right turn vs left turn

5:12

5:12

Well-known member
Forum Sponsor
so i've noticed that my left turn is better than my right turn, smoother etc. for some reason, turning right gives me an 'awkward feeling' with the lean and my grip and hand/arm position on the handle bar. (looking thru the turn, knees in etc all applied.). any thoughts?! it feels that my sense of balance favors the left turn haha.

anyone else experience this? advise?! suggestions?

one thing im thinking is because of the throttle, since if you are turning right, the throttle comes closer or pushes in towards the body, which affects control(?).

thanks in advance peeps.
 
in racing everyone prefers turning to the left.
Ever see the southpark episode about nascar...
Go straight... And... Turn to the left

Lol

Sent from my GT-I9100M using Tapatalk 2
 
You'll always have a stronger side, which inherently means the other side is weaker. All you can really do is practice the weaker side more (with the proper technique) to hopefully close the gap.
 
its the same with waterskiing or downhill skiing. one side will always feel a bit more natural. A dominant side unless you are truly ambidextrous.

we've all got got two sides to our brains

and being a lefty...... Im a little more f$%ed up than most...lol

i dont have any scientific data to support this....just a thought
 
Have had this issue for years , left hand turns easier than right which were stiff. Been going to the track and focused on this dilemma , here's what worked for me.

Because your right hand operates the brake /throttle, your right arm has twice the amount of things to do so the tendency is to stiffen up. You may notice your right arm is almost locked in a straight arm position.

The straight arm position does not allow your right side of the body (head to toe) to be in a relaxed or proper body position, what's worse is that your eyes seem strained going right not looking ahead or through right hand corners causing you to go wide.

What you have to practice is do your blipping / braking well ahead of the right hand turn as you slowly get your butt cheek slightly of the seat. Then slightly push the bike sideways to your left and collapse your right hand so that your elbow is slightly bent while maintaining a slight throttle.

The focus here is to try and touch your knee with your elbow as it is pointing to the right, this is what you should be be concentrating on.

As you practice this and get better at it, you will notice a few things happening, suddenly your shoulders are perpendicular with your top triple tree, your head is suddenly pointed ahead and to the right.

Do not concentrate on anything else but focusing on getting that elbow to touch your right knee. It may sound simple enough but there's so much going on, especially new riders.

Recap, braking well before the turn, bend that elbow.

Once you get good at this, then the next step is trail braking making you even smoother into the turn.
 
A lot of people have problems with right turns because of their hand position on the throttle. If you keep your hand in the same position on the throttle when turning as when riding straight your wrist gets twisted which is uncomfortable and doesn't allow you to lean off as much. Try holding the throttle on the end when turning right, as if your turning a door knob, it straightens out your arm and make it a lot more comfortable.
 
I have the opposite problem. I'm always more hesitant on left turns due to target fixating and landing in a potato field two years ago on an easy left hander.
 
I find lefts difficult due to me not being able to fully relax my right arm because it has to control braking/throttle.

On rights my right hand is on the inside and initiating the turn thus I find it easier (I can relax my left arm a lot easier)...
 
I've always thought rights feel more challenging (on the street at least) because the curve is always tighter than on lefts (because you are on the right hand side of the road). Right hand turns at intersections are also done much slower than left hand turns.

OP, with proper "push-steering", your right hand should not be coming closer to your body but slightly away (at least initially, to start the turn). You may be trying to ride your motorcycle "like a bicycle" (not my expression) around right hand turns, making the bike feel unsettled.

in short: more practice
 
With slow speed maneuvers I ride the rear brake and a left turn leaves the left foot available for the nervous touch down. Not as easy with the right. I need more practice.
 
I feel my right is the stronger side.

weird
 
I nearly dumped my bike at Steeles and Bayview, I was getting ready to turn right onto Bayview, and I misjudged my speed and the angle of the turn. I reacted and grabbed too much front brake, I almost fell off. This was at the start of my ride as well, not the best way to start a ride!
 
http://www.gtamotorcycle.com/vbforum/showthread.php?153363-Tread-wear-difference-from-left-to-right

When I read that this is mostly caused by not applying the proper technique to one of the sides' turns as well as the other, on my next ride, I realized that was exactly the problem.

I was not giving my whole body (knee, elbow, upper body) to the turn properly, so I was not comfortable to lean much. And I was not comfortable to lean much, so I was not giving my whole body. It was a total chicken<->egg situation =)

Now the thread wear on the tires are finally symmetrical lol and my OCD self is happy =)
 
Last edited:
i have a tendency to go wide on a right turn. if it is a continuous turn, no stopping but only slowing down, it's a little better than when i have to stop (ie: stop lights).

so even if it is a small turn, when i stop at the lights, then turning right lane to right lane on my blocking position, two things i notice: going wide and rough turn, as if the turn feels unstable and i have to make wiggly adjustments while turning.

maybe this is a combination of slow speed and experience and turning on my weak side. i guess all in all experience. trying to get more pointers from the more experienced riders so not to get into a bad habit and ride better.

thanks for the replies peeps.
 
Umm I hate to state the obvious people but due to the nature of our roads lefts are sweepers and rights are tight.

Go to Australia or other places and your right turns become graceful and your lefts a chore.

Indeed we have fav sides but in my case there is no imbalance in braking or shifting as hands do all the braking and there is no shifting but the ease of left or right is country dependent. ;)

BTW learning to feather your rear brake against the throttle can make for more controlled turns.
 
wearelopey said:
I find lefts difficult due to me not being able to fully relax my right arm because it has to control braking/throttle.

On rights my right hand is on the inside and initiating the turn thus I find it easier (I can relax my left arm a lot easier)...
Click to expand...

I have the similar problem. right turns are relatively easier to me.
 
MacDoc said:
Umm I hate to state the obvious people but due to the nature of our roads lefts are sweepers and rights are tight. Go to Australia or other places and your right turns become graceful and your lefts a chore.
Click to expand...

That could be a contributing factor, but when I first started riding it was only on the dirt and I definitely STARTED with a predisposition to turning left as well, which had nothing to do with the road system. I think it starts off more of a personal thing, than an environment thing. BUT i think the environment does have an influence, because (just as Dricked mentioned above) after a few track days at TMP I became more balanced and completely noticed it in my riding!
 
I also feel like I enjoy right turns more than lefts. For some reason when I'm turning to the right, I apply pressure to the bar (countersteer) with my right hand to keep it leaned, and I feel more in control. The left hand turns----bike seems to need no pressure applied from the left hand at all, I don't know if I'm subconsciously pulling on the right side or what, but the feeling is like the bike wants to keep falling into the turn...weird... I'll be working on finding the reason...I doubt it's a mechanical problem, though I started noticing that after a front tire change...beats me..
Forum Sponsor
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom