Space, you are what you see

By Andy Ibbot
When the red mist comes down it narrows the space you have to work in. With enough space you may feel like you are riding slower but are really going faster!
It really is the final frontier when you are riding a motorcycle. The amount of space we think we have determines how fast we can go at that time. The less we have the slower we go. But, and here's the big twist to it all - the less space we perceive the faster we think we are going!
Let's see how this bizarre concept works then.
The humble human body is designed to travel, on average, at a top speed of 11 miles per hour. At this speed, when we are running, we can take in all the things that are going on around us and still have time to change our planned route if needed. Imagine running through a crowded street of people, do they really slow you down that much?
No. Of course not (unless it was Christmas shopping in the middle of Bond Street in London or Broadway in New York!) Playing tag at school you could run flat out but still have enough attention left to keep an eye on the kid that was 'it' and be able to make sudden and severe changes in direction an instant because you could perceive enough space around you to make those changes.
Like we said, all this can and does take place at 11 miles per hour or less.
Now we are doing 85mph down the straight and approaching fast in the distance is a 30mph corner. We probably feel quite at ease at this exact moment, at 85. We can see both sides of the road and we know that the corner is coming and it's going to go right. So far, so good. Space seems to rarely be a problem when we are traveling upright and in a straight line. In fact, here at MSL over the years we have speed tested many bikes and been close to a genuine 200mph and, on an airfield the speed difference you feel between 130mph and 200mph is only slight. The real difference only becomes obvious when you start to brake as the end of the runway come into view or something goes wrong. But in both cases it's the reduction of space that chances the perception of speed.
If these speed runs were done down a normal road we can tell you now that we would struggle to get the faster bikes pinned to the stop in top because it would seem so much faster than it actually was!
Back to our fast approaching corner.
We need to set our speed for the turn. We already know that we are coming into it fast because our space has been limited, we can't see through the bend yet and there is a reduction in the amount of Tarmac going straight on. So we apply some braking forces (just to give us something else to think about) and use the space we see to make a decision as to when to peel in. The more cluttered the possible run on area the more likely you are to turn your bike early into the corner because it represents a possible increase in space available to ride on.
If you think back to the last corner you rode at a spirited level there are two strange things that happen to your perception of the space you have as you go through the turn. There is more of it at entry and the exit.
The middle of the turn seems to be the area when our space becomes reduced and yet it's the area were it is most crucial. In the entry it's not too bad and on the exit there rarely seems to be a problem but at the middle third it's the place where we have the least and that just happens to be the place we need the most!
If you had as much space in the middle of the turn as you did on the straight would you be able to go faster? Would you feel more comfortable? Would you feel more confident? The answer is yes to all these questions. And when you do get a corner right when it seems to flow and it's fast even though it may feel slower it's a sign that you are using more of the space available to you.
The problem of narrowed space occurs more at the middle of a corner than at any other pint in a turn because it's normally the point of greatest lean angle, lowest traction and these things demand a lot of our attention. As a result we spend less of that crucial attention on the space we have.
Twisting the problem further comes with the addition of speed. Travel your favorite 50 mph bend at 45 and see how much easier it feels, not because of the reduction in the speed but in the extra attention you free up so you use more of your vision. Now try it at 51 and notice how much your attention, your space has narrowed. As you go faster your head will drop and you will focus closer to the bike. Now take the corner again at 51 but make sure you pick your head up a little and keep your attention a little wider than the width of the road. Suddenly 51 seems like 45…
Take a look at this next time you ride. What is the difference between the corners that feel smooth and in control and the corners that feel uncomfortable and more than a little ragged? It will be the space you use that determines the difference