K1600_gtl
New member
Your analogy to pilot training is insightful. Many NTSB reports that I read (have my EAA hat on now) cite the fact that deviation from basic skills and procedures (checklists/training) often result in the crash of an aircraft that could otherwise have been kept under control.
Same is true in motorcycling. As an MSF instructor, while there are a few elements of the BRC class that riders could evolve away from in time, it really does consist of basic skills that, for lack of a better word, remain "basic" throughout your lifetime on two wheels. You'd be better off spending less time and effort resisting that premise, and more time perfecting their use thru repetition.
Most of the motorcycle crashes I have investigated as a former LEO, and the almost embarrassing skill level I've seen with many ERC students, demonstrate that this distaste of the MSF curriculum and the volitile criticism it takes on this Forum is, as we would say in the law enforcement venacular, "lacking foundation and credibility."
There is nothing anal about left foot down first, since your right foot should be involved in the reinforcing of good combination braking / be in first gear at the stop / be mindful of what's approaching from the rear / leave space from the vehicle ahead of you so that "you not only have a plan of escape, but also a path of escape."
Neutral if enough vehicles behind you are stopped to make an adjustment, take fluid, etc.? Of course.
But there are more cyclists (and pilots) still around today because they followed basic procedures rather than got 'creative' and went rogue to prove they knew better.
Ride safe and often.
Well, as a pilot with over 12000 hours in 9 different types, including 747, MD11 and Airbus A330 can tell you that you are correct, deviation from SOP is generally bad and can lead to accidents.... HOWEVER, the stubborn adherence to it can also do the same... testament the Swiss Air MD11 that wend down over Halifax because the captain insisted he run thru the entire smoke removal check list rather than apply his "emergency authority" to deviate to the nearest airport and land. I too once had a smoke in the cockpit on a small Jet and completely blew off the check list and pointed to the nearest airport to land, and with what little time we had during this I applied "pilot systems knowledge" to shed some of this some of the smoke.
Back to Motorcycles.... I don't disagree with you that good technique is important, but there is a difference between SOP, Technique and Technieger (that's what you get when you fuse SOP and technique)... Wearing a safety helmet should be SOP; as should being in first gear when at a stoplight or stop sign and no car is behind you or in front of you... but if you're boxed in by cars on all sides, and in traffic, stopped due to "rush hour"... WHY remain in 1st of nobody around you is moving? The only thing I can think of is the guy behind you might die of a heart attack and his foot come off the brakes and then rolls into you.... but that's as likely to happen as a clutch cable snapping and causing your bike to leap into traffic, right? As to left foot.. I didn't catch that you are teaching left foot down FIRST... I had thought I understood that it was left foot down, right foot on the brake, ALL THE TIME while stopped which I found unnecessarily ridged. I can see your point on this and agree with it... so long as I get to put BOTH feet down when I'm done stopping!
In Aviation you want good pilots, who know how to fly but that then follow SOP in standard day to day operations, however they can think for themselves because they're fast on the fly and can think outside the box when needed. I think the same can apply to any vehicle, but sometimes we have to teach to the least common denominator and that frankly bugs me. The US mentality that EVERYONE has the right to drive a car or ride a bike leads to idiots who sit in the left lane at 55 while cars are forced to pass on the right, or dumb teenagers driving mommy's SUV while texting.. and a motorcycle death rate far higher than most other countries in the western world... again, lack of training, but more importantly lack of adherence to a basic level of skill AND Judgement needed to get licensed..