Turning a motorcycle: Difference between revisions

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==Do==

*Shift your body weight to the inside of the curve. This increases ground clearance, protects the rider's confidence because it makes sharp cornering feel more natural, and ~~- see the next point -~~ makes it more difficult for the rider's eyes to look where they shouldn't be looking.

*Shift your body weight to the inside of the curve. This increases ground clearance, protects the rider's confidence because it makes sharp cornering feel more natural, and makes it more difficult for the rider's eyes to look where they shouldn't be looking.

*Turn your whole head (not just your eyes) and [[Looking through the curve|focus far ahead]] to where you want the bike to go.

*Turn your whole head (not just your eyes) and [[Looking through the curve|focus far ahead]] to where you want the bike to go. Remember that you will go where you look, so look where you want to go.

*Push positively on the grip that is on the side you want to turn to. ("Push left, go left. Push right, go right.") If you don't know what [[Countersteering|countersteering]] is, learn now - before ignorance kills you.

*Apply a small amount of throttle through the corner. This keeps the bike from decelerating. Deceleration ~~is a braking effect which~~ reduces the amount of traction available for turning and also reduces ground clearance by causing the bike to sink on its suspension. Gradually accelerate as you make your turn and '''don’t''' grab a handful of throttle; just use slightly more than constant throttle.

*Apply a small amount of throttle through the corner. This keeps the bike from decelerating. Deceleration reduces the amount of traction available for turning and also reduces ground clearance by causing the bike to sink on its suspension. Gradually accelerate as you make your turn and '''don’t''' grab a handful of throttle; just use slightly more than constant throttle.

==Don't==

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*Squeeze the clutch. This leads to deceleration.

*Look at the ground immediately ahead of the bike, or at anything except [[Looking through the curve|where you want the bike to go]]. (Do you know what "target fixation" is?)

*Look at the ground immediately ahead of the bike, or at anything except [[Looking through the curve|where you want the bike to go]]. (Do you know what [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Target_fixation target fixation] is?)

==General turning==

How will you remember all this? By making it part of your everyday motorcycling. The weight shift, head turn, and controlled rolling-on are good cornering technique. Even square corners in town offer practice opportunities. Approach corners with a "slow-in, fast-out" style. You should also follow [http://www.soundrider.com/archive/safety-skills/RS-cc2.htm delayed-apex] cornering lines, starting your turn from the outside of the corner and squaring it off. See [[Ninja 250 Rider's bookshelf|David Hough's books]] for more on these and other good techniques.

How will you remember all this? By making it part of your everyday motorcycling. The weight shift, head turn, and controlled rolling-on are all part of good cornering technique. Even square corners in town offer practice opportunities. Approach corners with a "slow-in, fast-out" style. You should also follow [http://www.soundrider.com/archive/safety-skills/RS-cc2.htm delayed-apex] cornering lines, starting your turn from the outside of the corner and squaring it off. See [[Ninja 250 Rider's bookshelf|David Hough's books]] for more on these and other good techniques.

====Standard cornering technique====

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*Using your brakes and throttle, reduce speed before you reach the corner. This is also the time to do any downshifting. The bike is upright and still going straight. Get the clutch all the way back out and the throttle stable before reaching the corner.

*Shift your weight to the inside ''before'' you get to the corner. ~~Your weight is now supported by~~ the outside ~~knee~~ - not by your arms. Your shoulders, arms, and hands should be relaxed.

*Move over to the part of the lane from which you can follow a delayed-apex cornering line to square off the corner: near the center line for a right-hander, and near the shoulder for a left-hand corner.

*Shift your weight to the inside ''before'' you get to the corner. A lot of the support of your body should be coming from your outside leg - not your arms. Your shoulders, arms, and hands should be relaxed.

*Turn your whole head and look through the corner to where you want the bike to end up.

*As you are turning your head, push on the inside grip to tip the bike into the corner.

@@ Line 11: / Line 11: @@
 ==Do==
-*Shift your body weight to the inside of the curve. This increases ground clearance, protects the rider's confidence because it makes sharp cornering feel more natural, and - see the next point - makes it more difficult for the rider's eyes to look where they shouldn't be looking.
+*Shift your body weight to the inside of the curve. This increases ground clearance, protects the rider's confidence because it makes sharp cornering feel more natural, and makes it more difficult for the rider's eyes to look where they shouldn't be looking.
-*Turn your whole head (not just your eyes) and [[Looking through the curve|focus far ahead]] to where you want the bike to go.
+*Turn your whole head (not just your eyes) and [[Looking through the curve|focus far ahead]] to where you want the bike to go. Remember that you will go where you look, so look where you want to go.
 *Push positively on the grip that is on the side you want to turn to. ("Push left, go left. Push right, go right.") If you don't know what [[Countersteering|countersteering]] is, learn now - before ignorance kills you.
-*Apply a small amount of throttle through the corner. This keeps the bike from decelerating. Deceleration is a braking effect which reduces the amount of traction available for turning and also reduces ground clearance by causing the bike to sink on its suspension. Gradually accelerate as you make your turn and '''don’t''' grab a handful of throttle; just use slightly more than constant throttle.
+*Apply a small amount of throttle through the corner. This keeps the bike from decelerating. Deceleration reduces the amount of traction available for turning and also reduces ground clearance by causing the bike to sink on its suspension. Gradually accelerate as you make your turn and '''don’t''' grab a handful of throttle; just use slightly more than constant throttle.
 ==Don't==
@@ Line 29: / Line 29: @@
 *Squeeze the clutch. This leads to deceleration.
-*Look at the ground immediately ahead of the bike, or at anything except [[Looking through the curve|where you want the bike to go]]. (Do you know what "target fixation" is?)
+*Look at the ground immediately ahead of the bike, or at anything except [[Looking through the curve|where you want the bike to go]]. (Do you know what [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Target_fixation target fixation] is?)
 ==General turning==
-How will you remember all this? By making it part of your everyday motorcycling. The weight shift, head turn, and controlled rolling-on are good cornering technique. Even square corners in town offer practice opportunities. Approach corners with a "slow-in, fast-out" style. You should also follow [http://www.soundrider.com/archive/safety-skills/RS-cc2.htm delayed-apex] cornering lines, starting your turn from the outside of the corner and squaring it off. See [[Ninja 250 Rider's bookshelf|David Hough's books]] for more on these and other good techniques.
+How will you remember all this? By making it part of your everyday motorcycling. The weight shift, head turn, and controlled rolling-on are all part of good cornering technique. Even square corners in town offer practice opportunities. Approach corners with a "slow-in, fast-out" style. You should also follow [http://www.soundrider.com/archive/safety-skills/RS-cc2.htm delayed-apex] cornering lines, starting your turn from the outside of the corner and squaring it off. See [[Ninja 250 Rider's bookshelf|David Hough's books]] for more on these and other good techniques.
 ====Standard cornering technique====
@@ Line 40: / Line 40: @@
 *Using your brakes and throttle, reduce speed before you reach the corner. This is also the time to do any downshifting. The bike is upright and still going straight. Get the clutch all the way back out and the throttle stable before reaching the corner.
-*Shift your weight to the inside ''before'' you get to the corner. Your weight is now supported by the outside knee - not by your arms. Your shoulders, arms, and hands should be relaxed.
+*Move over to the part of the lane from which you can follow a delayed-apex cornering line to square off the corner: near the center line for a right-hander, and near the shoulder for a left-hand corner.
+*Shift your weight to the inside ''before'' you get to the corner. A lot of the support of your body should be coming from your outside leg - not your arms. Your shoulders, arms, and hands should be relaxed.
 *Turn your whole head and look through the corner to where you want the bike to end up.
 *As you are turning your head, push on the inside grip to tip the bike into the corner.