Today I went for a ride from sacramento to south lake tahoe via Hwy 50. when I got up in the twisty part of the hwy I got kind of nervous and tense for some reason .I have riden this road before on a bike about 15 years ago on a honda shadow 750 and I dont rember beeing this nervous. I also have driven this road maney times in the car. there were two times where I had to pull over and let the cars go buy mostly on the down hill with 35MPH curves ahead

anyone have any tips for riding these roads

 

Practice!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Always look where you want to go. If you're looking at the curb/trees, you'll go and hit the curb/trees.

Be smooth with all controls. Nothing on your bike is an on/off switch, except the on/off switch

 

Excellent advice here. You will go where you look. Don't ride faster than your ability. Don't ask how I know. I learn all my lessons the hard way.

 

keep at it? after my wreck i was afraid to ride the mountain roads but i made myself do it and now i ride without fear.

 

+1 on practice!

Look ahead where you want the bike to go. Don't be afraid to down shift more and brake less.

 

Look ahead as far around the curve as you can. Do not look down at your front wheel or the road directly in front of you. If you keep your eyes and head up and look to where you want to go at the end of the visible curve, you will find yourself taking the curves faster and more comfortably and safely.

 

+1 on all the advice
Did you take a MSF course?

 

All good advice.

Remember to countersteer ALL the way through the curves. If you want to turn tighter, while going to the RIGHT, press the RIGHT grip FORWARD while keeping the throttle steady. Same application for going to the left, press the left grip forward with steady throttle. Remember to TURN YOUR HEAD while looking THROUGH the curve. Do NOT let your eyes get sucked into oncoming traffic, the drop off edge or anywhere else you do NOT want to go. Where your eyes go is where the bike will go.

Set your entry speed BEFORE entering the curve. Too many inexperienced riders come in too fast, feel themselves drifiting out, and then do things they should not, like rolling off the gas, turning the handlebars into the curve (which will countersteer them right off the road) or applying the brakes while leaned over. Any of these alone or in combination along with improper eye placement will at least make the bike unstable and possibly lead to an accident.

Some 90% of all motorcycle accidents are failure to negotiate a curve and usually it's single vehicle involved meaning the rider went off the road with no other vehicles present. Most of the times it was caused or precipitated by some of the above factors and actions.

Like the man said, PRACTICE. And remember practice is NOT going for a ride, it's working on a certain skill or exercise until improvement is achieved and maintained.

 

Also don't be ashamed to pull over and let traffic go by. You'll feel more comfortable and will learn better because of it. Again don't let ANYONE push you to ride beyond your skill level. After some quality low pressure practice I'm sure you'll become more confidant and more comfortable in the twistys.