What is Throttle Control
Throttle control is the skill of being able to control the throttle sensitively.With good sensitivity to throttle one can ride in a smooth and refined manner.
Being smooth is very important to the stability of the bike.
Poor throttle control disturbs the bike's poise.
To better analyze and work on throttle control lets break up the actions we do with the throttle into the following:
- Throttle roll on from an already open position.
- Throttle roll off but not to a complete shut.
- Throttle opening from a shut off
- Throttle shutting to a complete off.
If you are unable to do even one of the above things without causing the bike to jerk it suggests room for improvement in throttle control.
The way we ride on the streets would largely influence all of these actions. For a typical person accustomed to riding in the city, the above actions will be in increasing order of difficulty.
Throttle roll on from an already open position
People are generally not bad at this action. This is mainly because people don't always ride on streets at the peak of the power band (the high and juicy rev range). When outside the power band, even going WOT (wide open throttle) will be a smooth progression. In lower capacity bikes going WOT even at the power band does not upset the bike.
Throttle roll off but not to a complete shut off
This basically means reducing throttle. Due to the habits developed from city riding people would shut off the throttle completely and get back on throttle where just reducing the throttle might have got the job done. Such a throttle action is called a choppy throttle. For moderate speed reduction people tend to shut off the throttle and use engine braking to get to the desired speed and then get back on throttle. While this is might be good for FE (fuel efficiency) and other reasons, it is still bad for the smooth riding we are looking to attain.
Throttle opening from a shut position
This is also called cracking open the throttle (This is a very gentle thing when done right and don't mistake cracking open the throttle with whacking open the throttle. Never whack open the throttle).Being insensitive to these things wont really harm you, but its stealing that vital feel for the stability of the bike. Without good throttle control one can't open the throttle without causing a jerk. This action is good measure of throttle control and can be used to track improvement in throttle control.
Throttle shutting to a complete off
This is probably the hardest throttle action to iron out. If you are able to transition smoothly into the full throttle shut engine braking state, It means you have a very good throttle control.
Lets start working on throttle control
To help us work on throttle control, I have coined a term called a Throttle Instance defined below.
Definition: Duration from one throttle shut position to the next.
A throttle instance starts when you open the throttle from zero and ends when you close it back.
The Idea is that lesser the throttle instances you use, longer are the throttle instances and better is your throttle control and smoother is your ride.
Of course, having to brake and change gears will end your throttle instances. If you have access to a closed loop circuit (track) you can do the no brake drill in a single gear of your choice completely isolate throttle and work on it. If you don't have access to a track you can still work on throttle by riding slow. But please use the brakes and gears as you would. you could practice on the streets by choosing a gear that best caters to your range of speed in the city and also going very slow so that you would have to use brakes less often.
Its not possible to hold long throttle instances if you are riding in a hurry. I often use the term inner peace here. you should ride like you are in no hurry to get anywhere. Enjoy the subtle rev changes that are brought about by subtle throttle changes and the variations in the way the engine hums. This is how you start getting a feel for the throttle control. Dont think of the throttle instance drill as an obstacle course. i.e as a set of constraints placed on your riding. Think of it as a picnic time with your bike, esp the engine. Stay for a while at different revs before moving on. If you do this right, you will see how the engine responds differently to throttle in granular levels. Don't expect instant results. Enjoy the drill and keep at it and in sometime it will be a part of your muscle memory.
A throttle instance starts when you open the throttle from zero and ends when you close it back.
The Idea is that lesser the throttle instances you use, longer are the throttle instances and better is your throttle control and smoother is your ride.
Of course, having to brake and change gears will end your throttle instances. If you have access to a closed loop circuit (track) you can do the no brake drill in a single gear of your choice completely isolate throttle and work on it. If you don't have access to a track you can still work on throttle by riding slow. But please use the brakes and gears as you would. you could practice on the streets by choosing a gear that best caters to your range of speed in the city and also going very slow so that you would have to use brakes less often.
Its not possible to hold long throttle instances if you are riding in a hurry. I often use the term inner peace here. you should ride like you are in no hurry to get anywhere. Enjoy the subtle rev changes that are brought about by subtle throttle changes and the variations in the way the engine hums. This is how you start getting a feel for the throttle control. Dont think of the throttle instance drill as an obstacle course. i.e as a set of constraints placed on your riding. Think of it as a picnic time with your bike, esp the engine. Stay for a while at different revs before moving on. If you do this right, you will see how the engine responds differently to throttle in granular levels. Don't expect instant results. Enjoy the drill and keep at it and in sometime it will be a part of your muscle memory.
