeseeable. After all, we know where most of the hazards are, don't we? Towns, villages, filtering and junctions for starters. So when we enter these zones why not get prepared for trouble?

If you refer to the The speed we travel at article, you can see that the quicker we react, while braking, the less distance we are going to travel. Even at 30 mph / 47 kph we are traveling at 44 feet per second.

If you are in the habit of keeping your right hand wrapped around the throttle then consider how long it takes you to apply the front brake in an emergency (especially when wearing thick gloves in winter). You have to release your grip on the throttle, move your finger/s over the brake lever then apply the brake. How long does this take? A second? Half a second? Now consider how long it would take for you to simply apply the brake straight away because your two fingers are already in position. Have you saved any time at all? Maybe half a second? I know we are talking of fractions of a second here but these are very important seconds. A half a second saving here equates to 22 feet of distance traveling at 30 mph / 47 kph, irrespective of how long your "thinking" time is. This can mean the difference between hitting something and stopping in front of it.

And, of course, we can encounter hazards at any time. While we are traveling at higher speeds the be "prepared principle" can really pay off - at 70 mph, a half a second saving in time equates to over 50 feet of distance. I have to admit that I now ride with two fingers permanently covering the front brake lever - the advantages of doing so are simply too overwhelming.

So be a good Boy Scout and be prepared!

85% of all motorcycle accidents involve riders with less than 2 years of riding experience.

There are other great advantages to having this technique in your toolkit. Elsewhere we talked about Which foot to use to support the bike when stationary and it was suggested that the right foot was the coolest to use. OK, so you are on a hill and you have to stop. With your right foot on the ground you must use the hand brake to stop from rolling backwards. With two fingers applying the hand brake, you have two more plus your hand to use for manipulating the throttle. This makes for a really easy hill start without having to shuffle the feet.

If you are not using dual functionality of the right hand then get out there now and master the technique - you will never regret it!