A few months back, I visited the University of Virginia motor unit to show them the features and benefits of the BMW R 1250 RT-P. It was a glorious day of traffic cones, campus alleyways, a few trails, and a parking garage or two. No question, having an off-road background helped, as I was able to show them some techniques to safely navigate the unpredictable environment of drop-offs, off-camber dirt sections, heavy gravel, and other sketchy conditions they face daily. One of the lessons I imparted was something I learned from my best friend, Dean Hunter, when I was 9 years old. Let me explain in this installment of Motor School.
When you work traffic enforcement on a police bike, you start and stop the motor over and over all day long while running loads of police lighting and regularly failing to cover enough real estate to give the bike time to recharge its battery. At some point in this electric light disco showdown, your bike will refuse to advance the pistons when you toggle that little red button.
Unfortunately, the endgame is usually one of three scenarios: 1) After posturing on the side of the road trying to act like you “meant to do that,” someone eventually commandeers a pair of jumper cables; 2) you win the lottery and one of the new guys happens to have a jump-pack handy; or 3) you try to bump start an 850-lb bike, only to get run down by its saddlebags.
No matter what the outcome, the result is lost time and added hassle because you are stranded. We’ve all been there, out riding with a buddy when something unexpected happens: You run out of gas, your key fob dies, or your bike simply won’t start. So now what? Easy, just ask yourself, “What would Dean do?”
Dean’s solution is called the Buddy Bike Push. Notice that Dean didn’t call it the bike pull, or tow, or kick, or drag. Simply put, Dean rode his motorcycle next to me and used his leg to push my broken-down Honda XR80 down the trail. This technique is simple but not necessarily easy, so pay attention.
I’m going to assume you are generally healthy and able bodied (I was only 9 when I learned this, but I ate a lot of Slim Jims, so I was strong). Let’s assume my bike will not start, but it is otherwise safe to move along the road. First, pull up parallel to the left side of my bike. We want to use the left side because you may need to shift through the gears, and you need your left leg for that. Stop close enough to my bike that you can reach an exposed, structurally solid part with your right leg, such as a crash bar, passenger footpeg, or luggage rack. This will be the spot where you’ll be in contact with my bike to produce forward movement. You should avoid points on my bike that are flimsy, flexible, or breakable, like saddlebags, fenders, turnsignal posts, or dangerous parts on or near the swingarm. Our goal is to identify and use an exposed point that is both strong and pronounced so we can push hard without bending or damaging things or harming ourselves in the process.
Next, rest the ball of your right foot gently onto the spot you’ve selected on my bike, making sure not to lock your leg out. You want a little flex in your leg so you can shorten and lengthen it as you encounter fluctuations in the distance between our bikes. Remember, you need to maintain consistent force to move me down the road. Okay, now my job begins. I’m going to put my bike in neutral, get my left leg out of your way, and with both of us pointing in the same direction, begin steering us safely down the road. Yes, I do the steering and you follow my lead.
Now, very gently start adding power to your motorcycle and increase the pushing force to my bike through your leg. This initial movement will be the most difficult part of the exercise for you because we are both completely stopped at this stage and getting the bikes rolling takes effort. Take your time and don’t hurt yourself. I will help by maintaining good balance, staying off my brakes, and minimizing unexpected steering inputs. As you slowly increase the speed, pay close attention to maintaining a safe, comfortable space between our bikes. You want to be close enough to my bike to ensure good foot placement and control but not so close that we’re banging bars or rubbing parts. It’s odd at first, but after a few unplanned disengagements, you’ll start to get the hang of it.
Looking great so far. Here is where we have a choice to make. If this is a situation where you are simply assisting me with bump‐starting my motorcycle, go ahead and get me up to about 10-15 mph, then disengage. I’ll quickly turn my bike’s ignition on, click up into 2nd or 3rd gear, and let the clutch out. This should be all I need to get the party started.
If, on the other hand, I need to be pushed miles down the highway (say, to the nearest gas station), we should turn our hazards on, get as far to the right of the roadway as possible, and carefully pick up speed to a decent clip that minimizes the hazard in the roadway that is now the two of us. This is the type of scenario where you need to keep your left leg available for shifting up through the gears.
A few thoughts: The more competent and experienced rider should be tasked with doing the pushing, as the lesser-skilled rider will basically just steer down the road and concentrate on happy thoughts. Also, keep your eyes open for areas where you might have to disengage momentarily (big dips, tight turns, etc.). In cases like this, try to get a bit more speed leading up to the disengagement spot so when you reengage, you’re not starting back up from zero.
This is a technique that should only be used as a last resort when all other attempts to get a bike going have failed. Before you argue that it’s too dangerous, voids your warranty, or requires special tools, legal signatures, and a doctor’s note, I can honestly say that I’ve used this technique in all sorts of conditions over the years, and it worked every time. If you learn it, as long as you have a friend around to help, you will never be stranded anywhere ever again. I only ask one thing in return: After you and your friend use this little magic trick to get you back to town, raise a glass to my buddy Dean Hunter, because without him I never would have made it back to camp to share it with you.
For more information on Total Control Training and available clinics, go to the Total Control website. Quinn wears Lee Parks Design gloves exclusively. Find Quinn at Police Motor Training.
See all Motor School with Quinn Redeker articles here.
Standard practice in motorcycle drag racing, but we referred to it as “pegging”. Tricky to learn, but an essential skill, in my book.
careful!
“pegging” now also has a whole different meaning…..!
We used to call “Pegging” as you would be pushing on lame bikes foot peg.
Not as easy as it looks. Especially when you’re pushing a heavy bike.
Good luck 👍