If you don't like taking curves a motorcycle may not be for you. The number 1 cause of death is improper cornering. Seriously if u need to slow down below recommended speed you aren't doing it properly. You can really hurt yourself. Be careful out there.

 

There's nothing wrong with not taking blind curves at high speeds. If you don't know the road well, it not a smart thing to do. Even if you do know the road, you can't be sure of the current conditions. Decreasing radius corners are killers. Look through the curve and don't target fixate. Don't look down at the road in front of you. Ride your own ride.....bottom line. As you enter the curve, stabilize your suspension by giving just enough throttle input to take the weight off of the front tire without gaining speed. Ride what is called 'the pace', that's a constant pace you are comferatable with that does not require you to brake before entering a curve. Late breaking into curves shows that you have not set up the corner correctly. It's used in racing to maintain the highest possible speed for the longest duration. Even on my sportbike, where I ride at 2-3 times the pace of my HD, I make every effort to stay off the brake, on the track, it's a different story.

 

I always had a fear that if I leaned the bike too far, I would lose traction and the bike would slip out from underneath me. I would occasionally scrape hardware (i'm on a Nightster so not much clearance) but I don't think I ever really got to a point where the threat was real.

One thing I brought back from a recent HDForums group ride in Shady Valley, TN was to shift my weight when going through curves. By shifting your weight, you lower the center of gravity and thus the bike doesn't have to lean as much to get you through the curve...this helped me cope with my personal fear since I was leaning slightly off the bike but the bike wasn't leaned over as much and it gave me the confidence to become a better rider. I still have a lot to learn but that's the great part since if you reach the pinnacle and there's nothing else to learn, that's when it gets boring.

Also, one of the best advice I got during the group ride was to never push myself and ride my ride. Even if you're the last one off the mountain, the important part is that you're made it in one piece so definitely don't push your limits and like anything else, it'll come with practice.

 

All good advice. Most important of all, ride your own ride - that is the best advice. The other one is to look as far into the curve as possible and roll with that. You can't do twisties without looking down the curve- if you are looking directly in front of you it is actually dangerous. I gear down when I am doing twisties so that if I let off the throttle the bike slows without having to pull the brakes all the time. Most of all relax...one way to relax is to ride the road alot so you are used to the upcoming changes.

 

lots of great advice.
Reading this made me feel a little nervous for ya

Shane, I don't know your age but maybe it is time to ride with a different group?? when your feeling pressure to go faster and keep up thats not a good sign and it cannot be very enjoyable to ride like that.

My wife has been riding for about 1 year and I tell her to be comfortable and the rest will fall into place, that means no pressure just enjoy & practice counter steering.

ride safe

Colin

 

Best advice of all... ride your ride...let your fast buddies go ahead and never try to keep up just because you think you have to.
Ride safe.

 

i agree with babalu, if u cant do the speed limit, i think u could be dangerous to yourself and others. godspeed

 

There are fine lines between bravery & stupidity, and between caution & wisdom.
Always stay on the right side of those lines and you will live to ride tomorrow.

 

Wow. Thanks for all the great advice!
I usually do ride at my own pace and just let go ahead who wants to. I just thought I was doing something wrong or being too cautious. I know about looking through the curve instead of at the ground in front. It's one of the things I learned in the 32-hour course I had to take to get a big bike license in Japan, and it helped a lot. I guess I just need a lot more practice and experience. I'm usually going 10-20 km above the posted limit (the limit is VERY conservative here), even through curves, but I have buddies that exceed it by a LOT more. I don't think I'll be riding much, if at all, with the guy I mentioned in my first post. I'm 42 and he's 62, so you'd think that I'd ride much more aggressively, but he's the most aggressive rider I know. He's been riding for a lot longer than me, but I've seen him do some flat-out crazy ****. When I mention it to him, though, he just shrugs it off as normal to him. I'm almost more nervous for him than I am for myself, imagining finding him and his bike laying in a mangled, bloody mess around the next corner. I just took a 2800 km trip with him, and I discovered that our riding styles are just too different to try to do it again. I like simple, clean and laid back. He likes using all the latest technology, has 20 million different gadgets on his bike and rides as if he is constantly in a hurry. He's a great guy and he'd do anything for me. He helps me with maintenance and mods that I don't have the tools or the knowledge to do, so I'm very grateful to him, but I just don't care for taking long rides with him.

I have another friend who offered this, when I posed the same concern about corners to him: "It just takes getting to know your bike. I ride fast through corners, but I've been riding my particular bike for almost 10 years, so I know exactly what her limits are and how fast to go."

I've only been on my Harley for a little over 2 years, so I guess it's just going to take more time to get to know her better and how to take corners with her. Curves are the rule rather than the exception in Japan, so you really have to know how to ride them. Just gotta take it slow. (no pun intended)

 

Since when i survived to a terrible car accident (my friend died) i always feel uncomfortable taking curves at speed. Who cares of being accused to ride slowly.... Dont listen to your friend. He's just a bully w/out experience.