What is your riding style on the curves? Relaxed, or butt off the seat?

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Baggsy said:
Frivolous argument. You can hang off going straight. :)
If you need to hang off to make the turn on the street then you have misjudged your entry speed i.e. you are not in complete control. Instead of taking the time to shift and hang off, use the time to brake and stay in control.

On the track everyone is going in the same direction, and others are expecting you to hang off. That makes a big difference.
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Who cares why?

Yes you can ride the street without hanging off. Having said that it comes down to what feels right for that individual. All things being equal (as in feeling right) if a rider hangs off he has a greater safety margin.

IMO - the bike is a big part of it. If I'm on a sportbike it feels natural to me to hang off, because I ride on the track a fair bit.... I'm not going to change what feels comfortable, just because I am riding on the street.................... unless ................... I'm riding a bike where it doesn't feel right. I rented an F650GS in Europe and hanging off that thing felt completely awkward.... so I didn't, because upright felt better.

It has nothing to do with HAVING to hang off.
 
RV125 said:
Ike, there is a lot to read and learn about it.
You may want to try Twist of the wrist book by Keith Code or his video. It's basic stuff but good source. Worth to give it a shot! Your best bet will be a track lesson to understand the basics.

- Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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+1 Twist of the Wrist and Twist of the Wrist II are considered gospel by the motorcycle community. TOTW II is the cornering bible. Keith Code is a retired racer who now runs a (THE) sport bike school in California. He also coaches many of todays top racers. Books or video, you can't go wrong. There are great demonstrations and a very cheesy plot but I have read reviews from 20+ year riders who learned alot.
You can find it on youtube. Definately watch the video an you will learn why and how a bike turns, not just what you are supposed to do when sitting on it! I am a first year rider and bought a sport bike. I am interested in learning the technical aspect of cornering down to a science, every experienced rider I spoke to said watch the video. Watch and let us know what you think.
 
Excellent inputs from everyone! Thanks for sharing! I see a lot of merit in all the techniques presented. For most street riding, I feel that the bike is just an extension of my body and I stay planted and countersteer, judging corners before I enter. If I encounter a decreasing radius corner, or another vehicle over the center line, then yes, I will shift on the seat a bit to shift the center of gravity into the inside of the corner so I can decrease my turn radius somewhat, but I see that as being more of an evasive maneuver than a general riding technique on the street. When riding in the mountains, or anywhere else with tight blind corners, I want to be able to react fairly quickly to any road obstructions, and if hanging off the seat, it would take too much time to react. On the track, quite a different scenario!
 
Here's my cornering technique for Ontario roads:

1. Where's the pothole?
2. Where's the gravel?
3. Where's the dog off leash?
4. Where's the oncoming traffic?
5. All clear...OK take the line that crosses the least potholes.

Keith Code's good...very informative...but beware of sport riding techniques on the street as all the above aren't really covered in twist of the wrist books.
 
My style on the curves usually starts out with some foreplay and progresses to some crazy kama sutra stuff ending with breakfast.
 
Tinsnips33 said:
+1 Twist of the Wrist and Twist of the Wrist II are considered gospel by the motorcycle community. TOTW II is the cornering bible. Keith Code is a retired racer who now runs a (THE) sport bike school in California. He also coaches many of todays top racers. Books or video, you can't go wrong. There are great demonstrations and a very cheesy plot but I have read reviews from 20+ year riders who learned alot.
You can find it on youtube. Definately watch the video an you will learn why and how a bike turns, not just what you are supposed to do when sitting on it! I am a first year rider and bought a sport bike. I am interested in learning the technical aspect of cornering down to a science, every experienced rider I spoke to said watch the video. Watch and let us know what you think.
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+100000000000000
My riding improved 150% after practicing the exercises demonstrated in TWOT2. No matter what you ride you need to check this out. Be prepare for a horrible cheesy performance in the scripted parts though.

Sent from my Nexus One using Tapatalk
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