skill
Riding with
Confidence By Jon DelVecchio #208163 MOST OF EXPERIENCED RIDERS I
meet are fairly confident in their riding abilities. That’s to be expected. Who would get on a motorcycle otherwise? Continuous experimentation and practice can quickly boost mental and physical abilities, especially for new riders. Then, as a rider racks up the miles, autopilot seems to take over and skill development levels off. Think of your typical motorcycle gathering. Are the riders there talking about learning and practicing new riding techniques? Of course not. The conversations usually center around new farkles or the next lunch stop. I’ve had the good fortune of teaching cornering skills classes to at the last two BMW MOA annual rallies, in Hamburg, New York, and Salt Lake City, Utah. To teach advanced riding skills, an instructor must first find motivated and receptive students. The BMW MOA membership has both of these in droves. At the beginning of each of my classes, I’ll ask my students if they
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believe it’s possible to ride a motorcycle with complete confidence through the curves. The question usually catches them totally off guard and forces them to evaluate their own cornering comfort and how effective they believe themselves to be at
controlling their motorcycle. While some will answer yes and others no, most are silent. As I see it, the “yes” responders believe full control is possible and want to know if I can teach it to them. The “no” responders are doubtful and