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Throttle Control, Balance point, and Engine Braking, by gabe321
Gabe321 posted this informative 10 minute couch-side discussion about throttle control, balance point, and engine braking. Closes with a discussion of ‘panic reactions’ and wrecking. Stresses throttle control and not chopping the throttle. “Throttle is not a light switch that goes off and on. Its a dimmer switch.”
Speaker 1: Okay, basically here we are in your living room and we’re here to tell you about how we learn about throttle control, the balance point, and most importantly is engine breaking. The balance point is like some people thinking the world is flat, you know what I mean? You don’t really know if it’s flat or round until you go to chase it, and it feels like you’re going to find the balance point and they’re going to loose it.
But one thing they’ve got in their corner is engine break. Tell us about engine break.
Speaker 2: Right, engine breaking, the best way I can explain it – let’s say I have a car, it’s a five-speed manual transmission. First gear, I put it in first gear and I leave it there and I tack the car out, I’m going as fast as I can. If I take my foot off the gas it brings me forward, it throws me forward quick, abruptly. On second gear it’s going to do the same thing. But the higher I go up in the gears, the faster I’m going and I don’t have as much engine breaking.
Let’s say for example I’m in fifth gear overdrive on the highway, I’m doing 90 miles an hour, even though I’m accelerating I might take my foot off the gas but it’s not going to throw me forward in my seat. I don’t have a whole lot of engine breaking. So first and second gear we’re going to experience the most of our engine breaking, and that’s where we’re going to do the most of our tricks.
Speaker 1: I was just trying that while you were saying that. Bro, you’re right. You’re right, I almost flew through to my windshield in that one as you would see.
Let’s talk about the balance point, that’s probably the hardest to find. Basically what I would do is I just did wheelie after wheelie after wheelie, and then I learned the higher I would get my wheel up the closer I was at the balance point. Well, the closer I was at the balance point the longer I would go without acceleration. Eventually when I found the balance point it was like you can do forever. I mean it doesn’t matter, you can go 30 miles, say you’re running on gas, whatever, first gear makes the difference.
So the balance point is hard to find. A lot of people think when you get to the balance point you’re just going to flip, like they think that there’s a light switch at balance point and then [I’m dying] [ph 00:01:45]. But basically it’s like this, you don’t really know what it’s like until you get there. It’s actually manageable, it’s dealable, it’s nice, it’s a cool feeling because you’re in your wheelie and you feel the free acceleration, and then it’s kind of like it’s neutral.
Speaker 2: Right, once you’re accelerating your wheelie, a lot of the pressure is put in the palms and hands to hold your bike. Once you get close to the balance point it’s almost like it puts the pressure on your butt, and it takes a lot of pressure off your wrist. That’s when you know you’re getting close to the balance point is what I tell people.
Speaker 1: Yes. No, that’s good, that’s definitely true. The thing is, the closer you are to the balance point the longer I would always drive my wheelies. Every time I say the higher I get the front wheel, the closer I was on driving my wheelies longer and longer and longer, and the next thing you know I’m at the balance point. The key is I always try to stay at the balance point and I would try not to move my hand at all because you don’t want to put yourself out. I’m up there and doing my own thing, riding my own, I can go forever.
Speaker 2: Right. Check this out, if I was to explain the balance point like leaning back in a chair, I wouldn’t tell you to just go pushing off like you do in the back and then hoping for the best.
Speaker 1: It’s like pulling out your skull over on the concrete.
Speaker 2: Right, it does happen and it happens in wheelies too. We’ve done it, I’ve done it, I know you’ve done it. But just like leaning back in a chair, I want to bring myself back, I’m going to use my feet as an example in a throttle, pushing myself back is going to be like rolling on a throttle. While anytime I bring my weight forward it’s going to be like engine breaking. If I get myself too much throttle, I won’t be able to pull myself back forward.
So I want to be screwed down. I want to bring myself back, I’m in no hurry. I’m going to bring myself back to until my body just slight here. Once it gets to a point where I can pick my feet up, I’m at the balance pint right here. Notice that I’m not going to make a whole lot of movement with my body, I’m not doing this (rocking movement with his feet). I mean it doesn’t make sense, you wouldn’t do it in your chair why do it on the bike.
Speaker 1: True.
Speaker 2: Here I am, I’m relaxed, I’m not doing anything. Majority of my weight is focused a little but forward because if I fall back, I don’t really have a whole lot to bring me back to position. But I do have throttle to bring me back to the balance point. So I’m screwing on the throttle until I get back to the balance point, and once I’m here I’m staying pretty consistent on the throttle. I’m not doing a whole lot of changes staying where I am.
Speaker 1: So talk me through this. So on my wheelie, I’m in my balance point. Let me move up, how about this, I’m in my balance point and I’m doing my thing. Say I get a little bit too much, say I’m going back to far, what do I got to do? I got to close my throttle, right?
Speaker 2: Close your throttle.
Speaker 1: I got the engine break to bring me back.
Speaker 2: But see how much you brought your back, you brought your back too far.
Speaker 1: So when I’m back, close it, close it and then you got to ease back on.
Speaker 2: You ease it to get yourself into a position. You’re not throwing your body back and forth here. What happens when you come forward, you want to give yourself just enough throttle to bring you back into position.
Speaker 1: So, it’s gas off, gas off right there (rocking movement position), it just kind of eases on. You want nice smooth movements. I see what you’re saying about being jerky, I wouldn’t be balancing here and just like expect to be jerky like everything. If I want to balance forward and backward everything has got to be smooth. It’s the same kind of thing on a bike. That’s a good theory there.
(Demonstration with a rocking chair) So basically it’s a pretty simple, it’s a cool concept that [Norman] [ph 04:59:00] showed me before. Basically I’m going up, I’m on my gas, I’m on my throttle and then I do my engine break, it brings me down. I’m gassing nice and smooth, it brings me to my point, I’m at my balance point, and then finally I get too far – engine break.
Speaker 2: But notice the movement he has there if he’s really abrupt, so he’s going to being himself down forward, he going to actually use a lot more force to bring himself back to the balance point. If he brings himself back slowly so he can find the balance point, the throttle input is very minimal and it will keep him really smooth. So let’s show them how smooth you can keep this.
(Demo movements using the rocking chair)
Speaker 1: Survival reactions is something a lot of people don’t really think about, it’s something that people should know about because what we do and what a lot of our racers do we have to defy survival reactions. Survival reactions – you explain it best – but basically it’s doing exactly the opposite of what you’re supposed to be doing. Your body goes, “What you’re doing now is no good, stop” and you try to stop.
Speaker 2: Right. For example, I’ve read racing books and it says when you get into a position where you’re coming on a second gear turn and you’re whacked up and on the throttle, your back end starts to spin, the last thing you want to do is shut the throttle off because that’s just going to upset the bike and put you into a high side. But that is the first thing that your brain tells you to do when in reality it’s the exact opposite of what you should be doing.
You just close the throttle a little bit and stay smooth, whacking it upsets the bike way too much, and it does the same thing in a wheelie. When we bring our bike back and we get into a position where we’re panicking, our survival reaction tells us to shut the throttle. Well, greed wants us to keep the wheelie up. So what’s the first thing that we do after we shut the throttle, we whack the throttle open again. That’s the last thing we should be doing right here.
One important aspect of this sport to understand is there’s always another wheelie, there’s always another stop. There’s always another opportunity, there’s absolutely no need to try to squeeze the [inaudible 00:06:43] unless it’s the last one that you’re only able to do.
Speaker 1: One thing you got to remember, and Matt always reminds me of this – Matt has a wakeboarding background, and basically he tells me if motorcycles and stunt riding was like wakeboarding the tricks we’d be doing right now would be insane. The thing is, you can always go a hundred percent in wakeboarding. You know what I mean? You just go forward and fall, and fall in the water. It hurts – I mean don’t get me wrong, it hurts, but you fall in the water.
Like you say, you don’t want to fall in concrete, you got to learn slowly and slowly, step by step.
Speaker 2: Our sport right now is pretty much the only sport where failure is not an option. Failure can sometimes result in death or hospitalization. I don’t want that, I know you don’t like that. I’ve crashed my bike several times, I don’t like to see people crash their bikes. It’s the worst thing to overcome, collecting your bike and coming back, it’s very hard to do.
So to eliminate that, if I was to start all over again, I would tell myself that throttle control is the most important thing that I need to understand. I don’t need to be overzealous with the throttle here. I’m not looking to get arm pumped when I ride my bike, I’m staying consistently smooth on the throttle. That’s what’s going to keep me in track and straight.
If I bring my bike back I notice that it’s always smooth when I’m binging it back. When I chop the throttle and come off, when I get into a situation where a survival reaction kicks in, I chop the throttle and then I’m like, “Okay, I’m fine” and then whack the throttle open again. Then I get back to that point because I used the throttle, I’m not being smooth, and that just translates to the bike to being really all over the place. So that’s the main objective of throttle control is just to be able to maintain a smooth wheelie.
Speaker 1: My biggest problem growing up with throttle control always, I mean…
Speaker 2: Like when you were a kid?
Speaker 1: (laughs) Some people wet their pants, other people are sleep walking, me it’s with throttle control. I had the biggest problem.
We all know, I know there’s some of these people out there – in your family; may it be your dad, your mom, friends of yours. Did you ever drove a car with somebody and you’re chilling and you’re back in your seat, and the dude speeds up and slows down for no apparent reason?
Speaker 2: You think he’s messing with you but he’s looking out the window like it’s no big deal.
Speaker 1: It’s just like that’s the way it is. That is the classic throttle chopper syndrome. Now pay attention, that’s the worst kind of syndrome to have. It’s right up there with a lot of other main diseases, it’s called Throttle Choppers.
Speaker 2: TC’s.
Speaker 1: There’s one way to correct that.
Speaker 2: TC’s disease.
Speaker 1: You have to teach the people that the throttle is not a light switch. It’s not on and off, on and off, it’s more of a dimmer switch. You can give it a little more light, a little less light. Whatever you feel your movement is, it’s a dimmer switch, just relax.
It’s like the dude, he’s got this problem (acting with his hand and feet), you shake his hand and he’s like this all the time (shaking hand rocking movement). What’s the problem? (laughs) It doesn’t have to be on and off, relax.
Speaker 2: Throttle control is something that’s consistent throughout your whole life, it either exists or doesn’t exist. Driving, are you going to be that guy who hits the throttle, get off the throttle, on the throttle and off the throttle? We’ve all ridden with that guy. I sure… (demonstrating an abrupt drinking motion with a glass) … wouldn’t drink like that. Why would I ride my motorcycle like that? (laughs)
Speaker 1: A serious issue that a lot of people are embarrassed about is the throttle control issue. It comes out in a lot of people and a lot of things. See, the main ways you see it is in the highway with the people in the car and the foot (revving motion with the foot), that kind of thing or doing a wheelie and they’re throttle chopping it the whole time.
Well, obviously in Matt’s case you see it kind of extend a little bit further than the highway or the drag strip. I mean it’s actually involved with drinking and things like this (abrupt movements) or other people where the strobe light was invented because someone had a throttle chopping problem with a light switch.
So once you work these problems in, you figure out things and how they go – I mean just smooth things out, ease them out. Once you learn to be smooth and easy I think you can kind of work that with the rest of your life all in general. So let’s see what happens. Just work on that a little bit and I think you’ll pull through.”
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