HaulinAshe
Well-known member
This past weekend I attended a MotoMark1 Precision Maneuvering Class in Durham NC. Needless to say, I learned a lot about both the slow-handling characteristics of the FJR and about my personal limitations.
Many of you know that used to race motocross. Just over one year ago in a bizarre/freak accident, I completely broke my left arm near the shoulder, and managed to screw that side up pretty bad. The very first thing I learned at the PMC was how asymmetrical my body currently is. The left shoulder and forearm quickly became fatigued with cramps and muscle stress comparable to most any girly-man activity conceivable.
The class started out with a brief white board presentation of a few useful acronyms and Mark Brown explaining his personal background and business history. A total of three instructors were provided for a group of about 12 students. We also learned that the facility parking lot where our class was being held is soon to be no more. Mark commented that anyone who could arrange a group of 12 and provide the facility, would be given a course at their location at a similar price of roughly $300/student.
Up until this weekend I’ve worked very hard to avoid ever maneuvering the FJR with the bars fully locked in either direction. After the PMC I can’t say that I’m any more fond of that type of turn, but I am significantly more comfortable in dealing with it when necessary. Mark himself was very helpful in recognizing when I needed to “trust the bike” and gave me encouragement at the right moment many times.
The 15-25 mph wind bursts made certain aspects of the training result in a foot-down many times. There are many parts of their training course that cannot be negotiated (inside the cones) without the bars fully-locked, your butt shifted to the high side, and a super-precise action on the clutch at dead idle.
Seems like this is a good time for my pre-course checklist recommendations:
1. Have your idle RPM set to a minimum of 1,000, preferably 1,200-1,400.
2. Throttle Body Sync for smooth idle.
3. Make every throttle transition mod possible (G2 tube, 3rd spring release, PC-III, Barb Mod etc.)
4. If you own a post-05 model, invest in the pre-06 clutch slave cylinder. Mine is on order!
5. If you are right-handed, switch your private recreational activities to the left hand, at least one month before taking the class. You will need a well-developed left grip.
6. Sliders, SLIDERS, TOGs, scuff tape, whatever possible. There’s a realistically good chance (I estimate 1-in-4) that you will drop the FJR. We had one BMW dropped three times and one HD bagger dropped once.
7. Go with good protective gear, pants and all. Need I say more?
The epitome of the course challenge is pretty much something called the “Iron Cross”. Imagine a T-shaped course about one parking space in width. You ride up the vertical, turn right into an immediate left U-turn, turn right again and immediately do a left U-turn across the top of the cross. Then it’s back to the right followed by another immediate left U-turn and hard right out the lower end of the cross.
Mark and his crew are well aware of the extra challenge their course represents for sport bikes and FJRs with longer wheel bases and higher CGs. They coached me specifically on my need, no the necessity to shift my weight high and push the bike into the low speed corners in order to make the course obstacles.
Now that’s not a motion that is foreign to me. It’s how I’ve been turning in dirt for many, many years. But on the FJR it’s exactly the opposite of what I’ve been practicing for the last many months. I’ve been practicing hanging off the inside of the turn and honestly, there were times I was very tempted to enter their course at about 60 mph and rack the FJR through the turns!
Most of the time, I was moving MUCH slower than the other bikes. Many times, especially on any slight downhill grades, I was bumping and clanking the drive train at dead idle RPM to get just enough speed to maintain balance. The scary part was that in order to get the necessary turning radius I had to be sitting high on the bike. That meant that I could NOT get a foot down if I lost my bike balance. That’s usually when Mark would yell “Clutch Jeff, trust the bike, trust it, TRUST IT!”
I’m proud to say that I did trust it several times and squeezed out just enough clutch to keep rolling without choking off the engine. By the midday point, my left arm was aching and my bad shoulder was hurting enough that I could no longer ignore it. So I made the last couple courses in the first pass and then sat out during free-practice. Gatorade and a lot of arm rubbing and exercising got me through the rest of the day. I did everything, just not as many repetitions as most.
Would I recommend this course to fellow FJR owners? I would not recommend it to a brand-new FJR owner. You should have at least a few months of time with the bike and have made any necessary mods to smooth out the bottom-end throttle to your liking. And lastly, it would certainly help if you were already over the fear of scratching the new bike. It certainly weighed heavy on my mind the entire day. I’m thankful to Mark for recognizing when I needed a push and understanding when I insisted on taking a break.
No, I will not be demonstrating at WFO or EOM!
:yahoo:
Many of you know that used to race motocross. Just over one year ago in a bizarre/freak accident, I completely broke my left arm near the shoulder, and managed to screw that side up pretty bad. The very first thing I learned at the PMC was how asymmetrical my body currently is. The left shoulder and forearm quickly became fatigued with cramps and muscle stress comparable to most any girly-man activity conceivable.
The class started out with a brief white board presentation of a few useful acronyms and Mark Brown explaining his personal background and business history. A total of three instructors were provided for a group of about 12 students. We also learned that the facility parking lot where our class was being held is soon to be no more. Mark commented that anyone who could arrange a group of 12 and provide the facility, would be given a course at their location at a similar price of roughly $300/student.
Up until this weekend I’ve worked very hard to avoid ever maneuvering the FJR with the bars fully locked in either direction. After the PMC I can’t say that I’m any more fond of that type of turn, but I am significantly more comfortable in dealing with it when necessary. Mark himself was very helpful in recognizing when I needed to “trust the bike” and gave me encouragement at the right moment many times.
The 15-25 mph wind bursts made certain aspects of the training result in a foot-down many times. There are many parts of their training course that cannot be negotiated (inside the cones) without the bars fully-locked, your butt shifted to the high side, and a super-precise action on the clutch at dead idle.
Seems like this is a good time for my pre-course checklist recommendations:
1. Have your idle RPM set to a minimum of 1,000, preferably 1,200-1,400.
2. Throttle Body Sync for smooth idle.
3. Make every throttle transition mod possible (G2 tube, 3rd spring release, PC-III, Barb Mod etc.)
4. If you own a post-05 model, invest in the pre-06 clutch slave cylinder. Mine is on order!
5. If you are right-handed, switch your private recreational activities to the left hand, at least one month before taking the class. You will need a well-developed left grip.
6. Sliders, SLIDERS, TOGs, scuff tape, whatever possible. There’s a realistically good chance (I estimate 1-in-4) that you will drop the FJR. We had one BMW dropped three times and one HD bagger dropped once.
7. Go with good protective gear, pants and all. Need I say more?
The epitome of the course challenge is pretty much something called the “Iron Cross”. Imagine a T-shaped course about one parking space in width. You ride up the vertical, turn right into an immediate left U-turn, turn right again and immediately do a left U-turn across the top of the cross. Then it’s back to the right followed by another immediate left U-turn and hard right out the lower end of the cross.
Mark and his crew are well aware of the extra challenge their course represents for sport bikes and FJRs with longer wheel bases and higher CGs. They coached me specifically on my need, no the necessity to shift my weight high and push the bike into the low speed corners in order to make the course obstacles.
Now that’s not a motion that is foreign to me. It’s how I’ve been turning in dirt for many, many years. But on the FJR it’s exactly the opposite of what I’ve been practicing for the last many months. I’ve been practicing hanging off the inside of the turn and honestly, there were times I was very tempted to enter their course at about 60 mph and rack the FJR through the turns!
Most of the time, I was moving MUCH slower than the other bikes. Many times, especially on any slight downhill grades, I was bumping and clanking the drive train at dead idle RPM to get just enough speed to maintain balance. The scary part was that in order to get the necessary turning radius I had to be sitting high on the bike. That meant that I could NOT get a foot down if I lost my bike balance. That’s usually when Mark would yell “Clutch Jeff, trust the bike, trust it, TRUST IT!”
I’m proud to say that I did trust it several times and squeezed out just enough clutch to keep rolling without choking off the engine. By the midday point, my left arm was aching and my bad shoulder was hurting enough that I could no longer ignore it. So I made the last couple courses in the first pass and then sat out during free-practice. Gatorade and a lot of arm rubbing and exercising got me through the rest of the day. I did everything, just not as many repetitions as most.
Would I recommend this course to fellow FJR owners? I would not recommend it to a brand-new FJR owner. You should have at least a few months of time with the bike and have made any necessary mods to smooth out the bottom-end throttle to your liking. And lastly, it would certainly help if you were already over the fear of scratching the new bike. It certainly weighed heavy on my mind the entire day. I’m thankful to Mark for recognizing when I needed a push and understanding when I insisted on taking a break.
No, I will not be demonstrating at WFO or EOM!
:yahoo:
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