Coasting racing...

[rsouza68]

Bad habits are hard to brake and over-braking is one of them. I read an intersting article by Keith Code about coasting racing. This involved finding your favorite downhill place, shuting off your engine and coasting down the road and through the corners with using your brakes and minimally as possible.

Has anyone done this......did you see any improvements and are there any good places in the BA to try this technique....?

[Stormdragon]

I've done it a couple times, back before Palomar became such a popular spot. You'll want a relatively steep hill, since friction in the bearings and against the road will slow you down a surprisingly large amount. You'll find the handling to be odd, since without power the chassis doesn't settle the same way. And basically you want to stay off the brakes completely since you can't make the speed back up with a twist of the throttle. I don't think coasting teaches you not to overbrake as much as it teaches you to keep your speed up through a turn.

Oh, and if a cop sees you, he'll probably get upset and ticket you for reckless or something.

[budbandit]

There are plenty of roads in the SC mountains where you can do this. Jamison Creek is one of the best but for some reason many many people end up wadding their bikes doing this. I like it and it is refreshing and like a bicycle but again many many people wad their shit doing this.

[ALANRIDER7]

It's a great way to waste your transmission bearings and shafts. They are oil pressure fed and they still spin when the bike is moving.

[Sidewalk]

I wouldn't do it without the engine at least running and in gear. If something happens you don't have the power available. If you start to tip the bike at low speed you can't rely on the engine to stand the bike back up for example. I almost did that once when the bike I was riding clicked into neutral instead of first as I was going around a corner. I let out the clutch and started to roll on to stand the bike up and the bike kept falling over until I put it in gear.

Maybe on a bicycle though.

Or trying a mini bike on the track. Watching other walk away from you because you used too much brake and didn't carry enough corner speed will inspire you :D

[Devoid]

IMHO there are better ways to get better and it definitely adds additional risk, but if you must...Mt. Hamilton. Penalties for errors there are steep.

[Bikerx260]

Best place to do it is a tall parking garage in a business district, late night on weekends!

We used to do this stuff 15+ years ago, coasting from the top level to the street level.

AR7 mentions the gears and bearings and he's right, but if you are stunting already, what difference does it make? :toothless

[2strokeYardSale]

Done it a lot down Hamilton. Leave the engine running in neutral. (BTW, rumor was coasting was illegal. Whatever.)

The bike handles differently and by neccessity, you'll take some corners slower than usual and some faster. And your lean angles get all weird because you want to pick it up ASAP to minimize rolling resistance from the tires.

So it's pretty lousy training or practice for riding. Except for gauging entry speed and getting off the brakes.

And it's fun as hell with your riding buddies.

[Christieland]

Um, sounds like it might have been a fun thing to do back in the days before they had track days. Now that we've got them, doing them seems to be a much better alternative to practicing your racing skills on the street.

[brichter]

Yup.


Used to be fun on 9 back in the 70s.

Wouldn't bother now.

[moonbeam]

downhill from clear lake to hopland, really steep with tight assed curves. We usually race up the hill then coast down with the engine running. I don't know about teaching skills but it is a gas.