Clip of the month

This month’s clip

This is a reminder of not only the importance of positioning but also the importance of sacrificing the system for safety where appropriate to do so.

In terms of positioning, the bike in question appears to be veering far too close to the central white line and does not appear to be progressing around the corner in the manner that might be expected, in effect overshooting the right hand turn. Earlier planning and setting up for the right hander would have helped prevent this. Whether this is a result of misreading the corner, insufficient planning, not reading the road ahead or of something connected to the pillion and their leaning is impossible to say.

“How to be a better rider”

The key aspects of positioning:

• Always place yourself in the safest position on the road taking into account ALL that is going on around you
• Position yourself for the best view only when it is genuinely advantageous - if you are going slowly, you gain little advantage. but can confuse other drivers
• When speeds are low. prioritise hazard avoidance ahead of seeking greater forward vision
• When turning at junctions, position yourself to reduce your vulnerability from following traffic generally left when turning left, right when turning right
• When deciding where to position, always take into account the road surface and the grip available

Whilst positioning is of course vital for safe riding, it is not simply a case of slavishly following the system of positioning without thinking. There will be times when going against the standard system of positioning is the safest thing to do (for example when avoiding a dangerous pothole, diesel or debris in the road or a hazard such as a wide load or a badly positioned vehicle coming in the opposite
direction). As such, advanced riding is about knowing when and how to apply the system rather than simply being on automatic pilot and unthinkingly applying the system.

Fortunately all those in this particular footage were okay aside from a few scratches, however the outcome could easily have been far worse.

Remember: Read the road ahead, plan ahead and anticipate.

Clip of the month (2)

The clip shows a biker trying to pull a wheelie, but getting it spectacularly wrong. The lesson here isn’t just the highly obvious one of not pulling wheelies on the road (something that no right thinking LAMkin would ever do of course), but also of the need to maintain control at all times, to ensure the smooth use of the throttle and to ride safely and appropriately. Luckily for the rider involved, he or she seems to walk away relatively unscathed, though the same cannot be said of their bike. Many thanks to Mark Clarke for submitting the clip.