cornering technique

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DSoup

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Something I've been trying to fix myself but I haven't been having the greatest luck.

I had a GS500F before and an SV650s now, before the bike just "went" into turns and as long as I maintained pressure on the inside handlebar I would stay in the turn no problems, now it's like no matter how hard I push the bike doesn't want to turn so I keep running wide on my turns

I make sure I'm looking into the turn, lean with my body and countersteer. What else could I be doing wrong?
 
tires have about 80% tread left on them, and I think they are the stock brand.

But I had bridgestones on the GS and it turned fine
 
Might be the difference in handlebar positions.

When I came off my ninja 500 and moved to my sv1000s with clip ons I remember having to put more pressure in order to turn.

In reality it wasn't heavier steering, it was the fact that I was pushing down towards the ground instead of on a horizontal plane because the clip ons were a lot lower than I was used to...

Might help.

Could also just be slightly heavier steering than your gs500, maybe a longer wheelbase, heavier weight, more power aka when you crack open the gas in a turn there is more power being made and thus you accelerate at a faster rate than your gs500 did etc that is making you go wide in turns.

Hang in there sv650 is an awesome bike!
 
wearelopey said:
Might be the difference in handlebar positions.

When I came off my ninja 500 and moved to my sv1000s with clip ons I remember having to put more pressure in order to turn.

In reality it wasn't heavier steering, it was the fact that I was pushing down towards the ground instead of on a horizontal plane because the clip ons were a lot lower than I was used to...

Might help.

Could also just be slightly heavier steering than your gs500, maybe a longer wheelbase, heavier weight, more power aka when you crack open the gas in a turn there is more power being made and thus you accelerate at a faster rate than your gs500 did etc that is making you go wide in turns.

Hang in there sv650 is an awesome bike!
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This is something to think about. I've had a little seat time on an SV, and found the steering plenty quick. You shouldn't have to push "hard" on the bars on ANY bike - I don't, and I am pretty feeble-armed! Something else to consider, is when you're looking into the turn make sure your head is positioned on the right side of the bike. You can feel like you're leaning into the turn but your head can be angled *away* from it - the rest of your body will try and fight the lean, making turning feel difficult and unnatural.
 
1. Check your tire pressure.
2. Try this in a safe area: carry all your weight with your core + legs and use the lightest grip possible. Now make your steering input and be mindful that your weight is still being carried by your core + legs.

It's pretty common for weird habits to show up when switching between bike ergos -- stuff like unknowingly carrying weight with your arms, forcing any steering inputs to have to overcome both the natural resistance and that of the outside grip.
 
onecartel said:
1. Check your tire pressure.
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^This. Sounds obvious but it makes a tremendous difference.
Also, any chance you've got a steering damper on the SV? If so, and the above checks out, try dialing it back completely and then dialing it back in to your liking after riding it a few times.
 
Sounds like tire or suspension geometry issues. Tires worn flat in the middle, wrong tire pressure, tires that are just plain crap, steering head bearings that are completely buggered, wrong ride height / sag / preload front settings, etc.
 
I noticed that too on my SV at first. The front tire has a 120/60 on it (stock size). When I replaced it with a 120/70 which has a larger side profile, it felt like a new bike. It didn't turn in any faster, but it stayed in the turn much easier with less effort. It does make the front end slightly higher consequently making the bike turn in slower but it doesn't take much to have it go into the turn. For me, it was about maintaining the turn.

I swapped out the rear shock because it was too soft and replaced it with a ZX14 shock as I'm 220 lbs with gear on. Easy swap with 0 modification needed to be done to fit. Fixed the sag and it turned into the turns much quicker along with being much more stable as the stock SV650 shock is just horrible, regardless of weight.

Check out svrider.com. Great forum to help easily fix some of those things Suzuki went cheap on to make the SV affordable.
 
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Countersteering has always felt like an over thought out process to me. I never actually notice myself doing it in turns, it feels more like i'm just turning the handlebars the way you would a bicycle, which is obviously not happening otherwise i'd be crashing, but i never actually go into a turn thinking in my head.. ok time to push the inside bar.. it's just intuitive and the bike goes to wherever i'm steering towards.
 
twist of the wrist 2
 
Here's a though. Maybe you're not actually countersteering?


Or, countersteer harder. Make the bars your *****, be rough with them.
 
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Neutral throttle.. If your gassing too soon it tends to push you out. Also like above peeps mention tire pressure, proper skills,riding position,, Doubt it's a geometry issue unless you crashed the front end.
 
im gonna agree with some of the above ... double check your tire pressure, both bikes ive bought while test riding it was hard to steer i had to keep fighting the turn, checked pressure and it was low in both tires, filled them up and what a diff ... its almost like going from worn tires to new ones ... no joke lol
 
DSoup said:
I had a GS500F before and an SV650s now [...]
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Since all the obvious things have been suggested, how about the not so obvious? The GS500 riding position was upright. The SV position is more aggressive. Are you sure you're not putting pressure on the bars from the new riding position? I.e., putting weight onto the bars, and thus, making it harder to turn?
 
Tire pressure.
You didn't tighten the steering stem nut lately did you?
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