Cornering Confidence

Hi

I have now had my SV650 for a week. My confidence has grown on the bike having ridden it every day so far. I seem to have a confidence problem when it comes to cornering though. I had this problem while riding my 125 for 2 years. The 125 did not feel very stable and was easily unbalanced when cornering.

The one thing I have found since moving up to a bigger bike is how solid they feel on the road compared to a smaller bike. Despite this, my cornering speed seems to be similar to when I rode my 125.

For example, twice this week I have had to ride into Portsmouth. On my return journey I used the M275 and took the Cosham turn off. This turn off has a 90 degree right hand bend, both times I kept to the left lane. I achieved about 45 miles an hour round the bend. On the first occassion I was overtaken by Kawasaki 400 in the right hand lane who was doing at least 10mph more than me and it looked like he/her could have gone a lot faster, he/she did not run wide and looked very composed.

On the second occassion I again reached about 45 mph and was overtaken by a Fiesta! doing about the same speed as the Kawasaki was.

Don't get me wrong, I don't want to be the fastest thing on two wheels I just feel I could achieve more. However I wan't to remain safe, roadside furniture hurts!

What should I feel when the bike/tyres have reached their cornering limit? One things that gets me nervous is an uneven surface on a bend such as this. It's not too bad in daylight as you can see the surface if your not going to fast, but what about night time?

Any advice to help me get a little quicker?

Many thanks
Tim

In my experience...the SV is a great cornering bike and will corner as fast as you need. If the bike is in top notch condition.

But corner only as fast as you feel comfy. With time, things get faster.

A track day is the best place for knee down wotsits.

[rictus01]

Hi Tim,

Don't beat yourself up over it, a lot of people have this problem and some won't even admit it , your new to the bike, new to big bikes, riding in less than perfect conditions, and have already convinced yourself that cornering is a problem for youself.

On a practical basis,
What you can do to the bike:-
the SV front springs are at best weak, so you could upgrade them (stop the front diving so much) or indeed put on as much preload as possible (screw in the screw on the top of the fork legs).

What you can do riding the bike now:-

relax, i know it sounds simple, but in all likelyhood you're tencing up as you commit to the corner. don't try active counter steering or weight transfer at this time as you need to get used to the bike and the feel.
judge the line you want to take through a corner and try practising it, remember coming off the throttle will make the bike unstable, when learning "slow in fast out".

make sure your tyres are in good nick and up to pressure, once again simple, but if you know they are right it's one less thing to worry about.

What you can do in the future:-

Do a track day, even the slowest newest rider will get an understanding of "line & apex" somewhere like Lydd will cost you about £90 for the day and you'll come away knowing you bike can do the things you ask of it and more, try active counter steering, one of those things that sounds weird but does work.
learn about weight shifting and how it effects the CofG on the bike, practise through the summer on decent roads.it'll come, just remember get the technic right and the speed will come of its own accord.

Hope that helps.

Cheers Mark.

Originally Posted by rictus01

Hi Tim,

Don't beat yourself up over it, a lot of people have this problem and some won't even admit it , your new to the bike, new to big bikes, riding in less than perfect conditions, and have already convinced yourself that cornering is a problem for youself.

On a practical basis,
What you can do to the bike:-
the SV front springs are at best weak, so you could upgrade them (stop the front diving so much) or indeed put on as much preload as possible (screw in the screw on the top of the fork legs).

What you can do riding the bike now:-

relax, i know it sounds simple, but in all likelyhood you're tencing up as you commit to the corner. don't try active counter steering or weight transfer at this time as you need to get used to the bike and the feel.
judge the line you want to take through a corner and try practising it, remember coming off the throttle will make the bike unstable, when learning "slow in fast out".

make sure your tyres are in good nick and up to pressure, once again simple, but if you know they are right it's one less thing to worry about.

What you can do in the future:-

Do a track day, even the slowest newest rider will get an understanding of "line & apex" somewhere like Lydd will cost you about £90 for the day and you'll come away knowing you bike can do the things you ask of it and more, try active counter steering, one of those things that sounds weird but does work.
learn about weight shifting and how it effects the CofG on the bike, practise through the summer on decent roads.it'll come, just remember get the technic right and the speed will come of its own accord.

Hope that helps.

Cheers Mark.

Hi Mark

Thanks for the advise. My Direct Access instructor also picked up that I tend to look at the road just in front of the bike when cornering and not into the distance. Thinking back to the M275 I did this both times. It's a habit I must get out of.

Thanks,
Tim

What will you feel when the tyres have passed their limit of traction? Tarmac and it bloody hurts.

Take it steady, it is cold, the roads are cold and the tyres are not yet going to be working efficiently.

Above all never compare yourself with other bikes when riding, you need to ride within yourself, don't worry with experience of your new bike you'll explore more of its potential. Never underestimate the fact that too many bikers are killed on bikes the bought "just a few weeks ago". It takes time to get to know a new bike don't rush it

[rictus01]

Originally Posted by I'm_a_Newbie

Hi Mark

Thanks for the advise. My Direct Access instructor also picked up that I tend to look at the road just in front of the bike when cornering and not into the distance. Thinking back to the M275 I did this both times. It's a habit I must get out of.

Thanks,
Tim

Two things to remember

1./ look where you want to go, and you'll go there.
you suffer target fixation, if you look down you just see the curb coming towards you until you feel you have to slow down, it's not anything new, loads of new riders do it, the faster the bike the more you do it!

2./ just by way of getting out of the habit, say to yourself (out loud) "chin up, chin up" as you go in to a corner, trust me it will help.

I'd also advise finding a corner you've already had a problem with and going back either late at night or on a weekend and just practicing it 10 times, 20 times 50 times, you will get to a point where it isn't as worrying by degree each time and you can focus more on technic.

Cheers Mark.

Originally Posted by I'm_a_Newbie

Hi



The one thing I have found since moving up to a bigger bike is how solid they feel on the road compared to a smaller bike. Despite this, my cornering speed seems to be similar to when I rode my 125.



Tim

In racing some of the highest cornering speeds are from the 125's so don't be too disillusioned at the moment.

chris

Hi

Thanks for all your comments. Maybe a rideout would be useful where I could observe other riders and get some more experience. I am only using the bike for commuting really at the moment, about 8 miles each way. The only other person I know with a bike lives in Scotland. I don't think the SV will make it that far on a Sunday afternoon!

Kind regards
Tim

[TSM]

Dont try to push it too far otherwise you have no room for mistakes. For me to keep up with the TL bikes i had to get high corner speeds and high lean angles. This would leave me in the position that if i misjudged a corner then i would not have any more lean left to get around.

Take it easy.

[rictus01]

Originally Posted by I'm_a_Newbie

The only other person I know with a bike lives in Scotland. I don't think the SV will make it that far on a Sunday afternoon!

Kind regards
Tim

Tim add your location to your profile, I know Dan (Grinch) and Scoobs both lives in Cosham which can't be far from you?

perhaps a PM would be in order.

save you looking him up, use this link.

http://forums.sv650.org/privmsg.php?mode=post&u=98


Cheers Mark.