Why you can’t break your FEAR of losing grip (and how to fix it) 

It's not like I don't trust my tire. I just don't trust the roads in my place 😂

I almost lost grip while riding back from work, the adrenaline you get from the reaction of correcting the bike in split second is addictive

I went to a track day. At the end of the day I said "okay I'll lean over more now that I got a good session in", and then I slid out and my day was over. It's a real concern not just a "fear".

In 1971, following and catching up to a friend on a twisty L.A. area canyon road on my 325 Honda, I entered a left curve near center line and finished close to road edge. In the process, experienced a curious floating sensation. Realized at exit that I had just done an unintentional two-wheel drift without losing essential traction and dumping myself in the road. WHEW! Scared myself good and slowed up. Have never again ridden so aggressively.

Getting experience riding offroad helps massively. I rode trials and enduro for 8 years and it made me a better rider- especially when it comes to feel for grip.

This channel is a masterpiece! Great work guys! 🏁🥇 I wrongly started on a gsxr600, and I was always afraid to push the bike, that I will lowside on every corner and never leaned enough. What I did after a second crash and a totaled motorcycle? I bought a smaller one, a CBR250r. I leard to lean and drag footpegs, leaned to the limit and touch my left hand on the ground. I gained confidence, learned to sit properly on the bike and so much else!

This is my number one obstacle. Ride in the rain all the time. Need dirtbike school.

Being first and foremost a motocross guy. My issue with tire feel is that comparatively on the asphalt everything feels like perfect grip

You need knowledge - not confidence. Fear saves your life. You never want to ride at the limit. You will encounter potholes, oil, sand, gravel and other vehicles on the road - even in turns. I've been riding motorcycles since 1978.

I've just put Battlax S23's on my ZX-6R and they are amazing.....

I grew up on dirt bikes and culminated in me earning an AMA Expert license in 125cc Motocross as a Jr. in H.S. Along the way I also competed in Trials and Flat track and TT. Learning to control a bike at extremely low speeds over obstacles as in Trials and then learning to slide at high speed on dirt as in Flat track and TT gave me the skills that the first time I rode a high performance street bike I very quickly learned that they could be driven at loss of traction time just like a dirt bike. For riders with less experience I do agree riding in the rain gives you a much milder slope of the loss of traction envelope. Another thing I think is helpful is learn to slide your bike into corners just using the back brake. When you feel comfortable sliding it at different angles and for different distances I think it helps calibrate your brain to what it feels like at loss of traction time. Really until you get compfortable sliding your bike both with the rear brake and with the throttle, you'll never be a fast skilled rider.

love the way you talk about how we already have the skills to do it, really helps boost the confidence, great video

Never had a lowside before thankfully (knock on wood). Have been in the cusp of a few though in rainy conditions, again, thankfully my Michelin Road Classics communicated their (near) loss of grip impeccably well each and every time both front and rear. But as a near daily motorcycle rider, I have come to realise there are only a few situations where I can really put my shoes/pegs to the ground. As road debris, road surface and corner angle/radius all are a major factor. Also knowledge of your route plays a major role, but that is person specific, as I know I am a slow/carefull learner. I did nearly have a highside though, but that was my own fault. I wanted to leave a roundabout full blast but failed to see the sand that was piled up centimeters thick for over 10 meters long right in the middle of the exit lane. Not sure how I caught the bike, I was simply glad I was laying like superman on top of my motorcycle while she was still upright, instead of being like a patrick starfish on the ground😅 In hindsight I definitely should have expected the sand (in any severity) to be there as right next to it there is a massive sand depot and trucks come and go rather frequently.😅 Ride safe✌️

I had 2 back to back track days scheduled and the second day it rained. I went out on the first session and low sided but while it was unfortunate and I broke some parts, the feeling of losing grip on my ninja 400 was something I never really experienced and it was an invaluable lesson.

I rode Dunlop slick rear that was *shaved* on both sides in the power/drive part of the tire, and didn't run warmers. I was *very* careful and had a delicate throttle hand, but still rode fast. You could *feel* that the tires weren't there, especially when cold. It did feel like walking on ice. I rode them way longer than I thought I should have, until I had a lil slide that was bigger than I wanted. Thennn I changed the tire. For me that was a good exercise in both throttle control and learning grip. On a 200 rear I still had a LOT of edge grip despite having no drive grip.

Great video and really helpful. This past July i ran 2 track days on Bridgestone S23's with a GSXR1000. Tons and tons for grip from those tires. I can't say enough good things about them. Never once felt like i was losing grip. 28PSI Rear an 30 PSI Front btw.

What was a game changer for me was buying Michelin Road 6 tires. NOT because of the way they felt, but rather their price and reputation. I used to buy cheaper summer tires and because their narrow temperature window for grip, I’d often feel then slip when cold, which made me doubt them at all times. I then bought the Road 6s and told myself “these are the best and my wallet knows it, TRUST them”, and so I started exploring their limits. Yes they have a wider temp range, but even on a hot day where theoretically the summer tires would perform better, I TRUSTED them more, and rode more confident. Now I only run Dunlop Mutant tires which have less (dry) grip than anything I’ve ran before because of their tread pattern, but I know what I and a tire can do, and run them harder than anything previous. Also because of the play the tread blocks have, they’re a little loose without slipping, and you can really get used to the feeling of grip at the limit, and best of all, get a little slip angle when powering out of a corner… I’m basically Tokyo Drifting everywhere now 😂🙄😬

I learned traction control as a?teen on the track. My father had me ride one of his old junker bikes past the traction limit until I went down at a safe sub 100km/h speed. After about a dozen times, I began to get a good feel for the edge.

My bike of choice is a Kawasaki ZX-14R. Best thing I ever did to..learn about grip was commute daily to work in Northern California year round for 3 years. Nothing like a damp mountain road with pine needles strewn all over it to..teach about grip, throttle control and concentration. Riding up and down those roads with a string of cars/trucks behind, did wonders for my perceptions of grip, appreciation for the very tall 1st gear (yes you can..ride in 1st gear on a very steep..downhill road) and respect for both Metezler tires, Kawasaki R&D and 200 rwhp.

The one constant through all of my grip experiences was something you didn't mention, the tire traction limit slip indicators. I don't have electronics and creep up to it by messing with pressure, line, lean, hang, trail, markers, and speed lap by lap. It's really fun feeling those micro slips and approaching the limit of the permutation I'm doing at the time. I've never used TCS but gotta imagine that expecting the electronics to handle your inputs has got to make feeling that harder.

riding on even slightly gravelly lanes or in the wet gives me a sense of foreboding of the worst that might happen so i tend to keep as upright as i can, which means slowing right down on bends, and i know at times it's way slower than i can/should (probably) do, but i know it's a confidence thing, and i don't feel like i want to explore the limits to find out, even though i have well reviewed & good condition michelin road 5 tyres, the odd time i've felt a bit of lost grip it really shits me up lol, so i stay well below the limit if possible. probably some of it stems from a few lower speed spills when i hit some wet leaves and later some mud, the feeling of helplessness as it instantly went down aint something i want to risk again. thanks for the vid & i'll re-watch to try improve but it's a tough one, especially as i'm in my sixties and things take longer to heal these days !!. GL

Well explained. A huge thing that helped me was learning that the tyres don’t just provide static friction, but also sliding friction. So if the tyres do slide, it’s not as if all grip is suddenly gone. Riding in the rain is a great way to test grip, even riding over the occasional white line or manhole cover on the road for some variety of experience.

this is where I'm at in my riding right now. i want to 'trust' my tires, i know they're good and i know i can get way lower but every time i lean past my 'usual' or 'comfort' level i have it in my head that it's gonna instantly wash out and low side! only on like the 5th month of riding so i guess i have plenty of time. no rush here lol. 05 Honda CBR600rr/ Michelin Pilot Power 2CT's front n rear.

I dropped 2.5 seconds off my PB in 3 sessions by riding a SC1 until it was completely dead. I couldn’t go around a left hand turn without the rear wiggling even at slow speeds with no gas. Threw on a fresh SC1 and immediately felt the huge difference. It taught me so much.

I ride year round in the northern USA. The point you made about different conditions giving you a perspective for grip was very well made. What you learn in the real world is that, while cold and rain are certainly not conducive to good traction, it still takes a lot to to overwhelm the tires and suspension of modern motorcycles. The key is to adjust your lines and inputs so that they are appropriate for the conditions.

Riding in the rain, weaving through rush hour traffic in Cardiff, Wales taught me a lot about grip, where to push it and where not to. This translated to experience on track days. I was flabbergasted just how much grip Michelin Pilot slicks have. My gixxer could corner much faster than I could ask of it

I broke my fear by leaning until the crash bar hit the ground and I low sided. I have had no doubt I can lean the shit out of it on dry ground. I have also done a bunch of circles gradually increasing lean in a dirty parking lot where trucks are unloaded with a lot of gravel patches. I could feel the wheel slide out just a little at speeds I would take a turn at. Did the same after it rained. Big circle of gradually increasing lean. Did a few hard stops too.

This was hands down the best advise I received back in the day from my Dad.

It's Funny your wear a CBR 900 T-Shirt in this video... They had a 16.5 or something front wheel, caused problems I recall. Brilliant symbolism!!

It’s simple, the more money you have, the more confident you have😢

some schools put you on a truly anemic

Great video. I just started track days last fall. Started on Perelli tires. Wasn't feeling comfortable in the turns. Some slippage. Put on a set of Dunlap Q5 tires. Love them. Gained tons of confidence leaning to toes and knees dragging. After 4 track days. I got moved up to intermediate. Much better class and pace. Having a blast riding on a real track.

I swaped my Battle Axe sport touring tyres for Perelli Super Corsa Diablo's, now my FireBlade sticks to the road like glue, they warm up really quick and you can really get the power on at high lean angles 👍

You're so right about learning. I had two mates did the 125cc to DAS to 600 together. Bloke1 took hints, learnt from the quick and safe ( ie don't crash) boys. Bloke 2 didn't. Reckoned he knew all he needed. Crashed every bike he ever had in some very odd accidents. Yes he survived. ( he once flipped an R1 and walked away ! )

Have tires worth trusting. Profile, pressure, temperature and running them in is everything.

You're back to posting! Thank you! You're one of my favorite youtubers on these topics.

Oh how I wish utube had been around in the 70’s …it’s like the matrix lol , you just ask it’s all here ❤😂🎉

Michelin Street Pilot R tires are amazing for general road use as well as going fast in the twisties, they are one of the most well balanced tires I've ridden on for all road conditions - even dirt back roads.

The VERY imporant thing is quality of the grip. Well polished asphalt is not the same as brand new.

Thanks for the topic a great explanation. I'm heading out for a couple track days tomorrow, running Diablo Rosso IVs on my RS660. I'm a new rider (started 10 months ago) but I rode all winter on mostly wet roads and I've done six track days since the weather got better, one of them in pooring rain. I'm still insecure about where full lean is with my tires in the dry. I still have tiny chicken-strips but my body position is pretty good so I've been reducing lean quite a bit. I think I have felt "pushing the front" in few corners but I'm not sure. One thing that happened in a hairpin was that I overdid my body position with a little too much weight for the speed and turn radius - it felt like I was falling but the steering/tire geometry saved me by automatically turning into the fall - and surprise, the tires held. My guess is that I have a bit more lean at my disposal. Anyone running the same tires willing to share their experience?

1. buy a cheap bike 2. buy the right gear 3. track day and learning safely

Brilliant...as always. Thank you very much!

More awesome content yet again from you Dan. Funny enough I did MX back in the day so have always been comfortable with my road bikes losing it on the back. Last week at Brands on the GP circuit trackday it rained after lunch and guess what, I was one of the few riders out on track and on Michelin Power Cup 2s on a 201bhp RSV4-RF. I do think the MX thing among other things gives you that little bit more help with understanding the fine line between grip and no grip, if you know what I mean. Thank you as always for you massive contribution to us followers Sir👍🏻

The environment is the greatest trainer for your skills! The second best is your goals and then motivation together. I know that very well living here in finland, half the year we have wet, snow and ice! You learn how to ride bike on ice and snow when you are kid, then moto and cars. This is the reason why we have some great drivers in all motor sport! Next winter I will train again on ice with my supermoto bike with special studs on tires. It is very fun and you can get different challenges to your training plan. If you do all the same, there will be no gain! Wellcome to train here, you can meet Mika Kallio and many good riders on ice with studs!

Ahhh, those wonderful sunny days with super sticky tires cornering like a boss, right until that loose gravel spilled by a truck appears mid-corner. That's why I'm not dragging my knee on the streets.

On normal roads you can always try feeling the grip going straight and doing break checks. You feel the grip gone when the abs starts pulsing…. Be cautious if you dont have ABS

True words... Thanks my brother

Beautiful video. Imo the best way to learn is just to send it 😂. Experience is the best teacher. The more you go over the limit the more comfortable you become imo.

It's good to see you back 😁 these vids are getting better and better. Great advice and cool shirt 👍🏻

Ah yes Times when I ride in trails with lots of slippery surfaces, after I slide way to much, I gain so much confidence in my tires when I go back on the pavement. Can't imagine if I did dirt roads lol

Really great video and has really awakened my awareness to my grip senses already developed.

My bike career is 1.5 seasons. I bought an ADV with knobbies but tyre center was far more worn out than sides, still enough thread on them but almost perfect square. Since I do not care for offroad, changed to 80/20 street orientated metzelers. To my surprise, new street tires performs far better on loose gravel than semi old, flat knobbies, my speed increased by ~20 mph and I feel far more confident. I have almost no experience but can say for sure, I better go gravel on new street tires than worn down knobbies. No idea how it works, but backside doesn't swirl around anymore even on tyres that are not made for gravel.

Everythink he said make sense on same race track. When you know limit of your tires, and then suddenly asphalt on road changes, that limit make no sense.

The number one thing I still need to find is the perfect psi for me. I rock michelen road 6.

Amazing video... Ride on a 300cc with track tires are an amazing confidence lesson... Whan you see what people are doing... slowly you get the courage to step by step... achive inveedible lean angles... Furthermore.. nothing taste sweeter than pass a 4 cylinder.bike.. with a 300cc on a track...

Went on a brisk group ride yesterday. Even with fresh Road 6 tyres on my Tiger 800, I struggled to keep up with a very experienced elderly rider on his well-sorted DR650 on full knobbies..😅

This is my biggest issue mid corner.

The primary issue is the type of tire and tire pressure. Dirt riding sort of helps develop feel but really doesn't translate well in your grip sensitivity as it mores helps.you develop slide control and capturing a loose bike. All that said ive seen guys on Goldwings and RG-1100s blow away sportbikes in the rain on the street. Just play it safe and get good tires or at the very least run proper low psi 30F 29R and compliwent suspension.

I learned not to use Bridgestone. The Michelin Pilot 4’s were my favourite tyre. They lost me when they changed to the “Road series.” Now I will only use Rosso Diablo IV’s.

It's always a great help. Thank you

Wish I could chalk up my experience of grip to track days or MX. I learned to love the lack of traction in the (Swedish) winter of 22/23. Because of a case of stubbornness and neccesity I commuted the full winter - barring when it got below -10, there had been a freeze-thaw-freeze cycle or when a wet snowstorm was coming. 50/50 tires on a FE450 - commonly known as the most forgiving of enduro bikes - and the first days was horrible. And in a bit I get the feel for clutch and throttle - soft hands. Four months later I was AIMING for the slippery spots, going sideways as far as possible was now a goal. A track bike would be fun, but for now whipping up gravel roads suits me just fine.

Excellent video. My learning to ride MSF course decades ago was a rain or shine thing. It never occurred to me that it would downpour. The first day was beautiful and in the classroom. The second day was ride day, and the sky opened up with so much rain I swear I saw Noah's Ark. Made me a much better rider though, as I never developed a fear of riding in the rain like a lot of riders I knew over the years.

The smoother you are on the controls the more you'll feel the grip and other things the bike is telling you. If you're abrupt on the controls, you'll mask most of what the bikes trying to say.

I've had cold supercorsa's on a wet track. That was terrifying, lost the rear multiple times.

I practice learning to read grip by taking my honda monkey out in a parking lot during heavy snow. The most useful thing I learned was how it feels when the front slides. It happened over and over but no fear a walking speed on a bike I can just about lift completely off the ground.

Very good my friend well done

Fantastic instruction!

while my experience its a tad on the rare side, the absolut best i can say its, drive more, know your bike and take care of it the only bike i have its a little 150 scooter passed down form my dad, its a 150 with 4 gears, when i was young and didnt give too much of a thought to giving a real hug to a tree, i could drive it REAL nice Then i got the diver license for it bcs where i live you need different tiers depending on the bike, after using a new(well, it has to be close to 7 to 10 years), 400 cruiser, with discs and brake fluid (mine has drums and cables in both wheels) i couldnt even get close to how confortable i felt int the past, I kept driving it and it got better but never quite like then long time after that i got a jot delivering with a 110 and later a 50 one bcs the place was poor as heck and didnt have anything else, the 50 teached me A LOT, it didnt have te power to crash if you werent doing the most absolutely crazy stuff, so i got to know how to move, how to brake the least i could and all sort of stuff, that bike teached me the amount of grip a bike has to the point i used it almost the same in pouring rain When i finally drove my old girl back, i could rlly use it now, but something was off.... the bike type, the breaks it has, the comfier suspension (that its absolutely shoot and needs replacement FOR SURE, i would even sat its stock so yeah, 40 y/o shocks), the riding position, it was like asking a 90 y/o to do a marathon, even then, i can drive it way better tha i could ever So yeah, just drive, push it a little bit each time, drive it around the same place every time, if you push in new places that a recipe for no bike, and know what type of bike you have, what was designed for, what state its the bike in

Impecable as always!

I would like to see the fitness programs and techniques these riders use to get in, and stay in shape. I wonder what kind of core exercises they do.

I do not trust my tyres, because I do not need to. I do not ride in a way which forces me to trust my tyres. More trail and more squat gives more over-steer. The bike stays more vertical, so I can ride faster. My bike helps me ! When the bike oversteers as you accelerate, you get more confidence. You do not need better tyres or more power - just change the trail and squat - you will be faster. Always use an hydraulic steering damper.

Loosing the grip is not an issue. Dropping the bike and repair costs are. In a car, if you get a slide, you can correct it. On the bike - it's often results in a crash. Dirt bike is probably a way. And lowering the speed on the public roads as well. Keep your knee dragging and stunting to the track or empty parking lots.

I used to have this fear from a young age when i rode a bicycle… i was afraid of the tires braking traction.

That’s a damn good thumbnail

I trust my tires. My issue is that I scrape when I get extremely low on my zx14

i learnd riding in the winter and have done a lot of winter riding when on the track if it rains i always get comments saying wow you are not afraid of the rain

Great video, love the shirt!

my tires are 14 years old. i aint trusting them bruh.

Moto gp riders put a knee down to reduce lean angle at high speeds. The knee acts as a tripod for the 2 wheels to keep the bike from sliding out at max lean angle. The goal is to reduce lean angle. Not increase it. You can accelerate quicker when the bike is upright or has less lean.

Great video!!! I recommend the book: the upper half of the motorcycle by Bernt Spiegel, very helpful for street and track riding and understanding one self. If your parents did not put you on a mini bike with 4 years, it helps getting better 😊

Pirtelli CORSA II is one of the gbest tires ever !

Some people would fall of a kiddies' tricycle, through lack of confidence.

One of the biggest barriers is lack of environments for exploring grip limits with a high rate of repetition at higher speeds. Race tracks for example might have a dozen corners but they have straights that spread those corners out and quite a lot of variation in each corners design. The degree of repetition is too small. A track that has fewer corners and shorter or effectively no straights allows for more repetition and thus more exploration of what is achievable but who's going to build a track like that? The smaller tracks that do exist tend to have tighter corners (e.g. karts and supermoto) to maintain the corner count and while that means you can explore lower speed tight corner grip it rules out learning high speed corner grip. Getting a feel for grip levels on a 200kph corner is tricky when there aren't that many 200kph corners in quick succession for you to practice on.

I stop leaning when the foot pegs start scraping! I know for a fact there is no more lean angle left time to back off a tad!

I quit putting foot down in turns 50 yrs ago when a Fast Old man explained to me how stupid it is - The Old Mans advice has made me Much faster and Increased my Confidence - just passing on Old Mans Good advice -

Excellent tips

Having ridden my old srad 750 on race tyres in the dry at the very edge of grip (rounding off the edge of the tyre and feeling the bike squirrelling around at the very edge of dry grip on long open bends) and same race tyres in the wet simply insta letting go in a straight line under light acceleration (because you shouldn't use cold race tyres in the wet). And having had my bike 2 wheel slide on the road in the wet on cold road tyres, I thought I was 100% comfortable finding the edge of grip. Then I changed bike, and lost all trust in my tyres for no reason I can figure. Maybe it's the suspension I thought... roll through many hours of suspension tweaking and upgrades... Maybe it's just this bike... roll through a series of replacing bikes, hoping to get that trust back. Maybe I'm just getting older and need to brute force my way through then the lean angle fear... roll through hours upon hours of dragging knees in empty carparks. I never ever did get the absolute trust back that I had in my early 20s on that 1999 750cc fuel injected srad... no matter what the bike, tyre or suspension setup. I don't know if I just 'lost it' or if it was the bike, or what... but I could take that thing to the absolute limit of both front and rears, fearlessly. Because I knew exactly where the limit was, and how it would react when I went past it. Not been able to get anywhere near that on any bike since... not even close 😢

EXCELLENT/INFORMATIVE video!!!

One thing is modern bikes have a ton of ground clearance. It's hard for newer riders to know 'where they are' lean wise. Those early 80's bikes gave TONS of feedback. They would drag pegs, centerstands, and the tires were very predictable. It seems like modern bikes are far more capable, but don't have as much feedback and are not so forgiving at thier limits.

With good road tires on dry tarmac 1G is safe. That equals 45 degree lean.

I think its useful to drive or ride on lower grip tires to suss things out with less risk and to practice on lower grip. Then when you get grippier tires, you will be able to get full value out of them. If you start with really grippy tires, your growth in confidence will be much slower and the "edge" of grip/no grip is a lot sharper, so why not practice at lower speeds, lower costs and wider grip curve. Unless you are racing, race tires are pretty much a waste of money anyway. I race cars, but still a newb on a street motorcycle - more comfortable on dirt.

the funniest part of my fear is that I'm much scared than i should during the winter, and i'm more than confident in summer, and that's a problem by both parts...

I agree with everything but would add suspension is a thing most people never bother with ,a new bike should be set up for the individual, you would not get in a car and not adjust the seat for your size its the same with the bike weight height etc all have a different effect ,also some people ride with more confidence on the rear than others who load the front its not simply tyres in my opinion ,though dirt riding is a great way to improve quicker and is safer as the speeds and tracks are better for safety ..

Another way is a stripped Honda C90 with bald Road tires on dirt, , which was my first "motorcycle" 😂

How to fix it: ride dirt bikes where you're almost always limited by traction EDIT: You said it

I ONLY use MK3 dunloo tyres they the best for sportbikes

On my lunch brakes I sometimes ride my bike around some tennis ball halves on the parking lot, which has a less than perfect surface. I can feel the front slip, I can feel the rear slide, I fall every now and then.

Basically, f around and find it.

I dont have the fear of losing grip, my bike does it for me. I have a enduro/street dirt bike and the pegs r super low. yesterday i was getting knee down and started dragging peg, then low sided because it started putting weight on the peg. bikes not too badly damaged

Whatever videos you're watching about this thematic, only thing working is just ride a lot, ride every day and learn by yourself. That's my experience in the years. Videos never gave me real answer