courses in circuit - part a: a primer on purpose

after at least 1.5 in passing 2b, i did not talk much about the courses in here as i thought there is a different school of thought for certain courses and techniques which ppl agree. however, i thought it doesnt hurt to talk about the courses in 2b and at least highlighting certain oddities when it comes to executing the courses.

a: purpose of test courses
steering and low speed control etc is like one of the basics for m/c operation.
however, these courses bring out the finer details in m/c control, just like the s-course and crank course for e.g. in class 3 driving tests:

1. narrow plank:
   - low speed control; balancing -  clutch control; gyroscopic sensitivity of the rear wheel and the front steering; lane splitting (one of the evil sins committed after getting the license)
2. pylon slalom:
   - ability to plan turns ahead during m/c movement; countersteering; swerving out of danger in actual riding conditions;
3. emergency braking on wet surface:
   - all braking is supposed to be planned. if its an emergency on a wet surface the course gauges you on:
   - braking sensitivity - including sufficient braking pressure to not cause a front or rear wheel lock/skid;
   - ability to keep vehicle under control under rapid deceleration - especially wheel traction is limited
   - understanding of m/c suspension behaviour under heavy braking - front forks and rear shocks
   - chill factor: non kan cheong spiderness when you need to e-brake - especially on the expyway when a van decides to skid across a few lanes and you really need to stop in time!
4. s-course
   - small radius cornering at low speed with m/c under control
   - throttle control: maintaining engine speed and power to rear wheel under banked conditions - especially when traction is compromised
   - rear brake control: speed modulation through out course in banked conditions (this is not a good thing to apply on the road but braking should not be done when you are banked over or cornering or even turning. more on that later.)
   -  round abouts! =D
5. crank-course
   - ability to make sharp right angle turns in succession; or rather the ability to plan through one
   - oversteering techniques in space constraint
   - sharp angular turns in car parks (pls go slow when u have got the license though)
6. stopping and moving off from slope
   - ability to move off from slope when stopped
   - ability to use engine braking when moving down slope at controlled speed
   (beginners dont realise that not clutching in allows the bike to move slower in gear one than freewheeling downwards out of control)
   - stopping on a monster slope at awkward roads with a slope in a congestion e.g. on a expressway/certain roads in sg

in summary - basic skills tested for the courses build on:

1. clutch/throttle control or low speed control
2. steering - or rather counter steering; swerving
3. ability to plan change of direction in time
4. fine brake control - front and rear
5. wheel traction sensitivity or conservation of traction:
   balance between acceleration; braking; and cornering
6. motorcycle suspension - front fork and rear shocks - related to wobble!

the whole point of really doing well or at least doing the courses properly is to understand the m/c physics during machine handling of these courses. at least by listing out all these, hopefully one could point out what to work on when dealing all these courses while trying really haaard to pass.

i've also noticed that the school does not actively cover these m/c physics in the syllabus - especially on the importance of conserving traction and countersteering, when these concepts are paramount to the rider's safety on the road in the future.

for part b in another post i will touch on the oddities for executing these courses - you shouldnt be surprised by now that many of the demerit points awarded during assessment is due to things you do outside the course or when you are going into the course. - and of course how to avoid them.