How do i do a U turn?

[HippyChick]

Hiya

I am going for my P course soon (i'm in aus) and a part of the testing is to do a U turn

You're given a 6m wide area to do it in

Can someone please enlighten me as to the best way to do a U turn & if there is a specific way i should be practising for the test?

I'm also terrified of dropping my shiny new bike

Its a 650 cruiser ... is this achievable ... or is the bike too long?



Cheers & thanks in advance

HippyChick

[sunbear]

Hi

Start off as close to the road side as you can, life saver first of course. Ride as slow as you can until you have your balance and are confident you can make the turn. Then do another life saver look and start turning. Not too sharp at first, slipping the clutch and keep your foot hovering over the back brake. If you feel your going too fast , either pull in the clutch a little or apply the rear brake lightly. When you get to the centre of the road, start turning more sharply. At this point i usually give the bike a bit more revs and let it roll the rest of the way Keep focused on something down the road because if you look at the kerb (road side), you will go in to it.

Saying this, i think it would be very difficult to do it on a large cruiser


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Bikes had : BMW F650, suzuki tr50, gt125, SV400, GSXR600 SRAD. Honda CBR900RRP, CBR600FX, CBR1000F, VT600, Transalp 600, mtx125, nsr125r, CB500T, Yamaha fy50, tzr125, tdr125, XV535, Diversion 600, Fazer 600, TDM850 MK1 & MK2, Majesty 400, XV 1100. Cagiva mito evolution, Aprilia rs125, Piaggio x9 125. DNA 125 . Suzuki Bandit 600, GZ125 Marauder, RF600 , RF900RS2, Kawasaki ZZR400, ZX6R Ninja, ZZR600 . Ducati 750 Sport . Triumph Tiger 955i. CURRENT : 2004 Kawasaki Z750 and LOVIN IT !

[sagalout]

Depends what you are comfortable with. My method:

Life saver then straight into the turn (I dont let the bike go forward first - I set off with the wheel on about half lock). Keep your foot on the back brake - actually pressing it so you are getting some resistance, then slip the clutch. You should feel the bike is planted to the road and you can go round quite quickly.

Keep your hands well away from the front brake because if you touch it chance are you will either put a foot down or drop the bike. Keep your revs constant and control the speed with the clutch. Also look at where you want to end up, not right in front of your front wheel.

Thing with a cruiser is that it might be longer but its very easy to ride slowly so as long as its physically possibly (ie the turning circle) it should be fairly easy. If you can push the bike around the u-turn you can ride it round.

[sunbear]

There you go, a couple of different ideas. You will find people have there own ways of doing this type of stuff. Neither is better than the other, and you will find a way that suits you . No substitute for practice on the u-turn though
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Bikes had : BMW F650, suzuki tr50, gt125, SV400, GSXR600 SRAD. Honda CBR900RRP, CBR600FX, CBR1000F, VT600, Transalp 600, mtx125, nsr125r, CB500T, Yamaha fy50, tzr125, tdr125, XV535, Diversion 600, Fazer 600, TDM850 MK1 & MK2, Majesty 400, XV 1100. Cagiva mito evolution, Aprilia rs125, Piaggio x9 125. DNA 125 . Suzuki Bandit 600, GZ125 Marauder, RF600 , RF900RS2, Kawasaki ZZR400, ZX6R Ninja, ZZR600 . Ducati 750 Sport . Triumph Tiger 955i. CURRENT : 2004 Kawasaki Z750 and LOVIN IT !

[HippyChick]

Thanks guys

I guess like with anything its a matter of practice, practice, practice & trying to find your own technique (with some advice on where to begin of course!).

My biggest concern was dropping the bike but in thinking about it logically ... its like with any turn (or any move for that matter) on a bike which is about looking where you want to go

I have only just got back on bike after about 15yrs & back in the day there was no riding test as such ... you were just watched riding up the street & back ... but ... like an idiot i let my license lapse & now have to do it again.

Most things came back second nature but with tight roundabouts & U-turns i seem to have the scaredy-cat thing going on.

Thanks again

[Itchy]

U turns about about mind over matter any bike will turn in a little over its length , my instructor called me a pussy when I dropped a GS500, and U turned his Pan euro for illustration, bike tyres will pretty much stick to the road if warm enough.

full lock , shoulder check , 2-3k rpm , then let out the clutch slowly, do not look at the kerb , look at the position you want to be , keep full lock , if you feel like you are falling , clutch out a bit more or more revs,
if you think you are going too fast tothe kerb stay at the same revs but use the back brake.

and before you know it , you are sitting on the other side of the road.

for practice purposes just get some bungs if you are that fearful
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Spain 2008France 2007Big one 2009 We all die. The goal isn't to live forever, the goal is to create something that will. In the end, your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure it is worth watching.

[Zimbo]

Drag the back brake, you'll find you can make adjustments to the bike balance by varying the pressure on the rear brake

[tree1]

[HippyChick]

I mean just that ... back in the day ... to get your learners permit you sat a written test (you could then ride on the road) ... and your riding test was riding up the street and back with someone from the roads and traffic watching you ... it was THAT easy !!!

But i let my license lapse ... longer than five years ... so now i have to redo ... only rules have changed now and there are learner courses/tests and provisional courses/test to do

[Clanger]

Perfectly on the day of your test... then never again! Bloody U-turn was the bain of my entire DAS course!!!!
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Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter won't mind - Dr. Seuss