Let?s find your center in this Motor School installment. There is nothing more sublime than the moment you discover perfect balance on your motorcycle. (Photos by Kevin Wing)

In an earlier column, I mentioned that my background was primarily in off-road riding and racing before I got into the police motorcycle thing. So it was inevitable that some of my lifelong dirty habits would bleed over into my techniques for riding heavy streetbikes. Hey, I was an old dog when I became a motor cop, and I had lots of old tricks. Of all the off-road skills that transferred into my urban traffic enforcement program, today?s class covers one of the best.

Let?s kick it off with some game show trivia. I?ll go with ?Motorcycles? for $200, please. How do you hold on to a motorcycle when you ride" ?With my hands on the handlebar.? Sorry, that?s incorrect. The answer our judges were looking for" We control the bike (push, pull, twist, and squeeze the controls) with our hands; we hold on to the motorcycle with our legs. Thanks for playing, pick up your free copy of Green Smoothies for Life on your way out the door.
Okay, that was the bell, please have a seat so we can begin. For today?s lesson, it?s important to understand that there is an optimal position within the rider cockpit that keeps the rider?s mass always balanced, minimizing the negative effects it has on the motorcycle when we experience weight transfer while riding on the street. 

Let me explain: When we r...