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The Slow Race

RetiredJake

RetiredJake

Junior Member
Went to our annual HOG Chapter picnic yesterday. One of the games we played was the slow race. Set up 3 lanes, 3 feet wide, separated by a 4 foot buffer zone, and 50 feet long. The hands down winner was one of our members that is a Riders Edge Instructor, plus works full time on Ft Campbell in the rider education classes they run there. This guy must have been down to about 2 mph as he walked his Road Glide through the course. Second place went to his girlfriend who also rides a Road Glide. I won't comment on my showing, but I will say I thought I did pretty good until yesterday.

How many of you practice the slow go?

How slow can you go without looking like a spastic monkey trying to keep it up?
 
I've won a couple of slow race trophys. My favorite was when I stalled the Dyna in the middle of the course, and got it restarted without touching a foot down. I practice slow at every single stop sign and red light. If my foot drags an inch I feel I've failed. When starting, my feet go up as the clutch is releasing. There is a trick to it as well as practice.
Seeing someone "duck walk" thier bike always give me a grin.
 
The guy that is duck walking his bike will most likely keep his clutch from burning out. If in a line of stop and go traffic where you move 2 or 3 feet at a time for quite a while I will do the duck walk, I even shut the bike down.
 
The best I ever saw was in Austin a couple of years ago. He was a M/C cop for Texas Hiway Patrol. He would start and slide up almost on the tank and would cut his handlebars just a bit and just sit there balanced until the other contestants were near the finish line then he would start...Amazing to watch!! I can't remember what he was riding but it wasn't a bagger.
 
Keep it up for a distance like that? Nope, I can't. However, I work with a guy that has a Victory 8 Ball. He can pull up and stop and balance that bike for a long time without putting a foot down. He has amazing balance, but he does practice that at least once a day. It is amazing to watch him do it.
I really should practice slow manuevers. I learned tight turns from watching Ride Like a Pro and dragging rear brake and feathering clutch, but that is about as good as I can do.
Practice is the name of the game, but how many of us do that? It would actually be good to be able to if you were to get in heavy traffic or tight parking lots.
 
I practice everytime I ride. I make a little contest (in my head) to see how many traffic lights I can get thru without putting a foot down. I've gotten pretty good. I can ride for a good 50' at about 2 mph. I can even come to a complete stop and balance the bike for a second or two. The trick is to keep your foot on the rear brake and using the "friction zone" on the clutch to keep power to the rear wheel :s
 
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