Difficulty Making Turns on Bigger Bike | Page 2 | GTAMotorcycle.com

Difficulty Making Turns on Bigger Bike

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You were all right. Amazing how we sometimes have to refer to basics 101 in order to move forward. I was doing many things wrong, from expecting it to turn similar to a 250, watching the spot where I thought I'd fall and that's exactly where I fell, too slow, too narrow of a turn, not looking where I wanted to turn in advance, I should use better counter balance push steering, and more importantly I need to stop being a p*ssy. I'm telling you, after I read some of the accidents members here experienced I've been a complete wreck being overly careful which is a hazard within itself.

To answer some of the questions: yes I was able to turn the 250 effectively, no I'm not brand spanking new to riding BUT did not ride my 250 long enough, yes I land on my knee and hand (sometimes hard). My knee at first was pretty scabbed and scuffed up until I started wearing the knee pad and my left hand+wrist is swollen when I wake up lol. Just an ole habbit of mine where if I fail at something I just keep doing it again at until I get it down right at all costs.

Have been riding in our private streets for practice and don't go to parking lots anymore. The other day cops pull up and question what I was doing with an attitude. I told the truth and also stated there were no cars anywhere near me within that part of the lot (Canadian Tire) nor was I doing any stunts or aggressive driving. I told them I was simply trying to better my skills prior to riding on the road. Took my insurance and license and pretty much told me to leave the parking lot because I was trespassing lol

Btw, I remember when I took the safety course last year the instructor said not to use the front or rear brake when make such turns. But it does help when I have my foot on it very slightly as suggested here.
 
I think you misunderstood your instruction. Feathering clutch is going to control amount of power transferred to back wheel, while rear brake dragging will control speed and keep the bike under tension.

Front brake slow speed is a lot trickier, and is not normally advised.
 
Take an intermediate/advance rider course. It will teach you slowspeed riding with clutch control, and throttle only control.
 
Riding position of Super sport vs Sport Touring bike is a big difference. Maybe you should have upgraded to a sport touring like an SV650.
 
fastar1 said:
Presumably you could do all that with the 250? The difference is obviously the weight and the available steering lock. The clutch effort and grab point could have an effect too.

To compensate for the weight, it helps to go a bit faster in a turn to recover some stability. But of course you have to have the confidence that your line will hold. So before that, practice going at a crawl in a straight line. Get a feel for the bike's balance and response so you're more comfortable turning at low speed. Drag the rear brake a bit so that you're not entirely relying on your throttle input.

Then when it comes time to turn, don't try to turn as sharply as with the 250 to avoid bumping into the steering stop. If you're running into the steering stop, even just a light touch of it, can throw you off your intended path and cause you to panic. Also, drag the rear brake through the turn. Apart from helping to control your speed, it should help the bike turn. Avoid the front brake unless you need to come to a sudden stop.

If you're going slow enough, just duck walk the bike through the turn. If you're going a bit faster, then you have to get comfortable leaning the bike, even at low speed. I think that's just a comfort level that we all gain over time. So take it easy until your comfort level catches up to the riding ability you have in your mind.
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Super Sport bikes have clip on handle bars, smaller turning radius vs a sport touring bike with upright position. I own both Super Sport bikes and Sport Touring bikes. I can do turns very easily on an upright position bike. Clip on handles on my Super sport just doesn't give you the same turning ability. Both very different riding styles.
 
Don't forget the new cruiser has a longer wheelbase than the 250 Ninja which makes tight turns more difficult, kinda like turning a Corolla or turning a F150 Pickup they have larger turning radius.

It is all in the practise. Start big and work up to the tighter turns as you get comfortable.
 
Is the back end actually sliding out or are you just falling over?

Honestly I never noticed much difference between turning the CBR125R's on the course, my 650R I bought right after, or my RS125 other than that the 650 was more top heavy and seemed more like it was going to fall over but I think that's normal for a heavier and higher bike. I could even feel the difference between a full tank and empty tank on that bike while on the RS125 I don't really notice.
 
cbcanada said:
Awesome! Where was that


"If i was educated, I'd be a damn fool"
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This was around the Finch and Markham area. We have a FB page to schedule meetups and such.

Moto Gymkhana GTA https://www.facebook.com/groups/945998615451196/
 
If you follow the circumference you'll note it's a bit more than 3x the diameter which is 200% of the radius striking a chord with anybody flying off at a tangent. Be careful out there.
 
You are probably going full lock in your steering, then unable to turn in more to maintain balance, and falling over. The rear end is sliding once the bike is on the frame slider I assume you have on your bike, you mentioned no bike damage. Practice low speed, straight line balance first, it's critical to have before doing tighter u-turns. Riding slow is harder that going fast, it takes practice. Like others have said, use rear brake, feather the clutch, and once you can ride in a straight line, at a snails pace, then practice your turns.

And your 750 is no bigger than a 600, they are danm for all intents and purposes, the same thing.
 
32 replies with about 30 different opinions.


Take er slow and steady until you know what you're doing. Practice makes perfect - it's a big change for sure.
 
33 and counting.
 
I'm one of the confused right now. If it truly is your tires sliding out I'd like to know exactly which tire models are on your bike. If they're super hard race compound I can see this happening.
 
33 1/2 - I already posted earlier. :p
OmegaBravo7 said:
You were all right. Amazing how we sometimes have to refer to basics 101 in order to move forward. I was doing many things wrong, from expecting it to turn similar to a 250, watching the spot where I thought I'd fall and that's exactly where I fell, too slow, too narrow of a turn, not looking where I wanted to turn in advance, I should use better counter balance push steering, and more importantly I need to stop being a p*ssy. I'm telling you, after I read some of the accidents members here experienced I've been a complete wreck being overly careful which is a hazard within itself.

To answer some of the questions: yes I was able to turn the 250 effectively, no I'm not brand spanking new to riding BUT did not ride my 250 long enough, yes I land on my knee and hand (sometimes hard). My knee at first was pretty scabbed and scuffed up until I started wearing the knee pad and my left hand+wrist is swollen when I wake up lol. Just an ole habbit of mine where if I fail at something I just keep doing it again at until I get it down right at all costs.

Have been riding in our private streets for practice and don't go to parking lots anymore. The other day cops pull up and question what I was doing with an attitude. I told the truth and also stated there were no cars anywhere near me within that part of the lot (Canadian Tire) nor was I doing any stunts or aggressive driving. I told them I was simply trying to better my skills prior to riding on the road. Took my insurance and license and pretty much told me to leave the parking lot because I was trespassing lol

Btw, I remember when I took the safety course last year the instructor said not to use the front or rear brake when make such turns. But it does help when I have my foot on it very slightly as suggested here.
Click to expand...

That should have been near the beginning of the course when you don't need to use the rear brake for turns, you don't know how hard to push (Some will stomp on it like a car), and braking in the turn might cause you to fall at those slow speeds. They tend to freak out a little if your hands are over the levers in those early 90 degree turns. Some people panic in the turn, and grab a handful of brake, or stomp the rear.

If you fall and hit your head, or just fall three times, you wash out, so they are very careful about what they teach and in what order.


Most will later show you using the rear brake, during or after the feathering the clutch lesson, when you're doing the slow speed maneuvers.

Some used to even show you how to shift your weight on the seat to get better balance for the turn.

Take your time and start with a bigger turn, gradually decrease the radius as you perfect the bigger one.
 
You said the tire is new? Not much riding on them? Perhaps the tire is needing to be scrubbed in more. New tires are kinda slippery. I can't otherwise see how your sliding out at such slow speeds. Maybe if you said simply falling over I'd think it was a balance or control issue, but sliding out means your either on your back brake too hard while cornering which I doubt at u turn speeds or your tire is slipping.
 
Yeh, rear tire sliding out, it's not me falling over. And yes, brand spanking new rear tire. Probably 20 km on it when it was dropped off and another 10-15 or so by me at very low speed.

The brand, fyi, is Continental on the rear. The front used but probably in decent condition since it didn't need to be changed for safety: Michelin Pilot Power.
 
not sure if this is suggested already.
Try getting the suspension set up for your weight and advised them of the heavy turning feel on slow speed.
I had the same issue coming from my 250, took the bigger bike to Ken at gatorcustoms and it feels like a new bike and slow speed turns feels similar to my 250 now. good luck
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