Anyone that has been at a motorcycle event with me and those that have rode with me on a run will tell you I’m a big show off. When everyone is parking and there is room, I’m over somewhere in the corner of the parking lot doing circles and figure eights. Why? Why because it’s fun, and at the same time I am honing my motorcycle skills hoping to be ready if I encounter one of those “but officer, I didn’t see him” kind of drivers.
Once I learned how to master the clutch, use the rear brake to my advantage, and to keep the throttle just above idle while keeping my eyes on the prize during a slow speed maneuver a new world of control opened up for me. My big ol’ Harley is huge, intimidating to some just because of its size, but that’s all relative. By that I mean once you have learned to totally control your motorcycle the motorcycle will lose weight, it will feel smaller because you are now nimble, it will get rode more and what the heck, you might start loving that scooter enough to even give her a name (my HD Ultra is Pearl).
Learning to control a leaning scooter in a small circle just above the scraping will have value to you sooner or and later. Sooner, because every time you throw a leg over the seat you will do it with the confidence knowing you know stuff, important stuff, about how your scooter handles. And later, because ‘the little ‘ol Lady from Pasadena’ that didn’t see you is in your future, she’s in all of our futures, be ready, leaning is part of the swerve you will need when Granny finally sees you and stops in front of you.
When the opportunity presents itself jump out there in that empty parking lot and practice. Grab a friend and learn together, it will be time well spent. Start with watching others and watching videos, have a practice plan like, today work on U-Turns, next time work on 90 degree dead stop pull outs, etc. Riding down a highway is great of course, but sometime you gotta slow down and stop, or run through city traffic. Riding with a bunch of skills in your back pocket will help you deal with those adversities we face as riders. So go ahead and call me a show off Grasshopper, but by golly, now you know why.
John ‘Hammer’ Hanzlik
ALR Road Captain
Chapter 1 Omaha, Neb.

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