Left Right?

[750Y]

Well I was doing some in-depth analysis of my riding technique recently and noticed that when turning left I can countersteer easily and when slid off to one side of the seat I am totally relaxed and my right forearm resting against the tank it feels really relaxed & natural. Now switch to a right hand corner I noticed that my left forearm is not leaning against the tank, it is harder to countersteer and not as comfortable or relaxed in my semi ‘hanging off’ position when trying to emulate the left turn technique. I don’t have too many problems navigating corners as such but was alarmed at the difference in approach. I’m obviously doing something wrong here so I will have a job ahead to deprogram myself then reprogram myself to get to a neutral point. There’s no mental block with regard to turning left or right but my technique is wacked. This is obviously one of those bad habits which has developed through time and while i can get where i need to go I am now a bit concerened. Am I reading too much into this & being anal or should I be seriously looking at understanding/correcting this bizarre behaviour? Anyone else notice anything like this?

[Motoracer]

Just practice on getting it right, you'll get there. :niceone:

Most of us are good at doing things in a certain way. I mean, the different areas in our brain has control over different things. You just have to try to train your brain to function to it's best equally, specially when it comes to cornering a motorcycle.

If you are left handed, it is possible for you to practice writing with the right hand and eventually write properly with both hands once you get the hang of it. That goes vv. I think this is similar to cornering too.

Btw, I have had similar problems in the past too and still I come across mental challenges like these but as they say, "practice makes perfect".

[Deano]

I always preferred leaning into lefts, but seem to be able to slide the rear more easily coming out of rights - perhaps practice at manfeild has assisted in this, Im not sure.

With road riding there is more 'apparent run off' if you stuff up a left hander, and with right handers you have catseyes to put you off a bit, in addition to road camber.

Maybe all these factors contribute to the phenomenon you mention.

Also, I heard that the top GP etc riders have VERY good eyesight in both eyes, which is a prerequisite for fast cornering, left or right. Not sure if this is true though.

[750Y]

cheers MR, & Deano practise it is then. eyesight = 20/20 btw

[merv]

The other thing you may notice is that the bikes themselves aren't always symmetrical either and that may make a difference as to where your body parts end up resting.

[750Y]

are you taking the piss merv? 8-) this one has never been down...

[scroter]

my guess is your left eye dominant.

also try checking to make sure your forks are set up exactly the same on both sides.

if this dosent work then it must be all in the head like the rest of us

[merv]

are you taking the piss merv? 8-) this one has never been down...

No, I don't know what you are riding, but engine shapes, positioning of footpegs because of that, frame tube positions etc can be quite different on some bikes and sometimes only a few mm makes a difference as to how they feel, that's all - I wasn't taking the piss or even joking.

[750Y]

No, ... I wasn't taking the piss or even joking.

lol, i thought i better ask, but it brings into question whether i even should be expecting things to be the same arm-position wise etc. I always assumed that the bike was symmetrical. i better go find a good rider/racer on the same bike to ask. I don't want to be preoccupied with this unnecssarily.
might be time for the twist of the wrist book to come out AGAIN, sigh...

oh & scroter I think I may be left eye dominant as well as it being in the head.

i hope one arm is not shorter than the other or i'm in big trouble, i don't think my brain could handle the calculation....

thanks for the helpful replies guys...

[F5 Dave]

As far as the eye thing goes, one may have perfect vision in both eyes independently (ie 20/20) but they may not work well as a pair & as someone said one eye can become dominant, the other one shuts down a little when quick focussing is required.

Either way this is what I think.

Left handers are tighter. :mellow:

Think about it, we drive on the left hand side of the road so all left handers are tighter than the other side of the road as it is the inner circumference. This means you are used to cranking it in to LHrs & they are tighter so you lean more. Bit of time on the track & this disappears.

[What?]

My guess is that you are right-handed.
Here's the rub - get a heap of people to lie on the floor on their backs, blindfolded. You tell them to roll onto their side. Right-handed people tend to roll onto their left side, and the lefties roll onto their right. It is primitive instinct to keep one's better hand at the ready for defense.
Translate that to leaning a bike through corners - right handed people will naturally feel better leaning hard to the left than to the right. Maybe.

[Skyryder]

I think there was a simular thread a few months ago about the preference of left to right handed turns. Seem to recall that most of us prefer a left turn, or should I say are more comfortable with a left, than a right. This subject came up on an American forum 'that I occasionaly post on and even though the yanks ride on the 'other' side of the road they too prefer the left.
There is as far as I know no irrefutable evidence of why the left is preferred over the right.
Someone on the American formum suggested that instability of the right hand grip, (throttle roll) where there is additional pressure in the turn, may produce an element of caution during the turn. I tend to think that this theory is as good as any.

Skyryder

[pete376403]

Do you dress to the left or the right? :laugh:

[MadDuck]

Well I am glad the thread was revisited. I thought it was just me as being left handed I am way happier going into a left hand turn than a right. Why I always prefer SH 16 going North as opposed to coming south.

The 35km tight corners coming south are right handers and are so uncomfortable for me. Now whether one can retrain the brain at such a young age time will tell :whistle:

[NordieBoy]

I'm right handed and feel more comfortable with left hand corners.
The right side of my tires wear out much quicker than the left though (although not as fast as the middle dammit) as driving on the left means that right handers are always longer.

I feel safer in lefties as well as in a right you can be on your side of the road but with the leaning thing your head may not be...

[Redstar]

I don't have a preference and I am ambidextrous left handed writer but right handed (never mind!) find a figure 8 double roundabout (Silverdale off ramp) northern Motorway and go figure 8 lots of times train your brain its all in the mind.

[speedpro]

I'm perfectly good at crashing in either direction.

[Milky]

I have noticed that I find it easier to go round right hand corners. I think this is because i tend to stick too close to the edge of the road on lefties, and i cant see as much - hence not as confident. It could also be the bar on me bike which seems to be bent foward a bit on the left hand side. Will try to remedy that tomorrow and see if it makes any difference. At the moment it is particularly noticable when riding in a straight line and then weaving from side to side... I can drop the bike very easily into a rightie, but it takes longer for me to get it into a leftie. Maybe something to do with confidence, or technique with my legs/arms/shoulders... I dunno...

[Deano]

I have noticed that I find it easier to go round right hand corners. I think this is because i tend to stick too close to the edge of the road on lefties, and i cant see as much - hence not as confident. It could also be the bar on me bike which seems to be bent foward a bit on the left hand side. Will try to remedy that tomorrow and see if it makes any difference. At the moment it is particularly noticable when riding in a straight line and then weaving from side to side... I can drop the bike very easily into a rightie, but it takes longer for me to get it into a leftie. Maybe something to do with confidence, or technique with my legs/arms/shoulders... I dunno...

Milky,

you should also check that your rear wheel is aligned with the front when dead straight, using a string line. If the rear is at an angle to the front it is likely to tip in easier one way than the other.

[Posh Tourer :P]

No, I don't know what you are riding, but engine shapes, positioning of footpegs because of that, frame tube positions etc can be quite different on some bikes and sometimes only a few mm makes a difference as to how they feel, that's all - I wasn't taking the piss or even joking.

The beemer has a difference of as much as 30mm I guess (I havent measured it) in footpeg positioning. That is because the cylinders are slightly offset, and so are the carbs and therefore the pegs are too, to make it fit and look good.... (no motu thats not a contradiction)

[SPman]

I think there was a simular thread a few months ago about the preference of left to right handed turns.
Skyryder
http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/showthread.php?t=2452

[dangerous]

No, I don't know what you are riding, but engine shapes, positioning of footpegs because of that, frame tube positions etc can be quite different on some bikes and sometimes only a few mm makes a difference as to how they feel, that's all - I wasn't taking the piss or even joking.
A good example of this is the Guzzi, while one cyl is touching your knee the other is 80mm away from the other knee... cos of a transverse V2 and the heavy flywheels on these bikes make the bike twist one way as does drive shaft bikes.



This subject came up on an American forum 'that I occasionaly post on and even though the yanks ride on the 'other' side of the road they too prefer the left.
There is as far as I know no irrefutable evidence of why the left is preferred over the right.
Someone on the American formum suggested that instability of the right hand grip, (throttle roll) where there is additional pressure in the turn, may produce an element of caution during the turn. I tend to think that this theory is as good as any.
Skyryder
I agree, mind you I too watched that US forum (Guzzi BTW) but as I just said above these are bikes with a difference, so put that aside and use a jap 4 as an example and you still find that lefts are prefured...... so this is why I recon its all in 'your head' and the fact that the throtle plays a big part in this topic as it dosent matter weather you drive on the left of the rd or the right or weather your eyes aye weird or what ever the common facter is the throtle grip position.

[750Y]

Thanks for the link SPman,
There seems to be quite a few different things going on here but I did come across a couple posts which made the most sense for me.
Just to clarify, I don't prefer either direction & definitely don't need to do figure 8s to sort it out(thanks anyway Red). i was just noticing that there is a difference in the effort required steering wise to clear 'seemingly similar' degree bends (left vs right).
The two things that seemed to provide the answer i was seeking were from


Left handers are tighter. :mellow:
Think about it, we drive on the left hand side of the road so all left handers are tighter than the other side of the road as it is the inner circumference. This means you are used to cranking it in to LHrs & they are tighter so you lean more.
&


You 'appear' to lean the bike further to the right - as the angle between the bike and the road is already less than 90deg due to the camber....therefore it actually takes less lean

now that it is in perspective for me I can now let it go and get on with it.
cheers all for the help, i thought i was going nuts & riding lopsided 8-) phew...