Cornering

[zigrat]

Anyone know of a good resource (book/website) on how to improve your cornering/riding style ?

[Leopard_lily]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wYD9SSBBNQ&feature=related

[mr_s81]

http://delicious.com/survivalskills/Cornering ;)

[zigrat]

Thanks all

[Speedy]

I find that if you actually turn your head looking in the direction of said corner, not just move your eyeballs, I corner much, much better.

So look around the corner with your head, not just your eyes.

Also, I use the counter-steer method too to get the bike over (leant) more.

[Alpinestarhero]

Speedy; everyone uses the counter steering method to get a bike through corners, although some are not as aware of it as other people :D

When I first rode, I asked a similar question on the .org. Baph suggested I go into corners gently, and fire it out the other side, rather than steam in and try and keep the momentum. This method works really well and helped me develop confidence.

A couple of other things I have found; grip the tank more with my knees, and the handlebars less with my hands - this encourages me to keep my shoulders relaxed, allowing the bike to do its work undermeath me, while I still maintain control.

Road positioning also helps; dont hug the inside of a corner, keep out a bit, so you can see further around the corner. This way you have room to tighten your line if the bend starts to close up, without needing to roll off the throttle and/or apply front brake, loading up the front tyre and making the steering heavy. This draws me to something else I was told - keeping a positive throttle (i.e. not decelerating) will help maintain the balance of the bike, thus aiding cornering.

But the most important thing is to get lots and lots of miles in. My dad's boss told me it'd be a few thousand miles before I would feel comfortable...and he was right.

[Bluefish]

Speedy; everyone uses the counter steering method to get a bike through corners, although some are not as aware of it as other people :D

When I first rode, I asked a similar question on the .org. Baph suggested I go into corners gently, and fire it out the other side, rather than steam in and try and keep the momentum. This method works really well and helped me develop confidence.

A couple of other things I have found; grip the tank more with my knees, and the handlebars less with my hands - this encourages me to keep my shoulders relaxed, allowing the bike to do its work undermeath me, while I still maintain control.

Road positioning also helps; dont hug the inside of a corner, keep out a bit, so you can see further around the corner. This way you have room to tighten your line if the bend starts to close up, without needing to roll off the throttle and/or apply front brake, loading up the front tyre and making the steering heavy. This draws me to something else I was told - keeping a positive throttle (i.e. not decelerating) will help maintain the balance of the bike, thus aiding cornering.

But the most important thing is to get lots and lots of miles in. My dad's boss told me it'd be a few thousand miles before I would feel comfortable...and he was right.



+1 What he said, better to go in too slow than too fast, untill you know what you are doing, which i don't.

[Alpinestarhero]

+1 What he said, better to go in too slow than too fast, untill you know what you are doing, which i don't.

Baph said to me

"in like a pussy cat, out like a tiger"

straight-through exhaust pipe helps to emphasize the "tiger" bit. More like a lion now actualy



roooooooooooOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRR R!!!!


disclaimer: I know nothing about riding very fast at all, anything I suggest I cannot be certain is the safest thing for you to try. Experiment, but proceed with caution and activly think about the feedbakc you get form your bike when cornering. If the handlebars start to feel heavy and like they are going to fold inwards.....then you're not far from lobbing the bike away. Back off at this point...

[leesh00]

im only a year into biking myself and the single most important thing i have been told/read (as mentioned earlier in the post ) is to really look through the corners that way the speed dont feel as scary cos the ground isnt rushing at you quite as fast and where your looking is where your bike ends up. i sometimes forget to do it cos im still getting into riding habits and my cornering is never as good when i dont.

[zigrat]

All sound advice - thanks for everyone's input so far. Have managed to find a guy locally who seems well thought of and who has onboard cameras for feedback, am planning on going out with him for a couple of hours - will let you know how I get on with this when it happens

[zunkus]

Get a small bore dirtbike. Best way to learn.