09-15-2015, 12:40 PM
First I don't claim to be a great rider, I think I'm a good safe rider that can ride smoothly and quickly if I choose to, but prefer to just ride at a comfortable pace. I do find riding a motorcycle safely a combination of defense and offense.
I rode street motorcycles for 9 years before taking up a motocross racing career that lasted 10 years (while still riding a street bike daily). I always felt riding the street bike made me a better motocross racer and the motocross racing made me a better street rider. I learned how to lean to both sides, how to brake softly or really really hard, how to control the bike if the back end drifts out, or the front end pushes, or if both happen at the same time, where to put my body on the motorcycle to effect changes in handling and to keep pressure on the tires, how to shift and use a clutch to my advantage, and to cover your clutch and brake levers to save precious time if either need to be used in an emergency and this is really important for riding a street motorcycle well, how to roll the throttle on and off rather than snapping and chopping.
Also street riding... a lot ... teaches you situational awareness, where to look, WHO to watch, how to observe out of your peripheral vision, and what you can expect other drivers around you to do. To survive you need to learn the street is not a racetrack and to leave yourself a cushion in case something unexpected does come up, to carry a speed thru a turn that will allow you to change it to an inside line, an outside line, a middle lane line or to be able to brake hard depending on what you find past where you can initially see in the curve... a pot hole, a dead critter, a muffler, a bicyclist a pedestrian, or a slow moving piece of farm equipment? You learn that outside deep apexes allow you to see deeper thru the turn which allows you to set up correctly for the turn.
There is no substitute or shortcut to surviving on the street on a motorcycle. It takes time and experience, and honestly, a bit of luck. But...spending time in the dirt will definitely make you a better street rider IMO if for no other reason that you don't panic and know what to do when the bike is not straight up and down in less than perfect conditions, and everyday you survive riding on the street provides more experience and knowledge which will help you ride safer tomorrow.
I rode street motorcycles for 9 years before taking up a motocross racing career that lasted 10 years (while still riding a street bike daily). I always felt riding the street bike made me a better motocross racer and the motocross racing made me a better street rider. I learned how to lean to both sides, how to brake softly or really really hard, how to control the bike if the back end drifts out, or the front end pushes, or if both happen at the same time, where to put my body on the motorcycle to effect changes in handling and to keep pressure on the tires, how to shift and use a clutch to my advantage, and to cover your clutch and brake levers to save precious time if either need to be used in an emergency and this is really important for riding a street motorcycle well, how to roll the throttle on and off rather than snapping and chopping.
Also street riding... a lot ... teaches you situational awareness, where to look, WHO to watch, how to observe out of your peripheral vision, and what you can expect other drivers around you to do. To survive you need to learn the street is not a racetrack and to leave yourself a cushion in case something unexpected does come up, to carry a speed thru a turn that will allow you to change it to an inside line, an outside line, a middle lane line or to be able to brake hard depending on what you find past where you can initially see in the curve... a pot hole, a dead critter, a muffler, a bicyclist a pedestrian, or a slow moving piece of farm equipment? You learn that outside deep apexes allow you to see deeper thru the turn which allows you to set up correctly for the turn.
There is no substitute or shortcut to surviving on the street on a motorcycle. It takes time and experience, and honestly, a bit of luck. But...spending time in the dirt will definitely make you a better street rider IMO if for no other reason that you don't panic and know what to do when the bike is not straight up and down in less than perfect conditions, and everyday you survive riding on the street provides more experience and knowledge which will help you ride safer tomorrow.