U-Turn Info

[staningrimsby]

Just a quick one please folks,

After my Mod 1 failure last week for putting my foot down during the U-Turn I have been racking my brain as to why it happened as other than that everything else was fine I have done the U-turn loads of times with no problems.

The only thing I could think of was that I did my checks prior to moving off then pulled away slowly, checked again before starting the turn, now I am not sure if I was going to slow thus losing balance or I tried turning to soon after checking again losing balance so my question is if I don't do the shoulder check prior to the turn does that go down as a minor or is it a fail ???

As I cant think of any other reason that my foot went down, going out to practice again tomorrow but its on my 125 and its totally different then the 650 I was on but I do want to be ready when I eventually get a re-test date again
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When you have removed the impossible the improbable however unlikely has to be the truth.
1986 Yamaha DT 80 >> 2009 Honda Varadero XL 125 >> 2003 Suzuki V-Strom 1000

[NooBish-AbbZ]

I think it's a fail though not 100%. Before my Mod 1 I went onto tesco car park on my 125 and literally spent about 45 minutes doing U-Turns on both sides. Trying different things to find the best technique for me.

I'd guess the reason you lost balance was too slow
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SV650S - Feb '14-March '19
XJ6N- Apr '19 -Present

[malteser273]

I think if you don't do a noticeable shoulder check before looking into your turn its a fail.

how do you control your speed when you do your turn? I find the clutch control, keeping revs moderately high and using back brake for speed control helps in keeping balance.

hope you get it sorted next time
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Honda Hornet 600

[gavbriggs]

I practiced riding slowly near the kerb and doing checks, I was fine with the turn itself but tended to wobble a little on the check. Once you sorted with the check then include the turn, you can practice in a carpark using the white lines as kerbs.

Try nt to practice in a red light area or you will get nicked for kerb crawling!
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Recent bikes: Varadero 125 - Mod 2 3/2/14 - Bandit 1200 SK4

[Boxing]

Look ahead rather than at the front wheel / down. Look to where you want to go. It's about planning ahead, and you won't lose balance, if that makes sense.

[staningrimsby]

Thanks for the reply NooBish-AbbZ I cant decide between the two which one it was myself I have practiced for ages on my 125 and got 98 out of every 100 perfect but when I got on the 650 did find out that at idle it was quite quick.

This meant that when I did my slalom and figure of 8 it was mainly done under idle as I think I also did the U-turn, but maybe it wasn't quick enough and more revs where required.

[map]

Many threads on here to help with u turn.
Like this one.

Best advice is to look where you're going, not at the wheel.

Best of luck.
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[Wildmalta]

I had problems with u turn too and asked on here, the thread is still recent in New Bikers .

Try different techniques and see which feels more natural. One thing I did was focus more on the balance of the bike, slipping my butt over slightly to one side or the other to counterbalance the bike's natural tendency to lean to the inside of the curve (which is when you think you're going to fall and put a fot down).

And practice all you can with the big bike
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[staningrimsby]

I don't get chance to practice on the big bike Im sad to say, the next time I ride it is on re-test day
____________________
When you have removed the impossible the improbable however unlikely has to be the truth.
1986 Yamaha DT 80 >> 2009 Honda Varadero XL 125 >> 2003 Suzuki V-Strom 1000

[staningrimsby]

[Wonko The Sane]

Your vara is a small twin with a fair bit of lazy 'power' (by power I mean the ability to move forward)

when practising for my tests I was setting off from the brake stop line to do my run in 2nd without my instructor realising

I was also able to set off on my vara in 1st or 2nd just slipping the clutch a bit. The bike's low weight helps.


With the 600+cc bike you're able to move it around on tick over with the clutch being slipped a bit, however when you want to add the power in the bike doesn't pick up and move forward straight away, it takes a moment or two for the engine to spin up and the bike to get on with it,

My guess is, where on the vara you can just add a bit of throttle and go the bigger bike is struggling for a moment causing you to put your foot down.

What you need to do is, while still slipping the clutch, add some power in before the turn so that it's there ready for you to use, controlling the bike's speed on the clutch (and a dab of rear brake if needed) this way you're not waiting for the engine to get ready, it's there for you to use as little or as much as you need on the clutch

hope that makes sense / helps
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[staningrimsby]

I know what your saying Daffyd I really need to find a nice steady RPM range before I start moving then control the bike from there with the clutch and the rear brake.

Its not the best of bike Im learning on though sime Chinese machine called WK 650i, the gears are awful on it takes ages to clunk through them for a bike that's only 2 years old as well
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When you have removed the impossible the improbable however unlikely has to be the truth.
1986 Yamaha DT 80 >> 2009 Honda Varadero XL 125 >> 2003 Suzuki V-Strom 1000

[Wonko The Sane]

[mailee]

Bike clutches are designed to slip Stan, keep the revs up and control forward speed with clutch and back brake. The higher speed of the engine seems to give a gyroscopic type effect stabilising the bike more. Don't try to control the speed on tick over it is more 'jerky' HTH.

[Llama-Farmer]

Look up and where you want to go, not down or in front.

Use more throttle to keep the bike from stalling and slip the clutch to keep the speed down, being delicate with the clutch, letting it out a bit to speed up, bringing it in a bit to slow down.

Using the back keeps the turn nice and tight, it's amazing how many people on Mod 1 never seem to use the rear brake for slow manoeuvres, makes life so much easier though.
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[staningrimsby]

Well Guys I thought I would pop out for a couple of hours on my baby Vara this morning before everyone got up and practice a few u-turns.

I started off in a pub car park using the width of 3 bays which is roughly 7.5 mtrs, then moved to the road where we did our CBT u-turns then once again back to a car park in Cleethorpes, all told I must have done around 60 u-turns and not an issue with any of them .

Going to go out again later just hoping I don't bottle it on re test day.
____________________
When you have removed the impossible the improbable however unlikely has to be the truth.
1986 Yamaha DT 80 >> 2009 Honda Varadero XL 125 >> 2003 Suzuki V-Strom 1000

[dydey90]

I found the larger bikes a lot more difficult to manoeuvre than a 125, I got frustrated because I just couldn't get the hang of it at all.

Here's my advice:
-It's better to turn too wide than put a foot down. I went over the line on my mod 1 and it was only a minor and therefore a win.

-More power will counteract you overbalancing. Maybe practice on your 125 doing a turn, leaning too far over and forcing yourself to bring the clutch out rather than put a foot down. The acceleration will provide more force to try to push the bike upright again. This is where I was going wrong as my own balance isn't too good and I was trying to turn a heavy bike too slowly.
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Past: CBR125,ER6f NINJA 650, ZZR600 Current: VFR750

[Pol Anorl]

Its the whole check mirrors then turn round to face the front and clutch and throttle and brake and soo much shit!!

in the real world you say fuck it, pin the throttle spin the rear wheel around. job done.
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[staningrimsby]

Well Guys and Gals,

Been out for a couple of hours tonight to try and fathom out the problem I had on my Mod 1 test, I started in a car park again and had rather a lot of attempts (all good may I add).

Then I went on to the street and various other car parks still all going well , so it was killing me as why was I so bad on the test I have done well over 100 U-turns today on my 125 and all have been perfect. Whilst this is a good thing its annoying not knowing why it went pear shaped last week.

So on the way home I had to nip to Morrisons still thinking what went wrong ??? then I wondered was it because the fence of at the test centre was in front of me and it was another obstacle I was faced with that I had not experienced ??? As I was leaving Morrisons I saw the entrance that the wagons go through (2 huge gates), I measured the road with my tape measure a good 8 meters.

So I measured away 6.5 meters from the kerb (I realise I am allowed 7.5 but thought if I can do it in 6.5 then the test centre should have acres of room) and placed a cone then placed another cone about 8 meters from the first. So with the gate in front of me it simulated the U-turn area at the test centre, also it was on a bit of a hill which meant when I went back up if I didn't have enough revs it made me power out rather than put my foot down

https://i600.photobucket.com/albums/tt88/staningrimsby/Motorbikes/Honda%20Varadero%20125%20v9/U-TurnPractice.jpg

All in all I have done over 100 U-turns today with not a single error, just hoping its the same when my re-test date comes through.
____________________
When you have removed the impossible the improbable however unlikely has to be the truth.
1986 Yamaha DT 80 >> 2009 Honda Varadero XL 125 >> 2003 Suzuki V-Strom 1000

[Howling TerrorOutOfOffice]

Good stuff.
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[gavbriggs]

One hing that may help is to set you revs a fair bit above idle and use the clutch only to vary speed, again in a straight line and then on some turns, you will then be confident enough to use clutch control on the bigger machine, again with a good amount of revs.

I suspect you may not be using your clutch control fully???

Worth a try
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Recent bikes: Varadero 125 - Mod 2 3/2/14 - Bandit 1200 SK4

[parkmoy]

Don't forget you're not going to get other traffic at the test centre so you don't actually need to 'look' on your checks - just quickly turn your head to satisfy the examiner.