Had this conversation with a buddy I used to road race with. We talked about how it took practice and sometimes getting in a little over your head to realize what the bike can do. There were times I'd follow a faster guy into a corner and realized how much later I was braking or how much sooner I was picking up the throttle on exit as compared to when I was setting the pace. Eventually THAT becomes your pace and you build on it. Same thing here but instead of how quickly you can circulate a closed course, its how slow can you go and maintain control while turning . And that includes with a passenger that shifts their weight at the WORST possible moment like making a U turn.

 

In many case you make a u-turn from a stop waiting at a red light. Typically that is a left hand turn. Turn the wheel to the left and lean the bike left before you start. Your half way there... add the friction zone and rear brake technique and it will be easy.

 

I've taken precision low speed riding courses taught by Police Motor Officer instructors. There are techniques, and/or "tips", that are huge. Huge. Not always discussed. Some thoughts...

1. You MUST be leaning your torso forward. MUST. Well, if you want to make this easier. Yes, you can make u-turns with your feet on your highway pegs. It's just not as easy.
2. Squeeze the tank between your thighs. This, plus leaning forward, connects you with the bike.
3. NEVER put any weight on the bars. When you're leaning forward, you're holding the weight of your torso with your core, abs & back, and that allows you to NOT put weight on the bars.
4. Hands and arms are SOFT. You can't turn a motorcycle without turning the handlebars, and if your arms are tense, ain't gonna happen.
5. When you turn the handlebars, one arm straightens, and one arm bends. Feel the the push in the arm that straightens, and feel the PULL in the arm that bends, and feel the elbow coming closer to your ribs as you pull. Relax your arms. NO TENSION.
6. The "dip" is an enormous help. What is it? It's a simple a countersteer, in the OPPOSITE direction you want to go, that starts your lean. Want to make a u-turn to the right? When you start, nudge the bars left, turn your head all the way to the right, and swing the bars to the right. First time you do it, you'll go WOW!
7. When you turn right at road speed, you lean your body right. When you make a u-turn to the right a slow speed, you keep your body upright. Counterbalancing. This allows you to go slower. If you lean your body right in a u-turn to the right, you're going to need more speed to keep from falling down. And, staying upright is a lot easier to do when you're connected to the bike. See #1 & #2 above.
8. And, as has been stated above, looking where you want to go isn't enough. Moving your eyeballs accomplishes nothing. TURN YOUR HEAD as far as it will go. Until you feel like you're straining your neck. Point your chin where you want to go. This gets your shoulders rotating, your arms moving, and the bars turning.

Never forget, there's only one way to turn a motorcycle, and that's by turning the handlebars. And that will never happen if your arms are stiff and tense. Keep your arms supple, soft, loose. Swing the bars.

All the previous comments from other posters about slipping the clutch, trailing the rear brake, NO front brake, feather the throttle, turn your head, are all 100% correct. Without question. Add in some of the tips I got from motor cops, and you might find them helpful.

Keep practicing!

 

Hey! I resemble that. "a lot of that is mental" and it takes me 30' in a 20' so there.

 

You should try it with these beach bars ……….. geez what a pain!

 

IdahoHacker mentioned something that helped me. I have to lean forward, to get more stable; it's mentioned in one of the RLAP videos (center of gravity.) And, hugging the tank with my legs is helpful, too. A Road King is a little more difficult to U-turn, for me, than a Dyna/Softail, the R.K. geometry seems more for long distances.

 

1. Turn Head over shoulder and look at where you are going.
2. Little Throttle
3. Clutch in Friction Zone
4. Keep power to rear wheel by dragging rear brake.
5. Shift weight to outside of turn.

If you do all of the above you can lock the bars and drag your boards.

Practice often!

 

Best advice.....Turn your head AS FAR AROUND AS YOU CAN (stretch those neck muscles) and "forget" you even have a front brake (take your hand off it completely) a touch of throttle and work the friction zone......... Force yourself to practice in a parking lot and stay within 2 parking spaces.....you'll do great with practice.

 

Yep, the hard head snap makes a huge difference. I've actually turned the bike sharper than I expected and it startled me. "Oh, well maybe I only need the one lane!"

The "dip" that Jerry Palladino demonstrates in his videos also helps you to get the bike flicked over. If you watch videos of the riders in his class, a lot of them are trying to do the turns with the bike bolt upright. You can do it, but it's a lot easier if you push the bars one way, then back to the other to dip the bike into the U-turn. He sticks a cone out near the edge of the entrance to the U-turn to make them turn the bars in and back out to initiate the dip.

 

I'm short in the legs n hated my ultra classic especially 2 up, ditched the ultra n got a bike that fit me n it was no problem. I ride a Dyna superglide fxd n can wheel the hell out of it. Love this bike!!