Practise Habits
Elite HDF Member
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 3,817
Likes: 2
From: Novi MI
I take the experienced riding class at the beginning of each year for just that reason. Costs $25, practice maneuvers all day, and it's fun. When I try to practice alone, I quit after about 5 minutes.
Outstanding HDF Member
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 2,972
Likes: 1
From: King William, VA.
I have over 1million miles logged and still practice about once a month or so. Good skills need to be well rehearsed, so in an instant they are natural not something you have to think about, like swerve and break but not breaking and swerving
Banned
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 13,820
Likes: 6,614
From: Northern California
I very seldom make an effort to just go out and practice.
What I do instead is put the practice maneuvers into my everyday riding. I'll make my turns in parking lots tighter than they need to be. I'll make an extra circle or two, and reverse the direction. When a traffic light turns red, if there's not a car behind me, I'll give the front brakes a heat test by stopping as hard as I can ( and then roll up slowly to the limitline to let them cool gently ).
I suppose I should do figure 8's. but I've never had to do figure 8's in traffic, so I don't practice them much.
What I do instead is put the practice maneuvers into my everyday riding. I'll make my turns in parking lots tighter than they need to be. I'll make an extra circle or two, and reverse the direction. When a traffic light turns red, if there's not a car behind me, I'll give the front brakes a heat test by stopping as hard as I can ( and then roll up slowly to the limitline to let them cool gently ).
I suppose I should do figure 8's. but I've never had to do figure 8's in traffic, so I don't practice them much.
Intermediate
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 41
Likes: 0
From: Cottage Grove, Oregon
I've been riding for three years now and still go to a parking lot every once in a while to practice doing slow speed riding and in particular u-turns. I'd like to be able to make slow u-turns like they do in "Ride Like a Pro." 
I usually practice doing a fast stop at least once a ride. I want to do it in practice so that I can do it in an emergency without having to think about it.
Stan
I usually practice doing a fast stop at least once a ride. I want to do it in practice so that I can do it in an emergency without having to think about it. Stan
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Intermediate
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 27
Likes: 0
Nearly Every Day
I go out a lunch time and go through some tight slow maneuvers in the parking lot almost every day instead of going to the fast food joint. Best damn diet I've ever been on. Not only have I lost 75 lbs, I can crank my Raodking around in about a parking space and a half, and come to a complete stop and launch again without putting a foot down.
