revtothelimit - motorbike forum

Bloody U-Turn, my absolute weak point, don't know why, well I do, dropped revs, lost momentum, foot down

Everything else I have no issues with, blatted through the Hazard and Emergency stop at over 50km which is where I thought I might slip up, but no, sodding U-Turn

I hate u-turns

Bugger. Practice, practice and more practice.

must have done 25 u turns yesterday, managed about 20 to 23 of them fine, not pretty, but passable. Today, something dropped, either rolled off the throttle too much or dipped the clutch too much. Re-sit booked for next week and the school chucks in 2 hours of extra training with the price......so two hours of u-turns

Gutted, but I'll get there, got to stay positive

Look where you want to go, because you'll go where you're looking anyway.
Revs stay at 3k, use clutch and foot brake control speed.
You'll get it.

Good luck with the re-test.

On the bright side I'd say that slow control/u-turns are:

a) one if the trickiest things you'll do on a bike
b) one if the most satisfying/impressive skills when you do get the hang of it/nail 'em

I'd arranged to meet someone off a previous board for a bit of a ride around the area. I'd booked a test ride on something at a Suzuki place that had a tiny forecourt. Chap (Phooey) turns up on a sizeable bike, rides in, turns on a sixpence (feet up) and parks up. I turn to my missus (who was as impressed as me) and say - He's 'job'.

Sure enough he was a motorcycle cop.

After that I put a bit more effort in - and did a couple of training sessions with an ex-police riding instructor ie he trained police riders, who had me turning tight circles in a small railways station car park for some of it. Did some with the SpinDoctor too but never got to the relaxed manner that Phooey had though!

There's a mental thing with u-turns as well, they "seem" scary, so you tense up.

Do your best not to. As said - look back where you're going to going to. ie, don't just look at where you want the bike to be in the next second (ie at the floor, that's NO good at all), but look where you want to be at the end of the manouevre. I think that little detail is often missed out when people say "look where you want to go". You need to have your head UP and looking 100 yards where you want to be, not down at the floor. If you look at the floor, that's where you'll end up.

If you do that, you may even start to feel like you're "pulling" the bike through the u-turn, not trying to push it (makes more sense when you're on the bike), and I find that helps enourmously. IE, instead of letting the bike lead you.... YOU lead the bike by looking where you want to go, and controlling the bike to get there.

BUT - listen and try to understand what the instructors are telling you, they've seen your riding, they've got experience in training, they'll be telling you what you need to listen to.

Best of luck for the next one!

Guy in the video is on a big bike - but he's tall.

If you're shorter, it's likely that reaching forward to the bars will be more difficult, so stretching your left hand finger grip too.

If that's you, slide slightly forwards to the front of the seat, try to keep a slight bend in your outside arm if turning right.

Try to avoid thinking of it as a 'U' ie half a circle.

Instead, initially turn tight then widen out. Google hyperbolic spiral for a rough idea.

Horse wrote: Tue Jul 14, 2026 2:01 pm Guy in the video is on a big bike - but he's tall.

If you're shorter, it's likely that reaching forward to the bars will be more difficult, so stretching your left hand finger grip too.

If that's you, slide slightly forwards to the front of the seat, try to keep a slight bend in your outside arm if turning right.

Try to avoid thinking of it as a 'U' ie half a circle.

Instead, initially turn tight then widen out. Google hyperbolic spiral for a rough idea.

With the wide bars on my 1150GS I initially found that clutch control tricky, particularly on v slow right U-turns. I thought his body/arm position hit a few nails on the head but the 'budge forwards a tad' is too.

Spin got us doing quite respectable figure 8s using cones or something like that as markers in a car park on a Lakes trip iirc. For practice though you can just use chalk marks or handfuls of sand so you don't end up tangling with the cones.

Don't forget that your arms steer the bike. Nothing else.
You take the weight on your bum and through legs and knees on the tank

Your arms should always be loose, allowing you to steer easily.

Thank you all for the advice. I'm feeling less pissy about it than I was earlier. I'm looking at the plus points, my biggest fear was the speed check, the place we learned had a smaller pad so getting up to speed was an issue, no issues at the test centre.

Got the resit next week and a 2 hour session on Sunday so I'm feeling positive.

Yorick wrote: Tue Jul 14, 2026 2:47 pm Don't forget that your arms steer the bike. Nothing else.
You take the weight on your bum and through legs and knees on the tank

Your arms should always be loose, allowing you to steer easily.

There's a US rider (GS Cup competitor) when describes bar grip as no tighter than you'd hold 'fluffy chicks'

Practising just before my test, I dropped it on a U turn. Didn't slip clutch and it stalled and over we went.

Dodgy69 wrote: Tue Jul 14, 2026 3:18 pm Practising just before my test, I dropped it on a U turn. Didn't slip clutch and it stalled and over we went.

It happens, accept it, learn what you did wrong (you have) and move on. don't think about it, think about the times it went right.

Relax...

Look up, don't look at the front wheel. Focus on where you want to go, not where you are now.

Use the rear brake plenty. Don't touch the front brake if at all possible.

Good clutch control is an art well practised.

Best of luck with the re-test... After a while, the low speed riding becomes second nature. I used to be crap at it, it's now my strongest suit, and I can pretty much trackstand a 250kg Adventure bike without issues, and can turn it around in the tightest of spaces two up no dramas... It's all just practice!

mboy wrote: Tue Jul 14, 2026 5:13 pm Don't touch the front brake

That

mboy wrote: Tue Jul 14, 2026 5:13 pm ... It's all just knowing what to practice!

ftfy

Get the throttle / clutch / brake sorted in a straight line, try to come to a feet up halt, before riding away. As before, head and eyes up, looking well ahead.

Then move on to turns.

Have a couple of beers first to calm your nerves.

Yorick wrote: Tue Jul 14, 2026 6:45 pm Have a couple of beers first to calm your nerves.

Don't be silly.

Everyone knows it's a large brandy first!

KungFooBob wrote: Tue Jul 14, 2026 6:46 pm

Yorick wrote: Tue Jul 14, 2026 6:45 pm Have a couple of beers first to calm your nerves.

Don't be silly.

Everyone knows it's a large brandy first!

I forgot. Do we need to swirl it round in the glass like the posh folk?

Yorick wrote: Tue Jul 14, 2026 6:48 pm

KungFooBob wrote: Tue Jul 14, 2026 6:46 pm

Yorick wrote: Tue Jul 14, 2026 6:45 pm Have a couple of beers first to calm your nerves.

Don't be silly.

Everyone knows it's a large brandy first!

I forgot. Do we need to swirl it round in the glass like the posh folk?

Only if you're inhaling it nasally.