Motorcycle course may help ensure every joy ride is a safe ride

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Thomas Trower
  • 100th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
RAF MILDENHALL, England --  Nearly 60 motorcyclists from RAFs Mildenhall and Lakenheath revved their engines around the flightline here July 9 at the 100th Air Refueling Wing's Mortorcycle Cornering Confidence Course.

Amateurs and experts from the refueler and fighter bases geared up to U.S. Air Forces in Europe personal protective requirements and earned experience in cornering and braking.

Col. Michael Winters, 100th ARW vice commander, and Chief Master Sgt. Christopher Powell, 100th ARW command chief, developed the course in response to recent USAFE motorcycle mishap briefings.

"This course was designed to mimic the conditions of those mishaps," said Winters. "We want you to take it slow at first, and as you get more comfortable, try the turns at a higher speed."

No riders were permitted to go in excess of 60 mph on the route which included taxiways and a stretch along a main runway. The design of the course included safety runoffs at each turn, in case a rider deemed they were entering a corner too fast. According to the registration information, the overall intention of the program was to improve each rider's ability to stay in their lane when the road tightens.

"We have brand new riders out here and even some of our own instructors," said Master Sgt. William Rathbun, 100th ARW ground safety office. "By pairing [riders] up with people with similar bikes, we hope they'll give each other advice and learn for the whole experience."

Speed monitors were placed at the entrance to some of the corners to show riders exactly how fast they were entering the turns so each rider knew they were doing so safely.

One corner was designed to show the difficulty and hazards of a decreasing radius corner. In this condition, riders must increase the amount of handlebar turn or body lean to achieve a sharper turn. All of this must be accomplished while maintaining balance and traction on the road surface, explained Winters in a brief physics lesson at the start of the day.

"Every bike requires a different combination of things to achieve the same turn," said Winters, an avid motorcyclist. "It's a complex system that is learned from experience."

As the cornering event came to a close, the riders completed a "drag stop" braking exercise. Riders were paired off and asked to ride about to 30 mph and, at the drop of a flag, stop as quickly as safely possible. By seeing the stopping distance of similar bikes, the riders could see if they needed to learn how to better apply a combination of forward and rear brakes to safely stop without locking their tires.

During this exercise, one rider reminded the group at large that they were all human and could make mistakes as he picked up his slightly scratched bike and wiped off his riding suit.

"That's why we set this all up today," said Rathbun. "So people could make little mistakes like that in a controlled way, dust off, learn from it and keep on riding."

When all the stops had been completed, many of the riders refilled their tanks and headed out for a ride through the local area and finished with lunch at a roadway pulloff.

Organizers are looking in to hosting more courses like this in the future. Information will be sent out through unit motorcycle safety representatives as it becomes available.