The ThrottleWise Ladder

Level 1Control

Make the bike do exactly what you tell it — especially slowly.

• 1.1The Friction Zone CrawlThe clutch controls the bike below walking pace — the throttle holds steady, and the rear brake keeps it honest.Live — watch it
• 1.2Head And EyesTurn your head and look where you are going — the bike goes where you look, and looking down at the front tire is why the circle wobbles.Being filmed
• 1.3CounterweightingBelow walking pace you lean the bike and keep your body upright — the opposite of everything you do at speed.Being filmed
• 1.4The U-Turn In A LaneTurn the bike around inside a normal road width without putting a foot down.Being filmed
• 1.5The BoxTwo U-turns become one motion — the bars turned fully one way and then fully the other, with your head leading the bars from one exit to the other.Being filmed
• 1.6Smooth ThrottleOpen and close the throttle smoothly — shutting it suddenly upsets the suspension and costs you grip exactly when you need it.Being filmed
• 1.7Shifting Without The LurchClutch and throttle timing, up and down the gearbox, so your helmet never nods.Being filmed
• 1.8The Progressive SqueezeThe front brake is squeezed, never grabbed — the weight has to move onto the front tire before that tire can hold it.Being filmed
• 1.9The Quick StopMaximum braking, both brakes, straight up, down to first gear — the skill that matters most when a stop has to happen right now.Being filmed
• 1.10HillsStopping on a grade, holding on the rear brake, and pulling away without rolling back into the car behind you.Being filmed

Level 2Corners

The skill that separates riders.

• 2.1CountersteeringYou steer a motorcycle by pushing the bar the “wrong” way — and above walking pace there is no other way to steer it.Being filmed
• 2.2Quick SteeringThe faster you get the bike leaned over, the less time you spend leaned over — and the more road you have left.Being filmed
• 2.3Body PositionWeight the outside peg, move your upper body to the inside, keep your arms loose — same corner, same speed, less lean angle (how far the bike is leaned over).Being filmed
• 2.4Eyes To The ExitLook through the corner to where you want to come out, not at the thing you are afraid of.Being filmed
• 2.5Read It, Then Set Your SpeedAll the braking is finished before you start leaning into the corner, and the corner tells you the speed through the vanishing point: if the spot where the road edges meet is moving toward you, slow down.Being filmed
• 2.6The Delayed ApexOn a public road you start the lean late, because you cannot see — your apex (the point where you pass closest to the inside of the curve) comes later than a racer would take it.Being filmed
• 2.7The Throttle RuleOnce you are leaned, the throttle rolls on smoothly and keeps rolling on. Shutting it suddenly mid-corner makes the bike straighten and drift toward the outside of the corner.Being filmed
• 2.8The Grip BudgetYou have one tire's worth of grip and you spend it on braking or on leaning — never all of both at once.Being filmed
• 2.9The Corner That TightensThe corner that tightens is caught before it tightens — the vanishing point pulls toward you, and the late apex you already chose keeps the lane yours.Being filmed
• 2.10Linking CornersThe exit of one corner is the entry of the next. Riding a road well is rhythm, not a series of separate corners.Being filmed

Level 3The Road

Win the Street.

• 3.1The ScanA repeatable search pattern beats a hard stare — where your eyes go, in what order, every few seconds.Being filmed
• 3.2Speed For How Far You Can SeeNever ride faster than you can stop in the distance you can actually see. The most-broken rule in motorcycling.Being filmed
• 3.3Lane PositionYour position in the lane buys you two things nothing else can: a longer view of the road ahead and somewhere to go.Being filmed
• 3.4The Space CushionThe gap in front is yours to set. The gap behind is yours to manage too, and almost nobody does.Being filmed
• 3.5The Left-TurnerThe car turning across you is the one situation every rider has to own — and eye contact means nothing.Being filmed
• 3.6Being SeenBeing seen is something you do, not something you wear. Position, movement and contrast at the moment a driver looks.Being filmed
• 3.7City Close QuartersMost close calls come at town speed, close to home, on a nice day — driveways, backing cars, opening doors, gravel where a driveway meets the road.Being filmed
• 3.8The HighwayThe difference between your speed and everyone else's, crosswind, and the turbulence behind a truck — the highway is easy right up until it isn't.Being filmed
• 3.9Bad PavementGravel, sand, paint, tar snakes (the lines of tar that seal cracks), steel plates and wet leaves: steady throttle, upright bike, no brakes, loose arms.Being filmed
• 3.10Edge Traps And CrossingsRidges, grooves, rumble strips, tracks and bridge joints will steer your bike for you unless you cross them at an angle.Being filmed

Level 4Mastery

What the best riders do when things get challenging.

• 4.1Survival ReactionsUnder fear your body does five things automatically, and four of them work against you. Naming them is how you beat them.Being filmed
• 4.2The Mid-Corner FixRunning wide mid-corner is fixed by leaning more and looking further through — the exact opposite of what you want to do.Being filmed
• 4.3The Emergency SwerveTwo quick countersteering pushes (push the bar the ‘wrong’ way, as in rung 2.1), no brakes during the swerve. Braking and swerving at once is how the swerve fails.Being filmed
• 4.4Stop, Or SwerveDeciding is the skill. The wrong choice made fast beats the right choice made late — and you cannot do both at the same time.Being filmed
• 4.5Braking From LeanYou can stop hard from a lean — if you trade lean for brake progressively as the bike comes up.Being filmed
• 4.6Trail BrakingCarrying a trace of front brake past the point where you start leaning in gives you a corner you can still adjust. The advanced tool, taught last on purpose.Being filmed
• 4.7Rain And Cold TiresWet pavement and a cold tire do not give you less warning — they give you less grip, and the first ten minutes ask the most of you.Being filmed
• 4.8NightAt night you can see only as far as your headlight reaches, and most riders outride it by a wide margin.Being filmed
• 4.9The Risk BudgetAlcohol, fatigue and heat — the three things that quietly take skill away, and nobody self-assesses well.Being filmed
• 4.10Gear That WorksA helmet that comes off when you need it was never protection. How it fits and stays fastened, then gloves, boots, and what scrapes along the road.Being filmed

After the LadderTen optional extra lessons

Real situations the core levels leave for later. Take the ones you ride.

• Group Riding. Formation, spacing, signals, and refusing to ride someone else's pace — the elective the community will use most.
• Two-Up. Carrying a passenger — braking distance, cornering, and the passenger's job.
• Loaded. Luggage, weight distribution and what it does to the handling.
• Mountain Roads. Switchbacks, elevation, engine braking (slowing by closing the throttle in a low gear), and the tourist in the rented convertible.
• Heat And Cold. Dehydration, numb hands, and the judgment both quietly take away.
• Rural Roads. Animals, farm equipment, gravel driveways and no cell signal.
• Long Days. Fatigue management on a real distance ride.
• Your Bike's Setup. Tire pressure, how much the bike settles under your weight, lever and mirror position — a better bike before you even ride.
• Dropped It. Picking a bike up alone, and parking so it does not happen.
• A Different Bike. Adapting your skills to a bike that is not the one you learned on.