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My ultimate concern is chopping the throttle or

4K views 16 replies 15 participants last post by  Letsgo2up 
#1 ·
braking in a corner. I have been trying to purposefully learn how to take corners faster in an effort to not be afraid of leaning the bike as low as possible. However, in a panic situation, I don't really know that I won't panic and do the wrong thing.
 
#2 ·
Muscle memory, Keep practicing. Same corners with minor variations in the throttle and lean angle. Having tires you trust makes a difference too.
I hit some sweepers on a trip last summer at a good velocity and was dragging the pegs unexpectedly. Then again I was riding with a sacked out shock that we changed a couple days later.
Practice. practice, practice.
 
#4 · (Edited)
Decide that you won't give up on a corner. It's far better to low slide than high side. Really it's mostly mental (up to a point of course). Just make the commitment to keep turning in, giving up is not an option!

Saying that don't get yourself into a corner so hot that you panic. Have your read "The Pace"? It outlines a style of street riding that allows you to have fun but ride in a sane fashion.

Another thing always use a late apex approach to cornering on the street. That will give you maximum visabilty through the turn and keeps you away from oncoming traffic.

Finally have your heard the saying " slow in, fast out" ? Lot of truth to that. If you muff the entry you won't make a smooth turn or a quick exit. Better to be conservative on the entrance especially on the street where blowing a corner can be hazardous to your health.
 
#6 ·
learning to lean


The V-Stroms don't lean even 40 degrees off vertical before the pegs touch. At that lean angle, the sideways acceleration is about 0.84 g's, and on dry pavement with decent (not old and hard) tires, there is about 1.1 g's of side traction available. [a] This means that when you touch the pegs, you've got about 30 percent traction margin absent gravel, leaves, oil, etc. On wet, non-oily pavement, available side traction falls to about 0.7 g's [a], so touching the pegs is clearly counter-indicated then.

[a. My traction figures are taken from a publication, "The Pneumatic Tire", published by the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. I have translated coefficients of friction to g's because it's valid and easier to comprehend. See figures 11.39 (wet) and 11.43A (dry).]

Why should anybody care about this sort of physics? I cared because it made clear that the bike is well short of sliding when the pegs are not scraping hard.

I gainsay nothing others have said about confidence. Ultimately, with experience, you'll understand traction margin at a gut level. The physics is just maybe a shortcut.

One thing I found very worthwhile in "The Pneumatic Tire" was seeing how gradually traction falls off on the backside of the traction versus slip curves (references in above footnote.) It is gradual enough to readily explain why we can feel some sliding on tight turns without the bike just suddenly slipping out from underneath us. What this means in practice is that it is not reckless, on good, known and dry pavement, to gently approach the sliding threshold and discover how the bike behaves there. (This should, of course, only be done someplace, such as a track, where a lowside crash would mean just a scraped bike and gear rather than serious injury.)
 
#7 ·
Definitely check out this link Survival Reactions & Body Position, I found it helpful when I restarted riding a few years ago. The basic idea is to keep your head aligned with the bike as it leans so the fluid in your inner ear (sense of balance) doesn't get pushed to the left or to the right by centrifugal forces, etc. If you don't tilt your head with the bike your mind will automatically interpret it as an impending fall and cause you to panic and grab the brake or chop the throttle. Try it as an exercise in an exaggerated way and you'll see that the sense of falling off the bike goes away. The trick is now your mind has to learn to process the visual input of the road while its tilted but this it can do easily with a little practice.
 
#8 ·
Great article and tips! I took a ridelikeapro class which taught me a lot about the head turn....which I knew, but it helped to practically apply it. I have been doing that ever sense. Now I can apply these tips to my cornering. I just need to practice! Thanks!
 
#11 ·
Try leaning just the bike in a turn. You stay vertical. It will show you how far the bike will go over and still not have a problem. Actually, I ride that way a lot and can keep up with most other bikes. I like the feel of dipping the bike way down. Also, I'm not a professional racer and don't think hanging way off the bike is necessary 90% of the time. All the power to ya if you like to ride that way. Ok, I said my piece, start the bashing.
 
#17 ·
I'm sorry, but generally speaking, this is bad advice and goes against most teachings. You will see motocross racers do this but not street riders, again, generally speaking. That doesn't mean it isn't fun and it does feel cool.

I think one thing that is helpful is to ride the same road/curves so that you can gradually, incrementally increase your speed/lean angle as you gain comfort and experience.

Taking a class or a track day is usually very beneficial and fun. It looks like you are near Barber so there is probably a good course available. A go-cart track is a great place to learn cornering at lower speeds.
 
#12 ·
I think experience is the key. Ride within your comfort zone and maybe push it a little bit at a time. Nothing can replace experience; so, you have to have patience. Being determined to push it through at a particular speed (no matter what) is not a good idea.

Putting pressure on yourself to ride a certain way or at a certain speed might get you into trouble. Because, it is only experience that teaches you how too handle many different situations.

When I ride into a corner, I look ahead and imagine that, at the end of my view is a sheer cliff. That slows me down to proper speed. That mindset probably makes me a slow rider; but, my number 1 rule is to come home in one piece.
 
#15 ·
Look where you want to go (not where you are going), Lean the bike (it will go much further than you think), open the throttle. That's the regular way to go round bends but in the event of a panic halfway round: Look where you want to go (not where you are going), Lean the bike (it will go much further than you think), open the throttle.
 
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