Does being righthanded make you a better rider?

[Matt Bleck]

Do you think that righthanded people would have better throttle and braking control making them a better rider?

I was thinking about this today (I have alot of spare time at the moment...), and it sorta makes sense in theory I think. Motorcycle controls are operated (generally) by the right side of the body, so in theory righthanded people would have an advantage as they have better control of that side of their body.

[JayRacer37]

Do you that that righthanded people would have better throttle and braking control?

I was thinking about this today (I have alot of spare time at the moment...), and it sorta makes sense in theory I think. Motorcycle controls are operated (generally) by the right side of the body, so in theory righthanded people would have an advantage as they have better control of that side of their body.

Apparently so...
You know a certain Mr Rossi is Left handed??
I am too.
I don't think it makes a huge diffrence...or any. It still comes down to feel and control but it is a learnt thing.

[onearmedbandit]

It certainly helps me!! Actually before my accident I was ambidextrous, used my right hand for 'skilled' work, my left for 'power'. I wrote with my right hand, but threw, bowled etc with my left. In tennis I had two forearms and no backhand. No I have little choice! :lol:

[Trudes]

What an interesting thought, I certainly never considered that, maybe you do have too much time on your hands!! lol. It is an interesting theory though.

[Chickadee]

Hmm if you're a lefty your more artistic in general. Wonder which side of the brain is best for riding/driving.

I think I'd ride the same whether I was a lefty or righty. I'm left handed by the way (folks are - my poor bro thought he was strange growing up as a righty).

Be interesting to know the ratio of riders that were lefthanded vs right.

[Toaster]

I dunno, but anyone notice on American Choppers that the throttle revs away from the rider not towards.... how strange!

I suppose being a "righty" would provide best input to the controls, but I really don't know shit.

[JayRacer37]

Hmm if you're a lefty your more artistic in general. Wonder which side of the brain is best for riding/driving.

I think I'd ride the same whether I was a lefty or righty. I'm left handed by the way (folks are - my poor bro thought he was strange growing up as a righty).

Be interesting to know the ratio of riders that were lefthanded vs right.

Yes....maybe riding comes down to the artistic and creative parts of a person...left handed!!

I'd like to know that ratio too.
I feel another poll coming on..but I got no idea how to start one.

[terbang]

I'm a leftie (handed).
It is common knowledge that when manipulating the controls of an aircraft, we stimulate the artistic portion of our brain. So why not bikes..?

[Matt Bleck]

Leftie's are more artistic?

So if your righthanded and artistic then you must be extra special!! :confused: Sorta like me really! :first:

[WRT]

you must be extra special!! :confused: Sorta like me really! :first:

Is that what yo mama told you? :dodge:

[slinky]

is it worth considering what foot ya kick a ball wit?

[Maha]

Does being righthanded make you a better rider?

And lover...just ask Willy.....:yes:

[mdooher]

If it matters why do commercial airliners require the pilot to use left hand on the controls and right hand on the throttle....co pilot is the oposite...fighter planes and gliders right had on the stick. Don't even start about LHD vs RHD cars

[sels1]

Consider that when they first started making cars (in US and Europe) they were (and still are) left hand drive - you change gear with your right hand, being the average persons more dexterious one. But the Brits and their Commonwealth are RH drive and change gear with their left. Like a piano or guitar player you train your hands to do what is required

At work my mouse is on my right, at home it is on my left - reduces wrist strain and works just as well both ways after a bit of training.

[WRT]

At work my mouse is on my right, at home it is on my left - reduces wrist strain and works just as well both ways after a bit of training.

We have a few left handed people here (I'm right handed) who's computers I have to work on from time to time. Some of them have the left and right click reversed, others dont. No matter who's desk you sit down at, it doesnt take long for your brain to adjust.

[Mr Merde]

Being right handed doesnt make you a better rider. It just makes you more convienient for the company that manufactures of the model bike you purchased.

As something like 80% of the world are right handers then it only makes ecconomic sense to them to produce their goods in that configuration.

If it were 50/50 then we would probably see bikes set up for lefties.

My 2 c worth

Mr :shit:

[Deano]

Try eating with your knife and fork on the opposite hand to normal.

I'm right handed and hold the fork in my left, yet the fork requires more dexterity doesn't it ?

I think it's a learnt skill, rather than being born left or right, so doesn't matter.

[skidMark]

i'm left handed and i crash i mean errr ride perfectly well.

[oldrider]

I am ampidextrous and I ride/drive badly from both sides, I also dribble from both sides of my mouth!

I am a left footer but I kick with my right!

Life can be confusing sometimes. :yes: John.

[hurricane_r]

......hmmmmmnnnnnnn

[skidMark]

i can do clutch wheelies quite well so go figure....

the downside is....

on average left handed people live 7 years less than right handed people :bye: edit..AHAHAHA the smiley is waving with it's left hand....

[slinky]

apparently i eat left-handed......
knife in the left and fork in the right.

im right handed

[thehollowmen]

I know that a lot of learners have 'issues' on right hand corners rather than left because they have the controls on that side and are nervious putting pressure on that side.

Go have a look at the chicken strips on an improvers bike.

[scumdog]

Don't even start about LHD vs RHD cars

Tell me about it - after years of changing gear with left hand try a left-hand drive car and try power-shifting with you right hand - not easy as you'ld think.

[Hanne]

I think it's a learnt skill


I have to agree with you there...
As a cellist I have had to train my left hard to become extra dexterous so it is fast enough and strong enough to play the notes I need to. Being a natural right hander, this was incredibly difficult at first, but now it feels natural.
The same sorts of questions about left/right handedness pop up when talking about vioins/ cellos, but you play the same way (bow hand, strings hand) regardless of which hand you write with.

I don't think left-handers are at a disadvantage, because we all have to learn particular skills in order to maipulate the controls of a bike.

[Squiggles]

RIGHT HANDED? THOUGHT THIS WAS ABOUT SOMETHING ELSE! lol

[Drew]

You be trippin, but if you sit on your left hand for ten minutes...

[ali]

There I was thinking my crashes in the past were because of my inept riding

No, I'm left- handed, genetics are to blame.

[deeknow]

Motorcycle controls are operated (generally) by the right side of the body, so in theory righthanded people would have an advantage as they have better control of that side of their body.

did you know...


10% of the population are perfect.... the rest are right-handed...??

(yes, I'm a lefty)

[Sketchy_Racer]

Im a lefty..

Makes no difference at all IMO.

Its all part of the mental game!

[Chrislost]

Try eating with your knife and fork on the opposite hand to normal.

I'm right handed and hold the fork in my left, yet the fork requires more dexterity doesn't it ?

I think it's a learnt skill, rather than being born left or right, so doesn't matter.

i do this too, i sometimes throw balls with my left but they hardly ever make it the whole way.
thats practice thing tho.
if i try and write with my left hand and a pen then i have to hold it up to a mirror to read it!

[Drew]

if i try and write with my left hand and a pen then i have to hold it up to a mirror to read it!

There is a clynical term for that, although the name escapes me.

It's quite close to autysm, and I'm not taking the piss. Some thing to do with the different hemispheres of what's in your squash.

Any quacks on KB?

[Lissa]

There is a clynical term for that, although the name escapes me.

It's quite close to autysm, and I'm not taking the piss. Some thing to do with the different hemispheres of what's in your squash.

Any quacks on KB?
I think you mean Dyslexia, and I dont think it is anything like Autysm? heehee

[Drew]

I think you mean Dyslexia, and I dont think it is anything like Autysm? heehee

Nope, I'm Dyslexic, and it aint that.

[cowpoos]

Yes....maybe riding comes down to the artistic and creative parts of a person...left handed!!

I'd like to know that ratio too.
I feel another poll coming on..but I got no idea how to start one.
so you wank with your left or your right hand?

[Drew]

so you wank with your left or your right hand?

Please refer to my first post in this thread.

[Lissa]

Nope, I'm Dyslexic, and it aint that.

Oh well there goes my medical career then. :mellow:

[vifferman]

No.
Once you've got your technique down, good, smooth riding is a right-brained activity, and therefore favours the sinister members of the Biker Clan.

[MVnut]

Don't know about a right brained, left handed activity. I don't consciously think about riding when I want to go fast, just ask Frosty. Actually autopilot is the only way to go. By the way, OAB is fooking fast, so I guess right-handers rule.

[Edbear]

By the way, OAB is fooking fast, so I guess right-handers rule.



Yeah, he wouldn't be nearly so fast if he tried usin' his left.... Even I could probably, just about, keep up if he did...:yes:

I know a pretty quick lefty on bikes, though the fact that Classic_Z is a bit mental may help him there...:dodge:

[90s]

Consider that when they first started making cars (in US and Europe) they were (and still are) left hand drive - you change gear with your right hand, being the average persons more dexterious one. But the Brits and their Commonwealth are RH drive and change gear with their left. Like a piano or guitar player you train your hands to do what is required

At work my mouse is on my right, at home it is on my left - reduces wrist strain and works just as well both ways after a bit of training.

Agree with you - esp as a lefthander who plays guitar right handed (so I can use any guitar laying about ... and see Hendrix and most great guitarists are actually left handed ... )

but

early cars did not use control as laid out as now and certainly did not give more control to the 'right' hand on a regular basis. It was fairly far into to car deisgn that a driver left-or-right side with gear change as now became common (or the dominant paradigm)

Final thought on this topic - although as a lefty I am pro lefty the stats do show that lefties life expectancy is lower on avaergae than righties - by quite a margin. One of the conventional explanations is that we suffer more accidents controling things in a right-handed world (ie. work-place accidents, presumably with buzz-saws not computer mice). I find it hard to accept this explanation, but thems the facts m'lud.

[Jeaves]

its the smudging when writing that is the real drag.....i hate it.

[phantom]

I'd hate to think I would ride even worse if I was left handed.

[breakaway]

Makes no difference. I'm right handed, but due to an injury I trained myself to use the mouse with my left hand, and now I can use the mouse better with my left. Also, I do certain tasks (eating for e.g.) with my left hand.

[Sanx]

"Handedness" has more to do with hand-eye co-ordination than anything else. If people are right-handed, then they tend to be physically stronger on that side, but that's mainly because they use that side more than the other.

When riding a bike, flying a plane, driving etc - you're not looking at your hands or feet. You see something, and react, but it's not the same co-ordination that allows you to throw and catch a ball, play pool or write. Riding and driving has more to do with the sort of co-ordination that allows you to do hand-stands. Especially when you take away factors like traffic - i.e. track riding - you're reacting more to the forces on your body than you are to what you see.

That being said, the motor skills can be learned. After a while, they become instinctive and no longer get handled by the conscious part of the brain. At that point, it no longer makes the slightest difference what hand you use to do what - you end up using one hand to do one thing because that's the way you've learned it. Think about tying your shoelaces; there's a fair amount of dexterity involved, but the chances are you haven't consciously thought about it since you were about five years old. You can probably do it with your eyes shut in absolute darkness. What hand is dominant ceases to be of importance. Each hand 'knows' its role and carries it out without thought.

[codgyoleracer]

Try riding crosshanded - its fun & screws with your brain:dodge:

[avgas]

You would be correct except your right hand controls right leg.
So does this mean lefty's are better going through gears seeing as the clutch and gear lever are on the same side?
So over all no, left's arent better then right's.
But here is another question? Why arent euro bikes indicators on the othersid.......like cars?

[JayRacer37]

Try riding crosshanded - its fun & screws with your brain:dodge:

Can I borrow one of YOUR bikes to try this?? Or a padded road somewhere....

[codgyoleracer]

Crosshanded - or in your case Jay crosswheeled............You can practice my idea on my "pristine SV" , (hands off the ten & the 999), - I am quite happy to practice backin-it-in on your new six if you throw me the keys...:yes:

[vifferman]

One thing this overlooks (and that is borne out by some of the left-handeders' replies) is that right-handed people are MORE right-handed than left-handed people are left-handed. That is, left handed people use BOTH hands more than right-handed people do (i.e., they're more likely to be ambidextrous for most things). It's very common for left-handed people to favour their left hand for things like writing, cleaning their teeth, etc, but otherwise they use either hand.

#2 Son is left-handed, but (as others have said) prefers to play guitar right-handed. Even though I believe he'd be a better guitarist if he didn't, he has more choice for instruments, and says it feels better (probably because fingering is easier).

[Shorts]

It certainly helps me!! Actually before my accident I was ambidextrous, used my right hand for 'skilled' work, my left for 'power'. I wrote with my right hand, but threw, bowled etc with my left. In tennis I had two forearms and no backhand. No I have little choice! :lol:

heh, same here. If I were left handed, uhh, my mechanic would be fired! :whistle:

[tommorth]

us leftys have to be able to use both hands more often somany thigs are hard to use left handed power tools are a big hazard but small things like sissors ,can openers and my cell phone(charger plugs into leftside so can't hold it and push buttons) you just adapt i dont think it makes any differnce on a bike

[kevfromcoro]

havent read all the thread so may be repost...ok..iam right handed am can power the bike into left hand corners,right hand corners ..i take it slow...i ride with a mate of mine...who is left handed .he is the dead oposite..powers it into rght handed corners...but cant do the left handed ones.duno ..mayebe its an inbalance in or brains...interesting subject..

[Kornholio]

Do you think that righthanded people would have better throttle and braking control making them a better rider?

I was thinking about this today (I have alot of spare time at the moment...), and it sorta makes sense in theory I think. Motorcycle controls are operated (generally) by the right side of the body, so in theory righthanded people would have an advantage as they have better control of that side of their body.

Go back to work you bum :p

[Skyryder]

havent read all the thread so may be repost...ok..iam right handed am can power the bike into left hand corners,right hand corners ..i take it slow...i ride with a mate of mine...who is left handed .he is the dead oposite..powers it into rght handed corners...but cant do the left handed ones.duno ..mayebe its an inbalance in or brains...interesting subject..


There's an old thread on KB on this very subject. Left or right handed corner preferences. Seems most right handers prefer the lefties. This is also the case in the states that have left hand road rules. The general consensuse is that the lefties are prefered because of the stable lefthand grip as against the 'unstalble' throttle roll. I've often wondered about the left/right brain thing. Yes it is interesting.

But I doubt if there is a connection between left and right making better riders. There's a bit more to it than that.


Skyryder

Skyryder

[Drew]

There's an old thread on KB on this very subject. Left or right handed corner preferences. Seems most right handers prefer the lefties. This is also the case in the states that have left hand road rules. The general consensuse is that the lefties are prefered because of the stable lefthand grip as against the 'unstalble' throttle roll. I've often wondered about the left/right brain thing. Yes it is interesting.

But I doubt if there is a connection between left and right making better riders. There's a bit more to it than that.


Skyryder

SkyryderIt's not about left/right handed, the corner preference actually comes from which ever eye is stronger, or so the guy that did my skills test taught us.

Stronger right eye, better left cornering, and vice versa.

[Stickchick]

It's not about left/right handed, the corner preference actually comes from which ever eye is stronger, or so the guy that did my skills test taught us.

Stronger right eye, better left cornering, and vice versa.

That would mean that I'm screwed then cause both my eyes are buggered :yes:

[Skyryder]

It's not about left/right handed, the corner preference actually comes from which ever eye is stronger, or so the guy that did my skills test taught us.

Stronger right eye, better left cornering, and vice versa.

Well I'm not one to disagree. Could well be something in that. Would be interesting to know where he/she got that from. I'll store that in the back of somewhere and when next I go to my opticians I'll run it past him. There has got to a reason for a preference for one or the other.

Skyyrder