Learning To Ride - Were You Taught To "Swap Feet"?

Morning.

When I learnt to ride nine or ten years ago, I was taught to do a lot of feet swapping, for want of a better phrase. I'm wondering if this is still the case as my wife wasn't when she did her CBT recently.

I guess I'd better try and describe what I mean! Ok, so you're slowing down to stop at a red light, so you're using the back brake and come to a halt putting down your left foot. As you're going to be there for more than a moment, you put the bike into neutral, which obviously means having to swap feet. I was taught that, having put it into neutral, you swap feet again to cover the back brake. Therefore, when it's time to go, you have to swap feet to put the bike into gear, and again, I was taught to swap feet before pulling away in order to cover the back brake.

Were you taught this?? Is it required for the DAS test?

Having typed this out I'm wondering if my memeory is slightly incorrect about having to put your left foot down when you come to a halt. If you're "allowed" to put your right foot down, that would mean missing out a whole swapping session

Needless to say, I don't do all of the above now! (Though I do tend to stick it in neutral rather than hold it in gear.)

TIA
Iain

BTW - I won't be online during the day as I'm off to court Jury service!

I was told never to put the bike into neutral when stopped at lights, junctions, etc. Told it was necessary so you could move off quickly. So for the 45 minutes of my test I did as I was told. Sat at junctions with clutch held in and left foot only down.

[fizzwheel]

Yep thats what I was taught to do

The test didn't require it, and just one of the instructors on the DAS course I did told me about it... a blackbird-riding copper who called it "the safety position".

My instructor taught me to end up with my left foot down/right foot on peg/rear brake so I always do a little shimmy to get into 1st then back (unless I run down the box before stopping and end up in 1st), he said it used to be exactly as you described (but like back to back at lights for for cars) the neutral bit has been relaxed to maintain the smooth flow of traffic so I learned to sit at lights with the clutch in -
Nothing showed this as much as following my instructor during the first ride outs of my DAS - he learnt the same way as you an did the leg shuffle/neutral thing at every set of traffic lights.

It's sometimes called the 'Hendon shuffle' as it's taught at the Hendon police college.

It's nicknamed the Hendon Shuffle because it's the technique taught to the trainees at the Hendon Police Training College .

[timwilky]

Don't the police call this covering the brake stuff the "hendon shuffle" sort of swapping between which foot is down in order to select gear etc.?

Peronally I try to drop the bike into neutral approaching lights using front brake. I very rarely use the back brake unless there is a BMW attempting to kill me and I need to stop in a hurry.

Having been attacked from behind whlist stopped at lights I do not like the idea of being sat there in gear with clutch engaged.

Whoops looks like a few got in with the hendon shuffle as I was typing

Its not wise to sit at the lights or railway crossing with the bike in gear, Although I dont do the shuffle thing I put it into neutral and normally put both feet down

I often still use the Hendon Shuffle, not a bad technique and surprisingly quick when done smoothly.


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