Confidence in the corner

[lonesoldier84]

A lot of already very good input already.

I'll just add this:

Don't be concerned with going "fast". Trying to be "fast" results in things like charging the corner (trying to compensate for the feeling of being slow by hammering the throttle entering corners), and then trying to find the maximum pace at which you can retain some degree of looseness and make the corner.

You learn nothing this way except where your own panic responses flair up.

The adage is "slow is smooth, and smooth is fast." It is cliched, but very true. Focus on being smooth and clean in every respect going through corners: work on your body position, throttle application (on, off, and maintenance), transition from braking and rolling off the throttle to getting back on the throttle and straightening out, blipping the throttle and timing your downshifts, coordinating everything so it coincides with an appropriate braking, turn-in, and throttle point etc etc. All of these things work together and you will soon see that cornering a bike is more about integrating rider and machine and one series of actions that is quick and smooth. The better you get at this, the quicker you will ride. Thing is though, even as you get quicker, you still work on the exact same things. It may or may not become an obsession, or it may just be a casual thing you enjoy tooling around on back roads. Either way, it's a fun process.

Gradually you will notice your comfort levels rise, your lean angles increase, and your pace quicken. You went slow, but were smooth. In being smooth, you started to ride faster.

But FYI: You will notice more and more all the things you would hit if you slipped, especially as your pace picks up more and more. That's a good time to look around you and notice the terribly unfair concentration of phenomenal race tracks the UK has. Lol

[P.S. a good tip I got was when working on the basics entering a corner, don't worry too much about blipping the throttle and instead just wait till your revs drop and delay the downshift so you don't need to blip. Get everything else working in unison and clicking properly. Personally, I've found I'm much happier delaying the downshift than blipping. But will have to get a slipper clutch one day though. But I need a motorcycle first. Lol ]

 

[j_rok-84]

The only tip that I can give that I can think of right now other than just practice practice practice and might not be mentioned in the above thread is NEVER try to follow and try to keep up to other more experienced riders in the corners, that's how people get hurt. Just ride your ride and it will come to you in due time.

thats great advice chevyfazer! i know guys who try that all the time and it ends one of two ways...they luck out and dont crash or they crash...

 

[yamihoe]

A friend and his dad told me one thing that helped me become more comfortable with taking turns with any kind of speed: trust the bike.
I am not saying pitch it and and hope it sticks! but trusting you're machine will help with the comfort level as well as just spending time on the bike.

 

[lonesoldier84]

Tires...Tires...Tires...Tires....Tires...

Did i mention...Tires?

These high mileage touring tires most people are running on the FZ6 are not adequate for cornering.

If you go out and try to aggressively ride corners with these types of tires you are asking for it.

If you plan on riding corners aggressively you need to be running a performance/supersport/sport tire. Yes you will get less than 10,000 miles on these type of tires. You may get 2-3 times more miles out of a touring tire but tires are cheap enough these days there is no excuse to not run a soft tire.

Unless you are one of these straight line riders who puts 1000's of miles per trip you should not run touring tires.

I know people are not going to agree with this but I've got a lot of experience with motorcycle twisties touring.

A very important part of this equation is changing your own tires, that way you only have the expense of the tires and the convenience of changing tires at any time.

Amazon.com: Motorcycle / ATVs / Light trucks Tire Changer Mount Demount Tires Changers: Home Improvement

I disagree with this. Pilot Road 2 and the like are great tires. Most people here run something along those lines. Pretty sure anyone in their first couple years of riding won't be finding the limit of traction on sport touring rubber....

And advocating buying a tire change assembly is a bit much. Cheaper to just find someone locally who will do it in his garage for $50.

 

[Lefty]

As a lot of people have stated, practice, practice, practice and ride within your ability/skill level. That being said IME in corners on the street, slow in, fast out, and see the corner exit before applying exit throttle. Unlike track riding, without seeing the exit to the corner on the street you're more than likely to be just guessing what the corner is going to throw at you... decreasing radius, off camber in the middle of the turn, etc.
And if you have stock foot pegs and not rear sets, you'll be scraping them long before you run out of rubber on the sides of your tires.