CSS tips - Cornering - Left or Right?

Thought I would share this. Received it in an e-mail this morning, thought it would make useful reading

Left or Right?

This month's article from California Superbike School looks at how a fear induced Survival Reaction may be hampering your riding.
It seems that every rider on the planet has a good side and a not so good side when cornering. Some of us prefer rights, others lefts. We often get asked at the seminars and CSS courses - what is the ‘cure’ for one side or the other?

The reasons for having one side better than the other isn’t because you are left or right-handed. It isn’t because one side of your brain is bigger than the other. It’s because at some point in your riding you had an incident that, at a sub conscious level, has given you a fear induced Survival Reaction to that side. Maybe you had a crash on that side; maybe it was on your pushbike when you were seven years old. Maybe you had a bad experience trying to turn one way when you were learning to ride. The incidents that could create this reaction are numerous and far reaching.


Andy Ibbott andy@superbikeschool.co.uk

The results of your ‘fear’ of one side or the other can create a couple of tangible results:

We try and keep our body and head more upright on the weaker side than on the strong side. This in effect makes us a bad passenger on the bike and the bike reacts to this. Liken it if you will to the difference between the good and bad pillion rider. One goes with the bike, the other tries to stay upright.
We don’t steer as well on the weaker side. We steer slower on our weaker side giving us a different arc through the turn than we would like and therefore not getting to the place we would like to be at the apex or exit of the turn.
Thankfully we can do something about this as we understand the Survival Reactions associated with a weaker side. You are either not at one (going with) the bike in the first case or not steering the bike because of stiff arms in the second.

The Cures: First you need to identify which of or both of the problems you have with your weaker side.

Solution 1. Relax your inside arm. Get some bend into that inside arm so that, in turn, it will bring your upper body forward and in line with the bike.

Solution 2. To steer the bike well on both sides you need to be pushing through the bars not down on the bars. This means you need to get your arms parallel to the ground when you steer. This is the most efficient way of getting the bike to turn. Make sure your arms are in the same position for left AND right turns.

Says at the end of the e-mail, you can e-mail andy about any little riding issues you want a hand with. Thought for a sample that is very good and would be very useful to those that have the problems.

Interesting, and perhaps true of America, we have roundabouts and therefore we all "practice" hard right handers more than left. I feel more secure on right, yet I've had a minor off on one.

I've always wondered about this. I'm much more confident on my left side and not just on the bike. Even playing football as a kid, if I was in goal, I'd happily dive to my left all day but not to the right. I put it down to being right handed - if I injure my left side, I could still get by but if I injure my right arm, I'm shafted for a while.

plowsie, was that the email from ebike insurance ?

I had read the first line but then mistakenly deleted it

If its the same one then at least I can copy and paste your thread

That be the one Scooby

I don't agree with that. We all have a "chocolate" side. A side we prefer or that feels more comfortable. I prefer left handers because it feels more natural. I kick with my left foot cos I'm a donkey with my right. It certainly isn't fear that makes me use my left foot.

Bunkum, balderdash and twaddle I say.

Strange that, I feel more natural and more confident on Rights as opposed to Lefts.

Like mogs said this is because of more practise at Roundabouts and also most tracks seem to go clockwise and have more rights than lefts.

But if you think about it, it could also be psychological if you bin it on a right you slide into kerb if you do it on a left you slide into oncoming traffic! would be interesting to see what preferences we have when riding abroad

[northwind]

It holds true for me, I'm far better in lefts than rights, and it's my right leg that's knackered... Also my last crash was in a right hander. But I think I'm already doing the fixes.

Im better in lefts than rights; I think its to do with the relative strength of my right side compared ot my left side (right side stronger); however, my right side also has a tendency to cramp up when a little hunched, like when im turning right.

Keith Code has hit on an important point here, and I think he's overall right, but i also feel he compounds his "correct" observations with a whole bunch of bull-crap, padding it out with pseudo-phychological insights that ofer no further help to the situation. Its not just this either, i think he pads out alot of his self-help books with...twaddle.

Matt

I find that by shifting further back on the seat, it puts your arms into the more natural position therefore making it much easier to turn and ultimately increases your speed