• There has been a recent cluster of spammers accessing BARFer accounts and posting spam. To safeguard your account, please consider changing your password. It would be even better to take the additional step of enabling 2 Factor Authentication (2FA) on your BARF account. Read more here.

More comfortable leaning left than right.

davidji said:
Yeah. I don't get a lot of opportunity to turn left commuting on the freeway.
Click to expand...

Mines is ALL left turns... :(

kangaroo said:
easier to get crossed up turning right than left. How straight is your wrist in relation to where the fingers wrap the bar to your elbow? You want to be as linear as possible. If this position is bad, then the rest of your body is trying to compensate. The butt overhangs too much, the inside right peg gets weighted, your spine is curved with your body wrapping the tank. So the more you lean, the more you feel the vertigo and that you're about to fall off the bike.

Practice pushing back on the bike while downshifting and braking. Weigh the outside peg and as less as possible on the inner peg, open up your chest area, long straight reach to the bars with your chest down especially your throttle arm.
Click to expand...

You know, while reading this I was trying to imagine in my head what you were saying... and I think on some of my right turns, I'm definitely feeling that "vertigo" and that I'm about to fall off of my bike. I think it could definitely be that.

By pushing back while downshifting and braking... what do you mean?
 
Wonder if it has to do with dominant eye?
 
KazMan said:
Wonder if it has to do with dominant eye?
Click to expand...

I have a preference for lefts but I thought it was due to left hand tracks. Maybe it is in my brain or dominant eye or something... :wtf
 
kangaroo said:
easier to get crossed up turning right than left. How straight is your wrist in relation to where the fingers wrap the bar to your elbow? You want to be as linear as possible. If this position is bad, then the rest of your body is trying to compensate. The butt overhangs too much, the inside right peg gets weighted, your spine is curved with your body wrapping the tank. So the more you lean, the more you feel the vertigo and that you're about to fall off the bike.

Practice pushing back on the bike while downshifting and braking. Weigh the outside peg and as less as possible on the inner peg, open up your chest area, long straight reach to the bars with your chest down especially your throttle arm.
Click to expand...

are you in other words saying my mental twitch expecting imminent pain is keeping me from instinctually applying the same mechanics I'm using on my more or less successful lefty slides to the righties? sounds about it to me. thanks for you suggestions:thumbup
 
Last edited:
By virtue of riding on the right side of the road our left turns tend to be wider because we are riding in the outer lane. I find I feel more confident in lefts as well and I think it has to do with the fact that the bike changes direction more slowly when following the outer line caused by making a left turn in the right lane. You can also see further in to the turn from the outer lane.

One way you can test this out is by picking a corner and riding it many times from both directions. You'll experience the same corner as both a right and a left.
 
Meter Man said:
Why are you sticking your butt out. On the street you don't really need to use much body English. I can ride at 105 to 110mph on roads with 45 mph marked corners without hanging off the bike. Even that is too fast for the street IMHO but sometimes the red mist takes over.
Click to expand...
Why? Well, because while you may be using 99% of your tire, I will be using 75% of my tire going the same speed. This is why you get off your ass and embrace the poetry of riding a motorcycle properly, with weight shifts, shoulder leading, and ass off the seat. It's a beautiful thing. You should try it. :thumbup
 
clutchslip said:
Why? Well, because while you may be using 99% of your tire, I will be using 75% of my tire going the same speed. This is why you get off your ass and embrace the poetry of riding a motorcycle properly, with weight shifts, shoulder leading, and ass off the seat. It's a beautiful thing. You should try it. :thumbup
Click to expand...

:laughing

Beautiful thing, but scary as hell too! Oh well, we'll all eventually get used to it sooner or later. Practice makes perfect, just gotta go out to that big ol' empty parking lot on a Sunday.
 
pvn.23 said:
You know, while reading this I was trying to imagine in my head what you were saying... and I think on some of my right turns, I'm definitely feeling that "vertigo" and that I'm about to fall off of my bike. I think it could definitely be that.

By pushing back while downshifting and braking... what do you mean?
Click to expand...

As you brake and downshift, your lower body slides into the tank. This starts the process to get you crossed up meaning your body then pivots around the tank. Your arm and wrist is at an awkward angle, wrist below the bar. Your weight is then mostly on the right peg. You'll then find yourself having a hard time getting the bike to fall and also at the same time, you feel like you're about to fall off. Classic definiton of being crossed up.

What I mean by pushing back, as you prepare to turn, push your butt as far back as comfortable. This also straightens out your throttle arm. Lets you place your weight on the outside peg. Try it with the bike on stands. It's something you automatically learn in mtn bike downhilling. The test is to place as little weight as possible on the inside peg. If you have most of your weight on the inside peg, then you're leaning your body out too far.
 
Could be your grip on the throttle. Try holding it like your turning a door knob. You want to twist your wrist not cock it back. Helped me on my right turns.
 
akdmx said:
By virtue of riding on the right side of the road our left turns tend to be wider because we are riding in the outer lane. I find I feel more confident in lefts as well and I think it has to do with the fact that the bike changes direction more slowly when following the outer line caused by making a left turn in the right lane. You can also see further in to the turn from the outer lane.

One way you can test this out is by picking a corner and riding it many times from both directions. You'll experience the same corner as both a right and a left.
Click to expand...

Yes, (thx akdmx) I fully agree with this...
Because we (here in the US) drive on the right side of the road, turning left is easier.
I bet if you asked a person from the UK or somewhere else (Australia, Hong Kong, S.Africa, etc..) where they drive on the opposite (Left side) of the road, I bet they would say right hand turns are less difficult. :nerd
 
moto-rama said:
It has more to do with vision than anything. Right turns typically don't allow you to see all the way through, and left turns do....
Click to expand...

akdmx said:
By virtue of riding on the right side of the road our left turns tend to be wider because we are riding in the outer lane. I find I feel more confident in lefts as well and I think it has to do with the fact that the bike changes direction more slowly when following the outer line caused by making a left turn in the right lane. You can also see further in to the turn from the outer lane.

One way you can test this out is by picking a corner and riding it many times from both directions. You'll experience the same corner as both a right and a left.
Click to expand...

jokerio said:
Yes, (thx akdmx) I fully agree with this...
Because we (here in the US) drive on the right side of the road, turning left is easier.
I bet if you asked a person from the UK or somewhere else (Australia, Hong Kong, S.Africa, etc..) where they drive on the opposite (Left side) of the road, I bet they would say right hand turns are less difficult. :nerd
Click to expand...


I spent a lot of time a few years ago talking with UK and AUS riders and they have the same left-hand preference.

Nothing to do with the roads.

And since the preference shows up other sports where the throttle isn't on the right grip, we can rule that out.

We can also rule out handedness since I've found he same preference regardless of whether the rider is right- or left-handed.
 
I feel equally confident in lefts and rights, but chicken strips are shwoing I lean more on the left side. :dunno

I think it is really down to the mental aspect of it, and subconscious movements/reactions when turning certain directions.
 
clutchslip said:
Why? Well, because while you may be using 99% of your tire, I will be using 75% of my tire going the same speed. This is why you get off your ass and embrace the poetry of riding a motorcycle properly, with weight shifts, shoulder leading, and ass off the seat. It's a beautiful thing. You should try it. :thumbup
Click to expand...

Perhaps but I still don't think one needs to hang off until one reaches ludicrous speed on public roads. Info shift my weigt and lean my upper body, I just don't feel the need to have my ass hanging off the seat
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top