Corners !

[finniee]

I can never get a corner correct.
anyone have some tips, bike came today and just doing some estate riding at the moment. Build up confidence a lil bit.

[Nemo]

Just don't go in too quick and keep your eyes where you want the bike to go, rather than where you don't want it to go.

It'll come with practice, but remember the road isn't a race track.

Might help a bit more of you explain 'can never get a corner correct'.
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Previously owned: Kawasaki KH125, Suzuki GP125, Suzuki GX 125, Honda CB125 TDC '83, Honda ntv 600, Kawasaki ER5, Kawasaki ZZR600, Aprilia RSV 1000 Mille
Now own: Ducati 848 evo

[CaNsA]

Watch this twice, go for a ride, then watch it again.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVWNinsmkAw



/thread.

[finniee]

End up a wee bit closer to the white line than I would like to be.
Would like to keep more to the center.

[uploader]

it`s like making love to a woman, slow in fast out

[metalangel]

This video helped me when I was learning:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C848R9xWrjc

Looking where you want to go is so important. You already know how to control the bike, so just look where you want to be and the steer your bike to match.
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Previous: 2002 Honda CB500 (sold), 2007 Suzuki SV650SK6 (crashed), 2005 Yamaha FZ6 Fazer (sold). Currently bikeless
"A faired bike will get you 10x more clunge than a unfaired one." -Marlboro Matt

[Rogerborg]

Well, that, but: what problems are you having exactly, and what bike are you having them with?
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Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike

[FriendlyEllis]

[-Matt-]

Not focused on corners or anything just generally all riding really - generally this will help you and teach you a lot of valuable stuff.

For 4 quid for a tatty used one can't go wrong really

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Motorcycle-Roadcraft-Police-Handbook-Motorcycling/dp/011341143X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1375090281&sr=8-1&keywords=motorcycle+roadcraft

[finniee]

Cheers lads. Had a wee watch of the video, getting a bit better... But as they say practice makes perfect. Just need to keep watching where I want to go.

[Teflon-Mike]

Dont go round the bend... until you in the bend!

Most common cause of poor cornering is turning before there's a turn.

Was sat at a set of traffic lights the other day, simple right angle turn and EVERY damn car that turned into the road besides me, reached the give-way line by the lights, and started turning, even though there was two lanes worth of road before where they were going... so having turned, they straightened, then having angled accross the middle of the cross-roads, then had to make a second turn into the road they wanted to go down... only now they have thier tail accross the car at the head of the queue wating (me!) and to get thier arse round have to go that bit further over to the kerb, then make sharp turn to get it straight again...

Ragged. Very ragged, but SO many people do it.

So, tip... when you THINK you want to turn... DONT.. think... and breaking the 'rule'... where you look is where you go.. or 'perhaps, exploiting it.... 'look' straight on, and see how far you can go BEFORE you REALLY need to start turning.....

Then when you HAVE to turn.... do it... and do it deliberately, and positively in ONE neat tidy manouver.

The 'lazy' double or tripple 'wide line', is ragged and not very tidy, but other than making a bit of a meal of it, is no real problem...

On a BIKE.... steering is a much more critical business... bikes only have two wheels and a tendancy to fall over, and they steer as much by being tilted over as they do turning the front wheel...

So....every time you steer, you change the balence of the bike.

Three jink path accross a junction then.....

At the give way... 1st turn.. first change of balence... followed by straightening up.. another change of balence.... second turn when exit road roached, another change of balence... and then straightening... yet another.....

There is at least four 'wobbles' for you to worry about...

And where are you doing it? On a junction. on a motorbike.

Cars make ruts... so you have two sets of parallel ditches in the tarmac crossing each other trying to bounce you around, and probably 'gravel wash' or road crap 'sweep' under your tyres in the bits of road you are riding on, where car tyres dont go but shove all the crap.

NOT GOOD. There's enough there trying to tumble you out your seat, without you doing even MORE to unsettle stuff.

In deep. Don't turn until you have to. When you do? Make it positive. Tight, and short... not sharp, and having tipped in, balence it on the throttle, getting a little power on to DRIVE out of the turn, one smooth poised manouver with least change in force or direction or balence...

And you will have the bike pointing where you want it to go, earlier, in less road room, and upright, and balenced again, a LOT earlier.

Thereby shortening the 'Danger Zone' of making the turn... while at the same time, increasing the 'safety zone' going in, increasing potential braking or reaction distance....

Do it right?

It will feel better, It will be 'safer', And if you really get it... it will even be 'faster'. Smooth, Safe, Swift.

Dont go round the bend, until you're in the bend!
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My Webby'Tef's-tQ, loads of stuff about my bikes, my Land-Rovers, and the stuff I do with them!
Current Bikes:'Honda VF1000F' ;'CB750F2N' ;'CB125TD ( 6 3 of em!)'; 'Montesa Cota 248'. Learner FAQ's:= 'U want to Ride a Motorbike! Where Do U start?'

[finniee]

My area is 7 streets all connected by different corners, favourite one has to be the big sweeping one at the top.

was maybe out 2 hours just going around the estate had maybe 18/19 wobbles but starting to get the hang of it a little bit. Will keep at it once the rain has passed and after tea lol.

[Dave70]

You're going about it the correct way then. Practice, practice and practice.

Like anything in life, don't try to run before you can walk.

There's some great twisting roads close to where I live and when I was starting off biking I used to get up just as dawn was breaking (no traffic about) and spend some time riding through the bends.

Some of them were pretty scary and I had a fair few "oh sh*t" moments but, you soon get a feel for it and your confidence will increase. I look back now and laugh at how wobbly, slow and scared I was (and how difficult I found some if them), it's something you have to go through.

Just don't try to do too much too soon.

[Clanger]

[Sako]

Learn to 'read' the corner, this will give you a fighting chance of knowing what you are about to commit to, having this information will allow you to take the corner with confidence...just remember that you need to be feeding the throttle in through the corner and focusing on where you want to be/your exit.

[Howling TerrorOutOfOffice]

^^^I suspect your mantra of practice, practice, practice should have been 'I'm practicing wrong, I'm practicing wrong, I'm practicing wrong.
...and it sounds like you were running before you could walk yet made it through.
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Diabolical homemade music Bandcamp and Soundcloud
Singer songwriter, Artist and allround good bloke Listen to Andrew Susan Johnston here
The Harry Turner Project

[Dave70]

[Howling TerrorOutOfOffice]

It took a slide at 45mph across both lanes to reassess my approach to learning.
____________________
Diabolical homemade music Bandcamp and Soundcloud
Singer songwriter, Artist and allround good bloke Listen to Andrew Susan Johnston here
The Harry Turner Project