Right or left handers?

Is this a northern hemisphere thing or does everyone north of the equator prefer lefts to rights?

If not then what the heck?

For some reason I can take left handers with no worries and feel really confident, but right handers (especially in the rain) freak me out!

Does anyone else suffer this 'disability' and if so how do I get over it?


Edit to add: Can you reply saying if you're right or left handed?

Im 'down under' & i prefer left handers , not that im not confidant in the rights its just that i love left handers more for some reason :don'tknow: :thumbup: Im right handed BTW

I much prefer right handers. I low-sided my last bike ('84 Honda Nighthawk 750S) going through a leftie. I got caught on a lot of gravel and let off the throttle which caused me to dump Ever since then (psychologically) I can do right handers all day, but I 'granny' my way through lefties...

I'm ambidextrous... so no real help there...?

Lefties for me. I'm not sure why.

I just added the question of the rider being right or left handed

I'm Right handed, I'm not sure of the relevance but it may help!

I'm left handed, but I prefer right hand corners. Not sure why, but I find myself going through right hand curves with higher entry speed than left hand corners.

After reading the above it would seem if you drive on the left you prefer lefties and vice versa, so I guess it must be the road camber having something to do with it!

Left handers are much more fun :cheer:



We ride on the left side of the road downunder, so your theory is blown out of the water


BTW, I'm right handed

Ambidextrous, no preference.

A left hander if you drive on the left will be nicely cambered for the most part. The right handers will, more often than not be off camber.

In the hills here, a lot of left handers have very little visibility, while the right handers, due to the width of the road giving you some angle, will give you more.

Turns at the bottom of a dip with a creek on one side will often be very well cambered when going left, and the same turn headed back the other way, will often be still on camber, and then become off camber while still in the exit. Or completely the opposite.

I guess I'm trying to say every turn is different, so a general left or right hander preference makes no difference for me.

My favourite turn is an on camber 25km/h right hander, over a bridge at the bottom of a dip, then becoming off camber through the exit, with a long, long exit (the rear squirming from the apex, all the way up to 130km/h then change to second) on Lobethal road. This corner comes as last of 4 tight turns in around 200m, which makes it all the sweeter...lol.:rockon::rockon:

Here it is looking back the other way. This is where the rear is squirming.

View attachment 29688

View attachment 29689


This shows how tight it starts out as.


View attachment 29690


The next ones show how close these tight turns are to one another.

View attachment 29691

View attachment 29692

Kazza said:

Left handers are much more fun :cheer:

We ride on the left side of the road downunder, so your theory is blown out of the water

Click to expand...

What theory? The northern hemisphere bit? That was hardly a theory!

I tend to wonder if it has more to do with if your right or left brain. To check if your right or left the one method I've heard is you put your hands together and check to see what finger is on top. When I fold my hands I have my left pointer on top. So this would mean I'm left brain.

I tend to feel more comfortable on a left hand turn then a right hand turn. I am ambidextrous as well.

Wh0M3 said:

I tend to wonder if it has more to do with if your right or left brain. To check if your right or left the one method I've heard is you put your hands together and check to see what finger is on top. When I fold my hands I have my left pointer on top. So this would mean I'm left brain.

I tend to feel more comfortable on a left hand turn then a right hand turn. I am ambidextrous as well.

Click to expand...

:rof: you have a house full of Aussie's clasping their hands together :thumbup:

Humperdinkel said:

:rof: you have a house full of Aussie's clasping their hands together :thumbup:

Click to expand...

Yep, we just did it :rof:

I'm right handed - left index finger on top - I prefer left turns.

Mike is ambidextrous - left index finger on top - he prefers left turns

Is this like the water going down the plug hole the opposite way to the northern and southern hemispheres ,lol

Ozfazer6 said:

Is this like the water going down the plug hole the opposite way to the northern and southern hemispheres ,lol

Click to expand...

No. That's because we are up on top of the world, and those guys are downunder:BLAA:

at 1st, i prefer left hand corners, but i am right handed. the track i go to consists of mainly right hand corners, so its a good place to practise and gain some confidence.

FYI: http://www.600riders.com/forum/fz6-general-discussion/24042-do-you-have-prefered-cornering-side.html

Thanks Wavex, great link

Since posting this topic I have been experimenting and have found a new trust in my rear rubber. I suppose I was never worried about losing the front to a lowside but a rear end hi-side worried me a tad.
Here in the UK we ride on the correct (left) side of the road. Unfortunately, many of the right handers are around roundabouts, usually near a filling station where diesel spills are frequent. I decided to forget the diesel problem and go for it.
What I found was a new confidence in right handers, fast in, then keeping the throttle negative around the apex, then accelerate out but relying more on torque than horsepower until I was on a straight line then nail it.

I still have some reservations on negative camber turns, but I am learning to trust the bikes capabilitiies rather than my own doubts.

Shame I'm 49 years old and going through a re-learning period

I used to prefer left handers (I'm right handed) I found it much easier due to the cambe of the roadr, and covering the throttle and rear brake.
When I was a courier, I spent a lot of time working on the rights.
Now I don't mind left or rights. Which is great as some of the best cornering where I live is on the new roundabouts.

Nelly:thumbup:

i like right now, used to be left but then cars and trucks kept crossing center on the back roads and i almost lost my head. now i am afraid on left turns and slow way down unless i can see the whole turn. i am sorta glad it happened because now i can turn right so much better than before.