There are a variety of hazards that are a part of street riding.  Most of these situations can be managed by steering and braking skills.  There are however an occasional odd item or obstacle in the roadway that can not be avoided and must be run over.

For example the local utility has just laid a cable and cut out a 12” wide ditch in the highway going completely across the road.  When they finish you typically have either a speed bump sized mound or a trench of 4”. Either can bend a rim or send you flying off the seat. Traveling at 60 MPH with a few car lengths between you and the vehicle in front, you only have a couple of seconds to do something.

Stopping is both impossible and stupid in the middle of any roadway.  The common error is to brake hard and hit the obstacle on the brakes. This results in your front end being almost fully compressed- as the weight transfers forward under braking. Your suspension cannot assist you and absorb the impact.  The force will be absorbed by the tire, the rim and be transmitted through the bike upsetting you and the machine. 

A good technique to use that will minimize impact or damage to the bike and be less upsetting to your stability is to do the following: 

·        Check your mirror quick to see if you have the luxury of braking without being rear-ended.  

·        Brake hard to scrub off speed; lower speed is lower force.

·        GET OFF THE BRAKES before you hit the obstacle.

The suspension must get chance to unload, remember these are basically springs in the front end and when compressed they can not absorb.  Also a free-spinning wheel can climb over or out of something just because it is spinning (gyroscopic forces).  When the wheel is being slowed, not free-spinning, how can it climb up or out? 

An off-road rider in the woods would actually wheelie over something like this.  You wouldn’t ride your bicycle over a curb with out a little wheelie right?  Trials guys do amazing stuff with wheeling over boulders and letting the rear wheel take the impact (with an unloaded suspension).  This may be bit much on your Harley Rigid or Gold Wing so I understand.

This principle also works in those steering situations where you think you can’t make the turn.

For example, imagine you’re going what feels too fast for an exit ramp or a car pulls out of a driveway etc.  You brake hard, think “Oh sh--” and try to brake and steer together.  This can result in exceeding the traction capabilities of the front tire and wipe you out.  Better is to:

·        Brake hard, really hard front brake (or both front and rear if you ride a Cruiser) while straight up and down

·        Then GET OFF THE BRAKES and steer it hard.

The odds are you can make a lot of turns you think aren’t possible, but you can’t do it while braking too.  Remember even ABS can’t save leaned over motorcycle hard on the brakes.

Next time the opportunity arises to practice this; do it.  This works even in your car.  Get off the brakes when it is time to run something over like a pothole or bump.  Then after a time it will become second nature, if you never practice, the odds are you won’t get it right. 

Chicken Hawk Racing rider, David Podolsky, is a 9 Time National Champion racing in the Battle of Twins Formula 1 class and AMA Sports.  Chicken Hawk Racing is sponsored by - Michelin TIres, Ducati USA, VP Fuel, Catalyst Racing Bodies, Rev it, Shoei, Fuel Cell, Ferodo, Celtic Racing,