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Having good throttle control is what separates good riders from great riders. Correct throttle application in a corner helps settle the chassis of the motorcycle making cornering smoother and more predictable. This week on MCrider we will finish our fundamentals of cornering series and talk about throttle application in the corner.
Why does rolling on the throttle matter? Many riders only think of the throttle of the motorcycle as the control that makes the motorcycle go faster, but it does much more than that. The throttle of the motorcycle has as much to do with the suspension of the motorcycle as the speed. Rolling on or maintaining throttle in a corner balances the suspension of the motorcycle out.
A motorcycles suspension works best when it is in the middle of its travel range. This allows 50% of the travel available for bumps in the road and 50% available for dips. Being on the throttle through the corner helps the suspension find this sweet spot.
Let’s define a couple of terms here:
Maintenance throttle: is just enough throttle to keep the motorcycle’s suspension balanced
Acceleration throttle: is just enough to cause the motorcycle to smoothly accelerate
So how much throttle are we talking about in a corner? The answer to that is it depends. The sharper the corner the less throttle the wider the corner a little more throttle can be applied.
Here is how you can experiment with smooth throttle control: On a straight stretch of deserted road, practice closing the throttle and then smoothly opening it just enough so that you are still slowing down but you can feel the slack taken out of the drivetrain. That will help you develop good throttle control so the you can achieve maintenance throttle and smooth acceleration throttle in your corners.
Till next week, this is Kevin with MCrider and we’ll see you on the road.
So let’s recap where we are in the fundamentals of cornering a motorcycle:
In episode 14 we discussed “Slow”. You slow to your entry speed with the front and rear brakes prior to the corner.
In episode 15 we discussed “Look”. Point your nose in the direction you want the motorcycle to go. Remember our saying?
You should always look where you want to go and know that your motorcycle will go where you look.
Episode 16 covered “Press” or counter steering the motorcycle.
