You would often hear car guys saying that drifting is amongst the most fun activities you can do with your clothes on. And if you have ever done something even close, you would realise it’s quite true. But what about bikes? Is it equally fun? Well, I was about to find out.
For context, I was invited to attend the first-ever TVS Ronin Drift-R School at the ProDirt Adventure facility on the outskirts of Pune. ProDirt has a flat track where they regularly take classes. This time, we were with TVS, which meant we would be riding the flat track-spec TVS Ronin. Knowing how good the bike is on the road, I was excited to drift with it as well.
The first order of business when you arrive is to get your registration done. There you will also have to take a breathalyser test to ensure that the fun you have is at the track and not the night before. Then you are taken through a small briefing where you are introduced to the instructors and their roles. Mr Vimal Sumbly, Head Business – Premium at TVS Motor Company was also present and taking part in the training himself. After that, we proceeded to collect the gear that we’ll be using. TVS ensures safety by providing safety gear whenever the participant doesn’t have their own. This includes MX helmets and boots, as well as gloves, riding jackets and pants.
Talking about the bike, first, we have no front brakes. Yes! Even I was surprised, but they assured us we wouldn’t be needing them. I wasn’t convinced, but let’s go with it. The next thing you notice is that the triple clamp has been moved a bit lower so that it’s easier to load the front wheel which allows the weight to come off the rear allowing the rear wheel to easily break traction and send you drifting. The handlebar is also specially made for drifting and is quite a bit wider than the stock ’bar. Although there are no changes in the engine itself, the bike does get a free-flow exhaust and a bigger rear sprocket which allows for better initial acceleration. These, when paired with off-road tyres ensure you get optimum traction. Lastly, weight reduction. A lot of it! Every unnecessary part has been removed giving the bike a much better power-to-weight ratio and a distinct appearance.
Eventually, when you are all done, you head to the track where you are taken through many stretching exercises to allow your body to open up and get ready for the action ahead. Then, an hour-long class ensues on everything from body positioning to racing lines and braking points. You are even taught how to take a fall. The key here is to throw the bike away from you in a way that it doesn’t fall on you. This is also where you understand how different riding on a race track and flat track are. For starters, how you position yourself is very different. Here you keep your outside elbow and inside leg out. Positioning the elbow outside helps keep the bike in control when drifting and dragging the inside foot allows you to judge the corner better. Another difference is that on a flat track, we were told to hit a late apex so that we exit the corner with speed and thus kick the rear out.
Which is not easy as I learnt. Even though it’s a dirt track, voluntarily making the rear break traction turned out to be a difficult affair. Divided into batches of four each, we had multiple riding sessions followed by one-on-one feedback sessions. As soon as I stepped on track, I knew it was not going to be easy. We were asked to limit ourselves to first gear only and focus on body positioning and racing lines. Getting proper positioning is hard at first but instructors are present at both corners and tell you what you are doing wrong every time you pass them. I had problems dragging my feet, but I quickly resolved it in time for the second session. Drifting was a difficult task though. Even if you get the tail out successfully, it is hard to maintain it throughout. You need good throttle control on dirt as it’s easy to take a fall if you give it too much gas right at the exit of the corner. One needs to be gradual with the throttle and even then be ready to cut power if one feels the bike getting out of control.
This was made a bit easier when we were allowed to shift to second gear in the second session. Downshifting to first before the corner also helps initiate a drift, but that is a big NO here. Doing that, as I learned the hard way, will only make you slip and fall. Luckily, I didn’t get any lasting injuries and was able to continue onward. What you should do is slow down and let the momentum break traction and drift. I tried that, and to my surprise it was true. I was able to break traction and with the availability of a lot of torque low down in the first gear, courtesy of the larger rear sprocket, was able to initiate a slide as well. Shifting up to second gear makes for easier control of the bike while you dramatically exit the corner. Make sure you take a nice photographer with you, cause this makes for amazing photos.
A few more feedback and riding sessions later, I was a much more confident rider and was able to focus on the bike while keeping my body position as it should be. Although carrying a slide for the length of the corner will still take a long time to master, This activity has helped me a lot with riding on dirt and controlling the more mega, ‘ooh with a smile to ouch with a bruise’ slides. You have the option to learn this as well, as TVS will be taking the TVS Ronin Drift-R School to multiple cities across the country and eventually will go to Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities as well. And like me, you might not be able to drift successfully or might even fall, but by the end, you will be a better rider in many aspects.