Turning Help

[nobody]

OK i have had level 1 with andy and johnny, now there is some thing bothering me, when i turn to the right i will push the inside of the handlebar now when i do that my body will turn the other way so i have to turn my neck to the right, in the school i was told to turn my body to the turn. how can i do that?

[Jaybird180]

OK i have had level 1 with andy and johnny, now there is some thing bothering me, when i turn to the right i will push the inside of the handlebar now when i do that my body will turn the other way so i have to turn my neck to the right, in the school i was told to turn my body to the turn. how can i do that?

Sounds like you're allowing the pushing off the handlebar to to shift your body. By turning your head it focuses you to push the bars and not your body.

[fossilfuel]

Hey Nobody,

I forget the terminology but there was a drill in level 1 for turning, maybe counter steer or something like that. This was the very first drill you would have taken. Anyway, most of us who never had formal training had a tendancy to try and counter balance our weight from one side to another depending on which way we turn. I was doing this. When I wanted to turn right I would push the right bar forward but transfered my weight back over the center of the bike. So, I was shifting my weight unconciously away from the turn, keeping the center of gravity over the bike...but this is something that usually occurs when turning in either direction so if you are having trouble turning right you probably doing the same thing in left hand turns.

I am sure the Guru's can explain it to you. I only ride on the track but this is how I approach a right hand turn...I have my butt positioned half on and half off the seat toward the right side before I get to the turn. I set my speed for the turn by down shifting and braking before I reach the turn point. When I reach the turn point I then push forward (this is very quick, snap!) with my right arm to get the desired lean angle and drop my right side down so that my head is resting in the "V" of my right elbow, this transfers the weight to the inside and to the front of the bike.

JayBird is right in that you should be looking into the turn, then to the apex, then the exit. Don't just look with your eyes or turn your head but move your head and upper body into the turn.

Think back to your Level 1 class and try to remember the turn drill. That drill is the primary set up drill for any turning maneuver you will ever do on the street or on the track. I forgot one thing...Get The Twist books and review what you covered in class.

[fossilfuel]

I had one other thought...go to the CSS homepage and look under the pictures section...there are some great pictures of coaches with students that have great body position. The one I really like is "Coach following student, taking notes". I don't know who that coach was but position is fantastic...maybe Pete.

[Jaybird180]

Hey Nobody,

I forget the terminology but there was a drill in level 1 for turning, maybe counter steer or something like that. This was the very first drill you would have taken. Anyway, most of us who never had formal training had a tendancy to try and counter balance our weight from one side to another depending on which way we turn. I was doing this. When I wanted to turn right I would push the right bar forward but transfered my weight back over the center of the bike. So, I was shifting my weight unconciously away from the turn, keeping the center of gravity over the bike...but this is something that usually occurs when turning in either direction so if you are having trouble turning right you probably doing the same thing in left hand turns.

I am sure the Guru's can explain it to you. I only ride on the track but this is how I approach a right hand turn...I have my butt positioned half on and half off the seat toward the right side before I get to the turn. I set my speed for the turn by down shifting and braking before I reach the turn point. When I reach the turn point I then push forward (this is very quick, snap!) with my right arm to get the desired lean angle and drop my right side down so that my head is resting in the "V" of my right elbow, this transfers the weight to the inside and to the front of the bike.

JayBird is right in that you should be looking into the turn, then to the apex, then the exit. Don't just look with your eyes or turn your head but move your head and upper body into the turn.

Think back to your Level 1 class and try to remember the turn drill. That drill is the primary set up drill for any turning maneuver you will ever do on the street or on the track. I forgot one thing...Get The Twist books and review what you covered in class.

 

What comes to mind here reading this (and T1's section on steering) is the drills I had in MSF. MSF teaches the rider a criss-cross style of pushing the bike under the rider. MSF in particular teaches this during their obstacle avoidance drills, effectively training the rider away from better counter-steering habits.

[fossilfuel]

You are so right JayBird! I hadn't thought of that. I think most people intuitively try to keep their bodies centered over an object when turning. But like Keith Code says, what one does on a motorcycle in many cases is counter intuitive.