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Cornering advice


Glorian
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Now i've been riding almost a year. Passed my mod 1 and mod 2 first try no issues. But when i ride on my own i find i'm really nervous cornering at slow/high speeds. It's getting a bit dangerous now as on my ride home i fixated on a bush and had to stop and stick my hazards on as i couldn't bring myself to turn. I'm not sure if it's inexperience or a little part of my head reminding me i have crashed and blocking me from riding properly. I've tried going out at quiet times and sometimes i am better but most times i really am not riding well/safe.


Does anyone else get or have had this sort of feeling? Im debating getting a days training with my instructor to go over cornering again and see if he can shine some light on it.

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It's a common problem


The best cure is to ride lots but I'd also recommend doing a Bikesafe course with the Police.


Its relativelt cheap ( free in some areas) includes a 1 to 1 session and its a great confidence boost

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Target fixation mate......you need to be looking at where you want the bike to go.....not where you don't want to end up...... :wink:

Keep your head up.....and look ahead at the stretch of road that you are following......look as far ahead as you can......the bike will go there if you do this, trust me....... 8-)

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You seemed fine on our rideout??

Maybe having someone to follow helps?

 

Think it helps knowing what speed / position to take following people.

 

It's a common problem


The best cure is to ride lots but I'd also recommend doing a Bikesafe course with the Police.


Its relativelt cheap ( free in some areas) includes a 1 to 1 session and its a great confidence boost

 

Will look into this have heard about these courses so might come in handy.

 

Target fixation mate......you need to be looking at where you want the bike to go.....not where you don't want to end up...... :wink:

Keep your head up.....and look ahead at the stretch of road that you are following......look as far ahead as you can......the bike will go there if you do this, trust me....... 8-)

 

This is probably a big part of it. I often chastise myself for looking the wrong place.



I think i will try make myself go out on some solo ride outs on the back roads near me see if it helps doing some training =)

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Talk yourself through it, out loud in your helmet


Give yourself a running commentary: what you see in front of you, what corner is coming up, what speed you're doing, where you want to be looking, even if you have to say to yourself all the way though the corner "look up, look up, look up"


Don't tell yourself "don't look at that bush", tell yourself to look up, round, further.


Makes all the difference

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The best cure is to ride lots but I'd also recommend doing a Bikesafe course with the Police.

This 8-)


Also it took me for fecking ever to get over my cornering fear. I'm not shit at it anymore (not saying I'm amazing btw!), but I actively enjoy myself. If I find myself target fixating I immediately make myself look up the road where I want to go. Get your position right, scan the road briefly for obvious danger, and look into the apex - keep looking ahead! And dare I mention countersteering *holy shit*! I found understanding it helped...I'm just throwing that out there! Watch YouTube videos and practice.


If you have certain roads that make you nervous, try to take a different route if you can. And relax, enjoy yourself. If you feel yourself stiffening up tell yourself to relax your arms etc. Go slow if you have to. You'll speed up with time.


Going on rideouts with people who were happy to go at my speeds helped me a lot too 8-) (Bonniebird and Tango were legends for this :cheers: ). Pillion rides were fantastic to see how much you can actually lean, made it less scary (Aaron and Fozzles helped loads with this too). I think they scared the living shit out of me and made my cornering seem tame so I felt safer leaning a bit more. Could someone take you for a ride :D or just watch YouTube vids/bike racing. And of course advice from peeps on here was a ma-hoosive help. Don't hug the corners. Great tyres help (my Michelins are soooo much better). Ooh, and listening to music while I ride was the biggest cure of my nerves - singing along to music made me stop over-thinking. I ride almost every day and a whole lot, and the only time I don't have earphones in is when riding with other bikers.


Anyhoo...don't sweat it. Don't fret. You will get there, just keep biking and enjoy yourself lovely :thumb:


Btw did you get the issues with your bikey sorted?

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That was all good advice except listening to music... Can't see how that would help when your nervy about cornering trying to concentrate and you got The Script screaming in your lid.

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That was all good advice except listening to music... Can't see how that would help when your nervy about cornering trying to concentrate and you got The Script screaming in your lid.


Meh, just saying it helped me, something to maybe try if all else fails. I was incredibly nervous after my off and over-thought everything. Singing along to music helped me calm myself whilst focussing on the road 8-)

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Been out quite a bit recently (unfortunately bike was in shop all weekend with oil leak)


Getting better and more used to the weight of the bike. Might try music in one ear. I like classical anyway so thats often calming. Unless i listen to "in the hall of the mountain king" haha.

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  • 2 months later...

Do a running commentary as OhJay suggested. This is an extreme example of what a commentary is like, a high speed run in a police car


https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=p ... VtQ4NN5_-Q


but it gives you an idea of how the driver is always on the look out for hazards and anticipating issues. As you ride up to a corner you would be saying to yourself


- that you are approaching a right/left hand bend

- there are/are not any warning signs or slow markers for the bend

- the view is clear/obscured through the bend

- the road surface is good/potholes/dry/wet/oil

- there is/is not another vehicle coming the other way


and nothing at all about bushes etc on the verge as that does not matter.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Update.


Definately going better (minus the crap weather) new tyres now and i often have some music going in my left ear which makes me worry less like moo says it helps relax instead of over thinking!

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  • 4 months later...


Does anyone else get or have had this sort of feeling? Im debating getting a days training with my instructor to go over cornering again and see if he can shine some light on it.

 

I feel like this quite a lot, I have a cruiser type bike and once my peg touched the floor and I had to pull over because I was shaking so much which is ridiculous 'cause people put their knees down lol.


Did you have a days training with your instructor? Did it help?

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  • 9 months later...
...... Ooh, and listening to music while I ride was the biggest cure of my nerves - singing along to music made me stop over-thinking. I ride almost every day and a whole lot, and the only time I don't have earphones in is when riding with other bikers.

 

Thanks for this tip, I tried it yesterday and for the first time I just enjoyed the ride without over thinking everything. In my first week of learning to ride so sometimes I act like a 3 legged skateboarding dead donkey. :lol:


One thing though, I did make a tit out of myself at a set of lights when I got a little lost in the music and suddenly realised I was doing a little wiggle dance :roll:

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I have pulled up at lights many a time to see a bemused car drive next to me.. I then realise I have been howling along to my music, dancing on the bike..


Even funnier when my pillion is joining in with a headphone splitter! :lol:

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I have pulled up at lights many a time to see a bemused car drive next to me.. I then realise I have been howling along to my music, dancing on the bike..


Even funnier when my pillion is joining in with a headphone splitter! :lol:

 

i find that since i took my baffles out of my exhaust that the bike is easier to corner, because i can here the engine tone and i tend to get around corners better by dropping a cog and then using the throttle/engine braking to get around it, also means i leave the brake alone.


Cons makes loads more noise,

Pros MAKE LOADS MORE NOISE :booty:

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