Fearless Riding at Slow Speeds

Thanks, Wing World Magazine, for publishing my article. Here it is for my loyal readers.

Author Moxie Nixx out for a ride with Esmeralda. 

I ride my Gold Wing almost daily. For years, I’ve been working on a set of motorcycle techniques I call Fearless Riding. If you take five minutes to try the five experiments described below, you may discover a new way to control your bike at slow speeds. From what I’ve seen, standard slow speed riding techniques don’t work well for everyone. Sure you can get good at them if you practice for hours or are naturally gifted, but if you have a neck injury, such as I do, if you’re a bit clumsy, such as I am, or if you’ve just never been able to ride fearlessly at slow speeds, then take a few minutes and learn these five things about you and your motorcycle.

Engine Launch Speed

Coordinating clutch and throttle – it’s the bane of new riders. When I bought my Gold Wing, I discovered the bike had so much torque it would take off in first gear with the engine at idle. If I'm taking off and riding slowly around a gas pump, or making a U-turn in a parking lot, why do I need to add more throttle than that? If you want better slow speed control, you need to know how slowly you can rev the engine and still be able to take off. I submit that for a Gold Wing, the Engine Launch Speed is the same as the idle speed.

You can easily test this yourself on your next ride. Find an empty parking lot and stop the bike. Look around to make sure you won’t get run over, then take your digits off the brakes, let the engine idle, and ease out the clutch. See what happens. When I tried it, my Wing (Esmeralda) effortlessly moved forward at a walking pace.

It was so easy, I wondered if this technique would work with other bikes. Surely this was a fluke only possible with a Gold Wing’s massive 6-cylinder motor. So, I borrowed a little, twin-cylinder Harley- Davidson 883 and tried the experiment. The little Harley took off easily in first gear with no gas, no brakes and no sign of stalling. Now, it is your turn to discover how slowly you can rev the engine and take off without stalling your motorcycle.

Takeoff Distance

When I discovered I could get moving with the engine at idle, I learned something else: I could have the clutch all the way out without stalling the bike, bucking or jerking, in less than 3 feet. I’m not going to tell you exactly how much less, because you probably won’t believe me. Instead, I’m going to challenge you to find your own bike’s Takeoff Distance.

See how quickly and smoothly you can let the clutch out with the engine at idle. Measure your Takeoff Distance by how many feet forward you need to move in order to get the clutch all the way out. No friction zone. Just ease the clutch out smoothly and progressively in one continuous motion. You can pull up to a painted line in the parking lot, or just guesstimate, but remember that distance because we’re going to use this when we discuss Focal Distance.

Idle Speed

The next thing to learn is your bike’s Idle Speed. Not the engine idle speed. I’m talking about the speed your bike will travel with no gas and no brakes. What? Really. Stay with me.

When I tried this experiment, I found my Wing would idle along at 5 mph. That’s darned slow. That’s slow enough to do many everyday slow speed maneuvers. If I can idle along at 5 mph, no gas, no brakes, and do most everything I need to do, why do I need any fancy riding techniques? If I can let out the clutch and just ride fearlessly, why should I make things any more complicated than that?

Again, I wondered if this was a fluke of the Wing’s monster engine. So, back on the 883, I learned that the little H-D twin idled at 10 mph. That’s okay for lots of stuff, but I felt it was a little fast for close work.

Stall Speed

What if I’m riding at 5 mph on my Wing, or 10 mph on a Sportster, and I need to go slower? Don’t I have to start using the friction zone and balancing throttle and rear brake? To find out, I tried idling along at 5 mph on my Wing as I added some rear brake. I thought the engine would immediately stall. I mean, it’s barely idling! Right? Nope. What I found was that I could add a little rear brake and the bike would slow down to an indicated two mph without the engine bogging, lugging or stalling.

Was it a fluke? Yes and no. When I tried this experiment on the 883, I found I could only get down to about 5 mph before the Harley twin started to complain. But still, I believe most people would find they could do almost everything they needed to do in a parking lot at 5 mph.

So, if you do the four exercises described above, you will know your Engine Launch Speed (probably the same as your engine idle speed), your Takeoff Distance (probably less than 3 feet), your Idle Speed (probably less than 10 mph), and your Stall Speed (perhaps as low as 2 mph).

You can now ride fearlessly at slow speeds without having to balance a twisting throttle with an in-and-out clutch while steering the bars back-and-forth. By not revving the engine and not using the friction zone, you will have a lot more attention available for steering the darned motorcycle.

There is still one thing missing – Vision.

Focal distance

For years, I have tried to start or end each ride with a U-turn from a stop. I figured I would be developing my slow speed control without having to take time out from my busy schedule to find a parking lot, setup cones and practice (ick). What I found was that the standard visual control techniques didn’t work very well.

If I tried to keep my eyes up and look “back there,” I would lose focus and run wide. If I tried to focus on one gray spot on the asphalt among thousands of gray spots on the asphalt, I would lose focus and wobble. When I did manage to keep my focus on a specific point way back there, I would sometimes hit bumps or humps that knocked me off my line. I found this very uncomfortable.

So, I tried pulling my vision back toward the bike. Not all the way back so I was staring mindlessly at the pavement going past my foot pegs. Just back far enough so that I could see where the heck I was going to be in the next few seconds.

One day, as I played with pulling my vision back, I found my sweet spot, my Focal Distance: at Idle Speed, my Focal Distance is 6 to 8 feet in front of the motorcycle and on the inside of the turn. Suddenly, the bike was going where I wanted it to go, because I was guiding it with my eyes, and bumps and imperfections in the road didn’t bother me, because I could see them coming. Experiment and find your ideal Focal Distance.

Start by looking all the way back there to where you want to end up. This is to make sure the path is clear and no one is about to run you over. Then let the engine idle and ease the clutch all the way out (remember your Takeoff distance). Once the clutch is all the way out, throttle closed, both hands on the grips, turn your head and eyes, turn the bars and, while you’re turning, search for your Focal Distance. You probably won’t find your sweet spot on your first try, so ride on and have fun. Just come back to this exercise once in awhile. You’ll get it.

Now Go for a Ride

Do the experiments. Just to see. Just for fun. Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe they won’t work for you on your bike. On the other hand, maybe they will work and really add to your riding pleasure. Either way, it will be fun to find out.

This stuff is easy. It takes five minutes to learn. I believe you will find that letting the clutch all the way out with the engine at idle, dragging a little rear brake when necessary, and looking where you are going, will give you all the control you need for fearless riding at slow speeds.

. ... ***... . 

Moxie Nixx is the author of "Gold Wings are Murder: The Crying Stone." Available now at Amazon.com.

Available now at Amazon.com.

Walking Tour of Charleston, SC

My next book, "Gold Wings are Murder--The Ghost Light," is set in historic Charleston, SC. Here is a taste of that Big Sweetgrass Basket.

And here is a great link for things to do while you're there. 

Opening for "Gold Wings are Murder: The Ghost Light"

Here is a bit from the opening of my newest murder mystery novel:

. .. ... * ... .. ...

Layla Robinson stood on the dark, narrow stairs and took a deep breath. “I’m not afraid of ghosts,” she whispered. “I am not afraid of ghosts.”

She eased up one more step till she could just see the top landing. The theater balcony was empty, empty, empty. There were no chairs at all, save one wooden folding chair in the front row. All the other seats were gone, removed long ago as a safety precaution. The old balcony was too rickety to hold more than a dozen patrons at a time. There were no patrons there now, at least, none that Layla could see. None that would add any excess weight.

She took the final few steps with gusto, then boldly stepped out onto the landing. One hand on the front railing, the other at her side, she stopped, tried not to look down, looked down anyway, saw the main seating area far below and closed her eyes. The world spun around once, twice. Her breathing echoing through the empty balcony, Layla gripped the railing firmly and opened her eyes.

     

Nothing. One folding chair. Wooden ledges like a Greek amphitheater dissolving into mysterious darkness. In her off hand, the small, athletic looking woman held a single, long-stem rose. She put it carefully between her teeth—the blood red rose glowing softly against her chocolate skin. She started to talk, thought better of it, then took the rose out from between her lips.

“Well,” she said to the emptiness. “The thing is …” She gestured with the rose. “Here, let me show you.”

She crossed to the folding chair, folded it up with an echoing snap, then clomped over to the wall. Carefully, she set the chair next to several other wooden chairs that were folded and leaning there against the wall.

“The thing is …” she took a different wooden folding chair from the stack, one with a padded seat and back, and brought it back to that spot in the front row of the balcony. “The thing is, you’ve been here a long time,” she said, opening the chair and looking around at the ornate ceiling so close overhead. “And lots of people know your story, and we’ve kept a chair for you here so you could watch the shows, you know, whenever you want to.” She stood up, crossed back to the stack of chairs by the wall and grabbed another chair. “And what I was wondering, thinking, considering about, was …” She brought the second chair down front, opened it and set it next to the first one. “Was that maybe it was time for some company.” She went back to the stack of chairs one more time, found a third padded, wooden folding chair and set it on the other side of the first one. 

“Maybe, uhm, maybe it’s time for some company. Visitors. Guests. Oh, not just anybody. I’m thinking some other high rollers. V.I.Ps like you. Did they have that term when you were alive? I’m not sure how much you get out, although, uhm, live theater, so I’m sure you’ve been keeping up with the current lingo.”

Layla stopped and rolled here eyes. She said to herself, “You are hopeless, girl. Just get on with it. There’s probably nobody here anyway.” A deep breath. The echo of her breathing. The darkness moved closer.

. .. ... * ... .. ...

The current book is available now for Kindle readers and Kindle apps on your Apple and Android phone. 

Creepy Places

If you like ghost stories, you'll enjoy learning about these 20 real and very creepy places.

Gold Wings are Murder: The Ghost Light

So, it's on to book two. In the first book, our heroes Winged down to Lake Lure, NC and found a haunted inn. For book two, Django and Sorcha cruise down to Charleston, SC and end up at a haunted theater.

I've written my plot points. Today, I'm working on my scene cards. It will be a tight schedule, but I hope to have book two done in time for Christmas. It's possible. Here is a peak at my working cover.

This is actually about the sixth cover I made. My trusty wife gave me the Icky Face when I showed her the other five. (Gotta love an honest women.)

Writing about Lake Lure was easy because I love the place and have been their several times. Writing about a haunted theater should also be pretty easy. I did high school, college and community theater. Live theater is lots of fun and a great mix of art, technology and performance.

I'm looking forward to learning more about Charleston. It's been a hoot learning about South Carolina ghosts. Like "The Crying Stone," my new book, "The Ghost Light," is based on a real ghost story.

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New Book Trailer for "Gold Wings are Murder"

This commercial book trailer is a hoot! Turn your speakers on and check it out.

"Gold Wings are Murder--The Crying Stone" Now on Kindle

Well, it's been a wild ride, and the new mystery novel is now available for Amazon Kindle readers and anyone with an iPhone, iPad or Android with the Kinde Reader App.  It comes to 163 "Kindle Pages." That's several hours of spooky reading adventure.

Click here to download the free sample from Amazon.