Cornering position

[Nobbylad]

Dan you should get this stickied :P

I think we could all get together and make a "what not to do" thread and get THAT stickied.

What don't ride into corners at 70mph?

[yorkie_chris]

Originally Posted by flymo

To some extent I agree, there have been some surprisingly imaginative posts in here. Why are we talking about apexes, knee down, getting the bike upright for the exit (Pedrosa/Stoner stylee). Its all theoretically true if you are attempting to get through the corner as fast as possible and to shave another tenth off your ride out personal best. Its far from the safest way through a corner though.

The apex isn't just a track concept, it's just as valid when discussing any corner.
And the knee in the grass comment was meant to illustrate that to ride safely within the limits of visibility you don't need to be a boring tw*t!

Originally Posted by Jammy

What don't ride into corners at 70mph?

Why not?

Scares me... Dosent help that the bike im on at the moment cant get above 65 mph...

crikey some angry people on here!

[flymo]

Originally Posted by yorkie_chris

The apex isn't just a track concept, it's just as valid when discussing any corner.
And the knee in the grass comment was meant to illustrate that to ride safely within the limits of visibility you don't need to be a boring tw*t!

Alright, keep yer hair on. Conversely, riding racing lines doesn't make you interesting either.

[dizzyblonde]

Originally Posted by flymo

Conversely, riding racing lines doesn't make you interesting either.

Hear hear.


It makes me laugh, when reading peoples posts for years, how with maturity comes a differing sense of opinion on riding, amazing how all these people that crash, bang wallop into corners change their views(and there are many).......and somehow seem to be making statements all of a sudden, I've pretty much said throughout my riding career.

An interesting rider to me, is one that can go with the flow, and make the road ahead look effortless and easy bloody peasy. Calm, stressless, and completely fluid. Its an absolute pleasure to ride with someone like this.
I've seen someone making over exaggerant movements of arms, just to show they are ragging their throttle round a corner, hanging off like a monkey, all it makes them look like is someone trying way too hard, and a bit of a prat IMO. Its an absolute turn off riding with someone like this, totally boring, I yawn and let them on their way!

[fizzwheel]

Can I ask that we stick to trying to answer the OP's question, we all ride in different ways and what works for one person might not work for another... it would be better to find a way of explaining ourselves and passing on years of collected wisdom and riding tips, rather than using it as a way to have a go at each other or to shout another person down because somebody else thinks they are "wrong"

For what its worth, best advice I was given.

1. Dont crash
2. See Point 1
3. Look where you want to go
4. Position yourself in such a way that it gives you the best view through the corner.
5. Plan an escape route / alternative course of action in case you make a bad choice in point 4
6. Be flexible in how you ride and make constant adjustments to what and where you are doing / going
7. Dont ride so fast that you dont have time to think about Points 5 & 6
8. Look at stuff like hedgerows, telegraph wires / poles as that gives you clues about what the road is doing ahead of you and then you can position yourself taking that into account.
9. Take anything you read on an internet forum with a big pinch of salt ( and I include my previous 8 points in that to )

How many times have you been round a corner and taken the right line for that corner, but then it meses up your entry into the next two or three... its all about observation, positioning and forward planning IMHO.

Dont blindly follow the rider in front assuming they know what they are doing, they might not and if you follow them along to closely you restrict your own vision of whats going on / coming towards you.