By Steve Lita

If you’re reading this Riding Skills section of RoadBike each month (and I certainly hope you are), you may have similar answers to the ones Lee Parks heard when he opened up the first classroom session of a recent Total Control Class by asking the students, “Why are you here?” One student replied he wanted to get more comfortable on the street. There were three return riders, some with track day aspirations. One participant flat out admitted, “I have a problem turning.” And some were just “looking to do longer rides,” gain “more confidence,” and “feel more in control.” Yes, the class was comprised of a varied collection of riders (one student was a 30-year rider, another was a relative newbie from New York City who started in ’05; also in attendance was a young rider who owns a sportbike), all possessing a desire to strengthen the street side of their riding.

Parks’ Total Control Advanced Riding Clinic is taught at a variety of locations on both the East and West coasts. The particular class I sat in on was held at Cliff’s Cycle Revolution dealership in Brookfield, Connecticut. But you can surely find one not far from where you live on Lee’s web site, www.TotalControlTraining.net. Lee has franchised his classes to various rider training organizations around the country, and spends much of his time traveling and teaching classes in person. Although you can rest assured that all of his hired gun instructors are well versed in the ways of Total Control, including frequent RoadBike contributor Tracy Martin.

Six Ways To Corner

The clinic kicked off with a classroom session during which Lee talked about the main concentration points that are covered:

Class 1 - Traction Control

Class 2 - Mental State

Class 3 - Throttle Control

Class 4 - Visual Activity

Class 5 - Line Selection

Class 6 - Body Position

I’ll only give a general overview of these primary topics in this two-page story, because I would never fully be able to go as in depth as Lee could in an actual class. Suffice it to say that, to get the whole effect of what is taught at a Lee Parks Total Control Clinic, one needs to attend and participate.

Traction Management

Starting with the most basic topic — what connects the rider to the road — Lee talks about traction. First thing on the range, the tire pressures on all student bikes are addressed. Taking pressure out of a tire = more traction. Putting more pressure in = more integrity.

A tire’s age has a direct link to its available traction. Find the DOT number on the sidewall and you’ll be able to read the age in a four-digit formula. The first two digits are the week and second two are the year the tire was produced. Generally speaking, a sportbike or sport-touring tire is good for two years, and a tourer or cruiser tire, four years. Tire temperature affects traction, too, so you should always give your tires a few minutes to get up to temp.

Think About It

A motorcycle’s throttle controls suspension. There is a sweet spot, and you should use the throttle to keep the suspension in that sweet spot. Be “on the gas” as early as possible when riding through a corner, and start being aware of where you get on the throttle through a corner.

Lee teaches trail braking techniques for use on the street. This minimizes the amount and speed of suspension movement. It also modifies the bike’s attitude for faster and easier steering, and it reduces reaction time for the brakes and throttle. First, slowly roll off the throttle, transition to the brakes, be on both the throttle and brakes, let the brakes off as you turn the bike in, then continue to let the brakes off as you apply the throttle. Students practiced this for awhile on the range with Lee. There I overheard one of the best motivational comments I’ve ever heard, when he told a student, “You’re allowed to make as many mistakes as you can, but you’re not allowed to get down on yourself.”

Going Mental

Back in the classroom, Lee led the class into discussion of the mental state of riding. There’s so much great information here that I plan to cover it in depth in a future installment of RoadBike Riding Skills, but shown here are some pearls of wisdom presented during this important classroom session.

The paramount goal is overcoming fear. Everyone has had something happen that freaked him out, and it instills a fear of injury, wreck, or embarrassment. But one fear underlies all those other fears: the fundamental fear “I can’t handle it.” Lee teaches students to take fear out of the subconscious and put it into language. Admit and accept the risk, and then manage that risk by wearing gear and taking classes. We get scared when we think that what is happening should not be happening, so stay focused on what you’re supposed to be doing. Plan your ride and ride your plan.

The power of faith is quite strong. Trust your abilities. No matter if you think you can or think you can’t, you’re right. But in times of trouble, go with what you know. So know this: what you resist, persists. This class is designed to teach riders to get comfortable getting leaned over really far.

Body Positioning

The rider’s head, shoulders, and hips give directional stability. Vision is the most fundamental skill on a motorcycle; you go where you look, plain and simple. A predator’s vision is straight ahead; however, riders should learn how to see like the prey. Everyone possesses spotlight vision and floodlight vision. Spotlight vision is basically target fixation, but prey uses floodlight vision. Look through a turn before you enter it and keep your head on a swivel.

Lee keeps the pace active and everyone stays involved. Even as an observer, I was actively involved. Lee’s taught many of these classes, and he has his delivery down pat. After you’ve successfully completed the ARC, you can step up to a Total Control Level 2 class. And you could never go wrong reading Lee’s book, Total Control: High Performance Street Riding Techniques. His sense of humor always shows through, whether you’re in a classroom with him or reading his wonderful book. I say you could call Lee a control freak. But I mean that in a good way. RB

The 10 Steps to proper cornering as presented by Lee Parks

1 Reposition the inside foot

2 Reposition the body

3 Push on the outside grip

4 Locate the turn point

5 Locate the exit point through the turn and connect the dots

6 Relax the outside grip

7 Push on the inside grip, flop into the turn once, do all the steering with your inside arm

8 Roll on the throttle gently and early

9 Push on the outside grip

10 Move back to neutral