John S. Hegamyer is a certified Motorcycle Safety Foundation RiderCoach and coaches at training sites throughout Virginia.

www.bikerenews.com

Lesson #5 - The Swerve

John S.Hegamyer

John S.Hegamyer

Daily, as we make our way on the highways and byways of our fair nation, merging our bikes into the paths of travel of cars and trucks, we as motorcyclists face challenges by the minute, challenges that our lives depend on how we deal with them. Knowing how important it is that we prepare ourselves for these challenges, skills practice is paramount. The more you work at developing your motorcycle skills, the better you are equipped to deal with traffic challenges.

Statistics show that some of the most important skills we can work on are braking, cornering and being prepared to avoid conflict by negotiating around a hazard. Therefore this time around we'll take a look at "The Swerve" as a maneuver that can improve your ability to avoid a hazard.

Imagine for a few minutes cruising along a shaded back road through the country, enjoying a leisurely ride, the bike's running great, the weather is perfect, the views are beautiful. You're lost in the feeling, wind in your face, almost floating down the road. Then it happens, you top a hill and all of a sudden a box or dead animal is there, lying right in the middle of your optimal line.

What do you do? Ah, what do you do, so many choices, so little time.

We could hit the hazard, not recommended; or we could emergency brake, still not preferred because we're on the low side of a hill and there may be traffic coming from behind; we could turn around, but that's kind of crazy; or we could swiftly execute a swerve and continue the sweet ride.

This is where practice and muscle memory come into play. This is also where your riding strategy helps too, but we'll cover that later. Until then, while out on the open road, always expect the need for an evasive type maneuver, it's not paranoia, just realistic planning.

"The Swerve" is similar to braking in that the sooner you perceive the hazard, the quicker you can negotiate around it while maintaining your speed and safely arriving at your destination. The swerve can be broken down into the following 6 parts:

• " Perception - the quicker you register a hazard the quicker you can avoid it.
• " Head and eyes looking at the clear path of travel - looking at the hazard guarantees hitting it, you have got to look where you want to go.
• " Press to avoid - press the handgrip in the direction of your clear path.
• " Keep the bike's lean independent of your body - keep your upper body naturally erect; let the bike lean under you, just in case you have to straighten it quickly for a stop.
• " Press to correct - press the opposite handgrip to correct the 1st press and stay on the asphalt.
• " Maintain speed - abrupt changes of speed affect traction and we need all that's available to stay on the road.

How can we practice "The Swerve"?

Well you've got to head back to your practice area. Let's get an area where we can get into second gear in a straight line, 15 or so mph. Now you're going to need a hazard or target to avoid, use a spot on the asphalt, paint, or a maybe an existing line. As you approach the target at 15 mph practice swerving in both directions following the concept listed above. As you develop skill at slower speeds gradually increase your speed, leave yourself plenty of room away from curbs or cars. Remember to practice in both directions as you continue since you need to prepare for on road actions, you never know what may come up.

Now let's head out on the open road. The road also offers opportunities to continue practicing. First of all as you ride improve your awareness, scan the road ahead and all around you, increase your perception skills.

While riding, I like to use my scanning techniques to pick out patches of the road that I can use to practice my swerves. This allows me to practice at even higher speeds safely and it's really fun. Even the lettering for school zones or something similar presents a great opportunity to practice a swerve. Just practice in the school zone while the kiddies aren't crossing the road. So in essence, while riding you can use these ideas to practice your scanning techniques, improving your perception of the road conditions, and find some good areas to practice "The Swerve". If you ride with a passenger, get them in on the act and let them know you're practicing.

Have some fun with this maneuver, always practice under the safest conditions possible, and continue to work on being the most proficient rider that you can be. Get some riding buddies involved and make a plan to get together at a practice area just to work on some skills. Better yet, get together and take a course with your riding friends, it will make your group rides more fun when everyone is riding their best.

Remember that each of us is an ambassador of the motorcycling community to the four wheeled travelers of our society, let's project a respectable image by riding safe and proficiently.

Take a skills refresher course and ride safe out there! Please visit the following: Motorcycle Safety Foundation website at: www.msf-usa.org
Virginia Rider Training Program website at: www.learn2ride.com

Next issue: Street Tactics

1. Proficient Motorcycling by David L. Hough published by Bowtie Press available at Barnes & Noble
2. Ride Hard Ride Smart by Pat Hahn Photography by Kim Halvorson published by Motorbooks International available at Barnes & Noble
3. Sport Riding Techniques by Nick Ienatsch published by David Bull Publishing available at Barnes & Noble.
4. Total Control by Lee Parks published by David Bull Publishing available at Barnes & Noble.
5. A Twist of the Wrist & A Twist of the Wrist II by Keith Code available at Barnes & Noble

Back to Stories, News and Entertainment