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The ABC's of Traction - Cornering (Page 7 of 7)
If we are severely over speed and just know we can't lean our way through it, then we need to take more drastic action. One technique is to press on the outside handgrip to straighten the bike up quickly. Then apply maximum straight line braking techniques to rapidly scrub off the excess speed. Release the brakes and press on the inside handgrip to reinstate the lean and resume the curved path of travel.
This is a complex technique that can enable us to quickly reduce our speed by 15-20 miles an hour. Hopefully this will be enough to allow us to negotiate what has now become a sharper curve. A lonely road at slower speeds might provide an opportunity to practice this technique in case you ever need to use it.
A Final Thought
Data shows that most motorcycle crashes are single vehicle incidents and most of them occur in curves. The rider runs wide in the curve and collides with the roadway or some other fixed object. The bottom line is they exceeded their traction limits while cornering and lost control of their motorcycle. Regardless of their technique error, whether it was not slowing enough going in, not looking all the way through the curve, over braking while leaning, the result was the same.This four step process of slowing before we enter the curve, looking through the curve as we lean our motorcycle and gently accelerating through the turn provides a smooth cornering technique that gives us a feeling of being one with our bike. The technique allows us to ride with control as we enjoy the twists and curves of the road that wind before us.
