Cornering at speed

[raindog]

Left handers for me too. I did a bit of motor racing at a very lowly level when I was young and rode motorbikes for some years too, and the same thing applied. No idea what the reason is though. Weird isn't it?

 

[YahudaMoon]

I would have thought left is easier for everyone ? This is why all race tracks go clockwise

I think it has something to do with your heart being more to the left ?

Which means the guy in the picture is going the wrong way round ?

 

[Linford]

I would have thought left is easier for everyone ? This is why all race tracks go clockwise

I think it has something to do with your heart being more to the left ?

Which means the guy in the picture is going the wrong way round ?

The guy in the pic is me. Looking down on the track from above and you are always turning right.

 

[col]

Ha, I love riding on the track, but I rarely follow the racing - I do enjoy it when I do manage to catch it.
That pic was taken in 2002 on the Melbourne Hairpin @ Donington Park. It isn't as fast as it looks - maybe about 35-40mph tops as it is a very tight corner. The biggest fear is the tyres being warm enough, and they are scrubbed to the edges to give max grip. They do actually grip so well, that when another rider drifted wide as I was riding aroundthe outside of him, I instinctively grabbed a handful of brake, and had a very controllable front end slide which felt like it lasted a couple of foot- and looking back was actually fairly scary. The quickest I've ever cornered with the knee o the floor was at Mallory Park on the huge and very fast Gerrards corner, and that was carrying an exit speed of about 110. Which is really scary when you start to run wide towards the exit ofthe corner.

I actually brushed shoulders with Barry Sheene back then as I nicked into the paddock, then got asked to leave

 

[Old Plodder]

I knew Barry Roberts.

Left handers are easier.
1)We ride on the left
2)We cut across the apex of the corner
3)We can't damage our gear mechs
4)Right handers are the long way around

 

[mattobrien]

I think I prefer left handers due to car driving, much more scope on a left hander if the back end steps out, provoked or not?

That said, I fully appreciate that if I stack it on a left bend I would end up possibly in on coming traffic.

 

[Dan B]

I hate cornering at speed in either direction - but at least on a right-hand bend you have more visibiity around the turn

 

[MattHB]

I'm a motorcyclist with an advanced licence, I've had not only my knee down, but my pillions boot down too! But cornering at speed on a roadie is just terrifying!

 

[Matthew_T]

Info for all cyclists: Do not go around a tight corner in damp and cold conditions too fast on a poor road surface. This will happen:
http://s1132.photobucket.com/albums...ction=view&current=Mybigfallmadeevenworse.mp4

An the result will be this:

 

[col]

The times Iv been going fast down hills, descending to the lakes from something pass? Cant remember its name. I pressed my knee into the top tube to help stability, and I cacked myself on left AND right handers. Over took a couple of cars doing that.

 

[Matthew_T]

I headed down a local hill once flat out, we use it for a Hill climb time trial with the local club.


It was pretty scary hitting 40. (The vid is sped up)

 

[Deleted member 1258]

A bend is a bend, if we did not go round them we wouldn't get any where, I've got no preferences.

 

[Linford]

Looking back in retrospect, cornering at higher speed on an uneven surface on a roadie can be fairly scary. I guess it is because all the weight is over the front end and so can make the back end very twitchy. There are some big hills around me and you'd not wantto ride them with the brakes off competely.

 

[col]

I headed down a local hill once flat out, we use it for a Hill climb time trial with the local club.


It was pretty scary hitting 40. (The vid is sped up)

Show us at true speed playback.

 

[Linford]

I actually brushed shoulders with Barry Sheene back then as I nicked into the paddock, then got asked to leave

I know it isn't off a cycle, but this was cam footage from one of the sessions off my m/bike on another visit to Donington Park (look closely at the top left hand side, and you can see the reflection off the speedo as I went under Dunlop Bridge). I love that track but it is an expensive day out . The trick with m/bike cornering is to to kep the power delivery fairly neutral to avoid the front washing out due to to weight transfer, or highsiding with the power on. I just play at it, but OMG it gets the blood pumping when the bike gets above 10,000rpm