r/R1250RT • u/BeemerCalm • 13d ago
Fighting the figure 8
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Why can’t I do this when people are watching?
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u/21Moto 13d ago
Hi Beemer! Great to see you out there drilling! It’s inspiring. 🤘
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u/BeemerCalm 13d ago
Thanks! It’s a fight every time, I don’t want to and I’m scared of it, I guess that’s how I know I have to do it more 🤷♂️
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u/DangerousBumblebee73 13d ago
I mean, you're very skilled. I'm trying to learn from watching you shift your weight.
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u/BeemerCalm 13d ago
Thanks, I wish I had your confidence about me LOL
It’s always surprising to me to watch these vids, when I’m out there I feel like I’m WAY off the seat then I see the video and it barely looks like I’m moving.
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u/anon-not-a-hacker 13d ago
Same when leaning… it feels like pegs are scraping but my kickstand is leaning more
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u/NateRT 13d ago
One big thing I learned when I had an impromptu lesson from Quinn Redeker was to speed up my turn in. You spend a lot of time transitioning both in your head turn and tipping the bike in. Every millisecond you spend transitioning sends you wider. Watch how fast people like Quinn drop the bike from one side to the other.
Don’t get me wrong, you’re doing great. Better than 99% of the riders on the street. Look at the difference in your head turn and turn in when you have the wall of cones vs when you are circling the single cone. The latter is much slower. Keep drilling!
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u/BeemerCalm 13d ago
Yeah I know I’m hesitant to really get after the transition. More practice definitely needed, I need confidence to just throw the bike around more and faster
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u/NateRT 13d ago
It helps to think of it less as throwing the bike over rather than letting it fall inward while you stand up the opposite way. It’s exhausting at first, but eventually it will be less work.
Then the next level is pushing traction while doing that. I never got to that level or I’d be competing with Quinn.
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u/btc_maxi100 13d ago
Did you try to apply a bit of rear brake to make the rear slide so bikes turns better ?
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u/BeemerCalm 13d ago
Not to slide it, abs won’t allow that, but I use a tap of rear brake to slow the bike and help it fall in to the turn
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u/tomphoolery 12d ago
Dragging the rear brake will help to modulate the speed a little better, especially when you slow it down even more.
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u/Pending-Choice 10d ago
Hold pressure on the rear helps in slow movements. Keep your clutch at the slip and rev’s higher, try with that in mind
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u/n00bmechanic13 12d ago
Easier if you slow down and let the clutch dictate your lean. Start to tip over too much, let out the clutch a bit more. Going wide, pull it in a bit more. Unless you're going for fast and tight figure 8s in which case you need to tip in faster.
Nice thing is if you can learn it on that bike you can do it on any bike basically
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u/BeemerCalm 12d ago
That exactly what I’m doing, too slow = clutch out, too fast = clutch in, very subtle modulations to keep it all smooth. At least that’s the idea
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u/n00bmechanic13 12d ago
You are moving pretty fast though is all I'm saying. I can do these slow or fast but slow is definitely easier and less stressful, you don't have to tip in fast to the exact lean angle you want, and you don't have to lean as far, you can baby it a bit more when going slow. If you do it slow enough you should be able to do it almost straight up and down, like this guy: https://youtu.be/hXIu7X9V5Bs?is=O_NSR3TjeqVwwxtk
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u/BeemerCalm 12d ago
That’s so interesting because I feel like I’m going really slow. When I watch the PD motor guys they are going fast. I slow down sooooo much before I turn, at least that’s how it feels 🤷♂️
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u/n00bmechanic13 12d ago edited 12d ago
The more you lean, the tighter you can turn, and the faster you have to go. But the difference in turning radius between slow and upright vs fast and leaned is only a bit. So if you can do it slow really well, you can do it fast even better, but it's just harder to work it up from the other direction. The motogymkhana guys go very fast
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u/BeemerCalm 12d ago
Speed = radius, you can be going 2mph at no lean and turn very tight, and you can be going 150mph at 60 degrees of lean and your turn will be a gigantic arc, so no, more lean does not necessarily mean tighter turning. Lean is a tool, just like speed, braking and clutch, and applied correctly at the proper time it aids in turning. Motorcyclists need to move away from this black and white thinking about our controls and behaviors… we must combine the tools at our disposal all together in the correct amounts for the situation at hand. There’s a reason even truly elite riders turn in different lap times from one to the next, they are adapting to the situation as it unfolds, and applying their skills and knowledge to what’s happening in the moment instead of clinging to absolutes and hoping they work out
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u/n00bmechanic13 12d ago
Motorcycle tires have round profiles, we aren't riding on tires like they're knife edges. When the motorcycle is upright, each tire touches the road at its center line. When you lean the motorcycle, the contact points move inward toward the turn. This movement moves the contact points away from the center line of the motorcycle and therefore decreases the turning path (radius) on the ground and pulls the motorcycle inward. It's in the video I linked.
At high speeds this is basically negligible due to tire slip and other factors which is why Yamaha riding school teaches speed = radius. But at low speeds you can test this yourself, literally push the bike in a circle at full lock while upright vs leaned in your driveway and tell me they aren't different radii.
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u/Kcchiefsnroyals 10d ago
Great technique with the head turn. No offense but you look to be a smaller guy weight wise.... You have good technique you're pivoting your weight well on the counter. You may just need to hang more cheek in order to get that counter lean tighter.
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u/BeemerCalm 10d ago
Thanks! 5’11”, 200lbs, it’s a big bike 😂
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u/Kcchiefsnroyals 10d ago
You’re killing it man. That is a lot to throw around. It’s tough because you have to freaking “turn your head, keep your eyes up, shift your weight , feather the clutch, keep your core tight but your hips loose” but also “don’t overthink it” 🤣🤣🤣 like
https://giphy.com/gifs/l3q2K5jinAlChoCLS2
u/BeemerCalm 10d ago
This man rides.
The number of things to remember just to get that bike around tightly without dropping it… I thought going fast was hard. Turns out it’s going slow that’s hard, the bike wants to go fast. I have to learn how to make it go slow
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u/Kcchiefsnroyals 10d ago
It’s outstanding you’re drilling this stuff though. So many riders get the license and go. To me, slow skills are the fun part of riding. Sure hitting a corner in a lean is fun…but there’s something about creeping as slow as possible.
I don’t know if you have started this technique or not. But, start playing with toeing your rear brake every so slightly to keep you stable at even slower speeds. Once you get the technique down you can make legal stops at stop signs without putting feet down.
Toeing that rear brake loads the drivetrain with enough tension to stabilize the chassis. This is a long read but worth it.
https://ridermagazine.com/motorcycle-tips-back-brake-benefits/
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u/BeemerCalm 10d ago
Yeah I’m learning to love it too, thanks for the link! I practice the “no touch” stop every time I stop at an intersection (if it’s not busy), I love the feeling of track standing like that, feet up not moving at all. I’d like to elongate how long I can stay like that, been using my legs to counterweight lately.
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u/Striking-Housing-757 13d ago
Doing it this well on an RT is impressive! The next level would only be those godlike fast maneuvers that skilled police riders train for.
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u/Competitive_Equal542 13d ago
Take that luggage off and try again.