Dropped it twice.. Why?

[Bombus]

Yes I dropped my bike twice the same circumstances both times, doing a right hand u turn to a halt. At the point of stopping bike drops to the right instantly. Fall takes me by surprise but am able to protect it from damage. What exactly is happening here? Wisecracks ok but serious answer would be appreciated.. Cheers.. Bombus

[MSTRS:Me]

Have you tried putting your right foot down - this is sure to help with your problem

[gamgee]

are you turning in to hard? is the bike to heavy for your ability? maybe you yourself need to think about exactly what you are doing when it is falling over

[bugjuice]

don't lean it, steer it slower, and put both feet down. Just don't lean.

[MD]

Spread the load of your testicles.. one each side of the tank. Works for me.

On the serious side. Where are your eyes looking? When slow manoeuvring it is much easier to balance the bike when you focus your eyes way ahead on the horizon, rather than looking 18 inches in front of the tire or where you might place your foot.

[Zed]

Yes I dropped my bike twice the same circumstances both times, doing a right hand u turn to a halt. At the point of stopping bike drops to the right instantly. Fall takes me by surprise but am able to protect it from damage. What exactly is happening here?

You should get into the practise of never stopping completely while you are turning, ensure the bike is moving straight and then stop, which will allow you to balance the bike and prepare to comfortably come to a standstill. If stopping while turning is unavoidable just concentrate on keeping the bike upright and balanced and try and stop with the front wheel straight so you don't suddenly find yourself off balance when you come to a halt...i think.

[Skyryder]

Yes I dropped my bike twice the same circumstances both times, doing a right hand u turn to a halt. At the point of stopping bike drops to the right instantly. Fall takes me by surprise but am able to protect it from damage. What exactly is happening here? Wisecracks ok but serious answer would be appreciated.. Cheers.. Bombus

Well exactly, it's gravity 'overtaking' inertia. The only way you are going to get on top of this is practice. Supermarket carparks are ideal. You can start from the stationary position and practice the turn as tight as you can with out dropping. Just learn the 'feel' of the turn. I't comes with practice.

In my day as a youngster before the sportsbike brigade were 'abroad' the 'mark' of a good rider was how good he could do a u turn. I'ts a skill that is rarely seen today but when you see a biker do a uuee and leans it and powers out it is a joy to behold. Such a rare sight and one I have never mastered.

Skyryder

[Ixion]

Hm. If you stall a big single on a full lock turn, things get very hairy very quickly. As I (re) discovered yesterday.

Stopping on full lock is tricky at the best of times. Best to try to ease off the lock before the final stop.

[Motu]

In my day as a youngster before the sportsbike brigade were 'abroad' the 'mark' of a good rider was how good he could do a u turn. I'ts a skill that is rarely seen today but when you see a biker do a uuee and leans it and powers out it is a joy to behold. Such a rare sight and one I have never mastered.

Skyryder

I'm not young - but the best U turn I've ever seen was an old guy who was a ''Milk Bar Cowboy'' in the '50's,he had actualy been a friend of my father's I found out years later.He would go from gutter to gutter - lay it into the left side curb and go around under power flat on the pegs,then put it into the other curb and power out.Beautifull...I've never been able to do that.

[2much]

look up .

[Black Bandit]

Funny that, one of the tests on the BHS test for L-licence was a stop on a bend. Piece of piss on a Ginny, but I'll bet it's a whole different kettle of fish on one of those - tall, heavy, gravity sucking you down. Principle then was getting the bike upright before trying to stop. Maybe using the rear brake more? As said previously if you wait longer until you're more upright. Then you can use both rear + front brake together and get the left foot down. Bike stabilty lives in the front wheel at low speeds. If you load up the front you lose your stability but if the back loads up the rear tyre just skids along in a straight line.

[Zapf]

SV's are top heavy... so make sure you strighten the bike up before stopping... I know what you mean. Also try pressing lightly on the rear brake, it'll help with the turn.

[Toast]

keep the power on...

gas off or clutch in and it will fall over straight away if you have much lean on...if it starts to fall power on and it will stand a bit.

[Ixion]

Which is the point you do NOT want the brute to stall !

[Twig]

When doing u turns at slow speed on full lock or close to it, I tend to only use the back break as it stops the front end from compressing. I find it much more stable. That's my 2cents anyway.