In 2002, Team Honda riders Nicky Hayden and Miguel Duhamel have racked up a combined nine out of 12 possible wins in AMA Superbike, with Hayden taking a commanding championship points lead less than half way through the season. This year, Spencer is providing support for the Honda team, and has worked with Nicky Hayden and several of the other Honda riders over the past few years as part of the Freddie Spencer High Performance Riding School in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Freddie Spencer is renowned for his ability to understand even the most complex relationships between the bike and rider, and possessing a knack for dissecting the minute aspects of motorcycle set-up and development. He now makes this information open to the masses through his riding school, but on race weekends, you’ll find him on pit wall discussing tactics with the Honda crew and riders.
Honda has established
itself over the years as one of the most formidable racing companies in
the sport. Now, once again teamed up with Freddie Spencer, Team Honda
racing looks to carry on the tradition and continue its winning ways.
There's always been quite a debate over the proper way to steer your motorcycle, but here at the Freddie Spencer High Performance Riding school, I teach the exact techniques I used while contesting the 250cc and 500cc Grand Prix World Championships on my way to three world titles. The year I won both the 250cc and 500cc championships, I had to find ways to conserve my energy and strength when running two 50-minute GPs back-to-back, and in doing so discovered that there were multiple ways to affect how the motorcycle steered and transitioned. It was during that time that I began to exploit the same techniques that I now introduce on the first day of every school: the four ways to steer your motorcycle using countersteering, peg weighting, outside knee pressure against the fuel tank and brake/throttle application.
What we teach our students is that these are not four independent methods to pick and choose from; each method should be used in conjunction with the other. For now, let's take a brief look at each component:
Countersteering
Countersteering is the act of pushing on the inside bar (or pulling on
the outside) in order to make the motorcycle initiate the corner. Push
left, lean left…push right, lean right. The motorcycle's front tire
actually turns in the opposite direction of the corner momentarily before
falling in and arcing in the direction of the corner. However, a rider
that relies solely on countersteering will be at a disadvantage when compared
to a rider that uses the four ways we teach. If a rider relies entirely
on the movement of the handlebar/clip-ons to turn the bike, he or she
must use muscle at a place where you need feel. Let's use a tight left/right
s-turn as an example. In order for the motorcycle to transition through
the corner using only countersteering, the rider must use a firm grip,
forcing the bars and then relaxing. This not only becomes physically tiring
when done repeatedly, but also works to upset the chassis if done abruptly.
We teach our students to get away from muscling the handlebar.
Peg Weighting
Think of a motorcycle as a big gyroscope, and at speed that gyro wants
to continue moving in a straight line. You've got gears turning, pistons,
wheels and brakes…multiple moving parts that make turning the motorcycle
all the more difficult. However, the footpegs are set low and act as an
inside axle of the gyro, where a rider can maneuver his or her weight
and use considerable leverage and pressure to affect how that gyro reacts.
But peg weighting is not just about placing the weight there, but when
the rider places the weight there -- a discussion we'll have when you
sign up for the school.
Outside
Knee Against the Fuel Tank
Using the outside knee against the fuel tank leads to a tightening of
the torso muscles, which in turn allows the rider to take the weight off
the arms. Why is this important? Because anything that helps alleviate
a tense death grip at the handlebar will help the rider receive better
feedback from the chassis and tires. And relaxed arms and hands are the
direct instruments to have smooth throttle, brake and clutch control.
Brake
/ Throttle
The final part of the steering equation we teach at the Freddie Spencer
High Performance Riding School involves application of the brake and throttle.
We teach that the most important aspect of each corner is the entrance
- dubbed Zone 1 in the school - and brake and throttle usage in Zone 1
are essential to successfully navigating the rest of the corner. Both
brake and throttle input have a tremendous affect on how the motorcycle
steers when used in conjunction with the other methods I've described
above. Braking for a corner loads the front tire, compresses the front
suspension and tightens rake and trail, allowing the motorcycle to steer
quicker. Trail braking well past the turn-in point allows the rider to
continue slowing the bike and help it steer, adjusting the line if need
be while maintaining the load factor on the front tire. The throttle is
used in much the same way; rolling it off and squeezing the brake will
cause the motorcycle's line to tighten, cracking the throttle off idle
after the brakes are released arrests the bike's lean angle and helps
hold the desired line.
One of the reasons we use such a diverse methodology when teaching students how to most efficiently steer their motorcycles is because a rider will use different techniques depending on the situation. On the racetrack, a rider can hang off the bike and use body and peg weighting more than on the street. During street riding, more importance may be placed on countersteering and brake/throttle application. But the important thing is to understand how all of these inputs can be best utilized to help maneuver the bike.
When you
sign up for one of our schools, you will not only get a detailed explanation
of each of these methods and how they work in unison, but combined with
drills and lots of track time, will see how they improve your riding in
a practical environment, on the racetrack and in everyday street riding.
The many miles I've covered street riding and the years I spent battling
it out with riders like Kenny Roberts and Anton Mang have culminated in
a series of techniques that I believe in…techniques I look forward
to sharing with you at the Freddie Spencer High Performance Riding School.
Honda Press
Release:
Three-time
World Grand Prix motorcycle champion Freddie Spencer will be inducted
into The Motorsports Museum & Hall of Fame at the State Theatre in
Detroit, Michigan on Wednesday night, June 6, 2001.
The Hall of Fame currently enshrines 93 Heroes of Horsepower in ten categories. A committee of prominent motorsports writers, historians, members of the Hall of Fame and peers across the nation selects nominees. Inductees, selected annually, are characterized by their desire to win, mastery of their field and the courage to innovate.
Each inductee receives the Hall of Fame's prestigious "Horsepower" award - an original bronze statuette created by Ann Arbor, Michigan sculptor Michael Curtis.
About
Freddie Spencer
Perhaps
no one in the history of motorcycle racing ever achieved as much, as quickly,
and at such a tender age as the young man who, in the mid 1970's, rocketed
to the attention of the American public as Fast Freddie Spencer.
Born in 1961 in Shreveport, Louisiana, Freddie Spencer began riding motorcycles as a toddler at the age of four. At five, he was competing in TT Scramble dirt track events in Dallas, Texas. By the age of eleven, Spencer had already won ten state motorcycle racing championships in Short Track and Dirt Track events.
In 1972, Spencer made his first foray into roadracing, competing at Green Valley Raceway in Dallas, Texas. The youngster's dirt track experience paid off. By 1977, he had won twelve national roadracing championships competing in both AMA (American Motorcyclist Association) and WERA-sanctioned race events.
In 1978, Spencer began his professional roadracing career at the age of 18. That year, he won every race in the AMA 250cc Grand Prix Road Race "Novice" Division while en route to winning the AMA National Championship. The following year, 1979, Spencer won the AMA 250cc Grand Prix Road Race "Expert" division National Championship, finishing first place in every race except one, where he took second.
Spencer's achievements did not go unnoticed. In 1980, at nineteen years of age, he signed with American Honda Motor Company to race in the AMA Superbike National Championship Series.
Spencer also began racing overseas that year. In his first taste of European competition, Spencer won the first two legs of the Trans-Atlantic Match Races. Incredibly, Spencer bested two former Grand Prix World Champions, Kenny Roberts and Barry Sheene, both of whom were supported by factory teams.
Spencer qualified 6th in his first European Grand Prix. This was just a single spot behind reigning 500cc World Champion Kenny Roberts, a man who, at the time, was considered the greatest motorcycle racer in the world.
In 1981, Spencer inked an agreement with Honda Racing Corporation to race selected Grand Prix World Championship events, and most importantly, to assist in the research and development of the Honda NR500 four-stroke machine.
The following year, at the age of 20, Spencer stunned the racing world at the Belgian Grand Prix on July 4, 1982, becoming the youngest Grand Prix race winner in history. He went on to finish third overall in his first full year of 500cc Grand Prix World Championship riding Honda's three-cylinder two-stroke NS500.
This set the stage for the celebrated 1983 racing season, which is considered by many as greatest World Championship Grand Prix contest of all time. Spencer won the 500cc World Championship in the toughest competition on record. He and Kenny Roberts split 12 wins and 12 pole positions between them, with Spencer taking the championship by scant 2 points in the final race of the season. At 21, Spencer had become the youngest World Grand Prix Champion in history.
1984 was a transition year for Spencer. He played a major role in the research and development of a new V-4 two-stroke Grand Prix machine for Honda, considered the most radically designed bike in post-war Grand Prix racing. Due to various teething problems, Spencer finished fourth in the World Championship point standings.
In 1985, Spencer was back with a vengeance. The young man who had taken the championship from King Kenny Roberts in 1983 was soon to become the first person in history to win both the 250cc and 500cc World Championships in the same season. In the 250cc classification, Spencer competed in ten events, qualified on the pole six times, and won seven races. In the eleven 500cc races, Spencer qualified first nine times and won seven.
The double championship stands alone in the history of modern Grand Prix racing. No competitor today would even attempt such a feat, yet Spencer accomplished it while setting nine new track records. Even more incredibly, in the same year, he won all three major divisions (250cc, 500cc and Superbike) at the AMA National at Daytona International Speedway. He is the first and only competitor ever to do so.
In 1988, with three World Championships under his belt, Spencer retired from Grand Prix racing. In the years that followed, he raced in selected events in the AMA Superbike Series. In 1996, over thirty years from the day a small boy entered his first dirt track race on an obscure Texas racecourse, Fast Freddie Spencer officially retired from professional motorcycle racing.
Today Spencer owns and operates the very successful Freddie Spencer's High Performance Riding School, situated at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Spencer's school, designed for riders of all abilities, reaches out to novice riders - who wish to improve their street riding - as well as racers who dream of winning world championships. Spencer and a select group of highly skilled instructors - who are renowned for their personal touch - coach students using specially equipped Honda CBR600 motorcycles.
About
The Motorsports Museum & Hall of Fame
The Motorsports Museum & Hall of Fame features a 20,000 square foot
museum housing over 40 racing and high performance vehicles. Located in
Novi, Michigan, the items on exhibit are significant race vehicles, such
as land and water speed record holders, both antique and current.
The constantly changing collection features racers from the world of Indy
cars, stock cars, Can Am, TransAm, sprint cars, powerboats, truck racing,
drag racing, motorcycles, and even racing snowmobiles.
The national Hall of Fame features Heroes of Horsepower enshrined in nine different categories from air racing to motorcycle racing, from the early part of the century to current champions.
The Museum
also showcases exhibits and photographs of the personalities, manufacturers
and machines of all kind of racing and their rich legacy. Other features
include exciting racing videos, driving simulation, games, slot cars,
driver uniforms, memorabilia displays and a gift and collectible shop.
The Motorsports Hall of Fame and Museum can be scheduled by special arrangement
for group tours / special events. The museum is always open 24 hours via
the Internet. Through the generous support of Enterprise Associates Ltd
the museum can be found on-line at: www.mshf.com.