Believe it or not! By riding a smaller motorbike, you can actually become smoother, quicker and faster. If you want to learn how to ride a bike properly, after you strap on your leather motorcycle gloves, it's easier to ride a slower bike fast than to ride a fast bike slow! Besides, riding a slower bike makes you appreciate a big bike more.
Now, after you prepare yourself with all the protective gear from leathers to leather motorbike gloves, you can take a slower bike to the limit, and that is when you master the throttle control and feel the balance, with the back end sliding BUT with you still being in control. Twisting the throttle with motorcycle gloves in full control is a good feeling!
When your slower bike is on the limit you will value your corner speed, concentrate more on your line and less on braking, appreciate the smoothness because the small bikes are more nimble in the corners.
A 1000cc rider may even ask you if HE was SLOWING YOU DOWN in the corners! That's also good feeling!
Whilst you have this ultimate control in the corners you can look further ahead, because looking ahead is a sure sign that you know what's goin' on! Your motorcycle gloves are in charge! This will also teach you about momentum, because smaller bikes feel good in the upper range and it can take sooo long to get there if you lose that momentum on a slower bike. That way you can rely on the slower bike's torque (force or energy) to get up to speed.
So, the idea is not to spend a lot of time grabbin' too much throttle with your motorbike gloves. On a slower bike, if you do grab a fistful, there's less chance of you lifting the front wheel and ending up with your embarrassed backside on the asphalt and you scratching your helmet with your motorcycle gloves.
Besides, if you do drop it, it's less expensive than a big bike!
Have fun and view my gorgeous motorbike gloves at:-
http://www.leatheronhand.com/motorcycle_gloves/
Monday 31 October 2011
Wednesday 26 October 2011
How To Be Smooth and Hold On
Ever noticed your forearms pump up while riding?
Do your hands get tired inside your motorbike gloves?
Too tight a hold on the bars is the most common source of motorcycling handling problems. Yes, hangin' on for dear life with your motorcycle gloves is a survival reaction, BUT, it can also ruin your riding time.
It's easy for me to say "Just relax", but it's not that easy! Holding onto the bike is an art in itself. There is technology involved. Depending on the road surface, speed, tires and suspension, any bike will shake! It's part of the whole suspension system and it's necessary for the bike to do it.
First of all, your front tire will flex (because it's rubber, remember) with the imperfections in the road surface. It's supposed to do that. After it reaches its limit of flexing, the shock and forks take over to stabilize the bike. If the result is not being able to stabilize then the forks will move from side to side. You can't stop this happening, no matter how much you grip with your motorbike gloves on the bars! You're simply not strong enough.If your bike is set up right and stable enough, it will stay loose and balanced. If NOT, then the shakes will go through you via your motorcycle gloves and transfer to the rest of the bike, becoming violent and out of control. That's why your motorbike gloves are curved, because you're gonna HOLD ON for dear life. It's that natural reaction.
If you ride a dirt bike in deep sand and hold on with your motorbike gloves too tight, you'll crash...if you stay loose, the bike'll go straight! Once again, it's all part and parcel of machine set up and stability.
Coming out of a corner and screwing ya motorbike gloves while gassin' it will cause the "wobbles", because the front is light and doesn't follow the road well. BUT, YOU can make it worse by holding on too tight.
Relax and enjoy yourself and check out my motorcycle gloves and racing gloves:
http://www.leatheronhand.com/motorcycle_gloves/
Do your hands get tired inside your motorbike gloves?
Too tight a hold on the bars is the most common source of motorcycling handling problems. Yes, hangin' on for dear life with your motorcycle gloves is a survival reaction, BUT, it can also ruin your riding time.
It's easy for me to say "Just relax", but it's not that easy! Holding onto the bike is an art in itself. There is technology involved. Depending on the road surface, speed, tires and suspension, any bike will shake! It's part of the whole suspension system and it's necessary for the bike to do it.
First of all, your front tire will flex (because it's rubber, remember) with the imperfections in the road surface. It's supposed to do that. After it reaches its limit of flexing, the shock and forks take over to stabilize the bike. If the result is not being able to stabilize then the forks will move from side to side. You can't stop this happening, no matter how much you grip with your motorbike gloves on the bars! You're simply not strong enough.If your bike is set up right and stable enough, it will stay loose and balanced. If NOT, then the shakes will go through you via your motorcycle gloves and transfer to the rest of the bike, becoming violent and out of control. That's why your motorbike gloves are curved, because you're gonna HOLD ON for dear life. It's that natural reaction.
If you ride a dirt bike in deep sand and hold on with your motorbike gloves too tight, you'll crash...if you stay loose, the bike'll go straight! Once again, it's all part and parcel of machine set up and stability.
Coming out of a corner and screwing ya motorbike gloves while gassin' it will cause the "wobbles", because the front is light and doesn't follow the road well. BUT, YOU can make it worse by holding on too tight.
Relax and enjoy yourself and check out my motorcycle gloves and racing gloves:
http://www.leatheronhand.com/motorcycle_gloves/
Monday 17 October 2011
"Threading The Needle": Cornering: Motorcycle Gloves To Lead You
The essence of motorcycle riding is cornering, using the twist of your motorcycle gloves. I can't stress this enough! You will probably never do it like Valentino Rossi, but when you get into the rhythm of a flowing and ongoing stream, instead of seeing corners as a single entity, then you are riding!
Pull on your motorcycle gloves and do it! Corners are there because a straight line was not possible. Keep alert! Exit one corner in a position that gives you the best chance of a good entry into the next. When your motorcycle gloves are acting simultaneously, without being aware of what you are doing and you are choosing ideal lines, and you instinctively know how a corner will behave, you have the right speed, the right gear, everything fits together, then you are in the flow.
Your motorcycle gloves are helping you get into a rhythm. Even unfamiliar roads can be ridden smoothly and quickly, by just looking ahead. Look "far ahead". Keep track of the "vanishing point", because when it comes closer, the corner is tightening! If you concentrate on getting your exit right, then you'll get your entry for the next one right!
So, "threading the needle" is this:-
Pull on your motorcycle gloves and do it! Corners are there because a straight line was not possible. Keep alert! Exit one corner in a position that gives you the best chance of a good entry into the next. When your motorcycle gloves are acting simultaneously, without being aware of what you are doing and you are choosing ideal lines, and you instinctively know how a corner will behave, you have the right speed, the right gear, everything fits together, then you are in the flow.
Your motorcycle gloves are helping you get into a rhythm. Even unfamiliar roads can be ridden smoothly and quickly, by just looking ahead. Look "far ahead". Keep track of the "vanishing point", because when it comes closer, the corner is tightening! If you concentrate on getting your exit right, then you'll get your entry for the next one right!
So, "threading the needle" is this:-
- Follow the line with your eyes, not your motorcycle gloves!
- Be ready, right speed, right gear.
- Stay at the outside of the corner, then lean and keep looking "far ahead".
- Give throttle in the corner. You can always lean a second time & give more gas. Twist ya motorbike gloves & accelerate out and look ahead to the next corner.
Monday 10 October 2011
Caressing The Curves With Your Motorcycle Gloves
"How to teach yourself to look where you want to go!"
This may seem a fairly stupid question to ask yourself when the motorcycle gloves are gripping the bars and you THINK you're looking where you're going! Well our initial tendency is to look at the ground in front of the front wheel. It's like trying to walk around while looking at your feet. BUMP!
Lift your eyes up. Look at the horizon. All the necessary information is fed through your motorcycle gloves, up your arms to your head.
At the entrance to the corner, flick your eyes to the ground in front of you, then move your eyes slowly up and SCAN the road surface. As your eyes end up at the exit to the corner, you roll your motorcycle gloves over the throttle and gas it out smoothly.
If you feel like you're running wide and are going to overshoot the corner, the natural instinct is to look where you think you're going. This is when you have to teach yourself to look where you want to go!
Keep your motorcycle gloves smooth on the throttle and keep your head level. When encountering a tighter curve than expected...the brain usually says, "I can't lean any further", regardless of the fact that the bike can lean more, but this still leads to riders running off curves that the bike is fully capable of taking.
Be smooth. Caress the bars with ya motorcycle gloves on! Give the bike a chance! It takes time for a bike to go from upright to a lean. Being smooth through your motorbike gloves gives the bike a chance to get settled in one state before throwing the next one at it! That's why we blend braking into turning. Squeeze the brake with your motorbike gloves, don't grab it! Revolve the throttle easily through your caring motorcycle gloves, don't twist it violently, and don't just let go of the brake...ease it out!
If you want the bike to be smooth, treat the controls with smooth motorcycle gloves. Your goal in looking ahead is to look further and further away from you. The faster you go...the further ahead you need to look.
Look away further ahead at my leather motorcycle gloves at:-
http://www.leatheronhand.com/motorcycle_gloves/
This may seem a fairly stupid question to ask yourself when the motorcycle gloves are gripping the bars and you THINK you're looking where you're going! Well our initial tendency is to look at the ground in front of the front wheel. It's like trying to walk around while looking at your feet. BUMP!
Lift your eyes up. Look at the horizon. All the necessary information is fed through your motorcycle gloves, up your arms to your head.
At the entrance to the corner, flick your eyes to the ground in front of you, then move your eyes slowly up and SCAN the road surface. As your eyes end up at the exit to the corner, you roll your motorcycle gloves over the throttle and gas it out smoothly.
If you feel like you're running wide and are going to overshoot the corner, the natural instinct is to look where you think you're going. This is when you have to teach yourself to look where you want to go!
Keep your motorcycle gloves smooth on the throttle and keep your head level. When encountering a tighter curve than expected...the brain usually says, "I can't lean any further", regardless of the fact that the bike can lean more, but this still leads to riders running off curves that the bike is fully capable of taking.
Be smooth. Caress the bars with ya motorcycle gloves on! Give the bike a chance! It takes time for a bike to go from upright to a lean. Being smooth through your motorbike gloves gives the bike a chance to get settled in one state before throwing the next one at it! That's why we blend braking into turning. Squeeze the brake with your motorbike gloves, don't grab it! Revolve the throttle easily through your caring motorcycle gloves, don't twist it violently, and don't just let go of the brake...ease it out!
If you want the bike to be smooth, treat the controls with smooth motorcycle gloves. Your goal in looking ahead is to look further and further away from you. The faster you go...the further ahead you need to look.
Look away further ahead at my leather motorcycle gloves at:-
http://www.leatheronhand.com/motorcycle_gloves/
Monday 3 October 2011
When Motorcycle Gloves Get Wet & Cold
"How cold do you have to get before you fall off?"
The faster you ride, the colder you get!
At some stage of your bikeriding, you're going to get caught in a rainstorm.
Option 1:- Find a bar, take off your leather motorcycle gloves, sit under an umbrella and watch the rain fall!
Option 2:- Make a rainsuit out of plastic garbage bags. Punch arm and head holes in one, then leg holes in another and step into it. Then go back to the bar, find the kitchen and ask the cook for a pair of dishwashing gloves to wear as liners inside your leather motorbike gloves.
Plastic shopping bags inside your boots will keep your socks dry.
With Option 2, duct tape everything together, so all the plastic won't blow apart. You'll be dry for a while, maybe long enough to ride out the storm.
Aside from the emergency preparations above, you can prepare for riding in the rain. With motorcycle gloves, at some point, they eventually get wet, but the big gauntlet style full leather motorcycle gloves works best. Some riders like to wear the summer weight leather motorbike gloves. They get wet, but they dry out quickly. Besides, some riders like to "feel" the bars. If it's cold outside as well as wet, try a lightweight kind of thermal glove underneath your leather motorcycle gloves. Toasty and warm!
Talking about handlebars, I'm a great believer in heated grips. They keep the blood flowing in ya fingers and are great with the thinner variety of leather motorcycle gloves.
Now, we all know leather is neither warm nor waterproof, but many riders do go for the leather riding suits with their leather motorcycle gloves because they feel safer, and when you feel safe on a bike, then you don't mind arriving home wet!
Nothing is as cool as leather!
Look for cool leather motorcycle gloves at:-
http://www.leatheronhand.com/motorcycle_gloves/
The faster you ride, the colder you get!
At some stage of your bikeriding, you're going to get caught in a rainstorm.
Option 1:- Find a bar, take off your leather motorcycle gloves, sit under an umbrella and watch the rain fall!
Option 2:- Make a rainsuit out of plastic garbage bags. Punch arm and head holes in one, then leg holes in another and step into it. Then go back to the bar, find the kitchen and ask the cook for a pair of dishwashing gloves to wear as liners inside your leather motorbike gloves.
Plastic shopping bags inside your boots will keep your socks dry.
With Option 2, duct tape everything together, so all the plastic won't blow apart. You'll be dry for a while, maybe long enough to ride out the storm.
Aside from the emergency preparations above, you can prepare for riding in the rain. With motorcycle gloves, at some point, they eventually get wet, but the big gauntlet style full leather motorcycle gloves works best. Some riders like to wear the summer weight leather motorbike gloves. They get wet, but they dry out quickly. Besides, some riders like to "feel" the bars. If it's cold outside as well as wet, try a lightweight kind of thermal glove underneath your leather motorcycle gloves. Toasty and warm!
Talking about handlebars, I'm a great believer in heated grips. They keep the blood flowing in ya fingers and are great with the thinner variety of leather motorcycle gloves.
Now, we all know leather is neither warm nor waterproof, but many riders do go for the leather riding suits with their leather motorcycle gloves because they feel safer, and when you feel safe on a bike, then you don't mind arriving home wet!
Nothing is as cool as leather!
Look for cool leather motorcycle gloves at:-
http://www.leatheronhand.com/motorcycle_gloves/
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