MotoJitsu

[Stew]

Treated myself and the bike to the Total Control book, by Lee Parks. Only had time to flick through it but it looks excellent. I've read all the twist of the throttle books and such in the past , but it's always good to refresh yourself. I just need a friendly bit of tarmac to practice some of the stuff, especially the classic tensing up of my arms instead of relaxing them.

[knyte]

Way kool!!  Always good to stay fresh.  Never know when you might need that muscle memory.

Shortly after I got my FJ, I took some cones to a parking lot and did some weaves and emergency braking work.  The very next day I was riding through a parking lot, someone was backing out and didn't see me - I just swerved around them (it was an awkward area, very tight) and first felt relief..but then some pride!!  Let's just say I bought a round of ice cream that evening...

[Wintersdark]

On 8/27/2020 at 3:12 PM, Stew said:

Treated myself and the bike to the Total Control book, by Lee Parks. Only had time to flick through it but it looks excellent. I've read all the twist of the throttle books and such in the past , but it's always good to refresh yourself. I just need a friendly bit of tarmac to practice some of the stuff, especially the classic tensing up of my arms instead of relaxing them.

The biggest thing for me from that book was using only the inside arm while turning.  My first ride consciously doing that I had some trouble because I kept turning too sharply.  I never knew I'd been fighting myself for decades.  A tiny little change with huge results. 

What's funny is that I always thought I was using just one hand while turning, but because I never paid attention to it before, I was simply unaware that I was often fighting myself.  Being conscious of exactly what I was doing really highlighted the problem.

Good book!

[knyte]

...and Greg sold the Tracer in favour of a BMW scooter!!  ...sounds like he'll keep the track bike, though.

[kilo3]

Is it just me, or does anyone else get the creeps from that guy?

Something ain't right.

[petshark]

14 hours ago, knyte said:

...and Greg sold the Tracer in favour of a BMW scooter!!  ...sounds like he'll keep the track bike, though.

Yeah, his message was pretty clear. He loves track riding so much that he does no longer get pleasure from street riding on a motorcycle. It's not the first time that I hear this. Makes me not want to do a track day after all.

2 hours ago, kilo3 said:

Is it just me, or does anyone else get the creeps from that guy?

Something ain't right.

He's an ex marine and he just has a very military way of doing things IMO; very structured and focused which makes for a different vibe than most youtube channels. Also very repetitive (which does not have to be a bad thing).

[Heli ATP]

I don't see creepy. Seems like he thinks things out and has a plan for what he wishes to convey. I like his style, (just watched his youtube on loading a bike on a truck) but can see where some could say lets go already. He would make a good flight instructor.

[Lone Wolf]

1 hour ago, Heli ATP said:

He would make a good flight instructor.

He was a drill instructor in the Marines. Was in Iraq. Then he became the guy that teaches drill instructors. Seriously. I think he still lives near the Marine base in San Diego area.

At first I was not sure about him, but watched more (with Ad Block) and decided he is legit. He learned the hard way by wrecking a liter bike, then had a need to figure it out. He became a MSF coach and worked with a track, which is consistent with his background of being an instructor. 

The thing I respect is that he does know what he knows and is not half ass about that - yet admits there are other riders and instructors who know way more than he does and is actually very humble about that.

[petshark]

On 8/29/2020 at 4:52 PM, Wintersdark said:

The biggest thing for me from that book was using only the inside arm while turning.  My first ride consciously doing that I had some trouble because I kept turning too sharply.  I never knew I'd been fighting myself for decades.  A tiny little change with huge results. 

What's funny is that I always thought I was using just one hand while turning, but because I never paid attention to it before, I was simply unaware that I was often fighting myself.  Being conscious of exactly what I was doing really highlighted the problem.

Good book!

That is also one of my favorite things in that book.

The biggest thing for me was countercountersteering (that word is not in the book 😉) when preparing for a turn. It's not in any of MotoJitsu's videos which surprised me. I asked Greg and he said it's intellectual property...

For those who haven't read the book:
It's were you already move your body into position for the turn but you don't want to turn just yet. So you hang to one side and countersteer to the other side. This way the bike stays on a straight line. Then when you want to lean the bike in the turn you can just release the countersteer and fall in the turn just by relaxing your outside arm. I absolutely love that feeling! You can also countersteer to the other side (the normal way) and lean very fast. I made me realize that controlling the bike should probably feel more like dancing than wrestling.

Great book indeed and credit to Greg/MotoJitsu for pushing to buy it even though he also has his own books.

[PhotoAl]

On 8/21/2020 at 4:20 PM, Stew said:

Just been watching some of his videos, common sense clear information and no ego. We are always learning on bikes. I'm working on my emergency stops again at the moment, so that my lowest level of skill/muscle memory/instinct is as honed as it can be.

Reading down thru this thread and saw your comment.  Not long ago as I was leaving my local Cycle Gear on my scooter i rode around a turn.  A pretty quick pace  (scooter remember) and a woman pulled out right in front of me!  I could see the look of horror on her face as she hit the brakes then the gas to get out of my way.  Instant I saw her I was hard on the brakes - was only doing 25 tops. Easily stopped and would not have come close to hitting her.  When riding the scooter in the neighborhood will often practice a hard stop at stop signs - only when no one is right behind me.  Practice, paying attention and being alert pays off?

I can see where he could sell the street bike and go to a scooter - a big scooter though.  Love my scooter for around the neighborhood.  It tops out at 60 so is good for a lot of places.  Riding my Tracer GT around in the neighborhood is can be tough as can't even think about opening it up.  On the open roads can have more fun.  For my the Trace is great for longer rides and particularly long trips.  Good on the grind to get somewhere and fun when riding the great roads I encounter along the way.  For example parts of eastern Wyoming are long straight roads but then there are the mountains which are a lot of fun.  It would be fun to do track days and really exploit the power and handling of a motorcycle but I love long solo trips on a motorcycle.  

Edited February 3, 2021 by PhotoAl

[Wintersdark]

5 hours ago, petshark said:

That is also one of my favorite things in that book.

The biggest thing for me was countercountersteering (that word is not in the book 😉) when preparing for a turn. It's not in any of MotoJitsu's videos which surprised me. I asked Greg and he said it's intellectual property...

For those who haven't read the book:
It's were you already move your body into position for the turn but you don't want to turn just yet. So you hang to one side and countersteer to the other side. This way the bike stays on a straight line. Then when you want to lean the bike in the turn you can just release the countersteer and fall in the turn just by relaxing your outside arm. I absolutely love that feeling! You can also countersteer to the other side (the normal way) and lean very fast. I made me realize that controlling the bike should probably feel more like dancing than wrestling.

Great book indeed and credit to Greg/MotoJitsu for pushing to buy it even though he also has his own books.

Absolutely!   That too; I'd never really thought of it before and always had some issues with body positioning because I'd be trying to do it while entering a corner.  Getting myself in position before the corner helps enormously particular as I'm a pretty big guy and really not very agile, so it ensures I'm not disrupting the suspension shuffling around, and it reduces the amount of things all going on at once - all of which are reasons to do it specifically listed in the book, too.

It's kind of funny looking, as you approach a corner with the bike actually leaning the wrong way; though *really* your center of mass is centered and upright as your body is offset in the correct direction. 

[Rhino177]

I actually just bought Greg's 2020 Tracer GT.  I'm an instructor here in San Diego and teach with him on the weekends.  I went over to a BBQ at his place a couple weeks back to just hang out and check out the new scooter and he convinced me to trade my Versys in for it.  Glad I did, love the bike.

Small world!

[knyte]

Sweet!  Man the calibre of experience and knowledge here is really becoming next-level.

Edited March 5, 2021 by knyte
remove repetitive word(s)

[Wintersdark]

On 2/3/2021 at 6:25 AM, petshark said:

Yeah, his message was pretty clear. He loves track riding so much that he does no longer get pleasure from street riding on a motorcycle. It's not the first time that I hear this. Makes me not want to do a track day after all.

This is something that kind of concerns me too.  I mean, it's theoretical really as track days are basically impossible for me, but that comment really doesn't make me want to try track days.

As it stands, street riding is what I enjoy most - of everything I do - and if I were to stop enjoying it in favour of something I could only do a couple times a year, that'd be a huge loss.

I mean, back in the day when I only rode old 80's machines I'd cobbled into running bikes, I still enjoyed driving too.  But after getting a more modern bike that I can really push in ways I was never confident enough pushing a 35 year old machine?  I just completely lost interest in driving.  Does nothing for me anymore.  So I can see that happening.

[petshark]

7 hours ago, Wintersdark said:

This is something that kind of concerns me too.  I mean, it's theoretical really as track days are basically impossible for me, but that comment really doesn't make me want to try track days.

As it stands, street riding is what I enjoy most - of everything I do - and if I were to stop enjoying it in favour of something I could only do a couple times a year, that'd be a huge loss.

I mean, back in the day when I only rode old 80's machines I'd cobbled into running bikes, I still enjoyed driving too.  But after getting a more modern bike that I can really push in ways I was never confident enough pushing a 35 year old machine?  I just completely lost interest in driving.  Does nothing for me anymore.  So I can see that happening.

I think we need to take into consideration that

• Greg lives very close to a track (I think?)
• He has that all-or-nothing attitude
• Most of his content was already in the twisties, which I would place in between track and street riding.
• He did a lot of track days and was getting into above-amateur levels and training with professionals before he started feeling this way.
• He has an obligation to constantly create content, it is his day job.
• He likes to repeat himself but there is a limit. He now has this great catalogue where he has covered mostly everything from multiple angles. That's great but to thrive you always need new content and you can't keep repeating yourself.
• So I'm willing to bet that his channel's growth is the reason for moving onto the scooter market, a calculated and smart move. There is a huge scooter market in Asia and other places.

Mostly speculation of course but I'd say that we are less in danger of this happening to us. If you can only do a couple of track days a year I don't think you can get as hooked as Greg seems to be. But what do I know.. maybe we need to hear from people who actually did a few track days. 😆

That said I completely agree on the car thing. Not long after getting my first bike I got rid of my BMW car and switched to a Skoda because I no longer felt the need to have a flashy fast car.

Edited March 5, 2021 by petshark