Total Motorcycle Community Forums

I recently bought my first bike and have been trying to fine tune my riding skills on my quiet neighborhood before venturing out onto the real world. Although I took the msf course a few months ago I still have some questions about the proper way to make turns. During the course we were instructed to slow down before making the turn, and then maintaining a steady speed during the turn. Because everything was happening at low speed we stayed in the same gear during the class. Not having previous experience with manual transmissions, I find myself slowing down, downshifting seconds before the turn and then trying to heed the advice from the msf instructors during the turn. Any comments on this? Is this the right way??
thanks.

what im trying to practice is...

1. turn entrance - choosing the right braking points, entrance speed, gear, body positioning, and choosing a delayed apex for better exits.

2. turn - maintenance throttle.

3. near exit - accelerate.

2 and 3 are simple, but entrance is so hard, i need to practice A LOT!

Okay here's how I turn:

Lets say I'm clipping along at... oh 50km/h that means I'm in second at about 5000 rpm, now it's going to be a tight turn, so I need to slow it up a fair bit.

So I let off the throttle a bit in advance, the engine starts to slow down and I hear it bog a little. Pull in the clutch, release the throttle and drop a gear, the smoothly release the clutch and blip the throttle to match engine speed. I'm now doing about 20kmh. All of this is using engine braking, I have yet to touch the brakes other then a light toe on the rear that lights up my brake light.

From there I pick the point at which I want to enter the turn and look around the corner, push out on the inside bar and around I pop. I tend to accelerate through my corners, though this can cause your "O Ring" to swing wide if you're to rough on it. Depending on the turn I'll shift into second 1/2 way through, and I'll exit most any turn doing at least 50 again.

Of course this isn't stuff you should be playing with while first learning. Do all your slowing before you enter the turn, and try to do it using engine/compression braking. Then focus on a steady speed through the corner and make sure you look where you want to go.

Go into the corner as quick as you dare keeping the revs high, look through the corner and lean, lean, lean. If you go in a little hot, lean more and/or pray. Get on the gas as soon as you can and feel for the point where the back tyre starts to slide, then it is all about throttle control.
Simple.

So far thats slow speed turns, high speed turns are like this: approach at 140, slightly roll off the throttle, maybe loose 10k's, push your hip and shoulder in the direction you are going, put pressure on the peg the way you are going, drop into the corner and immediatly start to smoothly accelerate, this will stiffen your chassis, continue to accelerate all the way out of the corner, you should come out quicker than what you went in, say 150.

Not knowing how to do this is a major cause of accidents, if you are not under power on a corner the chassis is not under stress and the back end wallows, this cause the rider to panic and think that they are going to lose control and then they slow down or brake, the bike then stands up and you have lost your line through the corner, usually crossing the centre line into oncoming traffic. It is difficult to tell a new rider that if you feel that you are wallowing in a corner that you have to accelerate and push harder on your bars.

If I feel my back end get a little goosy I roll on the throttle and come right out of it.

As they teach us in MSF course, slow, look, press and roll. Slow down at the entry, look through the turn, press on the direction you want to go and roll on the throttle through the turn. The sharper the turn the more lean require. I guess the press and lean should be done simultaneously.

A little note: Anyone that is simply "maintaining" throttle position (i.e., same speed) during cornering is cornering incorrectly. Slow speed turn, high speed turn...doesn't matter...After determining proper corner entry speed and turn-in point, once you lean the bike over you should be rolling on the throttle smoothly accelerating through the turn...

<<< drop into the corner and immediatly start to smoothly accelerate, this will stiffen your chassis, continue to accelerate all the way out of the corner >>>

Rear braking in corners has much the same effect as accelerating in corners does in stabilizing the bike.

Surprised nobody got into trail braking here.