New rider cornering tips
In the US, RH corners are always going to be tighter than LH corners. You might be doing better than you think.
Get yourself to a parking lot and practice. Some basic figure-8 practice is perfect. You'll practice turning both directions doing that. You should be able (with practice) to do the U-turn on each end of the 8 inside of the width of a couple of parking spaces or so.
Head and eyes up. Look where you want to go.
Get yourself to a parking lot and practice. Some basic figure-8 practice is perfect. You'll practice turning both directions doing that. You should be able (with practice) to do the U-turn on each end of the 8 inside of the width of a couple of parking spaces or so.
Head and eyes up. Look where you want to go.
Grand HDF Member
Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 4,752
Likes: 3,272
From: West Central Florida
That Deluxe will scrape the floorboards pretty easy. Once they scrape you are at max lean angle for that corner. And it will scare the hell out of you when you aren't ready for it. Just have fun and practice, practice, practice.
Thread Starter
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Tourer
Joined: Aug 2017
Posts: 287
Likes: 88
From: Vermont
2100 miles on her so far, and yes I've scraped the floorboards a few times, fortunately at low speed 90 degree turns. Lol. The sound doesn't freak me out as bad as it did the first time. I did take the basic riders course at my local dealer ship, and that's how I got my endorsement. Figure 8s scare me a bit on the deluxe. She's a lot heavier than the 500 Street we did them on in the course. Plus she's mine. Lol.
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Aug 2013
Posts: 35,835
Likes: 38,769
From: Post Falls, ID
Look down while turning, you go down.
That's how pro's do it.
Tourer
Joined: Sep 2014
Posts: 360
Likes: 121
From: New York
It's all about the time that you will put in practicing. As has been said, you will go where your eyes are looking. So, don't stay focused on any one thing for long. Do something 18 times, you gotcherself a lifetime habit good OR bad. Like martial arts, You gotta practice slow refining your technique before you build speed. Go to a school lot (on sunday after church!). Find, or fabricate w/ cones, whatever that duplicates a real world "TEE" stop. You'll get so that you can start the turn from a stop at almost walking speed. Practice stopping, looking, and turning. Here's where I will catch flak/ I almost NEVER downshift through the gears coming to a stop or turn. Doesn't matter the speed I'm traveling, I squeeze in the clutch and hold it in as I approach the situation while shifting down to 2nd gear, while simultaneously working the brakes. If I need to stop, just before, I will drop into 1st. If going into a turn, I will almost always run it in 2nd. Certainly there will be exceptions, but this works best for me. I'm lazy. I'd rather replace brakes than clutch all day long.
Road Warrior
Joined: May 2013
Posts: 1,462
Likes: 105
From: Kentucky
Your bike will follow your eyes, look where you want to go. If your bike wobbles when you take off at stop sign/red light. Try looking strait ahead and see how much it helps As others have mentioned take a riders course. Well worth the time. Plus insurance discount
Miles in the saddle is a plus
Miles in the saddle is a plus
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Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Jan 2015
Posts: 16,031
Likes: 7,152
From: Sandy Eggo's North County
Just keep practicing your RH turns. Get some tennis *****, cut them in half, take them to an empty parking lot. Set them up in the pattern you used in your range exercises. You can probably find the pattern measurements on the www.
Or set them up in a 30' circle. Ride around (clockwise) the outside of the ***** a few times.
Then make the diameter 28'. Ride the outside of the ***** a few times again. Speed isn't important here. Try not to "scrape."
Next, make the diameter 24'. Still ride the outside of the circle. No scraping now. (Scraping isn't a goal.)
Get comfortable with that? Find it easy? Ok, time to dive into the circle. Ride inside the circle a couple times. Smooth throttle inputs, the less throttle change, the better. In fact, get your throttle set before you dive into the circle. Use your rear brake (ONLY) to adjust your speed. Try not to change your clutch positioning either. (But it should be somewhere within the friction zone.)
So, with the throttle not changing, the clutch not changing, your only other variable to control speed is the rear brake. This helps a new rider learn to do limited space maneuvers.
Reading books and watching videos are fine, but there's no replacement for actual practice. For those in their "offseason" I do recommend those items listed by the above posters.
Don't know how much you plan to ride before next year, but generally, we like to see 5,000 miles experience before a rider enrolls in an ARC. This helps the rider more easily absorb the info they receive.
Or, paint a circle in front of your place and practice anytime. Here's the circle I do twice a day...
Or set them up in a 30' circle. Ride around (clockwise) the outside of the ***** a few times.
Then make the diameter 28'. Ride the outside of the ***** a few times again. Speed isn't important here. Try not to "scrape."
Next, make the diameter 24'. Still ride the outside of the circle. No scraping now. (Scraping isn't a goal.)
Get comfortable with that? Find it easy? Ok, time to dive into the circle. Ride inside the circle a couple times. Smooth throttle inputs, the less throttle change, the better. In fact, get your throttle set before you dive into the circle. Use your rear brake (ONLY) to adjust your speed. Try not to change your clutch positioning either. (But it should be somewhere within the friction zone.)
So, with the throttle not changing, the clutch not changing, your only other variable to control speed is the rear brake. This helps a new rider learn to do limited space maneuvers.
Reading books and watching videos are fine, but there's no replacement for actual practice. For those in their "offseason" I do recommend those items listed by the above posters.
Don't know how much you plan to ride before next year, but generally, we like to see 5,000 miles experience before a rider enrolls in an ARC. This helps the rider more easily absorb the info they receive.
Or, paint a circle in front of your place and practice anytime. Here's the circle I do twice a day...
Last edited by NORTY FLATZ; Oct 8, 2017 at 04:33 PM.
