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pro riding tips

  • Comedian and celebrity Zizan Razak wanted to improve his riding.

  • He found it by riding motocross.

  • Where he was also trained by PETRONAS Cub Prix riders.

There are many different ways on how you can improve your riding skills. Whether you’re new to the two-wheel scene or a seasoned riding enthusiast with years of experience, there’s always something new to learn and one of the best ways to do so is riding off-road. With the help from Cub Prix Pengejar Impian riders, local celebrity Zizan Razak will be guided with some pro tips on how he too can master all roads by learning off-road.

There are many different ways on how you can improve your riding skills. Whether you’re new to the two-wheel scene or a seasoned riding enthusiast with years of experience, there’s always something new to learn and one of the best ways to do so is riding off-road. With the help from Cub Prix Pengejar Impian riders, local celebrity Zizan Razak will be guided with some pro tips on how he too can master all roads by learning off-road.

Training is key but training safely is where you’ll really shine. In the pro training video above, Zizan equipped himself with some protective gears before getting his motorsports adrenaline on with the Pengejar Impian riders. HOT TIP! If you want to get better on the road, the best way you can do so is by improving your riding skills off-road.

As usual, one of Malaysia’s funniest comedians sure made an impact with the riders with his funny antics but like the saying goes, “Fun + Learning = The Best Educational Experience”. You’ll learn better when things are more interesting and this video ticks all the boxes.

Why off-road? Well, riders will most likely panic when they get into unpredictable riding conditions (sand or water on the road that make things slippery) and when you ride off-road, it’s always unstable and you need to be able to master and control your motorcycle like a boss.

If you want to be the best, you got to train like the best and these are three tips that you’ll need to greatly improve on: BRAKING, ACCELERATING, and CORNERING.

These three riding aspects are pretty basic when you’re at the driving schools to get your license but riders like Zizan who want to take their skills to the next level can do so with these important tips to not just to become a better rider but safer as well. Want to ride like pro? It’s time to pay your fullest attention now, people!

TIP 1 – BRAKING

There are three things you’ll need to consider when you want to brake like a pro: body position, braking strength, and rear tyre.

NUMBER ONE! When braking, make sure that your upper body is upright while using your core muscles (near the stomach) and keep those arms relaxed (not straight and locked!).

NUMBER 2! Don’t brake too hard (especially the front) or you’ll end up locking the front tyre and losing grip. Always brake using both front and rear brakes. VERY IMPORTANT.

NUMBER 3! Brake enough but not hard enough to lift the rear tyre up. If it goes up, you’re braking too hard BUT don’t worry! Just release the front brake ever so slightly and the rear tyre will gently fall back to the ground and giving you more control.

TIP 2 – ACCELERATING

According to these Pengejar Impian riders, hard acceleration can be exciting (if you’re a stunt rider) BUT if you do it too hard and too soon, you might end up slower and with less control. Trust us, you don’t want that, people.

NUMBER 1! If you’re spinning the rear tyre, you’re losing traction as well as time and power delivery. Not good!

NUMBER 2! No wheelies! Getting the front wheel up is not only dangerous if you’re not used to it but if you want to be like a pro, make sure both wheels are on the ground at all times. Even MotoGP riders try not to wheelie to make sure they can accelerate hard without losing power.

TIP 3 – CORNERING

The final and arguably most important tip is getting your cornering done right. In most cases, controlling your bike through corners always have the same elements and some of you might’ve already been doing them without noticing.

NUMBER 1! Get your braking done BEFORE entering the corner. Braking and leaning your bike at the same time is not a good idea until you can master the basics of braking first.

NUMBER 2! Twist that throttle open AFTER the corner. Once you see that you’re about to reach the end of the curve, you can start accelerating safely and efficiently. Do it smoothly!

NUMBER 3! Don’t brake or accelerate too hard. Control and smooth flow are keys in becoming a pro rider. So, don’t stomp on that brake like an elephant and don’t twist that throttle open with lightning speed. Slow and steady, guys and gals.

At the end of the day, even Zizan Razak managed to surprise the Cub Prix riders with how fast he’s able to learn and understand all the pro tips given to him. When you listen to tips from pro riders that are this good, anyone can become a pro rider. Even you!

Remember to always watch the video to get all the tips for FREE and become a better rider, not just on the streets, but also circuits, dirt tracks, and everywhere else. Anyone can be a Pengejar Impian but with these tips, you’ll get there safer and faster. Learn from the best and you’ll become the best!

Kevin Schwantz – Sumber imej: bikes.suzuki.co.uk
  • Di sini kami senaraikan lima lagi tip penunggangan dari para penunggang professional.
  • Penunggang professional mula menunggang menggunakan teknik yang sama seperti semua penunggang.
  • Teknik-teknik asas ini kemudiannya telah diasah bagi disuaikan mengikut jenis motosikal yang mereka kemudi.

(more…)

  • Here are the next five riding tips from pro riders.

  • Pro riders started out riding using the same techniques as all riders.

  • Those basic techniques were then honed to fit the type of bike they ride.

Continuing from Part 1, here’s the conclusion to our feature Ten Riding Tips from Ten Pro Riders. As we wrote in the previous edition, motorcycle racing pros may have different riding styles but be aware that their riding techniques were honed from the same basics of motorcycle riding.

Ten Riding Tips from Ten Pro Riders (Part 1)

For example, Marc Marquez’s elbow dragging style was developed when he rode in Moto2. Jorge Lorenzo’s high mid-corner speed style was brought over from 250cc GP.

So here are the basics. We hope all of us (including us) could apply these lessons.

6. John Kocinski – “Scrub your tyres”

John Kocinski – courtesy of www.greatprints.co.uk

Pushing hard on new or cold tyres is, but John-Boy worked around them when he was racing in US before heading to the World 250cc GP. He’d show up on the grid on shiny, unscrubbed slicks then push the front a couple of times during the warm up lap. Kocinski would slide his tyres at will due dirt training taught by his mentor, Kenny Roberts Sr.

Always break in your new tyres and warm them up before you banzai through the very first corner you see.

7. Kevin Schwantz – “Look where you’re going”

Kevin Schwantz – courtesy of bikes.suzuki.co.uk

This may sound like a superfluous advice from one of the most popular GP riders, but let’s admit it: We will still stare at the outside of corner when we panic or the tyres slide unexpectedly.

The motorcycle goes where we’re looking, and we should keep looking towards where we want it to go, even when we feel it’s out of control. This technique is taught at every advanced riding school for a reason.

8. Keith Code – “Keep a wide view”

Keith Code

Speaking of “views,” Keith Code is the founder of the California Superbike School and his books, A Twist of the Wrist and A Twist of the Wrist Vol. II are considered the “bible” of how to ride a motorcycle around corners. His protégés included GP greats such as Wayne Rainey, Doug Chandler, among many others.

In summing up all the lessons he taught, he wrote, “All the best riding skills you have is only as good as your visual skills.”

Apart from looking towards where you want to go, we should also keep a wide view of the road ahead. “Keeping a wide view” means utilizing your peripheral vision to resist your view from tunneling down. As the name implies, “tunnel vision” is like staring down a toilet paper tube as your senses eliminate everything else to a narrow field of view of only what’s directly in front, usually at high speeds.

Yes, it’s thrilling because it’s like the view you get when the Millennium Falcon goes to light speed, but it’s downright dangerous on the road and track.

Tunnel vision fools us into thinking that we’re travelling much faster than we actually are and that “fake speed” will overwhelm us when we approach a corner or a hazard. On the track, we’d end up braking too hard, too soon and losing speed and consequently time. However, on the roads, coupled with target fixation, we could even think we’ve run out of brakes or road hence running wide or smashing into the hazard.

Conversely, keeping a wide field of vision “slows” things down, giving us a better sense of our surroundings, effectively opening up space around ourselves. On the road, it’s one of the most important safety techniques as we could anticipate other vehicles or hazards that are starting to encroach into our path.

9. Doug Chandler – “Don’t do anything”

Doug Chandler – todayinmotorcyclehistory.blogspot.com

We understand the feeling. We’re sweeping through a beautiful set of corners and the suddenly, the rear tyre kicks out under us. Our instinct instantaneously shuts off the throttle and the rear end let go completely. There were times when the bike almost high-sided us.

Shutting the throttle abruptly when a tyre slides is against motorcycle dynamics and will cause a crash, more often than not. Learn from the pros: A sliding tyre isn’t the end of your riding.

As mentioned earlier, Doug Chandler came up through the American National Dirt-Track and supermoto championships before heading over to Superbikes and the world 500cc GP, so sliding around is second nature to him.

So, what should we do when our tyres slide? Nothing, according to Chandler. We just need to stop adding throttle, keep looking through the corner and maintain a relaxed body. Think of a sliding tyre as looking for a stable position because it will hook back up naturally. A sliding tyre will also slow down. Fighting the slide only exacerbates it as we are preventing it from carrying out its duty.

Of course, this takes some nerve, but nerves can be polished out by training. Controlling your instincts and slides are taught at Most Fun Gym.

10. “Use both brakes” – Dario Marchetti

Dario Marchetti

You may not have heard of his name, but Dario Marchetti is the Technical Director and Chief Instructor of the Ducati Riding Experience (DRE) Racetrack Academy. Having raced in 250 GP, 500 GP, Superbikes, Endurance besides winning at the Battle of the Twins on a Ducati at Daytona in 2004, 2006 and 2007.

He and his panel of DRE instructors include racing greats such as Carlos Checa, Manuel Poggiali and other regional champions.

Among many advices that he provides during the recent Ducati Panigale V-4 test ride at the Sepang International Circuit, he expounded explicitly on using both brakes. Using the rear brake together with front stabilizes the rear especially under hard braking. It’s a boon especially when the road condition is iffy or wet.

2018 Ducati Panigale V4S Test & Review

He also said, “If we don’t need to use rear brakes, Ducati don’t need to install one.”

He’s correct, because Ducati MotoGP riders Jorge Lorenzo and Andrea Dovizioso use thumb activated rear brakes on their Desmosedicis.

Marc Marquez – Sumber imej: MotoGP.com
  • Agak mudah untuk kita lupa bahawa penunggang pro juga bermula dari asas.
  • Setelah menguasai asas penunggangan, barulah mereka memupuk gaya penunggangan mereka yang tersendiri.
  • Di sini kami senaraikan Sepuluh Tip Menunggang dari Sepuluh Penunggang Professional (Bahagian 1).

(more…)

  • It’s easy to forget that pros too started from basics.

  • It’s when they master the basics that they developed their unique riding styles.

  • Here are Ten Riding Tips from Ten Pro Riders (Part 1).

We watch in awe as the pros battle it out among themselves every weekend; they make going fast seem so easy. But if you’ve ever spoken to any one of them, you will be surprised that the riding basics are the similar – if not the same. In other words, they first learn the basics then evolve it into their personal styles. All riders are cultivated, not born. That’s what prompted us to put together this Ten Riding Tips from Ten Pro Riders article.

Furthermore, there is no such thing as one rider being braver than the next. It all comes down to not only skill but how one rides intelligently.

Here are the tips we collected over time, from interviews or read about throughout the years.

1. Kenny Roberts Sr. – “Go fast in the fast parts”

Kenny Roberts Sr. – courtesy of yamaha-motor.com

Being a vocal rider, Kenny Roberts Sr. was one of the first riders who revealed that there’s no such thing as riding fast and stupid. Instead it came down to analyzing how you ride. That’s how he won three 500cc World GP titles in a row. “King” Kenny doesn’t believe in coasting with the throttle off: You’re either on the gas or braking. The most important parts of a racetrack are the corners with long straights proceeding them and that’s where he rode faster. There’s no point in trying to ride faster in slow corners as the risks outweigh the benefits – in other words it’s easier to crash that way.

2. Wes Cooley – “Keep your chest on the tank”

Wes Cooley – courtesy of www.cyclenews.com

As a rider of late-70s and early-70’s superbikes, Wes Cooley always kept his chest close to the tank. Doing so puts more weight on the front tyres to help the bike handle. That’s why modern sportbikes are designed the way they are now, besides being more aerodynamic.

Cooley once recounted his story, “One day I came in from practice and my Dad told me I needed to stay tucked in. I told him I had, so he tied shoelace from my suit’s zipper to the ignition key. When I came back in after the next session, my racesuit was unzipped to my waist.”

3. Freddie Spencer – “Brake where you need to, not where you think you should”

Freddie Spencer – courtesy of www.motorcyclenews.com

“Fast” Freddie Spencer had his own approach to races. While others would keep detailed notes on braking points, turn-in points, reference points, etc., Spencer was more flexible and played by ear. Doing so allowed him to adjust quickly to fading tyres or changing track conditions. His method netted him the 500cc GP titles in 1983 and 1985, and also the 250cc GP title in 1985. He’s still the only man who had ever achieved such a feat.

4. “Learn how your suspension works” – Eddie Lawson

Eddie Lawson – courtesy of www.cyclenews.com

“Steady” Eddie Lawson is as cool a rider as it gets. Nothing ever seems to flutter him on and off the track. His cool personality is also a reflection of his super smooth riding style. Additionally, Lawson is a methodical rider who pays lots of attention to his bike settings. Take for example when he returned to the US in 1993 to race in the Daytona 200. He had no prior experience to riding the Vance & Hines Yamaha FZR-750 superbike so he went through the entire range of suspension adjustments in the practice session to settle on the optimal setting. His effort paid off when he went on to beat “Mr. Daytona” Scott Russell.

5. Scott Russell – “Steer with the rear”

Soctt Russell – courtesy of racingcafe.blogspot.com

Say what you will about the enigmatic rider from Georgia, USA but the man is fast. He won the Daytona 200 a record five times due to not only his uncanny tyre management but also his skill in riding a superbike with worn tyres. When grip levels drop, Mr. Daytona would apply a different lean angle in order to use a different part of the tyres. Apart from that, he would gas the bike to spin the rear tyre to tighten his lines. Modern bikes may have traction control to avoid tyre spin but the race mode on most sportbikes do allow the rider to spin the rear tyre, just like what Russell did.

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