What would be your advice?

[Trinity765]

I'm late to this thread, has anyone suggested "man up princess" as advice yet?

Surprisingly, no. No-one has referred to the RTTL handbook either which clearly states 'any rider having issues with cornering must refer to one or more of the following:

a) tyre profile's wrong for that type of corner
b) dealer has messed up the suspension settings/haven't got the new Ohlins dialled in yet
c) need to change the oil weight in the forks/drop them an inch
d) the throttle's 'sticky'
e) I thought there was oil on the bend so I bailed
f) brake fade/can't get used to these new pads'

[Hoonercat]

11. If leading and someone passes you, turn left immediately.

A group of us were heading to the Black Forest a few years back, did a few miles of motorway and just approaching the slip road when the maverick (every ride has one) goes screaming past the rest of us. We're all looking at each other "WTF?" so carry on to the next service station, expecting him to realise his mistake and make his way back. After half an hour we said "Fuck it, he's got a Satnav, he'll find it." As it turned out, while he had put the correct town name in his Satnav, it was in France, rather than the German town we were heading towards.
Our pre-planned route was out the window and we ended up doing alot more motorway to make up the time, then came across a big accident which held us up even longer (it was 34 degrees that day) but eventully arrived, dripping in sweat and very late. And to add insult, maverick-tour-de-france got there 5 minutes before us

[Skub]

a) tyre profile's wrong for that type of corner

I hate it when that happens. A whole day can be wasted changing the tyre and coming back to tackle that corner again.

[Trinity765]

I'm late to this thread, has anyone suggested "man up princess" as advice yet?

Surprisingly, no. No-one has referred to the RTTL handbook either which clearly states 'any rider having issues with cornering must refer to one or more of the following:

a) tyre profile's wrong for that type of corner
b) dealer has messed up the suspension settings/haven't got the new Ohlins dialled in yet
c) need to change the oil weight in the forks/drop them an inch
d) the throttle's 'sticky'
e) I thought there was oil on the bend so I bailed
f) brake fade/can't get used to these new pads'

g) Snatchy throttle

[Count Steer]

11. If leading and someone passes you, turn left immediately.

A group of us were heading to the Black Forest a few years back, did a few miles of motorway and just approaching the slip road when the maverick (every ride has one) goes screaming past the rest of us. We're all looking at each other "WTF?" so carry on to the next service station, expecting him to realise his mistake and make his way back. After half an hour we said "Fuck it, he's got a Satnav, he'll find it." As it turned out, while he had put the correct town name in his Satnav, it was in France, rather than the German town we were heading towards.
Our pre-planned route was out the window and we ended up doing alot more motorway to make up the time, then came across a big accident which held us up even longer (it was 34 degrees that day) but eventully arrived, dripping in sweat and very late. And to add insult, maverick-tour-de-france got there 5 minutes before us

It happened to me on a ride-out going across the Ashdown Forest (it was actually planned around finding and riding through ford's )

Left the car park/ice cream van, just got everyone nicely settled as Papercup on motard goes past me on the back wheel and off into the distance........as we stream off left.

PS I found out the hard way that not all place names in France are unique and places with the same name aren't usually close together.

[Horse]

PS I found out the hard way that not all place names in France are unique and places with the same name aren't usually close together.

We have a local attraction, Donnington Castle. It's 125 miles from Castle Donington. Not unknown for confusion to occur.

[Bigyin]

The first thing i would say to the one who is overshooting is he or she really needs to go back to basics or things are going to get messy and hurt ......get the braking done in a straight line, get the speed down, get the bike in the correct responsive gear, get in the correct position, stop rushing into bends, look for the warnings like signs, chevrons and road markings. Have a look at limit/vanishing points in riding manuals. Look where you want to go, where the eyes look, the bike will go ..... If you look at the white line and oncoming traffic the guess where you end up. Slow in, maintain the turn then accelerate out once it opens

Did I write that

Nope, but i'll take it as a positive that i must be learning if it sounded like something you would have written

If we don't have the basic skills in cornering - and there's nothing in the basic DVSA training for CBT or DAS that covers how to ride a bend - then we're going to run out an awful lot sooner. Some of us learned the hard way. I was entirely self-taught, which is why I suggest that others DON'T try that. I nearly killed myself quite a few times before I figured out solutions.

The bit above i wrote is mostly my brief when it comes to taking bends even on CBT training and all of it was in my brief to my assessor for my DAS ticket a couple of weeks ago when he took me out of Oldham towards the moors and said "The next assessment session will be on bends. I have ridden a 125 for 6 months and am on my 3rd or 4th time on a 600 but quite enjoying the increase in power of the machine...... any questions? , No, lets continue then"

It might not be strictly in the syllabus but i find it helps a lot explaining it properly before they go out and also reminding them of bits as we approach bends rather than trying to fix it when they fuck it up rushing into it and running wide

[Horse]

The first thing i would say to the one who is overshooting is he or she really needs to go back to basics or things are going to get messy and hurt ......get the braking done in a straight line, get the speed down, get the bike in the correct responsive gear, get in the correct position, stop rushing into bends, look for the warnings like signs, chevrons and road markings. Have a look at limit/vanishing points in riding manuals. Look where you want to go, where the eyes look, the bike will go ..... If you look at the white line and oncoming traffic the guess where you end up. Slow in, maintain the turn then accelerate out once it opens ...

... my assessor for my DAS ticket a couple of weeks ago when he took me out of Oldham towards the moors and said "The next assessment session will be on bends"

It might not be strictly in the syllabus but i find it helps a lot explaining it properly before they go out and also reminding them of bits as we approach bends rather than trying to fix it when they fuck it up rushing into it and running wide

How things have changed.

The DSA's awful post-test DVD included 'what to do about running wide in a corner'.

Their advice was simpler than yours: go slower next time

[Buckaroo]

So much good advice, where to begin.....

To add to my original post, I road back home with the guy who admitted to being scared of cornering. He'd passed his test about four years back and finding himself on a tour with another dozen or so quite experienced riders was struggling to keep up. Rather than just say can we back off a bit, he tried to hang on. After three days he was mentally frazzled and was glad to go home. Maybe he wasn't ready for the tour or the tour leader didn't pick up on the issues some were having.

I spoke to my daughter who road a different tour, same company, but with another leader. Totally different outcome. The leader was very good at judging the group's skill level and led accordingly.

[Noggin]

It might not be strictly in the syllabus but i find it helps a lot explaining it properly before they go out and also reminding them of bits as we approach bends rather than trying to fix it when they fuck it up rushing into it and running wide

I've always thought that my instructor years ago for the direct access was awesome BECAUSE he taught us stuff that definitely wasn't in the syllabus, but easy enough to talk about/pass on whilst doing the course

[A_morti]

Or even having them on the brakes?

Show 'em a wheel.

[Horse]

Or even having them on the brakes?

Show 'em a wheel.

another who overshot every time, on three occasions nearly hitting a car

'Tick'

[tricol]

Interesting thread.

I had a stinker of a ride yesterday. Picked the wrong route for a start. But I couldn't change gear properly at all and came home early. Went out in a good frame of mind and came home in foul form feeling very sorry for myself.

I agree about practice being no good if you don't know what you're doing in the first place. I can relate that to a lot of my riding. I genuinely understand about corning, I can feel what the bike is doing, what makes it easier and safer for me, but the limits in my head are really low. My chicken strips can vouch for that.

[Supermofo]

So much good advice, where to begin.....

To add to my original post, I road back home with the guy who admitted to being scared of cornering. He'd passed his test about four years back and finding himself on a tour with another dozen or so quite experienced riders was struggling to keep up. Rather than just say can we back off a bit, he tried to hang on. After three days he was mentally frazzled and was glad to go home. Maybe he wasn't ready for the tour or the tour leader didn't pick up on the issues some were having.

I spoke to my daughter who road a different tour, same company, but with another leader. Totally different outcome. The leader was very good at judging the group's skill level and led accordingly.

If that was an organised company tour did the leader not ask about the pace? If he did then the novice should have mentioned it, if he didn't and assumed everyone was ok that's a bit poor cos as I can see it would be hard for 1 person to mention it. If I was in that position I'd mention it but then I've been in those situations before and learned to ride my own ride. It's a shame as the bloke didn't enjoy his weekend from the sounds of it.

Must admit I felt bad but when my mate who has come back to bikes after a near 20 year break asked to come on a ride I was going on with my brothers mates I put him off. He'd only done a few hundred miles back on a bike and that included a crash. Me and my brothers mates have been riding for 20+ years each and have a 'pace' that works for us and I didn't want to hold them back or rely on my mate to ride his own ride. So I felt a bit like a bumhole but said it wasn't for him and we'd go out another time. He understood I think/hope.

[Le_Fromage_Grande]

but the limits in my head are really low. My chicken strips can vouch for that.

It doesn't matter, it's more important that you enjoy yourself and stay on, if you want to get more confident with leaning the bike over do a track day, preferably somewhere wide and easy to remember the way round.

[Supermofo]

I can feel what the bike is doing, what makes it easier and safer for me, but the limits in my head are really low.

That's a much better place to start than not knowing your limits hooning it over with your brain freaking out and ending up as a head on with an oncoming car on a left hander or in a ditch on a right!

You've not been riding long and no issue if you take a few years to build confidence and skill. There's lots of people who've been riding since they were kids on this forum and like playing football or something else skill related time and practice does make a difference. I don't think there is a problem in wanting to get better or getting rid of your chicken strips or whatever but you can do that whilst making things as comfortable for you as possible and taking your time with it. Better it takes you a couple of years to get rid of em or not get rid of them at all than crashing. It sucks.

If you have any biking mates who can ride well then ask them for a few pointers. Or find a corner you like and is as safe as you can make it ie decent visibility, not busy etc and slowly just try tipping the bike over a tiny bit more and I do mean tiny. Don't push it and small steps at a time. Build that up over time and you'll get more of a feel how far over you can go, which is a very long way.

Having said that I've been riding on the road for 27 years and have MASSIVE chicken strips on my bike at the moment and couldn't give a toss. It's a new to me bike, I'm still getting used to it and it'll come in time. Doesn't help I like gravelly B-roads to ride, but this is my first bike with strips in years so I don't really feel like I have anything to prove to anyone so I don't really care.









Scratch that. I'm a failure

[Horse]

the limits in my head are really low. My chicken strips can vouch for that.

I preferred to explain my chicken strips as being a result of better cornering lines, meaning I wasn't leaning so far.

*cough*

[Dodgy69]

Some folk just have much more natural ability than others. Riding corners should be easy, fun and enjoyable. Maybe some have bikes too big and heavy for their ability, to master the art.

[tricol]

Riding corners should be easy, fun and enjoyable

Absolutely agree on that, and it does as long as I'm within my limits. I can't go fast in a straight line because I'm sh1te at shifting.

I preferred to explain my chicken strips as being a result of better cornering lines, meaning I wasn't leaning so far

I'm using that from now on.

[Horse]

Maybe some have bikes too big and heavy for their ability, to master the art.