Stonyground asked the question:
What do you teach learner riders regarding putting their feet on their footrests? The reason that I ask is that I see a huge number of riders who set off and proceed for the first twenty metres or so with one or both feet just above the ground before finally putting them up on the footrests. Speaking for myself, I put my feet up the second that my bike is rolling, I put a foot down only when I actually stop. When I did some IAM training the subject never came up so I assume that I was doing it right.
I replied with what we teach, but this set off a train of thought, as in my reply I mentioned the Hendon shuffle.
What we teach is pretty straightforward; as the rider comes to a stop, the left foot goes down and the right foot covers the rear brake. When moving off, the left foot moves straight onto the footrest. Dangling the foot (or feet) is not only ungainly, it demonstrates poor machine control.
The left foot down, right foot up – sometimes referred to as the safety position – has a number of benefits. It means the brake is covered in the event of a rear end collision and the rear brake is less likely to dig in and dismount the rider. If needed, it is useful for a low speed emergency stop when pulling away and as we drive on the left, leaning the bike that way means that should it topple, it will be falling away from the traffic. And, finally, the foot on the ground is shielded from the traffic by the machine.
It’s worth pointing out at this stage that the DSA appear to take no view either way – so long as the machine is under control, they are happy whichever foot you put down.
However, there will be times when having stopped it is desirable to select neutral, which involves switching feet – the Hendon shuffle. This has been a hot subject of debate for years. Some for and some agin. These days, there are those who have deemed it out of date and therefore not desirable. Indeed, they seem to be in the majority if you google it. Some of these even suggest selecting neutral on the move just as you come to a stop. I would never do this or recommend it, as should you need a quick getaway, you ain’t going anywhere fast. Coasting as far as I am concerned – even for a short distance – is poor machine control and an absolute no no. When on the move, the bike should be in gear and under full control.
I take an open minded view on the shuffle. Just as, for example, a steep camber may make the left foot down undesirable – I would expect a student to use common sense and put the right foot down rather than drop the bike – so, too, there will be times when the shuffle is the right thing in the circumstances. So I would expect people to use it rather than decide not to just because some people have decided that it is outdated – and certainly do it rather than coast in neutral. The shuffle is not outdated. It is a tool to use in the right circumstances. So, if someone tells you that you shouldn’t shuffle because it is out of date, thank them very much for their advice and ignore it, use the technique or not according to the situation and your own opinion. It’s a tool, to use or not as you see fit. That’s what I do.
Which foot goes down is moot. Some gear changes are on the right, but I’d never heard changing feet to select neutral when stopping, then first before pulling away referred to as the ‘Hendon shuffle’ before. Live and learn.
It comes from the old police rider training school at Hendon.
I used to have a Benelli 250 2C which had a slightly draggy clutch even when fully warmed up. No matter how you adjusted it there was always slight difficulty in selecting neutral when at rest. So on that bike I used to select neutral just before stopping. I would add that I don’t think that I would have used neutral much until I was at the end of my journey and parking up. The Benelli was a bit fragile for an idiot teenager but after transfering from seventies japanese bikes the handling was unbelievable.
I had a Laverda 350 at about that time – likewise with the handling. However, never any trouble selecting neutral. These days, the advice would be to stop in gear and if you couldn’t get neutral, switch the engine off and then on again. If you are planning to move off again, hold it in gear.
It all changes when riding in Europe on an old Brit with a clutch that was designed 70 years ago. I am in the habit of selecting neutral as I arrive at the junction, especially one with a stop sign or traffic lights and out of habit I put my left foot down, my right foot covers the gear pedal so I can get away smartly as the lights turn instantly to green in France. Many years ago I was shunted at a set of pedestrian lights adjacent to Downing street in Whitehall, I was fortunate that I had braked so hard as someone darted out from the central island on green and the rest of the traffic anchored up urgently, I had done a stoppie ( the Brembos on the BMW K75 were vicious when slammed on hard ) and as I had just passed a foreign plated Range Rover quickly realised he was probably going to hit me, I was ready for the impact and just let go of the bars and was catapulted over the front of the bike which passed underneath me and ended up twenty yards away, I mentally crossed my arms and went to sleep, when I woke up I was on the ground with only a tiny scratch on my left knee, not even a bruise, if I had tried to hold onto the bike and stop it moving with my foot on the rear brake I very much doubt if I my injuries would have been so light. Police training is very good but thinking outside the box has saved me from some nasty situations that Roadcraft does not cover.
It’s about thirty years since I rode British Iron with a right hand gear change. When on my BMW on the continent, I still generally put the left foot down and cover the brake and if the occasion calls for it, I shuffle. Horses for courses.
The only time I had a rear end shunt, I was holding the bike on the rear brake and it worked exactly as designed. I was pushed forwards, but remained upright and in control.
The trouble with the ‘Hendon Shuffle’ is not stopping safely, nor the selection of neutral at rest, but that it is a never-ending topic of the dire ‘advanced’ riding bores.
Those ridiculous fuckers will argue all day about which foot you should put down and why. They never seem to stop and think if it really matters (it doesn’t) but they will negatively judge the use of whatever method they happen not to approve of.
My favourite excuse for the Hendon shuffle I ever heard was that your clutch cable may stretch if you sit holding the bike in gear… at which point I wanted to strangle the person with a Venhill for being so stupid rather than continue the discussion. 🙂
I know 😈
I reckon that hydraulic fluid must be getting really stretched by now.
One of the reasons I left the IAM and stopped mixing with local groups was the kind of pedantry that detracted from the ride.
As I mentioned in the piece, we teach left foot down for the benefits it gives. It doesn’t make right foot down wrong and there will be occasions when that is preferable and the DSA don’t seem to care about it.
When I was teaching I don’t think I ever told the student which foot to put down. They know they have to put a foot (or both!) down to when they stop.
The danger being that if they are told, they won’t think about what is better, but learn ‘by rote’ and presume that whichever you have told them is ‘what they should do’. This can only lead to eventually getting stuck when the road drops away and they can’t get a good footing or some other idiocy.
(Rather the same as the old bloody ‘lifesaver’ nodding dogs drones – they turn their heads as they were taught, but are not looking!)
The opposite of cars, where, when at a stop, unless you are at the front of a queue (& not alwys, even then) selecting neutral is preferred.
… VERY long time since I rode a Honda 90 & then a BSA!
Actually, modern teaching tends to adopt the leave it in gear approach – unless that has changed recently.
I didn’t find my IAM group to be pedantic. I actually left due to other activities which left me with no time to go riding with them. One of the first things that they taught me was to get further over to the right when overtaking as I was riding too close to the vehicle that I was passing. Only a couple of weeks later, I was overtaking a car that decided to perform an overtaking manouver of his own while I was alongside him. Had I been doing it my old way he would have knocked me off. I thought that the IAM offered excellent value for money although I did wonder what the IAM did with the membership money when all the actual work is done by volunteers.
I think it varies from group to group, frankly. Sure the IAM can teach you good stuff and I wouldn’t say otherwise – indeed, I would encourage riders to take advanced training and the test. However, I do recall rides where the riders appeared almost robotic with their road positioning and use of the system. The system is designed to be used fluidly and each part considered on its merits – you don’t do all parts each and every time because its in Roadcraft. I found that level of pedantry difficult to go along with.
Always wondered the correct way. Thanks for that.
There is no ‘correct way’!
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I put my bike in first at the start of my journey, and it normally only goes back into neutral at the end.