“Full Control” from the Norsk Motorcykkel Union (NMCU – Norway) now covers, over a 100 pages of in-depth precise and effective riding techniques.
“Full Control” was first released in 2001 and since then, it has been distributed to more than 30,000 Norwegian motorcyclists and has been available to download in English translation for several years.
Now re-issued in 2013 – “Full Control” … everything you need to become a good rider – is for motorcyclists written by motorcyclists and includes a section that assesses the road, traffic, motorcycles, equipment and accessories.
Designed by riders for riders the language is clear and easy to understand, with some imperfect language in the translation the manual summarizes the knowledge and experience of the rider community.
Why was it written?
NMCUs own research showed that people died in single -vehicle accidents because they had never “really” learned how to ride a bike.
In Northern Ireland* in a ten year period there was 625 single vehicle collisions almost half of all KSI (Killed or Seriously Injured) collisions happened between Friday to Sunday. 45% of all KSI collisions happened on roads with a 30mph speed limit and 44% on roads with a 60mph speed limit. 81% happened on single carriageway roads with 1 lane in each direction. Two-thirds of motorcyclists did not leave the carriageway after a Single Vehicle Collision – of those that did leave the carriageway, the majority struck trees/fence or another boundary. More than 68% of KSI collisions occurred on ‘dry’ road conditions.
In many cases collisions are cased by a sequence of events and/or a combination of causation factors.
NMCU say that, “The reward for those who take the trouble to read “Full Control” is getting more fun out of each ride and increased safety at the same time.”
The manual also deals with the philosophy of riding -“The Dangerous Instincts”:
“…….unconscious, panic-like actions you do when you get scared. They come like a reflex, before you can think, without you planning them………..unconscious reflexes designed to keep you from harm. The problem is that some of these reactions can be life threatening when you ride a motorcycle. More often than not they worsen a situation that you easily could have mastered if only you knew what you were doing wrong. Each one of these instinctive faulty reactions has the power to override reason.”
“The most common of them is that you in a scary situation ”push away form the fear” by straightening your arms and you back, to create distance from the threat, to protect yourself. That is the absolute opposite to what is needed to steer a motorcycle, namely loose arms, lower arms horizontal and shoulders low.”
“A second faulty reaction is that when scared you tend to fix your stare at the danger, what you want to avoid. And it is with motorcycles as with other weapon: you hit where you aim.”
“A third one is the tendency to suddenly and quickly rolling off the throttle in the middle of a curve because you get worried about the road grip. This reaction is almost like hitting the rear brake in a curve, as the engine suddenly brakes the rear wheel and you risk a slide.”
You’ve probably heard the saying “when in Rome, do as the Romans”. It’s a survival rule that it is relatively easy to transfer to motorcycle riding in unfamiliar environments. As a motorcyclist, you simply have to adapt to the traffic culture that you are experiencing. If you can’t do this, or don’t want to, you should rather stay at home.
However reading and putting that knowledge onto the road and into your riding skills will take more than a quick read.
At Ride It Right we say that the manual is a very useful tool to get you thinking about your riding and now that inanimate lump of metal, plastic and rubber, with you as a blob of flesh and bones, react together.
Therefore we will always recommend that you “Get Hooked” on practical training or assessments to that will give you a chance in any sequence of events out on the road.
Information
“Full Control” … everything you need to become a good rider – pdf 5.75mb
Northern Ireland Motorcle Fatality Report 2012 – pdf 1.1mb
*Motorcycle casualties in NI Statistical Analysis, Causes and Influencing Factors – pdf 4mb – published in December 2009.
NMCU video – on You Tube – “Rolls or Turns – “Pilots” must know a little more….
Norsk Motorcykkel Union – www.nmcu.org
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