Salina Proficiency Course
One of the best ways to develop and maintain motorcycle proficiency skills is to practice
slow riding control and technique. Unfortunately, few of us ever do that, due in part to
the time and effort involved in setting up practice locations and facilities.
Thanks to some dedicated assistance from Del Palmer and Robert Lambert, we now
have a Proficiency Course available for our members to use. Hopefully, this can be
maintained with once per year re-painting. The course is located towards the Southern
End of the old runway just off Markley Road. Plans are to have some Club activities in
this area, but feel free to check the facilities out on your own.
The proficiency course currently consists of nine different exercises:
Cornering range
The “Iron Cross” or Intersection Exercise
A Circle exercise
A Figure 8 exercise
Offset Cone Weave
Slow Ride
Straight Cone Weave
Panic Stop practice
Counter-steering practice
The locations for some exercises are combined.
The following pages have illustrations of each, and a brief description of how they are to
be used. As always exercise caution, wear appropriate safety gear, and ride within your
ability while performing these exercises. Remember that big advances come with a
series of small steps. This is a public use area, and as a result there may be sand, dirt,
or other debris on the surface.
The Cornering Range:
The cornering range is shown on the following page, and consists of a 7’ wide riding
path with a number of curves and corners. The goal is to, first, complete the course
without touching any of the border lines, and second, to do so as rapidly as possible. A
proficient target time would be about 40 seconds.
Point “A”: Come to a complete stop, with at least one foot on the ground, before
continuing into the left hand right angle turn.
Point “B”: A left hand changing radius curve.
Point “C”: Come to a complete stop, with at least one foot on the ground, before
proceeding into the right hand right angle turn.
Point “D”: A right hand changing radius curve
Point “E”: “Quick Stop” area. Accelerate out of the last curve to the brake marker (a
small tick mark on each side of the riding path). Apply brakes to make a “quick” or
“panic” stop, without locking the wheels. At full stop, place one or both feet on the
ground before proceeding to the exit.
The “Iron Cross” and Circle exercises:
The Iron Cross and Circle exercises are combined in one location, just north of the
Cornering range.
The Iron cross is a series of right, left and U-turns within a constricted area.
Approximately 24’ is available to make each u-turn. As a matter of perspective, almost
any production motorcycle is capable of turning within 18 feet, with an advanced rider.
To perform this exercise, enter at any on of the legs. The idea is to follow the path
designated by the arrows in the illustration, without going outside the boundary line.
The exercise should be performed in both directions.
It is also possible to practice “Figure 8’s” in any leg of the cross, although you may need
to use a part of the center to do so. The yellow highlight shows the area to be used for
the figure 8 exercise. The figure 8 area is not marked on the pavement.
The Circle Exercise is located in the Intersection of the Cross. This is a 24’ circle. The
idea is to be able to ride within the circle, without touching the boundary lines. The
purpose of the circle is to develop comfort with maximum lean angles.
Offset Cone weave.:
This exercise helps develop quick transitions, and requires the ability to ride smooth
teardrop shaped turns. This is located just to the north of the Cross, at the east edge of
the runway. It doesn’t look like much—just a series of white dots painted on the surface
to mark the location of the cones. The purpose is to ride around the cones in a back
and forth fashion, without disturbing the cones. There is a 5’ gate at each corner. Until
you become proficient at the exercise, ignore the outer dots or cone markers that define
the gates. As you become more proficient, it should become possible to ride through
the gate, but for beginners, riding around them is ok.
This is probably the most difficult exercise on the course.
Straight Cone Weave/Slow ride/Counter-Steering area
This is located at the east edge of the runway, and consists of a six foot wide riding area
outlined by white lines, and a set of pre-marked cone locations spaced at 11’ apart. The
exercise can be made more difficult by offsetting cones to either side by 6” to 12” in an
alternating fashion.
The “slow ride” area is the narrower area on the east, with no cone markers.
This area can be used for several different exercises:
A. Clutch, brake, and throttle control. Practice riding slowly using clutch, brake and
throttle control. Focus is to keep the rpm’s up, slip the clutch, and control forward
motion with the rear brake. Maintain a slooow walking pace from one end of the
area to the other. Do not stop, or place or drag feet on the ground. This skill is
essential to all of the other exercises.
B. Slow cone weave. Weave between all markers. Do not touch any markers or
boundary lines, do not put foot on the ground. Too easy? Place cones closer than
11 feet, or shift the cones out closer to the boundary line in an alternating fashion.
C. Fast cone weave. Use every other cone or cone marker. Weave through the course
as quickly as possible, using counter-steering to control the bike. In this exercise,
the boundary lines are unimportant.
D. Quick stop. Accelerate through the course to a speed that is comfortable. Stop as
quickly as possible without locking wheels, and using both front and rear brakes.
Use the cone markers as a gauge of effectiveness. Start slow—perhaps 10mph,
and increase speeds only to your comfort level.
Cone placement for basic exercise
Cone Placement for more difficult exercise. Use old tennis balls cut in half, crushed
beverage cans, or whatever for cones.
Use every other cone location for a faster counter-steering exercise.
The yellow area designates the slow ride area.