It is one of the fundamentals of riding a motorcycle. Without this technique your cornering will never be smooth, your ability to avoid hazards will be greatly reduced and even your confidence on a motorcycle will be affected.
This week on MCrider we will look at one of the core principles of riding a motorcycle and I will give you a specific exercise that can help you develop good habits in this important aspect of riding.
If you have spent much time trying to improve your riding skills you have heard this many times in various forms: turn your head, look where you want to go, avoid target fixation and one of my favorites, point your nose in the direction you want to go.
Without this technique your smoothness in corners will be inconsistent at best, you will never see hazards in corners soon enough, and your confidence will be affected.
It is one of those things about riding a motorcycle that is feels strange at first but with practice it becomes easier and is often a light bulb moment for a lot of riders to help solve problems cornering a motorcycle.
So let’s define what we mean by looking where you want to go.
Let’s say I am riding down the road and face a 90 degree curve. First I slow to my entry speed and then look through the corner. What does look through the corner mean? I start with a scan at the beginning of the corner looking for gravel and other obstacles and continue to look through the rest of the corner to the exit of the corner (where I want the motorcycle to end up at the end of the corner) This all happens before I lean the motorcycle over, because once I lean the motorcycle I want to look or point my nose where I want the motorcycle to end up.
It is important to not look down as you turn your head but on the horizon. Looking down increases the sensation of falling when the motorcycle leans so look on the horizon to negate that feeling.
The farther you turn your head the sharper the motorcycle will turn.
Here is a great exercise to help practice this. It is easy to set up and practice but will make a world of difference in your cornering ability.
This exercise will be included in the MCrider Field Guide. The Field Guide is the practical application of many of the exercises presented on MCrider. It is designed for mobile devices for you to practice these skills on a parking lot. The Field Guide is available to every Patron of MCrider you can learn more about becoming a Patron and the Field Guide at www.MCrider.com/fg.
