Well, the Gen III OEM Sliders Work...

[AlleyCat]

The advanced driving course I have taken makes us do that turn (brake and escape) to simulate you avoiding a turning car into your path and the emergency braking isn't enough to stop in time so you have to swerve around the car to avoid smacking into it. It keeps the skills sharp. However, I use the CTB method of making that tight turn (Clutch, Throttle, Brake) to keep the bike up... otherwise, it is very easy to go down. During the initial braking phase, I downshift rapidly to get back into 1st gear in order to be ready for the CTB part.

But the OP said he had to do a full-lock minimum radius turn, not just swerve around the obstacle!

The turn we did was a full 90 degree to the right and a full 90 to the left to exit the exercise (like Aasland's police circuit). It's a tight 2 turns with the handle bars darn close to full-lock. I don't know if the OP has the time to get CTB to do the turn or if momentum is your means of making the the turn... In most cases, a slow speed exercise is best done using the CTB method.

 

[CA G-Man]

The advanced driving course I have taken makes us do that turn (brake and escape) to simulate you avoiding a turning car into your path and the emergency braking isn't enough to stop in time so you have to swerve around the car to avoid smacking into it. It keeps the skills sharp. However, I use the CTB method of making that tight turn (Clutch, Throttle, Brake) to keep the bike up... otherwise, it is very easy to go down. During the initial braking phase, I downshift rapidly to get back into 1st gear in order to be ready for the CTB part.

But the OP said he had to do a full-lock minimum radius turn, not just swerve around the obstacle!

The turn we did was a full 90 degree to the right and a full 90 to the left to exit the exercise (like Aasland's police circuit). It's a tight 2 turns with the handle bars darn close to full-lock. I don't know if the OP has the time to get CTB to do the turn or if momentum is your means of making the the turn... In most cases, a slow speed exercise is best done using the CTB method.

The exercise we did involved a lane of cones ending about 4 feet from a perpendicular row of cones (a "wall"). We rode to the end of the lane, then made a rapid full stop (foot-down), quick shoulder check, then a full-lock exit either left or right. The "wall" of cones and another one perpendicular to the exit a few feet away are what necessitated the full-lock turn (and in reality few of us managed to stay inside the cones on the turns very often). The effect of this maneuver, if you were to superimpose it onto a 2-lane road (1 each way), would be that you'd be doing a u-turn and going with traffic in the opposite direction or riding up the ditch/sidewalk in the case of a right-hand exit. If you were on the right lane of a 4-lane road you'd be turning left to ride up the left lane into oncoming traffic.

I suspect there isn't a realistic real-world traffic application of this particular maneuver, but rather it was intended as just another way to practice tight maneuvering (just like the circles and figure-eights) and quick stops and starts.

Don't get me wrong - I'm not blaming my drop on the drill. That's entirely my responsibility. I just mentioned in passing that I couldn't see a clear application to street riding. I hate to say it but I'm pretty sure if I was in a real traffic scenario with a vehicle bearing down on me from behind and my only escape route being a tight jigsaw-pattern of full-lock turns, my instincts would kick in and have me dropping the bike and running through the jigsaw pattern (let's just hope my wife on the back runs as fast!

).

 

[AlleyCat]

Ok, I see what they were getting you to do.... That is a tough exercise because it is easy to stall (very difficult to establish a good CTB from a stopped position). My nemesis was the balanced stop with a 90 degree left or right hand turn chosen by the instructor (of course he would choose the side where you were off balance or too close to just to turn up the difficulty).

Hats off to anyone who chooses to upgrade their riding skill by following these advanced classes... I would love to see the European police ride the FJR in a tight course just to see what the heavy girl can do. As for the Harleys (not a HD guy), I do have to admit they navigate those courses very well with the proper technique.

 

[CA G-Man]

I was lucky in that one of the instructors (the one who demonstrated almost all the skills) was on his Gen I FJR. There were a couple that I would have thought nearly impossible on an FJR if I hadn't seen him do them a moment before. It certainly helped me realize how much room there is for me to improve my skills.

 

[flyinlow]

Most of these tight drills come from police training, where the motor officer might have to navigate tight quarters while chasing down suspects, or need to navigate between cars to keep chasing a suspect.

In the real world of riding, most of us will never need the ability to do this unless we are trying to escape from a police officer

. I suppose an argument could be made if you were in an older city that has really tight quarters, you may have to use these techniques, but it would have to be pretty old. I know there are some European cities that are pretty tight but not too many in the US.

 

[CA G-Man]

I was just disappointed they didn't teach the James Bond "lay it down and slide to avoid the helicopter rotor blades while handcuffed to a Bond girl" technique. That would have been cool (although I might have borrowed one of the school's bikes to try it myself).

 

[RiderCoach Lar]

Was this an MSF Experienced Rider Class?

I don't teach the MSF Advanced RiderCourse (ARC), but I do know the curriculum and the range exercises. That is definitely not one of them

Was this an MSF Experienced Rider Class?

I don't teach the MSF Advanced RiderCourse (ARC), but I do know the curriculum and the range exercises. That is definitely not one of them

 

[900gc]

I took an Experienced Rider Course this weekend and - no surprise - had my first drop. We were doing a drill where we came to a quick stop and then quickly "escaped" by making a full-lock, minimum-radius turn (I still haven't figured out what real-world scenario this drill was supposed to simulate...). Anyhoo, on one of the passes I managed to stall it at full-lock and down she went at zero speed.
I was surprised at how little damage there was. If you get down on your knees you can see the nick on the slider where it landed, and there is a very slight scuff (maybe a 1/2-inch long) at the front of the muffler. No contact of mirrors, bars, or side bags whatsoever.

Sure glad I installed the sliders this winter!

That's why you rent a 250 for this stuff.

 

[CA G-Man]

That's why you rent a 250 for this stuff.

I trust that was in jest, but in case it wasn't: Maybe if I viewed the course as a competition and wanted to do tighter circles than everyone else, I would use a smaller bike. My intention was to get to know my FJR better and learn exactly what it can and can't do (or perhaps more importantly, what I can and can't do on it!). As an example, aside from the little drop I also learned something about how quickly I need to get off the brakes before applying steering input in a brake-and-swerve situation. I stayed on a little too long one time and had a slight lateral slide on the rear wheel. Fortunately I've never broken a wheel loose on the road (yet) but now I have a bit of a feel for the traction limits.

 

[FJR Bill]

After 50+ years of riding I think I have some skills. But I don't see practical application of this drill. I can guarantee you if I performed it as described, I'd drop the FJR. However there are other techniques to avoid being squashed from behind. Stop in a manner that will let you lane split or head to the left or right of the stopped car in front of you. In other words as you come to a stop aim toward your emergency exit point not the car in front of you. Make it a habit! Gheese

Bill

 

[HotRodZilla]

No way I woulda attempted that drill on my uncaged FJR. I've done it on a police bike, years ago, and dropped it a lot. I wouldn't try it on this bike. I would probably ask the instructor to demonstrate it on his own personal bike. When he crashed it, I'd have a good reason to refuse.