Off Throttle Turn In--"i'm So Scared!"

[Crash106]

I took the bike out for a nice ride this weekend and noticed something different: I would ride toward a turn, slow down to adjust my corner entry speed to something comfortable, then turn and roll through ON the throttle. Turning ON the throttle took more push--more steering input--than when turning with the throttle closed. If I wanted to turn with the throttle CLOSED, I had to roll a LOT further into the corner (well, like 20-30 feet further) before slowing and turning. That was a bit scary because I was carrying more speed further into the turn. For example--on a right hand curve, I would have to go almost to the yellow line before rolling off, turning and rolling on. At normal street speeds, turning with the throttle closed seemed to require very good timing: close-lean-open almost as one action. Not what I expected.

 

Is it "bad" to turn with maintenance throttle already on?

Is it "okay" to go WELL into the corner before rolling off and tipping in?

Does anyone else notice this?

 

Thanks.

[Hotfoot]

I took the bike out for a nice ride this weekend and noticed something different: I would ride toward a turn, slow down to adjust my corner entry speed to something comfortable, then turn and roll through ON the throttle. Turning ON the throttle took more push--more steering input--than when turning with the throttle closed. If I wanted to turn with the throttle CLOSED, I had to roll a LOT further into the corner (well, like 20-30 feet further) before slowing and turning. That was a bit scary because I was carrying more speed further into the turn. For example--on a right hand curve, I would have to go almost to the yellow line before rolling off, turning and rolling on. At normal street speeds, turning with the throttle closed seemed to require very good timing: close-lean-open almost as one action. Not what I expected.

 

Is it "bad" to turn with maintenance throttle already on?

Is it "okay" to go WELL into the corner before rolling off and tipping in?

Does anyone else notice this?

 

Thanks.

 

I notice that , too. I often do the same thing on the street, and/or anytime I am going really slow. Rolling the throttle on stabilizes the bike, right? Which is what makes it a little harder to turn - BUT when you are going REALLY slow, the bike feels pretty wobbly so a little bit of "maintenance" throttle during your turn-in can make it feel more stable. It compromises your quick turn, but... let's say you are going to turn right on red, so you are approaching the corner slowly, while looking hard to the LEFT for oncoming traffic. In that case, stability seems more important than getting a high entry speed or snappy quick turn.

 

So, in my opinion, there is nothing wrong with using that bit of maintenance throttle when you are going slow, to help stabilize the bike. However, if your goal is to have a higher entry speed, THEN you'll need a good quick turn, right? Getting off the throttle makes the bike easier to turn quickly - and you have already discovered what you can do with your turn point when you quick turn!

 

Sounds to me like you are just experimenting with quick turn and finding out what happens with your turn point when you turn quickly, and when you don't, which is awesome, very observant and thoughtful on your part. I think both of the options you listed (turn in with maintenance throttle, or using a later turn point and turning it off-throttle) are "OK", depending on the circumstance, and on the entry speed you are trying to achieve.

 

If you have the Twist of the Wrist II DVD, during the quick turn discussion, there is a nice shot of a guy on Harley making a rather leisurely turn on the street, and that's where the point is made that you only turn the bike as quick as the situation demands, it's a good example and certainly made it more clear to me.

[Jasonzilla]

When there is a faster corner after coming out of something slow, I will use maintenance throttle because coming off the gas slows the bike too much. In decreasing radius turns, I will trail brake habitually, and the front drops just fine. And passing into a corner will have me trail braking as well. Anything else and I'm going to have that turn point where I'm off the gas, making my steering input, and then getting on the gas.

 

Whether you're doing any of those things, maintenance throttle, trail braking, or turning off the gas, the front of the bike is going to get weighted and that will allow the bike to turn properly.

 

Turning later will get easier pretty quickly. As long as you have your head and eyes in the turn before the turn point, you'll get over the hesitance of going deeper without any problems.