Failed U-Turn resulted in my bike on its side :(

Originally Posted by Weirdfish

Counter balance. Shift your **** on the seat to the opposite side to the turn, bikes with a larger turning circle such as sports bikes need to be lent over more to achieve a tighter turn, even at slower speeds

*scribbles note

I hear you. I lucked out doing a U-turn properly on my test, and was so jittery afterwards I earned a minor, forgetting to indicate away! I can now do u-turns properly, but still am lazy and drag a foot for the most part. I will try counter-balance, I never thought of that. Keep your head up and look at eye-level down the direction of road you want to go (without giving yourself a crick in the neck). Peripheral vision should keep you off the kerb. And don't forget - on the test they make you push the bike round first, to prove it'll fit. Now your bike is no longer immaculate you don't have to worry about dropping it any more!

this is the easy but expensive way..... lock front brake build up revs and spin the back up and slide it round .... lmao only joking

just keep on practising it, it will come soon enough, i can now "nearly" do a full circle full lock

EDIT hanging off the bike slightly does help like some have sead

Originally Posted by kd80

Hi guys

Well, I tried performing a U-turn on my SV and it ended up on its right-hand side - I thought I would practice something I learnt on my test. this happened last month but it got me thinking about it again since it is one area where I am lacking most confidence. I learnt on a 125cc machine so slow speed control and weight was no problem in my test (I have no idea what I would be like on that machine now ). But the smaller bikes seemed to have a smaller turning radius (i.e. the big bikes seem to need two steers).

A few weeks later, I went for an advanced course and explained this to my instructor. He said that was because the bike lost momentum. So my question is, is this true? (I'm not doubting my bike instructor who must be pretty clued up). But I want to execute a U-turn on my SV but lost all confidence since this happened . Will the bike stay up no matter how slow you're doing the U-turn? Whenever I do one now, I stick my legs out as if I'm on a horse or something... and push the bike around with my legs.

It seems like I'm going back to basics here, but I've been on advanced training so I would hate for these few things to defeat me haha . It seems a lot to think about (perhaps that's my distinctive male features coming into play, multitasking ) - but it is obviously through clutch control; release it to biting point and picking the revs up, then release slightly more for the bike to ease forward, but it seems like it isn't stable .. I think this is also causing me to go around mini-roandabouts and sharp corners ever so slow also.

Sorry for the essay guys.. just wanted to make everything clear

you just need to have the confidence in your bike fella. enough gas and rear break and its easy. if you start to feel it fall you just need to be confident that when you give it some more gas(not too much) that the bike will sit back up.

[dizzyblonde]

Uturns, the bane of my test days. Great in practise, not so great in a test. DOn't do them these days

My suggestion as well as all the technical garb,.........look where you want to be and not at the floor, lots of people tend to do this, resulting in putting foot down, or falling off. In my case, it was nerves that put my toe down, cause I always expected it to go wrong

Incidently the more gas you use the more back brake you will have to use if the clutch should come out a bit far! This can be counter-productive. The advantage of having a little gas in reserve is that if it does start to feel like your bike will tip you can quickly let the clutch out which has the effect of pulling the bike upright again. If you've got 8000 revs showing though you'll probably end up accelerating straight into the opposite kerb!
Revs up a little and just cover the back brake with your foot hovering over it, dragging it is not the best technique, although, granted it can work.
A modern reliable bike will comfortably execute a U turn on tick over! But you'd better be confident when attempting this.

I have been teaching the U turn since 1997 and it has ALWAYS been a problem, there is is no easy answer I am afraid. I once taught a guy who was an amputee, no lower right leg, he would lift his prosthetic leg up on to the foot peg then forget about it. In the week we had together I determined that I would spend the time not using my rear brake at all to see what issues he had to deal with. We both learnt to do a U turn without touching the rear brake and using the front instead! That was hard.
He passed 1st time.
At least with the new test you only have to do it on the off road test and no longer have to contend with it out on the road!

I got my SV before my test so I had a while practising in an industrial estate which had marked parking bays, I had to turn within the width two-spaces if that makes sense. I dropped my bike twice. Then nailed a perfect U-turn in my test and I have never once considered ever doing another U-turn. I'm the "get-off and shove variety" or I paddle it round. Or I'll ride to the next roundabout/junction/petrol station whatever.

Put a cone infront of me and I can ride round it time and time again. I can turn around petrol pumps no bother, mini roundabouts hold no issues, I just have a mental block when it comes to anything called a u-turn.

The best/only advice I can give in addition to everything those guys up there said is remember to bend your inside elbow in towards you, trying to turn with locked arms is no good.

[mister c]

One piece of advice I haven't seen given yet is....... Relax.
Because you have come off once, you will be tense because you know you dropped it last time.
I too used to be an Instructor & told my students to look where they want to be, same advice as others have given (or as its written in the DSA Handbook). Rear brake to adjust the speed, slip the clutch, revs up. You can also make minute changes to the clutch movements to help with the speed as well.
Being honest, I still do it with my feet down when I'm not instructing

[G]

Just practice very slow manouvering... Slower than walking place in a car park.

First gear and drag the rear brake.

After a while you'll find it easy and wonder what the fuss was about.

Again I am certainly no expert but another thing I noticed watching folks **** it up was they were going from a standstill almost immediately into the turn, I consciously went forward a few metres first to get my balance then started the turn.

Worked for me