Everyone goes on about the U-turn...

[firg]

Everyone goes on about the U-turn being almost impossible to do without putting your foot down. But, I did my CBT yesterday (never riddden a bike before) and had to do about 4 or 5 U-turns and never had a problem, even the first time

I dont see why people make such a fuss? Its just like any other slow speed maneuver - slip the clutch and look where you want to go.

So whats the big deal?
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Ex-'96 Bandit 600S -> '99 Bandit 600 -> K7 V-Strom 650

[G]

[firg]

Oh well, I guess its just the impression I got from peoples posts. It usually seemed to be: "Arg failed my test, put my foot down in the U-turn". Or I might just be going crazy

It was a CG125 btw.
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Ex-'96 Bandit 600S -> '99 Bandit 600 -> K7 V-Strom 650

[FreshAL]

I find U turns hard, slow speed control is the big thing I have to practice before my test. I can do them in the car park, but on the road I keep target fixating on the kerb, so I hit it. I'm told it'll come with practice.

You're obviously naturally talented. Rossi should fear you

[Chr!S]

U-turns and any slow controlled riding is a piece of piss, all about balence and thorrlte clutch control.

Never had a problem during training, on the 1st day i was doing full lock circles on the CG.

[mchaggis]

I can do full lock circles on the Fazer all day, but give me a kerb to hit and suddenly I can't do them for love nor money.
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[Slinn84]

full lock circles are easy on certain bikes, like my thundercat, then again the turning circle is pathetic on the cat so it makes it easier

when i did my das on a gs500 i hated doing u-turns, never had a problem doing them i just dreaded doing them

the tirck is to set off slowly, if u set off too fast then its hard to slow down enough whilst turning

keeping rear brake pushed slightly also helps to keep the bike under control, a fact that my cbt instructer failed to tell me

[dibbster]

I think a lot of it is psychological, I found them easy on the CG but on the GSXR they seem more of a challenge mainly because it has the turning circle of an oil tanker!
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Suzuki GSXR - Now stops on a sixpence; SBK3's
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[beefy]

some people have problems with u turns cause there worried more of the noise of the engine by having higher revs and like u say slip the clutch to control it, rev it like u dont care.
as u get better u can even the throttle out and the clutch so its oh so sweet.

[colin1]

i found u turns on the cg125 easy, but tricky on the er5
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colin1 is officially faster than god

[Ric]

they arnt too bad,

still a year after passing im tryin to perfect a u turn on a loop from one side of the dually to the other, tricky at speed

gotta love the ZXR pining your right hand on full lock making it oh so much more work

[suzi_bandit]

Best advice I had when I started direct access was to control your speed with the clutch not the throttle when doing U-turns and weaving in and out of the cones. Didn't mess up once but watched other students dropping bikes at an alarming rate!
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I want a big boys bike, preferably a Speed Triple. To date I have ?7:42p stashed away to put towards one. Need to get it in the bank & earning interest asap.

[priller]

Found u-turns easy enough after a bit of practice, 3 years after passing my test I've probably only done 3 or 4 since.

[edd]

It entirely depends on what bike you are riding, an sr or cg is always going to be really easy to u turn on, since they have a really low centre of gravity and are designed to be really easy to ride. I passed my test riding my varadero 125 and that took me an awful lot of practice to be able to u turn properly. Whereas i can jump on my mates sr and spin it round on the spot first try. On some bikes it is an easy manouver on others its really quite tricky.
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[CoronaBoner]

And probably more pressure on a proper test rather than a CBT. But I had no problem
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2004 RSV Factory

Cluck cluck chicken

[vbfg]

I find it a little tricky on my baby Vara too and, like you, had no problem during the CBT on a SR. Rear brake is everything for me.
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[colin1]

i found the cg easy but the sr was tricky and for the er5 i had to learn the brake and clutch control thing
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colin1 is officially faster than god

[Incomplete Pete]

I found u-turns impossible because I found revving the engine so much really disconcerting, I was convinced the engine was about to go bang and cover me in oil!

[ayfy]

[Clanger]

I had trouble getting to grips with it when on the GS500, I put my faith in my instructor, put the bike on full lock and fell off gawd knows how many times.

So after several failed attempts I went off to the carpark with two cones and got that bike turning on a sixpence. Next day during the test, the instructor took me to the widest road ever and I did it no probs....

I rarely do the U-turn these days, I generally walk the bike round.
But at least I know I am capable.
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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

[Huambo81a]

I have never done a U turn on a 125 so i cant comment (did my CBT on a 600) But during my lessons i found the Bandit to be very top heavy at slow speeds, Never came off it but put my foot down a good few times. So yeah, i think theres probably a world of difference, i mean the Bandit i did my test on weighs over 200kg.

[kal9001]

u turns on the CBR125 were hard, i always used to hit my knee on the handle bars...no seriously!!! ive not got the hang of them on the SV650S yet tho, i need more experience with the new bike

the hardest part is getting it out of your head to let the throttle off when you think your going to fast...you just brake more...and put more throttle on and the bike will pop back up like a little soldier...thats when you hot the curb tho
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Anyone stupid enough to think we will drag a load of wooden horses full of soldiers into our city is certanley stupid enough to drag all of ours into theirs!

[Wave2k]

U-turn on a sports bike is hard.

U-turns on bikes like SR125s and CG125s and 500s are piss easy
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[Bendy]

I found it easy enough on both the CBT bike and the 500. Rarely bother even trying on the CBR, I just do a three pointer.

[MarkyPancake]

I found them easier on the 125 than the 500, but was flawless on my tests.