Problems with U-turns... Help please

[merv]

1)Be doing at least 50kmh before attempting this.
2)Clutch in
3)Lock the back
4)Shift your weight to the left or right with your foot down if its a left turn
5)Spin the bike around
6)Pin it
7)Drop the clutch...

Maybe thats just me?

You're not Finn's son by any chance from a forgotten liaison are you?

Good for a dirt bike turn on a narrow track of course. Except like my description, you forgot the indicators unlike Finn who had that covered.

[McJim]

Hi Janet,

Best of luck with your full. I remember doing my basic handling with John Wright. He would stand in the centre of the turn and demand eye contact - in essence making you look over your right shoulder, not just to the right of the front wheel.

Without knowing any technical shit this worked for me - so when turning right look as far to your right as feels comfortable then add another 5 degrees. Your bike will go where you look.

Hope this is helpful too. Not as technical as other replies though.

[quallman1234]

You're not Finn's son by any chance from a forgotten liaison are you?

Good for a dirt bike turn on a narrow track of course. Except like my description, you forgot the indicators unlike Finn who had that covered.

Seriously!, Ask Sketchy_racer i showed him :P.
Mmm really gotta watch my self now on group rides now , Too tempted to mess around .

Ill show you next time maybe, but probably get told off :P hehe.

[merv]

Seriously!, Ask Sketchy_racer i showed him :P.
Mmm really gotta watch my self now on group rides now , Too tempted to mess around .

Ill show you next time maybe, but probably get told off :P hehe.

Nah all good fun, just not the sort of thing you'd do in front of the licence person eh! Like a handbrake turn in a car - I'm sure they'd love that too.

[yungatart]

"tis all good , Merv. I can sort out the wheat from the chaff!
And I did say that all replies would be appreciated, even if they weren't particularly hepful.....
I have decided to stop practicing this on the road and go to a carpark where I don't feel so hemmed in by the kerb...so much of this is psychological...
now I just have to talk hXc in to trusting me with his bike again! (thats prolly harder to do than the ruddy u turn!)

[janno]

I use my back brake at low speeds - apparently combined with a bit of throttle n clutch it tricks the bike in to thinking it's going faster so stays upright. But I've never had a problem with u turns so can't really imagine what might be going on.

Apart from that, I can't really help as I've always ridden horses, so have the "look where you are going" thing ingrained after 25 plus years of riding. Cos if you look at the ground on a horse, you usually end up there!

Good luck with it - you are going to feel a million bucks when you get it sorted!

[merv]

Hope you get it sussed.

As for the other stuff yeah don't worry about tyre smoking turns for a while yet.

[Kinje]

I have never been able to master the art of a U turn...been practicing lately, in anticipation of doing my full. Every one has resulted in a drop! hXc is most distressed with me!
I look in the direction I am going, get part way through the turn, then over she goes.
I cannot pass my full until I can successfully complete a U turn with both feet up.
It is starting to really piss me off! (I feel so bloody incompetent!)
Any advice would be appreciated, particularly if it will help!

This something we covered at the RRRS course in Napier- I think you were there?

During the figure 8 exercise we were told to look through the turn to the exit with your head up. Weight the outside peg, made a huge difference to stability at slower speeds.

Like others have said, find a carpark and practice with some space.

Good luck sorting it out and then with your test

[ManDownUnder]

A couple of suggestions - one I use to teach people backing (a car...) and the other one I was taught years ago on a defensive riding course.

Both need a carpark

The one I was taught first... ride in a circle big enough for you to not need your brakes. Your goal is to control the tip of the bike with the throttle only.

Start by riding straight and turning gently (left or right - doesn't matter). Put on some power as you are turning and you'll feel the bike straighten up and accelerate "out" of the corner. Give it a few goes and you'll get the measure of the bike - how much power it puts down and the effect it has on cornering.

Once you have that mastered, try riding either in circles or (preferably) figure 8's. Don't use the brakes, just the gas to see how well you can control the bike in ever reducing circle sizes.

Don't go nuts though. Getting dizzy happens quicker than you expect - and on a bike that gets expensive.

The other thing to watch is the risk of high siding it - too much power coming on too fast will cause the bike to go from one lean angle to the opposite... and it's a shitter of a thing if that happpens too fast.
===

The other is a slow bike race. Go from point A to point B as slowly as you can, without putting feet down or doubling back. You should be riding the clutch, braking, and using the throttle all the the same time.

It has nothing to do with cornering per se but gives you the ability to use a fine degree of control at all times - especially useful for U turns when you otherwise feel the bit "wobbly" on the way round.

Good luck!

[Big Dave]

www.rrrs.org.nz
would be perfect for you.

[timg]

Carpark's etc are ok for practice, but if you are expecting to fall try finding a flat grassed rest area or similar to practice on (just not first thing in the morning if there's been a dew to wet the grass). The bike won't get any damage from the low speed falls and you won't worry about it. All the best.

[terbang]

1)Be doing at least 50kmh before attempting this.
2)Clutch in
3)Lock the back
4)Shift your weight to the left or right with your foot down if its a left turn
5)Spin the bike around
6)Pin it
7)Drop the clutch...

Maybe thats just me?

Nahh not just you, I watch my 16 year old daughter doing that on her DT 175 all the time. She usually follows it with a good 500m on the back wheel.

[gsp0702]

I had problems with U-turns when i was learning as well, what helped me sort it out was to move my head do observations in both directions ( if your doing a u-ey its going to ne on two way street and you should keep looking for traffic in both directions) stopped my head being over to one side and upsetting the centre of gravity, as if you think about it helmet wieghing a couple of kilos and your head all hanging over to one side is gonna upset the balance of things. Anyway thats what worked for me. And a couple of weeks after my test pissed the old man of by doing a perfect u-turn on his pan-european (ST1100) which he couldnt. Anyway good luck and i amsure you will get it sorted.

[Ocean1]

Ah, balance, one of my less (amongst stiff competition) refined attributes.
Confidence comes with success, which invariable comes with a couple of bruises. Still, an understanding of technique is (I’m told) important. Executing tight turns with both wheels in the attitude god intended does take a few practice runs to get down. As others have noted the bike needs to lean in order to turn, but at low speed you need to counter-balance that lean by sitting more upright and weighting the outside peg.

Extreme examples work well: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b55Fs0405tI

Notice that his body is pretty much over the tyre’s contact patch all the time. Now don’t go thinking you need to park your arse all the way out there like that, but you get the idea behind the technique eh? Lean the bike and keep your body upright, control the rest of the balance equation with the throttle.

Start with plenty of room and a couple of markers (rocks, whatever). Gradually move the markers in as you get more comfortable. Good luck, when you get it worked out let me know huh? Could do with a bit of a refresher myself…

Next week’s lesson: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1BASRgFAszg

[quallman1234]

Nahh not just you, I watch my 16 year old daughter doing that on her DT 175 all the time. She usually follows it with a good 500m on the back wheel.

16 eh .
Indeed i do the same thing afterwards... What else are you meant to do after a low speed turn... On to the back wheel i go.

On a more serious note, Hope you get it sorted .