Cornering is one of the joys of motorcycling. The sheer thrill of balancing lean angle, corner speed and force through the tyres is one of the main attractions of riding. But get it wrong and the rush will be short-lived. Around 50% of bike crashes occur while cornering.
When we talk about a cornering line, we usually break it down into three parts: the turn-in, the apex and the exit. In reality, of course, the corner is one long curve. But thinking about these three areas separately is useful, because each is treated differently.
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As well as good technique, being able to choose and ride the correct line is what makes a cornering expert. The ideal, or ‘racing’, line is the path that would get you through and out of a corner quickest.
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As you’ll read in our vision section, the natural tendency is to go where you look. By training your vision, you can use this to your advantage, avoid its dangers (target fixation) and overcome the tendency so you can apply your vision to other tasks.
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You’d think this a strange question to ask. But, to this day, there are people who believe it’s all a bit of a mystery. It’s not. You initiate a turn on a motorcycle by countersteering, or ‘push steering’ on the inside bar.
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Cornering is inherently tricky because you are taking a motorcycle out of its natural stable state. Ever watched a race where the rider gets thrown off and the bike continues to travel straight and upright? That is what the motorcycle wants to do - with the wheels as twin gyroscopes, it just keeps going.
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Going back to the need for stability: the fewer inputs or adjustments you make, the more stable the bike.
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To take a corner at the right speed, you need to judge the radius. Ever ridden with a quick, expert rider and been amazed at their ability to seemingly know how sharp a bend is in advance?
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In an ideal world, you’d never have to slow down in a corner. You’d judge it perfectly, turn in with one push, then swoop elegantly through on a constant positive throttle. But the world ain’t perfect. There will be times you need to lose speed in a corner. Sometimes, in a hurry.
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