Cornering lines

[Gremlin]

Just to expand on what Hitcher said, there is a difference between roadcraft and track skills. While there is crossover and you can gain useful techniques from the other, when you start digging into specifics, you're likely to get conflicting advice between road and track.

Track is about the quickest line through a corner, road is about the safest line through a corner. Ultimately, as haydes says, treat the centreline like a brick wall. No part of you or the bike should be crossing that centreline at any point (and even then, the oncoming vehicles may require you to give them even more room, for any of numerous reasons. Therefore, it's unlikely that your wheels will be in the right hand wheel track in a right hand bend.

After that, it's about your safety, stability and view. What's safest, what's the most stable and what gives you the best view around the corner (because a road isn't a track). This will vary from corner to corner, and it's about applying your skillset in every situation.

Best, if you want to get into answers, you're looking to go to one of the training providers down there. They will observe your riding then give you feedback. You're looking for actual road time, Duncan Seed is good in Canterbury.

[Erelyes]

As I understand it (hoping pic works)-

First off for clarification I've put in double yellows so we know this is a LANE not the whole road. As said earlier the opposite lane can be considered a brick wall.

The blue line reflects what I would usually have in mind when cornering (actual results varying) - i.e., leave turn-in later, keeping to the outside of the corner on entry.

Advantage being: your sharpest turning / highest lean angle will be on the part of the corner which you can sight on corner entry.

Should there be hazards later in the turn, at first (gravel, roadkill, lane intrusion, etc), you are 'committed' to a lower lean angle, so have more in reserve to take avoiding action or change your line to suit.

My tuppence

[SMOKEU]

I've included a couple of crudely drawn graphical depictions of both left and right hand turns. The green lines represent the "normal" cornering line, while the red lines is what I'd do if there is debris in the middle of the road. The red lines are always in the wheel tracks of the cars, where there is very little debris (usually). The arrows show which direction I'm riding in.

For the LEFT turn, the green line is approximately in the middle of the lane. For the right turn, the green line is near where the right hand wheel of a car would be. Does this look like a reasonably safe way to corner, both for collision avoidance with other vehicles, and avoiding debris?

[skippa1]

You're in the shit here I'm afraid your line is way off......like wrong side of the road off

[Hitcher]

I've been scouring YouTube for a clip I saw some years ago involving a head-to-head between some English track bike racer (riding a track bike) versus the UK Police's head bike instructor (on an ST1300 with all the cop works on it). One rode race lines, the other road lines. The racer wasn't that much faster than the cop.

Somebody with better YouTube search skills than me may be able to find it.

[SMOKEU]

You're in the shit here I'm afraid your line is way off......like wrong side of the road off

lol! That's a pretty epic fail. Fixed.

[george formby]

I've been scouring YouTube for a clip I saw some years ago involving a head-to-head between some English track bike racer (riding a track bike) versus the UK Police's head bike instructor (on an ST1300 with all the cop works on it). One rode race lines, the other road lines. The racer wasn't that much faster than the cop.

Somebody with better YouTube search skills than me may be able to find it.

I read an article in a British bike mag years ago which said the same thing. Remarkably little in it all things considered.

Watch you vanishing point, give your self as much time & space into the corner as possible, apex when you see the exit. Done. Next corner.

[Voltaire]

30 years of riding like a Nana and assuming that whats coming around the corner is going to come around over the line.
My 1974 R90S is an ideal Nana machine, saying that I do like when the head on the track R90 touches down on turn 3 and 6 at HD.

[tri boy]

If your lines are bent, adjust your nostril angle to suit.

[ellipsis]

...if they haven't for some already, they will at some point soon....

[haydes55]

I've included a couple of crudely drawn graphical depictions of both left and right hand turns. The green lines represent the "normal" cornering line, while the red lines is what I'd do if there is debris in the middle of the road. The red lines are always in the wheel tracks of the cars, where there is very little debris (usually). The arrows show which direction I'm riding in.



For the LEFT turn, the green line is approximately in the middle of the lane. For the right turn, the green line is near where the right hand wheel of a car would be. Does this look like a reasonably safe way to corner, both for collision avoidance with other vehicles, and avoiding debris?

That's exactly what I try do. There's the back up option of turning in earlier if the outside line looks shit as well.

[Akzle]

. .

[SVboy]

I think it is such an individual thing. I got good value from Keith Codes "twist of the wrist 1&2". Got me consciencely scanning ahead, judging road conds, looking for hazards and braking and turning markers in an effort to make my lines less random.

[Mushu]

I see some flaws in the diagrams everyone has drawn up, so I thought I would add a diagram of how I tend to ride.
Everyone seems to want to try emulate the classic idea of a racing line, entering and exiting a corner wide.
I try exit a corner as close to the inside as possible for a few reasons, mostly because it allows me far more options incase of the unexpected and because in the majority of situations any corner is often followed by a corner turning the opposite direction so my line puts me in the correct place to enter the next corner

You'll have to excuse my lack of ability with MS paint but here is a rough representation of what I do on the road.
The yellow line represents the centreline, the green line is the line I would use turning right and the blue line is the line I would use turning left

[skippa1]

I see some flaws in the diagrams everyone has drawn up, so I thought I would add a diagram of how I tend to ride.
Everyone seems to want to try emulate the classic idea of a racing line, entering and exiting a corner wide.
I try exit a corner as close to the inside as possible for a few reasons, mostly because it allows me far more options incase of the unexpected and because in the majority of situations any corner is often followed by a corner turning the opposite direction so my line puts me in the correct place to enter the next corner

You'll have to excuse my lack of ability with MS paint but here is a rough representation of what I do on the road.
The yellow line represents the centreline, the green line is the line I would use turning right and the blue line is the line I would use turning left

Seriously, your MS Paint skills are quite good