Left/Right Cornering

**HDTboy** · 2nd August 2006, 12:53

Not on the long track, there's 6. I dropped it on a left at Taupo too

**Goblin** · 2nd August 2006, 13:00

Originally Posted by HDTboy

Not on the long track, there's 6. I dropped it on a left at Taupo too

Jeez you could take your pick then eh. Are you left or right handed?

**Ixion** · 2nd August 2006, 14:19

Originally Posted by Korea

Clasp your hands together (you know, fingers between your fingers interlocking ~ are you confused now?)
Which thumb is on top? Left hand thumb or right?
Try it the other way - swap thumbs. Feels weird, eh?

No it doesn't

**kensuem** · 2nd August 2006, 19:57

All this talk about corners had me thinking about what I was doing in corners when I was going to work this morning,cant say I noticed any difference,but I couldnt understand why my gears wouldnt work,then I realised that I had reverted to my old British bike riding style and was trying to change gear with the foot brake!

**WildBoarMouse** · 2nd August 2006, 22:39

I do the same thing! My theory is that because I use to ride my push bike like a hoon too and from school/uni every day... that all those unobstructed left hand corners get you trained for taking lefts. All/most right hand corners you have to stop/slow down and check for traffic a bit more. Just a theory... an american workmate had a similar problem except he couldn't do the lefts as well.

**quickbuck** · 3rd August 2006, 21:02

There are some good points coming out. Much better than threads on some message boards.

Anyway, I had never considered the throttle thing, adds a new dimension I had not thought of.
Also the age old tradition of things anti clockwise, Rollerskating, Ice skating, pretending I was Ivan Mauger on the XL125, and the fact I'm left footed (right handed though), were my reasons for liking lefties. Once I was told how I was shying out of right handers though, the issue went away.

What helped me lots was concerntrating on getting it right (yes, very punny I know) ie ride a right hander like I would a left. Yes it is like skating clockwise, but you have to make an effort at times. After get it wrong, and you spend a long time dead.

Once I mastered it, and did many miles around the track over the hill (Man, I'm so lucky), I don't have a problem with either direction.

A big thing is BIKE POSITION.
Every right hander I enter, I am in the left wheel track going into the corner, and then tip it in. I ensure my head doesn't cross the centre line at all and travel around the corner.....
If I take EVERY right hander like this (traffic or no traffic), I never have to correct mid corner when I am looking face to wheel nuts of a 38 tonne truck.

BTW, I am left thumbed apparently.

**McJim** · 3rd August 2006, 22:09

Hey - I wonder if it's different in the Northern Hemisphere? Y'know like water down the plughole and all? Just a thought.

**mynameis** · 3rd August 2006, 22:18

I find that an issue as well, as I can take left corners way quicker than the right hand ones.

But I've been concentrating on the right hand corners for a few weeks now and sort of getting used to it.

Some interesting thoughts were mentioned about the fact it could be a psychological factor as well.

Try checking your stripes to see if the left one is smaller than the right, I thought there would be a significant difference but once I checked mine it wasn't, probably 1 to 2 mm max. And yes this was before I started working on my right hand corners

Would like to hear about your guys ones?

**quickbuck** · 4th August 2006, 09:24

The stripes could give a false indercation due to the camber.

Also, in my case the bike was actually leaning further into the corner, it is just that I wasn't.

As Big McJim says, it could be the plug hole thing...

**DesmoJohnny** · 4th August 2006, 09:46

Ok so I am r/handed,r/thumbed,r/footed. Lived and ridden in both North and Southern hemispheres and in countries that ride on both lh and rh (not at the same time obviously!

But I still prefer lh corners and have to make the extra effort to be as 'fast' on a rh bend. All my crashes have been on lh bends though - think I need help too !

**quickbuck** · 4th August 2006, 09:56

Originally Posted by DesmoJohnny

think I need help too !

HI DESMOJOHNNY.

Welcome to the CCA (Corner Crashers Anonymous) help thread...

Na, just jokes, and I don't mean to cause offence to those in other programs.

**texmo** · 4th August 2006, 10:03

I prefer right handers so does vtec I think. And I rember madboy saying he wears out his left hand knee slider slower than his right hand one.

im lazy but someone find the other thread that this topic was already discussed in. I rember the out come was because of the throtle position.

Originally Posted by HDTboy

I've only crashed on left hand corners on the track, do you think there's something in this?

Yes, Your a muppet.

**Motu** · 4th August 2006, 10:22

Speedway tracks,horse racing tracks,dog racing tracks,athletic tracks - all left turn - why?

**quickbuck** · 4th August 2006, 10:26

Originally Posted by texmo

I rember the out come was because of the throtle position.

I believe it isn't one simple answer. It will be different reasons for different riders.
If it were that easy, anybody could ride, or be a riding instructor (of which I am not, but I like to offer advise as I have riden a few years (29)).

I was reading the back of a PB mag the other night, and was reading an article written by Keith Code (google him, there is some great stuff on his site), and he was talking about 48 points of cornering a motorcycle.
Point 27 is "Line".
There was a break down of all the questions a rider must ask himself before he puts the bike on the correct line.
Well, lets just say, point 27 took up most of the page (remember there are 48 points), so that means there is a book out there on the whole process.

Remember there are only two things you can do on a motorcycle (change it's speed, and change it's direction) but there are many ways to do those things.