i can't corner for shit!

[White Noise]

went for a ride tonight upto boxhill to get some crash bungs, then down the A29 across the A272 home. on my travels i had a play on a few roundabouts, getting my kneedown but my cornering is so shite on the ZX, i don't know whether it is a new bike or the fact i really have to counter steer loads more than i am used to on the divvy to get a slidder down, but i ran wide loads and nearly came off the roundabout! have to say sorry to the biker that i scared shitless and caused him to lock up!
has anyone has a simular experience of moving from a commuter style bike to a sports bike and the handling differences. any tips of things i can work on to get my corners tighter,
at the end of the day i think i just have to CS more, but it feels so alien to me at the moment!
WN
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Buy my wife: 96' Yam XJ600s (Diversion)
Wing Commander White Noise - SE Clique
Riding Tip #86: See God, then back off a bit: Problem is i haven't seen god yet, just a close up of tarmac on revett straight

[KevTM]

going ftom a bandit 400 to a GSXR600 i found the same thing, trying to shift the extra weight at higher speeds and probably the differences in the suspension and the wider rear tyre makes it murder to go round corners...

no tips apart from you've got to use your weight a LOT more, well so i've found.

[VFR400UK]

Truth is, your cornering better!

Sports bikes require less lean to get around a corner at the same speed as a commuter. so cornering just as fast as befor you will be leaning less. in order to acheive the lean angles you had before, you will need to up the speed alot!

Check your tyre pressures. higher pressure will meake it corner easier, but give less grip.

[BlackSheep]

Have you set your suspension up properly ? pre-load , dampening etc , i would stop trying to conciously countersteer the bike just concentrate on riding it smoothly around corners and it will come naturally on its own ,it sounds to me as if you are trying to hard and worrying about it too much and not just letting go and enjoying your ride ,

Dont forget that bigger bikes have different cornering charecteristics to smaller lighter ones
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GSXR 1100 StreetFighter

[White Noise]

[BlackSheep]

Go find a nice quiet wide twisty road , and get used to the bike nice and gently , slow down for a bit then built it back up as you get more comfortable and confident , it will come those kwaks corner like a greased weasel , pretty damn good
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GSXR 1100 StreetFighter

[White Noise]

[Davo]

I know the perfect road for you mike.

Use the one between Lewes and Ditchling.

[instigator]

The zx-7r does handle a bit strangely though.....does it not? Bike magazines called it a "planted" bike, which I'm actually thinking means its stable but does require effort to turn.

[G]

When I first rode my zx9 after my zx6 I had some problems getting my knee down. More preload and high rear sets took a bit of getting used to, but got into it pretty quickly.

If you haven't ridden a lot of bikes, a new one can offten take quite a while to get used to. Haven't really noticed that recently, but have ridden quite a few different bikes in the last few years .

[White Noise]

[Villers]

[RealNinja]

The thing to remember is that you now have a large, 190 section, rear tyre and bigger tyres take longer to roll over.

On standard settings the 7 is a bit of a effort to go over, but you get the feeling of being welded to the tarmac as a trade off.

I have the suspender setttings for the 7 out of Performance Bikes if you want them, but the main thing is to RAISE THE REAR RIDE HEIGHT!

10mm

Seriously......

It completly alters the speed of turn in, but doesn't compromise the front end stability like it would on most bikes.

I would also consider fitting new rubber, Dunlop 207RR's or 208RR's have a sharp profile to them and also help with the turn in.

If you need any tips on the 7, give me a shout

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You will become my force of retribution. Where you tread, doom will follow. Go now and claim your destiny

[BFG]

You're compromising the corner just to touch your knee on the tarmac??

It might help to focus more on line, lean and body position. The objective is a fast corner, knee down is just garnish. Crack that, and knee down will come back later.

[White Noise]

[AcIdBuRnZ]

I've just recently gone from an ER-5 to a ZZR600. Ok, so the ZZR is not all-out sports bike, but I found a similar problem.

The ZZR leans further into corners than the ER, but this is probably because I'm cornering faster than I used to.

It is quite heavy for a sports bike (was on an R1 the other day and it weighs nothing).

One thing the ZZR encourages me to do though is accelerate out of corners earlier than I used to, due to better suspension set-up.

I do find myself shifting my weight a lot more on the ZZR though.

I ain't looking forward to my first wet ride on the ZZR
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Past: Honda NSR125R >> Kawasaki ER-5a2 >> Kawasaki ZZR-600e1 >> Suzuki GSXR-750Y >> Honda VTR 1000 Firestorm
"Chickity China the Chinese Chicken..."

[Rob W]

I found this when I first went out on my bike mate. The only other bike I'd ridden like it for a period of time had been my RS, and it felt a lot different to that. I find now, counter-steering and a shift of body weight helps me no end. I find it really weird to be consciously pushing the 'wrong' bar, but the bike just tightens up and you can push it harder into the corner. I'm still getting used to it, but that's the way I'm doing it and it seems to be working.
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TS50 > Senda 125 > ZXR400 > CB-1 > GSX-R1000 > Bandit 600 > ZXR750 H1 > GSX-R750 SRAD > '98 RR-W Fireblade > T595 Daytona > Hornet 900 > '04 Fireblade > GSX-S1000F (x2) > '23 XSR900