How to corner on a motorcycle | Gain confidence & skill

[@alanpucknell8913]

This was a good day. I know a lot of people knock it and say it’s not relevant to the road but it’s more about bike control and using your vision and understanding how it affects your riding. Definitely helped me with my bad habits.

[@tomnorris1734]

I could really benefit from this in the rain. Riding in the dry I have no issues at all but as soon as the heavens open my brain decides that the roads are instantly made of ice.

[@douglasreid699]

that could be down to the types of tyres on your motorbike or your suspension set up. we bought a kawasaki versys 650 new in 2021, i had been out of bikes for 10 years so didnt know better when buying the bike and using the stock dunlops were ok in the dry but i had little confidence in the rain with them, changed them for bridgestones and big improvement in my confidence. then just last week, riding in the rain, not feeling confident entering corners, the bike has 15k miles on it now, remembered a video from Dave Moss and that the front suspension should go down, up and stop when you stand next to the bike and walk it forward and pull the front brake. if it goes down, up, down, the suspension needs a bit of fine tuning as over time it wears out, the oil gets thinner, the screws are like taps to control the oil flow in the forks. so today i added some tension and it took away the down, up, down and it felt great to ride it again, i as a human was not compensating for the not the best suspension due to its age, it was now set closer to properly set up for me (Dave Moss says you should set the bike up for your weight as most people are different to the test rider that set the bike up for the manufacture). i will say i still to ride it in the rain as today was dry but i am confident it will feel better. little bit more advice, watch some advanced riding videos on reading the limit point, reg local has some good videos about that and it helps to estimate the corner ahead and what speed to enter it at.

[@cinemenico]

I knocked myself over on a roundabout with a moped once. I've been having a rough time finding back the confidence in taking corners with considerable lean angle when picking up motorcycling last year, over a decade later. I really try but I need to go either embarassingly slow or when I try to push I can just feel the most miniscule vagueness of the front or rear and imagine it wants to break out making me very uncomfortable. I know the limits of the bike must be way beyond what I'm using it at, but I find it tough to trust it is up for it. Had a few scares as well with wet, cold conditions and tram tracks which threw out the rear, which I managed to save, but doesn't help the cause. Maybe I should look for something like that course.

[@bennettsbikesocial]

Honestly, it'd be perfect - it's really a day of practicing, with experts watching and pulling you in for advice when needed. It'd do you no end of good! It's open to everyone, but if you're a Bennetts customer you can get a discount.

[@paulmatthews7701]

Are you in the right gear,you want instant response when you roll on or off the throttle,this was one of my problems,i was in too high a gear so when i tried to slow down the engine didn't slow which made me panic,when i got the right responsive gear,things got better straight away

[@judgedredd49]

@@paulmatthews7701 Being in the right gear is just as important as being at the right speed. Lower gears make a the bike more responsive and that helps one to steer round bends.. On a main road maybe 4th or 5th gear is ok but on narrower country road look at taking it down one or two gears and see how much better a bile will handel to bends. Also never slow when going round a bend as that makes the front end heavier and less controllable so always have a maintenance or slightly open or positive throttle on and that lifts up the front end and it makes the bike more responsive to handling. By the way don't believe the old wives tale that one cannot brake on a bend. Although the advice is to do all your braking before the bend its sometimes is necessary on the bend and so need to brake and if that happend use front and back but lightly and gently and as you slow you will straighten the bike up and one can use more brake due to a lesser lean angle. In order to do that successfully it should be taught on such a school as this. How to brake on bends is something rarely instructed on. You can do it whilst on a car park and on a dry day with a good surface lean, your bike over on a bend and then slowly try your brakes and see what effect it will have on your progress. slightly and lightly apply your brakes, repeat and learn how the bike responds to braking. NEVER EVER GRAB ONTO YOUR FRONT BRAKE . THAT WILL THROW YOU OFF. Always brake with progressive force slightly at first and building to a fist full and then easing off and relaxing to a stop If stopping in traffic always end up releasing the front brake and using the rear brake only and that will mean your bike won't jump up at you when your front forks relax after being compressed . So try it someday soon and see how you get on.

[@elvisthewart670]

@@bennettsbikesocial do these courses still run

[@scorpiongetoverhere1025]

When is the next course day!

[@Knotdead73]

Always look at where you want to go but not where you are going. Practice makes better but takes years.... nice school.

[@MPrider18]

I was there on this day, very nice experience and helped me to regain my confidence on the bike

[@WolfyGamerPro]

Somehow, I'm more confident in corners when the RPM is high and I hear the exhaust better. It gives me a sense of more control since I feel the traction and power output better. But again, I still have a lean barrier which I need to work on. Still lack of relaxed upper body and the point that I look at. Some days, I'm in the mood for corners whilst other days, I'm not.

[@buddyshergill5903]

The thing that's a shame about this course is it is to gain confidence but you can only do it if you have a full bike licence when you need it if you've only done the CBT.

[@thewrongbike7709]

CSS in the UK went bust (they might have reformed). I did the course about the time this video was made. If I remember the advertising correctly it did include CBT.

[@douglasreid699]

there are other ways to gain confidence safely but not having to go on a course. if you can find an empty car park you can practice low speed manoeuvres between the lines. i was lucky to ride off road before my cbt, i had an 80s yamaha xt 125 and doing the figure of 8, i stood up on the pegs and was showing off so then the instructor started kicking the cones closer together and i was still doing the figure of 8. low speed manoeuvres are good to practice first and get started with, from that you can build your bike control when you get to a higher speed as it gives you confidence at slow speed. assuming you have your full licence now as its 3 years later, you could look into advanced riding videos and use some of those tips to develop skills as well or take the course.

[@rhess107]

I have worked on cornering properly for a long time and had to be so slow at first. Got left behind by friends. 6 months later I can ride faster than any of them nearly effortlessly.

[@q1q1q1q1q1q1q1q11]

Any tips to share?

[@LIKWID]

Great stuff! Cornering is always something to try and improve on. Personally I've found myself doing what the instructor said going in too early and then running wide. Would be good to see if there was courses in Scotland 😁

[@rcraven1013]

I you stop trying to go round a corner or bend like a racing motorcyclist and just followed the curvature of any bend and paralleling it with the front end of our bike in sync then you will stay out of trouble. There is no secret at all to taking bend properly and safely. So maintain a safe slowing and stopping distance around that bend and if one is catching up with the limit point, the furthest point one can see ahead, about where both sides of the road meet, then if catching up with that limit point slow down as you are going far too fast. If however you are keeping up with the limit point or indeed its going away from you then you are riding it at its safest level. Simplessssss

[@rcraven1013]

Looking at the Apex all the way round That's good and easy on a track or car park or open space but on an actual road you generally don't know where the Apex is going to be, early mid or late or indeed did they give you a reducing apex or bend I think not. That's where the bend seems constant but then closes or tightens up so one has to alter both speed and steering in order to go round without shooting off at a tangent.

[@ady2181]

Ride slower then until u know the roads

[@rcraven1013]

@@ady2181 Not good enough. I am afraid. On a road regularly used we can become apathetic and complacent. As we have never experienced a problem on it before it doesn't mean that the next time there will not be one. So go round the bend always with caution and always assume the worst case scenario and that there is a problem before there becomes. one. Being prepared for the worst case scenario makes us safer riders. Not quite as fast as we might like to go but longer lived than others.

[@sarahdell4042]

You need to bring coverage to the US! Would love to support a company who is involved

[@bennettsbikesocial]

Maybe one day there'll be a BikeSocial US

[@TheValkyrieBiker]

This looks fun. Maybe one day I can do this too as I really struggle with my cornering as a learner.

[@danielbeaty2164]

What make of motorcycle is the one with the orange tank , please .?

[@diaryofawanderingboot]

Trail braking!!!! Underrated/overlooked/life saving skill of the century

[@Fearless154]

It's not an underrated or overlooked skill but an advanced cornering technique.

[@diaryofawanderingboot]

@@Fearless154 well that would depend on the folks one rides with, wouldn't it .

[@person.X.]

@@Fearless154 Is it? I am a new rider but as I understand it trail braking is simply gradually releasing the brakes as you approach the apex. Maybe I am wrong but it just seems the natural way to corner to me as it makes the most efficient use of the brakes while minimising the risk of losing grip.

[@douglasreid699]

trail braking is a useful skill for when you get caught out reading a corner, but entering the corner at the correct speed in the first place is a better skill when on the roads.

[@judgedredd49]

Is the California Superbike Training School still operating ? I thought they had stopped. Its ok on a straight piece of tarmac such as a car park whe one can see where the apex of a bend is but on our country roads that apex may remain blind on entry and is only seen when close up or when passing it The rider said that he got a few lose moments coming out of some of the bends and that isn't nice out on the road as it could lead to high siding and that's extremely painful never mind exciting.. 'Always look through the bend' That's easy on track or on a car park but extremely difficult if one has close scenery on blind bend which many are. So going in too fast is something to be avoided buta common cause of many incidents. With little information one has to learn by experience just what is too fast. With a little caution one learns that going in slower can mean coming out the other side even though one comes out a little slower, one has made the bend with safety and not losing it mid corner or indeed as said running out wide which on a left hand bend means meeting traffic coming the other way. So slow in, steady round and after the apex when you can stand up the bike and accelerate out. 'Look through the corner' has been commented on so consider the advanced way to ride and that is to slow and or brake before turning the front wheel to initiate the turn for the corner and watch just how one is in relation to the 'vanishing' or 'limit point'. The point where your nearside kerb or verge actually meets the offside kerb or verge on the bend. If you are gaining on that point you are going too fast so slow. If you are maintaining the same distance then your speed is right and if it is going away from you after the apex then you are coming out of the corner. Beware slowing and not showing brakes when approaching a bend as if there is following traffic they may not see you slowing by engine revs alone but by showing lights they will know that you are slowing and they may slow also. This is important with other bikers particularly if the ones following you are less confident or experienced as if you don't show brakes they may not brake themselves and end up go into the bends at speeds faster than you were. One need not use the brakes to slow unless one is going too fast and need to and there is nothing wrong with that as that's what brakes are for but if you can anticipate a slower speed on any particular bend one can come off the throttle earlier and allow the bike to so low without the need for braking but then flash the brake lights just in case you are being followed. One thing that is not shown in the training is the right road position for left and right handed bends and its important to learn where to put oneself in the road in preparation for either. They differ greatly and unlike a car park the roads have camber to take into account and also the roads have potholes and debris that one might want to miss . So yes by all means get yourself on car park and learn how to control you machine but that is only about a one third or less of what you need to know. Get some further training particularly out on country roads with someone who knows the law, the dangers and risks and of the systems to be used. I think that I may have made you aware that a corner is not just a corner It's more complex than that. Finally never ever cut a corner. or straighten one out as cutting corners cost lives. Take the slightly slower and safer route but one that is just as satisfying and paralleling a bend and the you will be a lot safer than racing round them like lunatics.

[@motordemic]

I agree with most of your points! I also ride in terms of a reference point. I saw it on a video (forgot the name) and it's stuck with me ever since. To reiterate what you said and how I apply it: If the reference point (the furtherest I can see) in the corner is getting closer I continue to decelerate/trail brake. If the reference point maintains its distance, I maintain my speed (maintenance throttle) And If the reference point gets further away, I then can accelerate out of the corner. All this while applying these: Brake until I'm happy with 1) MY speed and 2) direction, And Only accelerate once I can 1) see the exit and 2) take away lean angle. Great to see someone else always utilises the "reference point" technique 😋 Awesome, simple tips that have made my rides a lot safer!

[@judgedredd49]

@@motordemic Nice one but as yet trail braking has not been approved in the UK. In the USA its only because of an awful lot of track training is done over there and the need to reduce collision/accidents on bends when using the "performance line" of the out/ in/ out, and go in faster than you would if you were using the much safer line paralleling the radius of the bend. As said its not used much or yet accepted for use in the UK. Personally I hope that trail braking never does become an accepted practise as to my mind enough racing riders come to grief on it whilst racing at high speeds on the track and I just don't want to see the carnage increased on our roads by its use or misuse or abuse or ignorance. As its a track method of taking bends I would like to se it remain there. Riding on the roads on bends is far far different than taking bends on the track with many more variables and dangers etc.

[@GMak81]

​@judgedredd49 I would encourage you to watch some high quality tutorials such as Nick from Champ School with his 100 points of grip video, and any of the trail braking teaching of Canyon Chasers. I truly believe through research and constantly evolving my riding style that trail braking is indispensable for speed, fun and safety.

[@ps8432]

You have to be able to stop in HALF the distance you can see, according to the highway code, not the full distance. This is rarely taught but it is the safest mindset.

[@aubreymartin5020]

Great Video, less music or even volume would make it better me thinks!

[@ethanhale2853]

I love the bike you're riding I love that design not to not too extreme not too big just right best of both performances perfect

[@bennettsbikesocial]

Couldn't agree more!

[@HazardHarri]

What bike is that? EDIT: Ducati Scrambler.

[@jeremysumnall1075]

Can’t see the link! Are these courses still being ran, obviously out of lockdown

[@reczy]

If we always rode whilst being able to stop within the distance we see to be clear, we’d never go above 37mph in the twisty country roads! Solid advice though, still.

[@richbum3725]

New rider here. Do I need to shift all the way down to first gear (when riding at 2nd or above), or can I just take the corner on second?

[@prayanjaltomar752]

Gearing changes according to speed and speed changes according to your level

[@tuyenhoang5546]

Depend on the speed and the corner lol.

[@triv]

I'd reccomend not going in to first if you are a new rider... If you don't match your engine speed to your actual speed you could lock up back wheel, also 2nd will be more forgiving on the throttle

[@WorksopGimp]

So the bikes have way more grip that we think

[@varidian694]

Came off on Sunday. Slide side ways on a bend and now I go into a corner telling my self the bike won't slide but I just keep thinking I'm gonna go over

[@WhatTheFranco]

I had an accident along with my gf.. there was sand all over the road at the curve of the road.

[@paulburden3172]

I'm not really confident riding in the rain 🙄 especially cornering . Can you lean into the corners as much ?

[@mariuszuk79]

Try the figure of 8 in large empty car park (Sunday morning) This will give you best indication how much you can push it. Usually it’s more than we think

[@teddd10]

£100 a bit much to just learn cornering in one gear and using cones

[@rebel1052k]

Cant put a price on safety, £100 could be the difference between you stacking it on a corner or cornering safely and not crashing.

[@thewrongbike7709]

1 gear, not necessarily 1st and its is only the first session.

[@rcraven1013]

"I lost the back end a couple of times coming out of the corner but that was alright". Bloody hell if we are training to be safer on our bikes we don't want to be losing the back end. That generally show that one is putting on the acceleration before standing up and with too much lean angle and when we put on the accelerator the back end fails to retain grip and away it goes. Nice one? but not safe. Just what are we learning here.

[@ShawarmaShaykh]

helped me so much, thank you.

[@MotoMichelle]

Good advice 😃

[@scorpiongetoverhere1025]

Really enjoyed video thanks

[@bennettsbikesocial]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@virupakshawalla5734]

Off to Asda carpark aand save s few quid

[@MOTOCICLISTA29]

Nice one

[@qdastarboy8170]

I need this 😭

[@raymadani270]

annoying, load music 😤

[@bennettsbikesocial]

Oh for the days of quality load music. Sorcery on the CPC464 was my favourite.

[@LickyDischarge]

@@bennettsbikesocial genius reply 😂😂 , personally I didn’t mind the loud music 😉

[@Torodes23]

Man, I have to be way better than that in my test and I cant get it right >.< Why is this so hard

[@ScramblerOfFrance]

I’ve been struggling trusting my bike, had a moped when around a corner and it slipped out from me, low speed sharp corner but I think I either hit some road markings when accelerating out the corner or I just gave it too much throttle, been difficult gaining back the confidence. Use to be able to fly through corners with nice lean and handle low speed well but not anymore sadly

[@rcraven1013]

The golden rule of make sure that you can stop in the distance seen to be clear. However what is that distance?? Many riders just give the much closer Thinking distances only when riding say behind something as they believe [ mistakenly ] that they can stop on a sixpence and certainly well within the distance that they are giving. They don't believe the distances in the H.Code, the safe stopping distances. They are wrong and they will find out that they cant stop in those closer distances but too late. Those distances first of all are for cars and light commercial vehicle going back in history and were never meant for bikes. Police roadcraft and the H.C. tell us that we cannot stop in the same distance as for cars, we need longer to stop in. Plus these distances in the H.C. are on a dry straight road and we don't have a straight road on a bend now do we? NO. So that's one of the reasons we are not recommended to actually need to emergency brake whilst on a bend and why we should always determine our safe stopping speed from the outset and before or on entering the bend. Don't get me wrong we can all learn to slow on bends and also practise some braking as it comes naturally on our winding roads to vary our speed accordingly. If we have to brake on a bend we must remember that whilst we are at speed and leaning over at a good lean angle that we are using up quite an amount of available grip between our tyres and the roads surface. So say in simple terms if we have a 40 deg. lean angle, that can represent for the sake of argument a 40% usage of available grip. This means that if we have to emergency brake for any reason we no longer have 100% of our braking capacity but only the 60% left after the speed and lean angle are taking into consideration. So it should now become obvious that we can't actually emergency stop in the distance that we can see to be clear as we could on a straight and dry road, we are on a bend and we will overshoot. Or if we use too much force under braking we will in fact lose what little grip we have left and lose the bike or collide with whatever the obstruction is or run wide and collide with something head on or leave the road. That's why we must get the speed right from the start of the bend. Yes we can brake but that takes practise. Did you learn how to brake on this course ? I think not. and when we do brake in an emergency we have little chance of stopping without generally hitting something. .That's the nasty surprise. That actually you cant stop in the distance that you can see to be clear. and therefore one must take bends slower as a result. Too many riders who come to grief on bends go in and around bends far too fast.

[@danandbaggyshow]

My biggest down fall isnt my skill.its my brain

[@VanDOOMenStein]

Gary left already 6:12

[@yorkshireR9T]

Great advice

[@aps-pictures9335]

Annoying loud music

[@Bow-to-the-absurd]

Anyone can do this in an empty car park It works

[@Bigyugo]

my problem is that there is none around here xd

[@Bow-to-the-absurd]

@@Bigyugo Tell me about it.

[@ipohboy]

Music is offputting

[@Ahmed-fq6si]

This video was more of an ad than anything else

[@AndakimoProductions]

2:40 Intro is too long....

[@MackenziePerrault]

2:38

[@malacite1]

There won't be videos like this after Brexit

[@LIKWID]

There wont be idiots like you on them then 👍

[@MPrider18]

Hahahaha

[@cagednm69]

@Mike W because everything is set to get expensive and people won't have money to spend on motorcycles

[@benjamincs1]

@@cagednm69 Yep... it's already worse than it was.

[@nealbeard1]

Brexit will not happen!!!!!

[@Scarletsb0y]

shame the company has gone into liquidation on 23 October 2019

[@benevered5604]

Lower the backing music next time please. We want to hear words of wisdom not music.

[@mazharkhadri5408]

Music is too much, very annoying

[@benjamincs1]

Most of this is not appropriate for the road. Talk of apexes and faster entry speeds is not helpful to safety; speed is set according to what you can see, not the optimal speed for the corner if it were on a race track. There is no apex on the road because you stay out and then come in only later.

[@a-chail9720]

Not sure if we were watching the same video because the points you raised is essentially what was covered by the instructor. Eg turning in late to see what is around the corner such as hazards etc and give yourself room to exit wide.

[@judgedredd49]

@@a-chail9720 That fine on an open road or race track or on a car park but in many instance in the Uk on country roads its a blind bend with hedges either side so one cannot actually see any apex until on the bend and going at whatever entry speed one has maintained.. Too often some biker enter a bend too fast and they lose it due to an excess of speed that they can't shed, fright when they realise that they are going too fast or hit something or fixate on an item they should not be looking at. The entry speed is one of the most important issues. yes there are others but get this wrong and it can become a mess Its in relation to the first golden rule of safety that one must always be able to stop in the distance seen to be clear and on one's own side of the road. Entering a bend and choosing the speed is of paramount importance. If all that one can see of the tarmac to the kerb or hedge on a right hand bend is say 60 ft then one has to be able to stop in that distance so that means one enters the bend at 20 mph which is by the 2 second rule. Too often bikers take a road that has a 60 mph limit and endeavour to ride it as fast as they can and in doing so carrier round blind bends assuming that there is no obstruction on the other side and that can lead them into trouble. They can get away with it so that going faster become the norm and then they don't realise the danger that they put themselves in and cant believe it when they come to grief.

[@josephlarmor550]

judgedredd49 Nice to see some common sense spoken on here. I just started my IAM Advanced Rider Course and there seems to be a constant emphasis on “making progress”. On my second observed run in the group the other day, I found myself becoming more and more uncomfortable with the speed I was having to carry into and out of corners in order to keep up. On a twisty country road, I knew none of us could really stop in the distance we could see to be clear. All it needs is a slow moving tractor, horse, dog walker or group of cyclists just round the bend and you are history. Not to mention on the corner itself, gravel, manure, sand and roadkill: all of which I saw on our route. So I took a deep breath, slowed down, gave myself a nice big safety margin and enjoyed the rest of the ride. On arrival at the next rendezvous point, I could see the puzzled look on the instructor’s face, but I was relaxed, unstressed and alive. If people behind you want to hit apexes and accelerate towards exit points, just slow down, wave them through and smile. Remember, the largest proportion of motorcycle fatalities occur on corners with no other vehicle involved.

[@benjamincs1]

@@josephlarmor550 Well said, my friend. Completely agree.

[@judgedredd49]

@@benjamincs1 Benjamin and Charles. Glad to read your views . I have advocated for some years that our training on bends wants to be seriously looked at and if necessary re written. Historically our present guide was written for police training motoring schools and in the 1930.s when there were only some 4 million vehicles on our roads. We now have more than 10 times that number. Then there was absolutely no speed limits out on any country roads but only a 30 mph around towns and cities etc. So in those days everything goes and anyone could drive or ride at whatever speed they desired and one the vehicle was capable of. As there were no speed limits there was no offence of speeding on them . All that changed about the mid 1960's with the building of new motorways and the introduction of the national speed limit of 70 mph which in the early 70's was changed to 60 mph on all country roads except motorways and dual carriageways. So now we are, or should be trained. not at speeds over 100 mp as could be possible before but at speeds on all our country roads and at speeds not in excess of those new limits. Unfortunately we are still suffering from speed being a primary activity of motorcycling or car driving on our roads and that should no longer be the case. We are always taught that the speed limit is not a target to be obtained at all times but it seems that our experience in training, certainly for advanced riding skills fails in that regards and it would appear that the faster that one can take a bend makes one a better of safer rider and that is certainly not the case. One may ask the question, just why is that and the simple answer is that when the first police bible came out in the 1930's and subsequently the first police roadcrafts were published for cars in the mid 50's and for motorcycles in the mid 60's there were as previously mentioned no speed limits and therefore the police would have to be trained at higher speeds in order to pursue an offender or criminal or miscreant driver or to attend somewhere that they were needed to be in order to possibly attend at the the scene of an accident and possibly save lives et So historically some training was done for fast and urgent progress being made by police officers and prior to the new speed limits civilians would also be trained at those higher speeds.That should no longer be the case as since then the speed limits have come into being and we need only ask civilian drivers and riders to obey the new speed limits no matter what the circumstances of the roads are. Yes police and emergency drivers and riders still need to be trained at those higher speeds but we do not need to. Unfortunately this is still not mirrored in some of the practises and procedures for riding instructed to and by the emergency services but which we should not be party to. Overtakes, bends, use of the full width of the road are several things that should be looked at together with the overall attitude toward the making of progress and other related matters. All of which if seen to be no longer relevant for the training of civilians should help to make motorcycling and indeed the use of all vehicles on the road a safer matter I would finish by saying that there are two modes of riding by the police. The first one is in performing general patrol duties where one is on a bike and on certain pre determined roads for nearly all day and therefore one doesn't need to rush anywhere. Of keeping up with traffic and not needing to overtake them etc, is the way to go. The second mode is riding at excessive speeds that the police have to do in order to perform their duties and make faster progress to an incident or in pursuit of someone. These are the two modes of riding and each need their own skills. practises and procedures and I would like to think that civilians would be trained to that first standard of safety for longevity of life on our now crowded roads and in no way to the second one.

[@easyism]

Please no music. Its annoying and dont give any extra info.

[@SaberWavesCoaching]

👍

[@brianperry]

I'm sick of hearing that pratt banging on and on about the plight of 'expats' loved ones living in Spain....We don't go to Spain to Die ....we go to Spain to live...

[@trofiadi9152]

the background music is so annoying

[@JohnDoe_777]

bla-bla, zero useful info. just promo video.

[@i_am_reshad]

this video value = 0