Aug 08 2010

Biking terms Posted 1 years 284 days ago ago by sooz     0 Comments

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It can be confusing when the guys start jabbering on about things you've never heard of. Read this lot and don't be in the dark again.

• Tackled in alphabetical order.
• Please send your suggestions in.  

Backing it in An advanced move made by racers or advanced tracksters which involves some rear tyre slide into a corner in order to pick the bike up more quickly and accelerate away more quickly on exit.  

Baffle If you look down the end of your exhaust silencer (or can) you'll see some gubbins which prevents you looking down the length of the silencer. This keeps it within the noise regulations. If you can see straight through then it means you have a race can - unsilenced - which is intended for race use only.  

Blipping the Throttle This is a quick twist and let of of the throttle to smooth out gear changes. It sounds cool too. Find out more in the riding tips section.  

Can (or end can) The end of the exhaust pipe which you can generally remove to fit an aftermarket can. Otherwise known as a silencer. If there's no baffle it's known as a race can.  

Clipons Handlebars on sports bikes (ones that "clip" around the top of the forks) 

Chicken Strips The unworn portion of the sides of the tyres  

Cissy Bar The large metal protuberance at the back of a pillion seat on cruisers  

Cage Car  

Headshake Phenomenon where the front end and handle bars shake from side to side 

Hero blobs The blobs of metal on your foot rests which will get worn away if you scrape them on the ground (preferably without following through with the rest of your bike) 

Highside A nasty occurance which is likely to be followed by a metallic scraping sound - this is when a rider fails to recover from a tank slapper and the whole bike wobbles from side to side uncontrollably. The rider is thrown upwards and the bike can totter along on its own until it hits something solid. A highside is often caused by the rear tyre losing traction then regaining it a moment later.... seen in racing and trackdays.  

Lid The familiar term for a crash helmet  

Lowside The rear or, more often, the front tyre loses grip when the bike is decked over, with gravity doing the rest and the rider getting more than just a knee down.  

Quickshift The process of changing gear quickly - usually without the clutch. Find out more in the riding tips section.  

Rake This describes the angle between the forks and the chassis. The greater the rake, the further the front wheel is away from the bike - most custom bikes have long rakes. A short rake is associated with sporty bikes and quicker steering.  

Reverse Steering Pulling on the handle bar to improve cornering. Find out more in the riding tips section.  

Tank Slapper Extreme version of headshake where the bars turn fully left and right and "slap" against the sides of the tank  

Vertical Vernon A rider who doesn't lean but stays upright round corners

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