The Proactive lot from Suzuki are always up to something and this was their July rendition of their track Safety day.
It’s always a festive affair – the Suzuki team brands the track and pits and riders of all shapes and sizes (And most importantly, on any brand of motorcycle) are invited to join the fun and hopefully learn something.
The day starts with a classroom session where the marshalls discuss all sorts of relevant stuff like, how your bike is set up, body english, the importance of protective gear and then, of course, the skills involved with riding your bike.
Not only is riding on the track discussed, but more importantly there are lots of discussions around riding on the road. Practical pointers that you might not think of, following distances, predicting traffic patterns, carving through lanes and avoiding white lines and painted signs. Riding as a group or with a buddy, the differences between riding solo, or with a pillion.
Then it’s on to the track, where experienced riders break you up into groups – B for faster, more experienced riders, all the way down to the novice E class for the newbies. You get on to the track and follow the instructors, they show you the best lines to follow and you get to enjoy all the twisties – and if you pay attention, you will get faster and better.
A nice touch was when some of the spectators were popped onto the back with the instructors and just taken around the track so that they too can experience what it’s like. The huge smiles told the story.
In between all of these goings on, they use a section of the track to show you the dark arts of emergency braking – and they proved that a car generally out-brakes a bike every time…
They also spend time explaining how and when to use the brakes – front VS Back, VS both – and it’s quite astonishing how many people did not understand the correct way that brakes on a bike should be applied…
Lots to learn, real life stuff that you use every day that you are on a motorcycle. If you have never attended something like this, it’s something that you really should look at doing.
