‘I can’t select the right gear’

Paul Spellman needs our help to improve his gear choices into corners

What goes up, must come down

Paul does a lot of touring riding, and goes up the gearbox well, but then seems to get a little lazy and doesn’t come back down through the ’box to give himself more engine braking and flexibility throughout the corner.

Talking speed and gears

We talk through the system of corner approach, the point where Paul needs to consciously appraise the approaching corner (or junction), adjust his speed and make a positive gear selection to help his control.

A quick game of follow the leader

After following Paul a few times, I took the lead and pulled him through the sequence of corners slightly faster to demonstrate how the correct gear (and road positioning) allow you to use the engine’s drive and braking flexibility to make clean progress through the bend without braking or changing gear.

Getting back to the front

With Paul taking the lead again he was immediately faster through the corners. The goal isn’t to increase speed, but the step up in control and security of being in the correct gear means the bike is more responsive and also requires fewer inputs – resulting in a smoother, and often faster, cornering.