View Full Version : U-Turn - any advice ?
Just tried a U-Turn in Tesco Car Park between 2 bays, and I put my foot down on the turn, and each time I tried, did the same thing :cry:
Anyone, tried the U-Turn on their bike and pulled it off successfully?, or is this just something you do on test and never in general road use.
Nicky S
22-03-09, 06:36 PM
Just tried a U-Turn in Tesco Car Park between 2 bays, and I put my foot down on the turn, and each time I tried, did the same thing :cry:
Anyone, tried the U-Turn on their bike and pulled it off successfully?, or is this just something you do on test and never in general road use.
i do use it but u do have to do it ur test ... i never found it hard ... i got told its about slow control and using ur back brake .. i practised it in my road just going from one kerb to the kerb on the other side of the road
Rear brake and reasonable revs......very easy. I do it all the time, infact did 3 today lol, I can wack full lock on and gor around in circles on the rear brake.
I find the SV much harder than the 125's i learnt on but its still easily done just keep the clutch on the biting point and rev your way round!
Nicky S
22-03-09, 06:41 PM
I find the SV much harder than the 125's i learnt on but its still easily done just keep the clutch on the biting point and rev your way round!
i found it easyer lol dont know why ....
BanditPat
22-03-09, 06:41 PM
I do U turns most days difference is i don't have to worry about failing anything if i decide i want to put my foot down
Graciepants
22-03-09, 06:42 PM
if it helps i cant, i know i have a sports bike and their turning circles are meant to be shockingly awful, but i simply cant do it, ive even dropped mine doing one. now if i have to do one i sit on it and drive it using the clutch and just gently paddle it round
fizzwheel
22-03-09, 06:45 PM
Can do it on all the bikes I've ridden including Liz's 749S which has an appalling turning circle and its really easy to trap your wrist between the bars and fuel tank on anything approaching full lock.
Its just technique and practise. Saying that once you've passed your test, who really gives a sh*te whether you put your foot down or not.
_Stretchie_
22-03-09, 06:50 PM
As a biker out on a bimble with your mates you should be doing this manouvre on a regular basis when the numpty in front realises they have taken a wrong turn...
I use it all the time to turn around. Its good practice for my test when i get round to it next month, but i know i would use them anyway. Ive actually only messed up twice out of about 10 U turns. Im glad i find them easy since this is a way a lot if people fail the test.
The worst one i had was turning around in a side road, and the front wheel hit a big stone and nearly threw me off :D made me laugh though.
Saying that once you've passed your test, who really gives a sh*te whether you put your foot down or not.
Fizzwheel, that is a good statement, but it's nice to be able to still pull off the basic maneouves.
Oh well, I'll keep practicing ;)
muffles
22-03-09, 06:53 PM
if it helps i cant, i know i have a sports bike and their turning circles are meant to be shockingly awful, but i simply cant do it, ive even dropped mine doing one. now if i have to do one i sit on it and drive it using the clutch and just gently paddle it round
You dropped it again?! :p
I "can" do it on mine but how wide a turn is the question! I find it much more difficult on faired bikes because it affects your throttle hand when on full lock, usually. That's unless you specifically adjust your hand prior to doing the turn.
One thing I find helps - can't remember if I learnt this for my DAS or not - is to exaggerate the leaning the other way; i.e. I ensure that I deliberately move my upper body the other way, and move myself on the seat if needed, to keep my head directly above the bike. It's too natural to lean as I turn so I need to do this to ensure I don't fall over!
Amplimator
22-03-09, 06:56 PM
At the beginning of my DAS the instructor told me to go up and down the road a few times to assess my riding to get a good idea of wot i needed to learn.
then he asked me to do a u-turn and for the life of me i couldnt do one!!!
he pulled me up and calmly said to me that when he asked me to go up the road and back a few times i did six (yes 6....3 either end of the road) perfect u-turns. when he told me this i instantly realised that everyone had warned me about the u-turn being a failure if i put my foot down etc that i had built it up to be summit scary and near-on impossible in my head.
try to counter balance the bike a bit with your body-weight helps but more importantly, be positive and use the rear break with clutch control to 'feather' it round......and look where you wanna end up not at the tarmac coz ya'll end up there instead!
even my instructor sed in the real world u may never need to do a u-turn, its jus a control skill for slow speed manouvers more than anyfink
soz for long post
Amp
Graciepants
22-03-09, 07:00 PM
You dropped it again?! :p
i've dropped it twice, once on the first time i ever used it - tried to do a u-turn uphill on a wet icy road (yes im an idiot) and once trying to get it up the curb (generatory cover paint story)
still cant do u turns unless i paddle it round using the clutch. not gonna even try lol
Its achievable, even on mine (which makes a supertanker look like its going round on a sixpence at low speed), but you may as well get off and push or paddle if you feel more confident doing it that way.
You only need to do one for your test, but it is a handy skill to be able to pull out of the bag when you need it.
I even managed to do my on a hill when I did my test,...now trying it between car park bays it all goes "Pete Tong".
Oh well, like fizzwheel said "who gives a ****e once your passed" - so will adopt that principal for now.
But will still keep practicing until I pull off a smooth arc without foot going down :D
muffles
22-03-09, 07:12 PM
i've dropped it twice, once on the first time i ever used it - tried to do a u-turn uphill on a wet icy road (yes im an idiot) and once trying to get it up the curb (generatory cover paint story)
Lol talk about throwing yourself in at the deep end!
Did you sort out the generator paint now?
:smt106
Look where you want the bike to end up and shift your weight to the outside of the turn a little. Oh and don't go too slowly, use the bikes momentum to keep it upright. It's a bit like ice skating.
dizzyblonde
22-03-09, 07:15 PM
. Saying that once you've passed your test, who really gives a sh*te whether you put your foot down or not.
+1. From the woman who has perfected the non-turn on an SV:D
Although I can do it when nobody is looking ;-)
Dave20046
22-03-09, 07:54 PM
Put my foot down on one today actually because I took it a bit sharp and almost toppled.
The SV is one of the only bikes I've ever ridden that I can u-turn (bearing in mind the others were 125s!), since my test I've never really done one as such but you still use the slow speed control to turn. Don't know if I can still do it never really given it much thought.
U-turns are good for practising slow control - but who cares if you put a foot down? Well it still annoys me when I do :smt092
Usual stuff - grip tank with knees, look where you want to end up, good handful of throttle, trail the back brake, slip the clutch. Sounds soooo easy....
Dave20046
22-03-09, 08:11 PM
U-turns are good for practising slow control - but who cares if you put a foot down? Well it still annoys me when I do :smt092
Usual stuff - grip tank with knees, look where you want to end up, good handful of throttle, trail the back brake, slip the clutch. Sounds soooo easy....
That's the key
Graciepants
22-03-09, 08:18 PM
Lol talk about throwing yourself in at the deep end!
Did you sort out the generator paint now?
:smt106
u turns on the 125 were so easy, used to be the only thing i could do right first time
as i said, paddle it round, lol
nah paints stil on :smt106
would have to agree with the look where ya going - that and using the back brake. I was not trying hard enough to look where i wanted to go when i was doing the direct access - once that clicked it became a lot easier.
Look where you want to go, and the bike will go there. Like magic.
And don't touch the front brakes, just dab the rear brake if you need to slow down. In fact, don't even cover the front brake lever.
If you fixate on the kerb/parked car/other object, you'll go straight for it.
Oh, the hours spent trundling around the local industrial estate, practicing this one for the test. :rolleyes:
Just tried a U-Turn in Tesco Car Park between 2 bays, and I put my foot down on the turn, and each time I tried, did the same thing :cry:
Anyone, tried the U-Turn on their bike and pulled it off successfully?, or is this just something you do on test and never in general road use.
You should be trying between 3 bays not 2.
2 is unrealistic to expect
dizzyblonde
22-03-09, 08:44 PM
Many moons ago(about 5 yrs), I could U-turn the tractor...I mean 125 cruiser:-), like it were doing ballet, the SV's are like moving a bus.
You do it better, if you don't think about it so much, if you sit there pondering it long enough, it all gets balls'd up!
plowsie
22-03-09, 09:27 PM
Bang ya foot out, who cares.
Could prob do it if I try, I'm not breaking any laws if I put me foot out though :D
richie95
22-03-09, 09:39 PM
why is it a fail on the test then? i understand it shows up slow speed control.. but if putting foot down does not compromise control... or does putting your foot down everytime compromise control... man i need to get a life such stupid questions going round my head
kurtis.randle
22-03-09, 10:01 PM
Tips ,I mostly allways use brake cluch and revs to keep my sv steaidy ,Tip 2 try it in more BIGGER spaces then gradualy get the u turns smaller overtime do not be afraid to rev to much and use cluch brake to control but very excecive reves will either get you a mark or very excecive fail but that would be very accesive. and practise off road so you don't have to worry about other car bike users untill u get could enough to concentrate on them as well.
dizzyblonde
22-03-09, 10:03 PM
My instructor said it was something to do with taking a pillion. If you could show you can handle it at slow speed on your own, you'd be safe to do so with someone on the back.
I dunno, never taken a pillion..lol
kurtis.randle
22-03-09, 10:07 PM
My instructor said it was something to do with taking a pillion. If you could show you can handle it at slow speed on your own, you'd be safe to do so with someone on the back.
I dunno, never taken a pillion..lol
yes its abit harder pillon but think you have to use U-turns in general life eg - trafic jams dead ends ect turning around ect??
speedplay
22-03-09, 10:35 PM
As said before:-
High(ish) revs,
Back brake,
Dont be afraid to slip the clutch.
(and dont look at the kerb as youll hit it everytime;) )
rockster
22-03-09, 10:50 PM
It can be tricky to keep the revs up with everything else you've got to think about. One thing that might help is to reach over the throttle a bit before opening it. This then means that your natural closed throttle hand position is still giving you a reasonable number of revs. Then you can focus on clutch and back brake control.
JonnyBateman
22-03-09, 11:57 PM
My instructor always gave me this tip (though I didn't find it that useful it might suit other people): Grip the throttle with just your thumb and index finger and with the revs on use the rest of your fingers to grip the bar end. It means you can't let the revs drop if you panic, which was invariably the cause of me putting my foot down.
Theres a few decent videos with tips on youtube.
The first time I did a u-turn on a big bike was 5 mins before the test and I rode straight into the curb and dropped the bike... twice. Was panting with fear on the u-turn in the test but it went fine and I thought I was sorted. Relaxed a little too much and missed a head check on a roundabout and failed. All history now though eh!
Did it fine on my test as it wasn't my bike...
High rpm, slipping clutch & rear brake...felt really unnatural.
On the road you can pretty much turn the bike to start off with & ride out rather than doing a curb to curb U-turn.
I can U-turn the SVS but not in the road I passed my test in. Could turn my CG125 with a good 18" spare.
Its not something you ever need after passing test.
calypso67
23-03-09, 03:17 PM
I had problems on the 125 and ER5 learning for the DAS. I put the ER5 up on the curb at one point but on my SV I find it quite easy. You just need to find the right level of clutch, revs, back brake and look the way you want to go not the floor. Just keep trying once you've done it it's like the light bulb come on.
Good luck!
KnightRider
23-03-09, 05:50 PM
U-turns are easy once you have been riding for a bit. It is just balance, throttle and clutch control with a bit of rear brake. Doing it on the CBR is a sinch (I do however need a very wide road to do it in!)
timwilky
23-03-09, 06:30 PM
Why would anyone want to do a u turn with all the perfectly good roundabouts littering the UK?
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