Riding Tips: Heavy Bars
Feb 23rd, 2009 by Leo
I remember reading an article on a site that said (and I paraphrase):
Riding a motorcycle takes a lot of upper body strength. It’s no wonder that bikers also like to pump iron. Turning a bike requires strong inputs to the handlebars as they can become very heavy at speed.
And the picture that went along with it was a typical biker cliche a la village people. Ha! Actually if you look at professional motorcycle racers, upper body strength does not appear to be a key requirement.
Then why is the bar harder to turn when making fast turns? It’s probably because you’re fighting it, pressing forward on both bars at once. The handlebars are heaviest (or most difficult to turn) when the bike is at a stop; when in motion, they become easier to turn regardless of how fast you’re going.
Motorcycle trainer/guru Lee Parks recommends making turns with just one hand: making right turns with no left hand involvement just to feel how light the bar really is when you’re not fighting it. For left turns you push on the left bar, and relax your right until you have to roll on the throttle. Eventually you should be able to have both hands on the bars, but use only one to steer.
Give it a try: the next time you’re on an empty one way street, try making esses (slalom left and right) using just one hand. Find a good seating position so that you’re not leaning on the bars, and learn to relax the hand that is not steering; you only need one hand to steer in any turn.
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