fleming
01-07-2009, 11:23 AM
The assessment
Fast, smooth and confident. But one area of his riding that could benefit from a bit of a polish is his overtaking. "I'm aware that I do sometimes ride a bit close to the back of vehicles in front," he admits. "I might get stuck behind a car for a few miles if I'm unlucky."
The Fix
Efficient overtaking is all about vision. You go where you look, so if you look no further than the back of the car ahead the chances are you'll end up tailgating it. Apart from the safety implications of the bumper-hugging a slower moving vehicle, riding really close behind it makes it harder to pass. The closer you are to the back of something, the more you have to watch its movements and the less time there is to look ahead to spot overtaking opportunities.
To begin with, we get Ravi to search for an early look past vehicles ahead, before he's even 'caught' them. When it's safe to do so, he moves out across the white lines as he approaches them, to get an even better look ahead. He can always move back to his lane if something's coming or if there's a bend ahead-but when there isn't, he's able to ride straight past the car without pausing.
562
When Ravi does have to follow a car for a while, we make sure he doesn't get too close to the back of it- and he keeps looking past it as much as possible. Its important here to go down a gear or two, rather than lumping along at low revs in top.
second to double-check that it's safe to pass. If it is, he can get by quickly as he's already in a gear that will give good acceleration. If not, he can tuck safely back into his following position.
We advise Ravi to give the cars a bit of space, rather than flashing past right by the drivers window. When returning to the left¬hand lane we get him to take a longer, more angled line past the cars rather than cutting back across the front of the bonnet as soon as he's past. This makes the overtake unobtrusive and far smoother.
Fast, smooth and confident. But one area of his riding that could benefit from a bit of a polish is his overtaking. "I'm aware that I do sometimes ride a bit close to the back of vehicles in front," he admits. "I might get stuck behind a car for a few miles if I'm unlucky."
The Fix
Efficient overtaking is all about vision. You go where you look, so if you look no further than the back of the car ahead the chances are you'll end up tailgating it. Apart from the safety implications of the bumper-hugging a slower moving vehicle, riding really close behind it makes it harder to pass. The closer you are to the back of something, the more you have to watch its movements and the less time there is to look ahead to spot overtaking opportunities.
To begin with, we get Ravi to search for an early look past vehicles ahead, before he's even 'caught' them. When it's safe to do so, he moves out across the white lines as he approaches them, to get an even better look ahead. He can always move back to his lane if something's coming or if there's a bend ahead-but when there isn't, he's able to ride straight past the car without pausing.
562
When Ravi does have to follow a car for a while, we make sure he doesn't get too close to the back of it- and he keeps looking past it as much as possible. Its important here to go down a gear or two, rather than lumping along at low revs in top.
second to double-check that it's safe to pass. If it is, he can get by quickly as he's already in a gear that will give good acceleration. If not, he can tuck safely back into his following position.
We advise Ravi to give the cars a bit of space, rather than flashing past right by the drivers window. When returning to the left¬hand lane we get him to take a longer, more angled line past the cars rather than cutting back across the front of the bonnet as soon as he's past. This makes the overtake unobtrusive and far smoother.