How to Pass and be Passed

This might be the first car video we've put up here, but we're not getting soft… it just so happens that this is a nice intro to the fine art passing (without killing anyone). Timing a pass well is not kid's stuff, it's a skill of its own. There are plenty of riders who can get around a track briskly but can't pass slower riders for their lives… The video features passing in the brake zone. This is what you see most often in televised motorcycle racing, but it is not the easiest way to pass (in my opinion) on a motorcycle. What are some other ways are there to pass?  Here are three more:

1. Passing on the outside: is only really possible if the rider ahead of you is much slower. On a bike, you do not ride side by side around a corner like the car does in the video; otherwise you are likely to get run off the road at the exit. Instead, you have to be fast enough to pass at the apex before the other rider drifts out toward the exit.

2. Passing on the exit: to do this you have to be faster in that particular turn than the bike ahead of you… You hang back enough to let the other rider apex ahead of you, then you power out on the inside of the turn at the exit.

3. Passing on the straight: If your bike has an equal amount of power as the bike ahead of you, the one who does the last corner (before a straight) better will be faster down the straight. Even your bike has more horsepower, it's possible for a more skilled rider on a lesser bike to pass you on the straight by having better corner speed (on the last turn) and getting on the power earlier down the straight. THIS is the best, safest and easiest way to pass: to get ahead of the other rider on the straight before getting in line to brake for the next turn.

Related posts:

1. Why you can't throttle to pass…
2. Learning to pass…
3. Why the 'Slow in, Fast out' Technique is NOT a myth…