Hi mate,
It took me a while and a Bikesafe weekend to get a bit more confident, especially in the wet.
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Originally Posted by grecian9
Is the key to cornering all about where you look? I've felt a slight improvement this weekend as I've leaned a bit more and looked ahead rather than at the road just in front of me but I'm still struggling with throttle smoothness round 90 deg (and tighter) turns.
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Look where you want to go is good (probably the best!) advice
The other advice is "slow in, quicker out". Works on two levels; firstly you a less likely to get caught out having misjudged a bend and, secondly, by driving round the bend you have unloaded the front tyre a bit, meaning that it's less likely to run wide or lose grip. I read somewhere that the ideal weight balance is something like 40:60 as front:rear.
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Originally Posted by grecian9
I'm wondering if I'm taking corners in too low a gear due to my fear of being too fast and pushing wide?
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You are better being in a low gear as you have more control and won't need to slip the clutch as much. It is perfectly valid to use first gear at slow speed on tight turns.
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Originally Posted by grecian9
Do people slip the clutch and drag the back brake on such turns.....
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I do quite often, I think, particularly in town and at very low speed. In an ideal world one would have lost all necessary speed in a straight line before taking the corner, so I'm talking about a small amount of trailing rear brake for stability and a small amount of clutch slip for smoothness. The clutch slipping bit might be more important on a V-twin that an IL4, but I could be talking bollox, too
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Originally Posted by grecian9
.....or just barrel round in gear? I realise it depends on the turn but general advice is good. I'm mainly talking about urban riding, T junctions etc...
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I don't do that
You should always be able to stop on your side of the road within the distance that you can see to be clear. Period.
If you meant "Do you just ride round, no brake and ano clutch slip?" then I can't answer you. Every bike and every corner is different. You will find your own best way given time and experience
HTH a little.