Bends

May 24 2020

The Cornering Edit – Part 4

Laura Smith Advanced Motorcycle Training, Compulsory Basic Training (CBT), Direct Access Scheme (DAS) Apex, Bends, bends and corners, Cornering, Hitting the apex, Linking bends, Positive throttle, Power delivery, Running wide, Throttle sense

Exiting and Linking bends

In this 4 part blog, I explain all aspects of cornering, for all levels of riding. This final section is Exiting and Linking Bends. There are three previous blogs, which are Vision & Planning, Speed & Braking and Counter Steering. I recommend you read those first to make more sense of this.

Up until this point, as you approach the bend, you should have:

Gathered all the information available to you
Decided the severity of the bend
Slowed down to an appropriate speed before the bend
Changed to an appropriate gear before the bend
Initiated Counter steering to start cornering

Safety over position

Whether you’re a learner rider or you have moved onto an advanced level, you’ll know position plays a big part in cornering. It is important to remember that no matter what you may have heard about ‘holding your line’ your safety always comes first.

For learners, I recommend staying in the centre of the lane, but this is not rigid. If you see a problem on the road surface, or there’s a hazard, you must have some flexibility to move position or slow down. Remember the road surface is your braking surface.

When cornering at any level, if there’s a road surface problem on your line (the line is the position you take up on the road), always move to avoid it. Imagine moving to the offside (closest to oncoming traffic) of the road surface problem – let’s say a manhole cover for example. What if there’s a large vehicle coming the other way? You’ve moved out the way of a potentially minor problem and now put yourself in a more dangerous position near oncoming traffic.

For advanced riders there are more alterations you can make to your position prior to cornering. To keep things simple, I won’t be talking about them here. If you want to know more about positioning for bends, I strongly recommend further training.

Positive throttle

When you ride a bend and counter steer, you shouldn’t need to adjust your speed. If done correctly, your throttle will be maintained consistently to pull the bike through the corner, at the same speed. This is known as a positive throttle. If this isn’t set before the bend you could end up sitting the bike up (throttle on) and then back down (throttle off) as you go around the bend, this is known as fifty pence piecing.

At the apex

The apex is the point in the bend where the lean angle is at its greatest. In other words, the part where your bike is leaning the furthest into the bend. It’s not until you’ve reached this point, that you can consider putting the throttle back on to exit the bend.

Exit and vision

Once you can see where the bend is going, you can start to plan the next section of road. Usually when you’ve reached the apex, the view of the road ahead starts to open up. It’s at this point, your speed can potentially be adjusted.

Throttling on

Often riders have timing and delivery issues when throttling back on to exit a bend. They either put the power on too early, which pushes the bike out wide (and sits the bike up) or they wait too long to add throttle.

Throttling on at the right time is definitely a skill in itself. It took me a long time to perfect this. However when you get this right and in a responsive gear, you will be leaving the corner quicker than the speed you entered. Remember the saying “slow in, fast out”.

If you’re in a responsive gear though, your throttle may feel a little on the twitchy side if you’re not used to it. So don’t attempt to put the throttle on aggressively, or it could leave you feeling out of control.

Throttle sense

Throttle sense is an important part of riding and I don’t think there’s enough emphasis on it. Power delivery is about being super accurate and delicate. Nothing is aggressive or rushed. If you ever try to ride your bike with aggression or in a rush, you’re bound to have problems.

Think about how you hold the throttle too, make sure your wrist is flat and on the same angle as your knuckles. Riders often hook their wrist up, which is known as cocking the wrist. This will encourage way too much throttle without meaning to.

Plan ahead

When riding, it’s important to plan ahead and I have talked about the importance of this during the first part of this series, called Vision and Planning. However, this is about being able to move from one bend to another, smoothly and seamlessly. See the bend; adjust your position (as an advanced rider), adjust your speed and gears and ride the bend at a speed that’s appropriate for YOUR ability.

The more comfortable you feel at cornering at a slower pace, the more time you’ll have to focus on the next piece in the puzzle – the next bend. If you are wound up or anxious about going into a bend, the chances are, your eyes will not be where they should be – seeing where the road goes next.

So, after you’ve hit the apex and before you throttle on, decide how much power you need. If there’s another bend, do you need so much power that you’ll need to brake again in the next few seconds?

The next bend

Quite often, if there’s a series of bends, there’ll be clues, such as a warning triangle for an S bend, or the paint work on the road will remain solid, for example. Do you ever look at the paint work on the tarmac to help you read the road? What about chevron markers? Cars in front braking? Are there any cars coming the other way – can you see the roofs of their vehicles over the hedges? These are all clues to help us work out whether there are any more bends in the road.

If you have any questions on this cornering series, please get in touch. If you’d like me to cover any other areas of riding, please let me know?

Women Only Motorcycle Training is part of RMT Motorcycle Training, based in Redditch, Worcestershire.

May 22 2020

The Cornering Edit – Part 2

Laura Smith Advanced Motorcycle Training, Compulsory Basic Training (CBT), Direct Access Scheme (DAS) Bend assessment, Bends, Braking, Cornering, curves, Motorcycle cornering, Speed, The Cornering Edit

Speed and Braking

In this 4 part blog, I will explain all aspects of cornering, for all levels of riding. In this section – part 2, I talk about adjusting speed and braking. However, if you haven’t already, I recommend you read part 1 – Vision and Planning, before you carry on. Part 3, out tomorrow, I will cover counter steering and part 4, I will discuss linking bends together.

Too fast or too slow?

A lot of bikers worry about their speed when going into a bend. Bend assessment is a real skill that requires time and understanding to perfect. However, you’re far less likely to have a problem when you ride the bend at a slower pace. This leaves some riding ability in reserve if things don’t go to plan. It might not feel as smooth as you’d like, but you’re less likely to run wide and be on the other side of the road!

Slow in, fast out

If you go into a bend too quickly, it can lead to big problems. Ever heard of the saying “slow in, fast out”? Always have this in mind when cornering. Most riders have problems with cornering because they are travelling too fast and in the wrong gear.

Have you ever ran wide in a bend? I know I have. So, my advice is to ride the bend, at a speed where you can stop on your side of the road, in the distance you see to be clear in front of you. When put like that, your speed when cornering should be relatively slow, or appropriate for your ability.

Braking before the bend

Braking as you go into the bend, really means your planning wasn’t up to the mark. Your braking should be done before you corner. Why? Any adjustments made in the bend can really upset the handling of the bike and can result in bigger problems.

Throttle off

When we turn the throttle off, the power of the bike drops dramatically. This is known as engine braking. If you are in a low gear and you turn the throttle off you may even feel your body weight being forced forward. We don’t get this kind of engine braking in a car – if you take your foot off the accelerator, the car will take a long time to slow down.

However on a bike, the engine braking is much more effective. So, the first thing to do in order to slow down, is to turn the throttle off. When I speak to bikers about slowing down, they tend to forget or not realise how effective throttling off can be.

Braking

We all know that using the front brake in a bend can be disastrous, depending on how the brake is applied and the road surface conditions. So any front brake application should be done prior to the bend and in conjunction with the rear brake. Braking using both brakes allows for more even weight distribution.

When we apply the front brake alone, the weight of the bike moves to the front end. This causes the front tyre to compress into the road surface. It gives the tyre more grip, but of course it can lead to a skid if too much pressure is applied. So when you apply the front brake (before the bend), make sure you are smooth and deliberate, not snatchy or panicky and make sure you are off it before you start to corner.

Rear brake

If you ride into a corner still carrying too much speed for your ability, as a get out clause, you can gently apply the rear brake. It will still upset the bike, but there’s definitely less chance of the tyre losing grip at the front end.

Again, the application needs to be smooth and deliberate, as applying the rear brake at high speed can also cause a skid.

The application of the rear brake will slow the bike down more gradually, but leave the front end unchanged in order for us to use the steering correctly.

Wrong gear?

When I passed my car test nearly 20 years ago, I was encouraged to move up through the gears and to be in at least 4th gear, even in a 30mph zone. This was to ‘show progress’.

So when I learnt to ride, I did pretty much the same thing, especially when riding a 125cc! However, when on a larger machine and in higher gears, we can have less control over the motorcycle.

Have you ever turned the throttle off and nothing happens? Or tried to put the throttle on (for an overtake for example) and it takes a few seconds to kick in? This is called an unresponsive throttle. The gear you are in is too high for the speed you are travelling.

To be more controlled when cornering, try using a responsive gear. One that gives you either an instant delivery of power, or when turned off, slows the bike down. Motorbikes are designed to be revved, so next time you’re on your bike, have a look at the rev range. If your bike runs up to 10,000 rpm, I would say you could comfortably ride at between 3-7,000 rpm.

For me, on my Suzuki Bandit 650, third gear is a very responsive gear, but on my Kawasaki ZZR1400, second gear is more suitable at the same speed. This means before I go into a bend, I can turn the throttle off early and the bike has enough engine braking to slow down gradually and as a result, I rarely need to use the brakes.

Go slow to start

Build you confidence by riding slower to begin with. I used to feel peer pressure from other riders, so if you can, ride alone. Don’t worry about your speed though, I was told by a very wise man (owner of RMT Motorcycle Training) that the speed will come once you set and perfect the skill.

Please note that these blogs are designed to give you some basic information and it doesn’t replace the need for further practical motorcycle training, which I highly recommend for EVERY rider.

Keep an eye out on my social media page for tomorrow’s blog on counter steering.

May 21 2020

The Cornering Edit – Part 1

Laura Smith Advanced Motorcycle Training, Compulsory Basic Training (CBT), Direct Access Scheme (DAS) Bend assessment, Bends, bends and corners, Cornering, cornering skill, curves, vision and planning

Part 1 - Vision and planning

In this 4 part blog, I will explain all aspects of cornering, for all levels of riding. In this section, I will talk about vision and planning. In the second blog, I will talk about adjusting speed and braking. Then I will cover counter steering and my last installment will be on linking bends.

Laying the foundations

So I’ve recently seen a lot of requests for advice on cornering on social media forums. I remember when I hated cornering! A time when I would clench my jaw and my entire body would stiffen up just just as I’m about to go into a bend! Probably the worst thing you can do!

These days, I absolutely love it! I’m an advanced and learner level motorcycle instructor, so most of my riding is not for pleasure and on my days off, I don’t always want to jump back on my bike for a ride out. However, when I get to go on European advanced motorcycle tours with RMT Motorcycle Training, I really enjoy my riding. I can practice improving my skills and I enjoy being on new and challenging roads.

The most amazing sweeping corners

The best road I’ve ever ridden is along the Dalmatian Coast en route to Montenegro. Fast sweeping bends to really stretch my legs, fantastic road surface, a beautiful view onto the sea and warm weather. However, if I think back to when I used to hate cornering, I would have been a nervous wreck trying to negotiate bend after bend on that particular road.

How to transform your riding?

How did I go from being as slow as a snail and hating every minute of cornering to absolutely loving every second of it?

Well I’m not going to lie, it took me a while. I spent a lot of time on my bike, basically not really enjoying it. I remember coming home from ride outs and the palms of my hands were white. I’d have the imprints of my gloves still embossed in my skin! I’d been holding on too tight.

Vision

So the breakthrough moment for me was vision. I was reminded by a motorcycle instructor, whilst on my second European tour, just a few months after my crash, that I should be looking up. I think when we are learning to ride we hear certain phrases so often, we almost become immune to them. I find as an instructor, I spend a lot of time saying “look up!”.

Although, when we say look up, we don’t mean aimlessly. When cornering, we mean, you need to look for the vanishing point. Next time you get in your car – not bike – try and go around a few bends and practice lifting your vision up. You’d be surprised at how much more you’ll see. I used to practice this in my car, on my commute to work, during the winter months.

So what’s the vanishing point?

Well this is where one edge of the road appears to meet the other. If the two edges appear to be getting closer to you quickly, then the corner is going to be tighter and you’ll need to slow down. Furthermore, if the vanishing point is getting further away, the bend is straightening up.

I don’t solely focus on the vanishing point though – I am using it – but I’m also looking at the whole area in front of me. A bit like taking in a view from a balcony. I’m not focusing on one thing alone.

So what else am I looking at?

For any rider, novice or advanced, forward vision is the one area of riding that lets us down. Most bikers have problems because they simply don’t see what’s in front of them. It’s not on purpose, it’s simply because they aren’t designed to travel faster than running pace! Whilst technology has moved on and motorcycles have got quicker, evolution has not. So when we travel at even 30mph, our brains simply cannot take in all the information and potential hazards in front of us.

Clues on the road, otherwise known as Information

To help improve this, I advise dropping off the pace and looking for the clues that will help you. They are there, but we get complacent and tend to miss them. For cornering in particular, I look for warning triangles, white lines and the word ‘SLOW’ on the road, black and white chevrons and I also follow the hedgerows and tree lines of the road. It isn’t a guarantee, but following the hedgerows, treelines or lampposts, gives you an idea of where the road is going. This can also help determine the severity of the bend along with the vanishing point.

Bend Assessment

Bend assessment is a really big part of cornering successfully. So before you go into the bend (and the same applies for any hazard), make sure you know what sort of bend it is. Is it a tight, technical bend, is it sweeping and open, is there a good view going in, is the surface good? What are the possible hazards going to be as you go around that bend? Think junctions, private drives, broken down vehicles, horses, gravel, fuel spillages, a slower moving vehicle such as a tractor. The list is really endless.

Once you understand how tight the bend is, you can then start to focus on what speed you should be taking the bend.

Until next time…

For the next instalment of my Cornering Edit, please check out tomorrow’s blog which is on speed and braking.