Left/Right Cornering

[Motig]

Just curious to find if I'm by myself on this. I'm more confident going round left handed corners than right. That is I can go into the corner faster, lean the bike and hang off far more going round left hand turns than a similar corner turning right. The only reason I can think of is I'm lefthanded. Anybody else noticed this. Is this why I'm not a MotoGP racer ?

[yungatart]

Do you change position in the lane? ie, do you approach a left hander on the right side of your lane and a right hander on the left side?

[Filterer]

Wen ur in a long right hander you have less road to use as if you come to close to the centre line your head will be hanging into the oncoming lane

[98tls]

something to do with camber.....

[MattRSK]

Someone once told me that I wasnt countersteering when going around right handers. I was when going around left handers. Have a search on the site for counter steering. Once it was explained to me I have never had a problem since.

[Motig]

Good Points, I believe you could all be a little bit right, must practice this summer.

[quickbuck]

Just curious to find if I'm by myself on this. I'm more confident going round left handed corners than right. That is I can go into the corner faster, lean the bike and hang off far more going round left hand turns than a similar corner turning right. The only reason I can think of is I'm lefthanded. Anybody else noticed this. Is this why I'm not a MotoGP racer ?

Okay,
You are not alone. It isn't because you are a south paw at all.

90% of riders who live in countries where we drive on the left suffer from this.

What the problem for me, (as pointed out by Warwick at Stay Upright) was that when tipping the bike into a right hander I would not dip my shoulder and head into the corner (the same as I do for a left). This is because I was so used to shying away from the traffic coming the other way. I would end up "chucking" the bike in and sitting up on top of it. This meant the bike was VERY upset to say the least, and infact leaning over further than needed for given radius corner.

Another thing you may be more confident on a left hander is because there is a perception that if you stuff it up there is the other lane you can use. This is false ofcourse, as there will be a big truck there when you need to use that run off (law of Murphy). A right hander usually has vegitation and a fence near by on the exit, but this is safer to hit than a vehicle coming the other way.

If you want to get really good at right handers go for a few (Hundred) laps arounf Manfeild if you get the chance. It is full of them.

Hope this helps. Let me know if you want more help.

[quickbuck]

But yes, some practice on a nice quiet Otago road will do wonders. Get somebody to follow you if you can.

[MattRSK]

Good advice there. Remember when going into a right hander push out on the right grip. When going left push the left grip out. Try it, will make more sense. You will already be doing this with your left just not knowing it.

[yungatart]

Sign up for a mentor on here, should be someone who can help you out in your neck of the woods.

[James Deuce]

Someone once told me that I wasnt countersteering when going around right handers.

Lol - you would have been punching holes in the scenery everywhere then.

It is physically impossible to steer a motorcycle travelling faster than about 25km/hr without countersteering.

I think what you mean is you weren't making a concious effort to dial in the exact amount of lean you needed for the particular velocity you desired in right hand bends.

[GR81]

it's like ice skating for most people... easier going anticlockwise than clockwise lol

but yes, im more confident going anticlockwise than clockwise. im also right handed.

[dawnrazor]

most people are more comfortable in LH corners, its because....now wait for it....we ride on the left. Ride in the US or continental europe and suddenly you'll be more comforable on the right for the same reason. The irony is because you are more relaxed in a LH corner you are more likely to run wide and end up in a ditch...ahem, like I did recently...although that must be better then going head to head with a car in a RH corner

[Skyryder]

90% of riders who live in countries where we drive on the left suffer from this.

American riders also prefer the left hand sweep. It appears that it makes no difference to what side of the road you ride on. Nor does being left or right handed and on that basis I go for number one.


For my part I believe that there are two possible causes for the left handed preference in cornering.

1 The left hand handle bar grip is stable where as not so with the right hand that has the throttle. There may be a psycological refusal to lower the bike on a right hand bend for this reason

2 It may be because of the brain activity visa vis left or right side. Some functions of the brain are activated in the opposite side than the female. We males may prefer the left hand sweep while the ladies prefer the right.

Who knows.............but somewhere there is a reason for this. The definitive one has not been found.


Skyryder

[Ixion]

I spent some considerable time analysing this a while back, Concluded it was indeed because of the throttle . It's harder to do the duck and shove thing to the right because usually that has the effect of twisting your wrist around . OK when its the left wrist, but the right side conflicts with the wrist angle wanted for good throttle grip. In essence, it's easier to countersteer left than right.

It may be a bit psychological to do with the rik of encountering traffic at the apex. Though personally I have more problems with the bloody roadside posts on left handers, twice now I've hit them with my shoulder, and it doesn't seem to be inhibitory (just painful!)