Riding fast around corners is not that scary let's talk about cornering at speed!
welcome to MOTOTREK. I'm Dusty Wessels professional motorcycle instructor for
West 38 Moto Today we're cornering at speed. what the
heck does that mean? it means faster than first gear probably second third maybe
fourth
when cornering at speed vision momentum control and body positions are very
important
cornering at speed is a blast! I love it! it's so much fun when you find a road
that you can have fun and go fast on do it! the most important thing to remember
is your vision. you've got to look as far out on that road as you can see. that
allows us to scan everything in between that point and where we are right now to
maintain proper control while you're at speed make sure you approach that corner
at a speed that allows you to stop if when you get around it you see something
that makes you stop a washout a big rock another car up like in front of you're
down if it's wide open once you see it take off
When cornering at speed vision and momentum control go hand in hand
use your vision here to look forward don't look at the road in front of you
keep your eyes focused on the furthest point away when you come into a corner
like this where you can't see what's on the other side you need to control your
momentum use the throttle as a dimmer switch don't dump it just roll off it a
bit if you can see all the way through the corner keep the throttle consistent
roll on it as you exit just like you would on the pavement check out Bret's
fantastic video explaining all about vision when cornering at speed off road
in a low traction environment it's really important to keep your body
position in the right place so if I'm on the pavement and I'm making a left-hand
turn I can lean in all day long that's fine it's a high traction environment
this is a low traction environment stand up get your weight to the outside gotta
have our weight outside when we're offroad how much weight you shift is
going to be determined by how sharp the corner is and how fast you decide to
take it drive that outside the end of the tank keep the inside me against the
tank tight drive that thing in there hold on to that really tight this is
very important your cornering at speed you've got to have some stability
in a low traction environment when you're cornering at speed you want to
steer with your feet on the pegs even though we don't want any of our
midsection weight to the inside we do want pressure and influence on the
inside peg that helps us stabilize at the knees and feel more comfortable and
stable going fast around the corner you've got to initiate the turn by
pressing on the inside peg don't shift your weight there just put pressure
there hold that pressure there all the way through the corner it'll stabilize
you as you're throttling and help you keep your line the reason why you don't
want to put any weight to the inside is because as you corner the contact patch
on your tire is decreasing and if you add weight to that that's where you
start to feel the wash and you can completely wash out if you keep your
weight neutral or to the outside it puts more weight vertically right on the
contact patch and allows the bike to be stable through the corner
cornering at speed off-road requires smooth throttle control you don't want
to be abrupt on this either way if I enter into a corner then I can't see
around the other side and I need to slow down if I dump the throttle I could lose
control the bike I don't want that to happen nice and easy just roll-off
inversely as I'm rolling out of the corner if I add too much throttle
abruptly I could break the rear wheel loose if you're cornering at speed pay
attention to the traction underneath you we're in a really loose traction
environment very easy to break the rear wheel loose here if you do break
traction don't panic ride it out slowly let off the throttle
whatever you do do not touch your brakes in that situation when you're cornering
at speed offroad the only time you should use your brakes
in that corner is in an emergency situation if you use your brakes in a
corner it could cause you to crash
remember keep your eyes focused on the furthest point down the road keep your
body weight to the outside of the turn smooth on the throttle and pay attention
to the traction surface underneath you