Beginner Motorcyclist! Tips and advice?

Any basic tips when it comes to cornering? How often should I use countersteering turns, or how much should i commit to the turn, how much lean, how much slowing should i do? and how should i slow? clutch and breaks or just breaks then roll the throttle?





i know its all very basic, but when i think about it, i forget what to do, but when i ride i just follow my instinct and it seems to do me fine, but i'd like to know tips etc.. and know exactly how to do it correctly.Beginner Motorcyclist! Tips and advice?
You'd do better not to think about it too deeply. I've been riding for decades, and I never understood countersteering. I get around corners just fine, but the technical discussions just left me behind.





Then I figured it out. You're riding your bike and you're leaning forward, putting some of your weight on the handlebars. Suppose you want to turn to the right. You lean your body to the right, and in doing so you put a little more force on the right handlebar, and you turn right. Now you are -pushing- on the right handlebar! You are pushing the handlebars to the -left- but you are turning -right-! THAT's countersteering. I had been doing this all my life, I just never thought about it.





If you can ride a bicycle, you know all you need to know about steering a motorcycle. You don't turn, you lean. Trust the bike, -it- knows how to get around the corner! The steering geometry of the bike does it more or less automatically!





You want to slow down into corners and speed up out of them. That's also very simple. It will take you a while to get it smooth, to get the feel of it, so don't rush it. Don't slam on the brakes in the middle of a corner, make sure you slow down enough going in.





There's a kind of accident that almost everyone has when they're just starting out. It's called a 'spill' or a 'lowside'. You're bent over in a corner and one of your wheels hits some gravel or dead leaves or loose stuff. The bike loses traction and it just slides out from under you, depositing you relatively gently on the road. You're usually going 10-15 mph so you won't be hurt (but this is why we wear gloves and leather jackets.) After that happens, you learn to scan the surface ahead of you for loose stuff, especially in curves and corners, not to corner over railroad tracks, etc. etc. And it's why we don't recommend


learning to ride on a brand shiny new bike.





To me, cornering is what riding a motorcycle is all about. I love 'canyon carving', riding twisty mountain roads. With a little practice, clutching, shifting, braking, accelerating all become smooth and connected. That's what you're aiming for, to become one with the bike. It comes only with some practice and experience. It's not a matter of going just as fast as you can, it's more a skill thing than a speed thing.Beginner Motorcyclist! Tips and advice?
Think to yourself A refresher


#1 when slow, you try to countersteer its weight


#2 when fast, you lean like you're on a racebike





#3 Always look through your turn. In a MSF course, they make you turn your head all the way to the side (a good practice)


#4 Eye fixation: you will lead your bike to whichever way you are looking, whether you like it or not. Solution: Keep your head up (be proud)


#5 Again, look through the turn. ex: if you are heading 12'clock and you are making a turn up to 3'clock ( 1 or 2 or 3) keep your head turned to 3'clock always.
First off,





Instinct will serve you well here. Feel out your turn, and you should be going slowest when you reach the curve.





If you are in a turn, and you feel like you will tip over, a little throttle with fix it. Practice on the same turns regularly, to get a good feel for your bike's abilities. You should only need about half of your bike's ability for normal riding, but be sure to know how to use all of it before an emergency arises. If the bike weighs more than you do, your body cannot throw enough weight around to get it into the turns, so you will have to let the bike do the work. A bicycle is a different story, though you counter steer, it is much more natural, because of the lack of extra weight.





Enjoy, and hope to see you out there!
it depends entirely on the situation and how comftorable you are, and also what you prefer..





i prefer having the clutch down in case i need to make a smooth stop, but i also have a tendency to take corners fast and lean low.. lol i've only dropped my bike once, but like i said, it all depends on what you are comfortable with.
when you are going over like 15 miles an hour you would use counter steering. once you drive for a little you will get used to it and find out when you do and do not have to use it.





also do not do more that you think that you can handle always ride to about 60% or less of your ability do NOT push anything.
The best recommendation I can give it this.





Harley Davidson Riders Edge Riding Program.


Check with your local dealer for a beginners class near you.





Rode in the 70's %26amp; 80's %26amp; gave it up. Starting again now, just completed the class. Excellent training or retraining.





Just enjoy %26amp; be safe.






i would recommend a rider's safety class such as Rider's Edge. i took the beginner's as well as the advanced courses at my local Harley dealership. the beginner's course was 4 days..2 classroom and 2 on the ';course';. the advanced was 2 days on the course.
Turn your shoulders away from the direction of the turn. If you're turning left, turn your shoulders to face right. I'm not sure why but the bike turns more easily.
The questions you're asking tell me that you really ought to take a motorcycle safety course. They can be done in a weekend, cost less than three hundred dollars, and are invaluable with respect to gained wisdom and comfort. Don't short shrift you life, Ricke, because this one here is the only one you've got.





Counter-steering is used on all but the very slowest turns, such as you might make in a parking lot at two miles per hour; you have been using counter-steering for years on your pedal bicycle without realizing it because there is so little resistance to them. The only time you actually steer a motorcycle is in very technical turns. The rest of the time you look in the direction you want to go, and the bike will follow. This is important for beginners because it is otherwise easy to become fixated on a target, i.e., the thing you don't want to hit: If you're looking at it, you'll hit it.





Choosing your lines in a turn, which involves entry speed, apexing, and exit speed, come with practice. Get some miles under your belt, and then consider a track course during the summer. There are plenty of excellent programs out there run by professionals that will take you from the chalk board to the track five or six times a day, and what you learn is utterly unbelievable. This is best done sooner than later, as you will not have time to cultivate terrible habits.





As for slowing down, this is a really fundemental skill and should leave no questions in your mind. Use the brakes to scrub speed, because that is what they are for. Down-shifing used in combination with the brakes gives you more control with respect to exiting the turn, as you will have more power available to your rear wheel. But that, too, comes with practice.





Hey, take your time learning and practicing the basics. You've latched on to a great sport here, so make it last.