How do you make a curve?

[pujolshomerun]

When you make a curve do you lean your bike and lean your body higher than your bike or do you lean your body more than your bike?

I think you need to lean your body out a little bit to balance your bike and body, but my friend is arguing that you have to lean your body more than your bike. I think if you lean your body more than tour bike, you will fall off. Who is correct?

 

[mymaster]

It has to do with the Earth's rotation. If you lean into it, you fall off. Lean away from it, you stay on.

 

[OZZY]

a bike has better traction in cornering when more upright. therefore, yes, u must lean more then your bike in a turn.

 

[hydrabusa]

Body lean...

 

[Shibumi]

Do you ride yet, or just learning? If so you might want to take the MSF riding course, or at least check on some of the excellent books on the subject at your local book store.

I read "In Search of Motorcycling Excellence" by the MSF Foundation, and Keith Code's "Twist of the Wrist" before buying my Busa. They have stood me in good stead to the top of my speedometer and the edges of my Qualifiers since June 2006. I highly recommend them.

P.S.- Wanna break a racetrack curve down into about 60 different parameters to analyze and execute? Try the "Twist of the Wrist" book-amazing!!

 

[chrisarrington]

Actually from what I have read through the years, regardless of what lean you are in. If the contact patch on the road stays the same and the G forces at work stay the same, then it doesn't matter whether you are on or off the bike. Now the question is does hanging off the bike change the center of gravity or G forces enough to really matter and how does the contact patch change as the bike lays over.

 

[Shibumi]

(chrisarrington @ Apr. 14 2007,07:49) Actually from what I have read through the years, regardless of what lean you are in. If the contact patch on the road stays the same and the G forces at work stay the same, then it doesn't matter whether you are on or off the bike. Now the question is does hanging off the bike change the center of gravity or G forces enough to really matter and how does the contact patch change as the bike lays over.

The answer is "yes".

 

[Revolution]

"twist of the wrist" is a very good book, get it.

if i remember correctly, you lean your body more than your bike...but, you should push on the bar to turn, not lean the bike to turn [twist of the wrist II].

 

[proud dad]

The more I lean off this busa the faster my corner speed is and the less lean to the bike.Tail off the seat a little,knee out,keep shoulders straight with the bars,head straight up looking through the corner,keeping body low with the bike.But then again talk is cheap making it become 2nd nature is another thing.
I think there's also a book called Looking through the corner.I heard was a good read.

 

[jessup]

Everything revolves around smooth transitions, throttle control, and correct entry points dragging your knee is a barometer for how much lean angle you have left before hard parts are on the ground. Plus the realization that it is better most times to continue to give it gas and commit to the turn than to panic and brake and float to the outside and off the road. You want to pick the right line and stay committed...

You need to determine your turn in point for every turn prior to actually doing it...

It is a mixture of throttle control
Assesing the correct turn in point

 

[JINKSTER]

Counter-Balancing/Counter-Weighting: your bike via use of shifted rider body weight will permit you to negotiate a curve at a more rapid rate of speed (regardless of lean angle) than if you didn't use your body-weight to counter-act the g-forces imparted to your bike at any given rate of speed and/or all achievable angles of lean. However...

Before much advantage can be realized?...you're skills must be above the "Mediocre" level with cornering speeds well above "average"...and i do not advise that the novice level rider concentrate their focus on "Hanging Off" through corners until they've maxed out their "Straight-Up" riding skills as there are far more crucial key elements to focus on and master prior to "hanging off"..and once you've learned to corner smoothly riding "straight-up"..sans any "mid-turn-corrections"?..."Then"...and only "then" are you ready to graduate to learning how to "Hang Off" by smoothly sliding your azz across the seat WITHOUT imparting any gross mid-turn "Bike Chassis Disruptions"...(Note: Hences why all hybrid sportbikes have such hard, flat surfaces so you can smoothly slide your azz across..they call seats) which could have catastrophic results if not executed properly...as now you are using your body to influence the bike to do what the bike itself can not do on it's own...and is "The Point" where the rider has decided to surpass the mechanical corning capabilties of his bike which in turn dictates that he has now placed the fate of both himself anfd the bike upon the capabilities of his/her own personal cornering skills.

Also note that...i highly recommend NOT attempting to "Learn To Hang Off" while using a corbinj seat or?...any seat styled in such a fashion that it has a "Bucket-Shape" which you could hang an azz cheek on while attempting to shift body weight and do just what you're NOT supposed to do which is..disrupt the bikes chassis right at the point of high speed curve entrance..cause that's never a good thing.

L8R, Bill.

 

[dadofthree]

downloaded it, need to read

 

[Don Hardcastle]

+1 on what Bill said. I just want to add a little bit. Every single bike is different, so, if you have gotten accustomed to "Hangin' Off" a liter bike or smaller, DO NOT attempt the same technique on a 500+ lbs Busa until you have acclimated yourself to the weight and dynamics of these bikes. The difference between pushing a liter bike thru a corner and a Busa is like the difference in riding a skate board and a big wheel. Not to mention the amount of torque the Busa gives you on exit that it just not there on most smaller bikes.

JMHO

Don

 

[labs 4 sale]

(mymaster @ Apr. 14 2007,03:36) It has to do with the Earth's rotation. If you lean into it, you fall off.  Lean away from it, you stay on.

Me thinks it all depends if you are going with the rotation of the earth or against it. if you are going against the rotation of the earth you deffiantly want to lean into it, It varies with every corner. USE YOUR COMPASS.

 

[Don Hardcastle]

ERRRRRRRRRRR - A compass doesn't tell you what the earth's rotation is doing.


Don

 

[OZZY]

the more the bike is leaned over, the less of a contact patch u have on ur rear tire. everyone has stated several good things in this post. make sure u make one turn, and one turn only. setting up and choosing the right line before the turn will result in a smooth transition through the corner. use ur weight of the body to set the bike up for the turn and maintain a smooth throttle the entire way thru the turn. any kind on on/off the gas or braking can can cause major issues since u are disrupting the bikes suspension mid turn. according to the book "twist of the wrist 2", u want to have a balance percentage of 60percent rear/40percent front as the rear (from steering stem back) is actually what turns the bike. u will accumulate faster lap times and a more stable feel when keeping the bike as upright as possible thru cornering. u will have to lean the bike over, but when one starts dragging hard parts, then that is way over the bike's max lean. if you use the knee as a feeler guage, u should never drag any hard parts of the bike.

i highly suggest reading the book "twist of the wrist 2" as it really covers the basics of cornering, throttle control, and braking. i am almost done reading my copy now. EXCELLENT READ!!!

 

[labs 4 sale]

ERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR it tells me north from south and from there i can figure it out

 

[MoosesBusa]

(JINKSTER @ Apr. 14 2007,10:53) i highly recommend NOT attempting to "Learn To Hang Off" while using a corbin seat or?...any seat styled in such a fashion that it has a "Bucket-Shape" which you could hang an azz cheek on while attempting to shift body weight and do just what you're NOT supposed to do which is..disrupt the bikes chassis right at the point of high speed curve entrance..cause that's never a good thing.

L8R, Bill.

I learned this the damn near hard way! Corbin seats are GREAT for drag racing and touring. You are well advised to return to the stocker for "spirited" riding!!

 

[JINKSTER]

(ozzy04 @ Apr. 14 2007,05:57) the more the bike is leaned over, the less of a contact patch u have on ur rear tire.  

sorry..but that's simply not true..as a matter of fact?..."The Goal" that high performance sportbike tire manufacturers strive for is "Contact Patch Size Retention" and this IS achieved via "Profile Design"...coversly?...there are many "Tire Profile Designs" out there which actually have profile designs that cause the contact patch to GROW in size/area as the bike is leaned over...furthermore?....as the higher straight up speeds increase?...the tires experience centrifugal growth...which in turn causes the profile to "PEAK" even more as speeds progress...yeilding far LESS of a contact patch that what one might experience placing huge g's on a comparitively slow wheel rotation speed thereby creating a gigantic tire contact patch on a heavy lean as compared to straight up at speed.

But if ya spend most of your time thinking about shid like this through a curve instead of concentrating on the smoothness of your own skills and how the bike itself is actually behaving?..chances are you're gonna wad it up anyways!

L8R, Bill.

 

[Vic_E55_2001]

(dadofthree @ Apr. 14 2007,09:03)

downloaded it, need to read

Would you mind sharing the link where you downloaded it from?