Riding
not driving your motorcycle
Riding your motorcycle is a reactive actively. This
means you do not sit passively on the saddle like a
sack of potatoes! (as you do in your car) One ’drives’
a car but ’rides’ a motorbike. This deliberate change
of verb is no accident.
Essentially, for every force/action that the bike subjects
your body to you have an equal and opposite reaction.
Accelerating
For example when accelerating quickly. The motorbike jumps
forward leaving your body ’behind’. A beginner rider just
hangs on for dear life onto the handlebars - an experienced
biker has an equal and opposite reaction by leaning forward.
This does two things i.e. it keeps the arms free and relaxed
and keeps weight on the front wheel. Physiologically the benefit
is that the biker is in control and not the wild beast somewhere
in the engine, again creating a better rider. Braking. The
reverse happens under heavy braking. The motorcycle slows
down while your body wants to continue over the handlebars.
A beginner pushes against the handlebars in a desperate attempt
to stay on - an experienced rider has an equal and opposite
reaction by leaning back slightly and griping the bike with
the inner thighs. This does three things i.e. keeps the arms
free and relaxed, prevents excessive downward force onto the
front wheel which in turn allows the braking action of the
back wheel to be more effective.