Definitions by razer
need for speed
Phrase popularized by Tom Cruise in the film Top Gun and commonly applied to those who enjoy participating in activities involving high velocities, including aviation, sky diving, downhill skiing, and most forms of motorsports.
need for speed by razer December 26, 2006
death wish
Term commonly applied to those who engage in activities that significantly raise their risk of severe bodily injury or death.
death wish by razer December 26, 2006
lean angle
Motorcycle roadracing term for the angle between the center plane of the motorcycle and the vertical plane. The more the motorcycle is leaned over, the greater the lean angle. High lean angles are necessary when cornering a motorcycle at high velocity, but too great a lean angle results in loss of traction and often a crash. Riders employ a technique called hanging off in order to alter the rider-motorcycle system's center of mass and thereby minimize the lean angle necessary to negotiate a corner at a given velocity.
Establishing and maintaining the correct amount of lean angle is a balancing act that a motorcycle roadracer must master in order to ride fast.
lean angle by razer December 26, 2006
trail braking
Late braking technique used by expert motorcycle roadracers in which the brakes continue to be applied beyond the point at which the motorcycle has been leaned over and has entered the corner. Trail braking is used primarily to delay the onset of braking for a particular corner as long as possible, and thereby overtake another rider. The technique requires a great deal of finesse and skill in order to avoid the loss of front wheel traction, which usually results in a low side crash.
Any attempt at trail braking by a novice rider, although usually unintentional, almost invariably results in a low side crash.
trail braking by razer December 26, 2006
high side
Motorcycle roadracing term used to describe a crash in which the bike is leaned over while cornering and flips back up towards the outside (i.e. the high side). A high side usually occurs when rear wheel traction is suddenly lost and the rider's panic causes him to abruptyl close (chop) the throttle. As a result, the rear wheel suddenly and forcefully regains traction, violently flipping the bike away from the direction of lean and throwing the rider skyward. Most racing injuries occur as a result of a high side since the rider has much further to fall.
The flip side of this (no pun intended) is a low side crash. These crashes are usually minor since the rider falls off much closer to the ground.
The flip side of this (no pun intended) is a low side crash. These crashes are usually minor since the rider falls off much closer to the ground.
cornering
Term used to describe the act of riding a high performance motorcycle through a corner (or curve) of a closed race track or road course. An expert rider is able to corner his machine at high velocity by increasing the lean angle of the motorcycle while at the same time hanging off of the machine, a technique that is often accompanied by knee dragging.