Cornering - To brake or not to brake

[Chrislost]

Deliberatly trail braking into a corner means using up more of your available grip as you enter, and therefore isn't a smart move on the road, and has infact got me into trouble in the past (the rustle in Russell).

I have once or twice done this to "test" how much grip a road/tyre. has. also like to trail brake in the wet as loosing the rear makes you fall over lots slower than the front





(also useful round white line, gravel, oil, petrol stations, mates lawns.....)

[Skyryder]

Have not read all of this but my take on cornering is simple. Brake before you have angled the bike and power out of the corner. If you have to brake when the bike is on the lean and before you have reached the apex you have come in to hard and if something is to go wrong there is not a lot of room to get out. Less if traffic is coming into you. The secret for hard cornering is not the line of the bike but the line of your eyesight. Keep your eyes focused on the 'vanishing point.' Where you look is where you go.


Skyryder

[Motu]

If you have to use the ''vanishing point'' method in a corner - you've already fucked up.Everything follows corner entry,fuck up the entry and you're in trouble.Simple as that as far as I'm concerned - if you are having to take corrective action anywhere in the corner,you got it wrong coming in.Go back to the start.....

[bikemike]

Back to front. If your entry speed is buggered it's possibly because you weren't using the vanishing point properly.

VP is everywhere. Use it on the straights and throughout every corner, including entry. I'm sure Skyrider meant this??

[wysper]

All your replies have been great. I have got a couple of great tips off it.

Assuming I pick my corner line correctly and gauge my entry speed correctly things are off to an excellent start.

To help with the actual corner and gain confidence to perhaps corner a little more quickly, my two favourite tips so far are

1. Look where you want to go! As someone else mentioned on this thread - this works really well on roundabouts too (hammyhole has lots of them). If you look just in front of you your roundabout journey is awkward. Really I should know this - playing any ball sport (for me hockey and football) When you shoot at goal you look where you want the ball to go NOT at the obstacle ie goalie.

2. Kiss the mirrors - sounded really weird - but has helped me get my body into a better position on the bike. As yet I havent managed to actually kiss the mirrors. But I imagine if I do I will be in a whole world of trouble

[The Stranger:Me]

2. Kiss the mirrors - sounded really weird - but has helped me get my body into a better position on the bike. As yet I havent managed to actually kiss the mirrors. But I imagine if I do I will be in a whole world of trouble

Ah, now I know why there are always lip marks on my bathroom mirror when R6_Kid has been here.

So how do you judge the appropriate speed for a corner?
Do you find that at times you overcook or at other times you slow down more than required and get through the corner thinking, damn I could have done that safely twice as fast?

[MSTRS:Me]

Ah, now I know why there are always lip marks on my bathroom mirror when R6_Kid has been here.

So how do you judge the appropriate speed for a corner?
Do you find that at times you overcook or at other times you slow down more than required and get through the corner thinking, damn I could have done that safely twice as fast?

By being (at least peripherally) aware of the vanishing point(s) ahead. If it's at a constant distance from you, your speed is right. If it is getting further away, you may safely speed up. But if it is getting closer, you are too fast. How rapidly it approaches will determine how badly you fucked up.

[CookMySock]

If my face is near a mirror I am too far forward on my bike. My shoulders are over the bars, not behind them, and its hard to put much force on the bars because I'm leaning heavily on them and I have no leverage. Also my front is more jittery with this much weight on it. My bike is far more settled if I sit right back, and its much easier to push directly on the bars. I'm just learning this myself though.

I tried sliding my butt off the seat slightly, and boy does she wanna corner now! Whew! Butt+shoulders out = LOTS of opposite bar push before the corner. Curious.

I clipped my boot on the ground doing this the other day - first time ever! Gave me quite a fright!

Steve

[Skyryder]

Back to front. If your entry speed is buggered it's possibly because you weren't using the vanishing point properly.

VP is everywhere. Use it on the straights and throughout every corner, including entry. I'm sure Skyrider meant this??

Absolutely. It's when you lose the VP custard appears everywhere.

Skyryder

[Skyryder]

By being (at least peripherally) aware of the vanishing point(s) ahead. If it's at a constant distance from you, your speed is right. If it is getting further away, you may safely speed up. But if it is getting closer, you are too fast. How rapidly it approaches will determine how badly you fucked up.

That's spot on. Best post of the thread.

Skyryder

[CookMySock]

if you are having to take corrective action anywhere in the corner,you got it wrong coming in.Go back to the start.....

hrm, I struggle with this. My young fella (15 y/o learner) was complaining "once I have initially set the corner up its incredibly hard to change it." I told him "Concentrate and steer with the bars, dude. Pick your position on the road and stick to it like poo to a furry blanket. Don't leave your chosen line - unless you are forced to make a new plan. Develop your discipline."

I took it that he was repeating a mistake that I made earlier, "estimate what my turning radius I will need and set it up in one go - no resteering." This left me holding my breath with my arms locked mid-corner, and accepting the outcome no matter what. I had to relax and breathe and just steer - the smoother the better.

Steve

[Katman]

My young fella (15 y/o learner) was complaining "once I have initially set the corner up its incredibly hard to change it." I told him "Concentrate and steer with the bars, dude. Pick your position on the road and stick to it like poo to a furry blanket. Don't leave your chosen line - unless you are forced to make a new plan. Develop your discipline."

Why not suggest he goes in slower so he has the ability to change his line easier?

[The Stranger:Me]

That's spot on. Best post of the thread.

Skyryder

Hey, what about the cunt who had the forethought to ask the question in the first place?

[CookMySock]

Why not suggest he goes in slower so he has the ability to change his line easier?

Well I can take the corner at 120k, and he's taking it at 85k. I guess I could ask him to slow down, but he already knows how to nana a corner - why not teach him the correct procedure, rather than just prevent him from learning? He is well in control of his emotional state, and well inside his ability. So thats why.


Steve

[The Stranger:Me]

Well I can take the corner at 120k, and he's taking it at 85k. I guess I could ask him to slow down, but he already knows how to nana a corner - why not teach him the correct procedure, rather than just prevent him from learning? He is well in control of his emotional state, and well inside his ability. So thats why.


Steve

Only really leaves the teacher then.