Emoes corners
Ok moving on from the last lessons, Lets talk about Throttle control and the speed through the corner.
The best way to learn this is on a corner you know, nice and empty and clear of debris.
Hopefully youll have been practicing the lesson in the last one, so youll already know the way the corner works, and be able to keep throttle on throughout the corner.
Ok, so in order to get the best speed through the corner you have to CARRY THE SPEED THROUGH.
This means we still stay with the SLOW IN FAST OUT theory, its just raised relatively.
This doesn’t mean Late braking or any stuff like that, we will get to that way way later on!
The motorcycle yu ride will have a limit to the lean angle you can use, im going to stick with sports bikes, although you can easily Kneedrag a KLR650!
As you drive through the corner, the more speed you carry the more lean youll apply. The more lean you apply the smoother youll need to be with the throttle.
So try stting up the corner and adding a bit more speed, just 5 mph a time is plenty. As you push into the corner, DONT shift your weight, this should be already set as you go in. Instead, move the bars more on opposite lock to get the bike over and apply a bit more throttle gradually. Again rest the back brake so it drags, this will help stabilise the bike. I run a thumb brake system on my race bikes to let me use my feet for steering rather than the brake.
Now always keep your TOES on the pegs not the whole foot, and shift weight to the pegs steadily as you tip in. Dont push your Bottom off the seat to get your knee down. This will do the following to your bike.
1: it moves the center of gravity point AWAY from the tyre point **BAD**
2: it stops you from being able to feel what the rear tyre is doing, your bum and feet are sensors!
3: youll look like an idiot!
4: youll be slower and wobbly in the corner
Always keep the bum on the seat and use more corner speed and lean to get the knee down.
You can always slide slightly ocross the seat, so that only one bum cheek is off the saddle, then push the knee forward and down, youll be surprised at how fast youll progress to knee down status.
So back to the corner. Build up the entry speed gradually and youll notice that the tip in point will have to change. The fast you go the earlier your tip in will be.
Now lets back up and talk about setting the speed up. This means youll need a good braking technique.
Use both brakes progressively. If you slam on the front anchors fast, the brakes and wheel speed will overcome the speed the suspension can drop. So therefore you need to SQUEEZE the brake lever hard and progressively. You should notice the rear wheel wave a bit behind you, This is normal and shows you are braking as hard as you are able to while keeping control. Then as the corner approaches, ease off a bit to allow the rear wheel contact with the ground again. Then trail the front brake through the corner. Always keep the back brake dragging, this does a few things. Firstly it keeps the bike stable, and also as you progress to spinning the rear wheel a bit as you enter/exit it stops the bike from sliding out as you control the throttle.
So to get a good front brake control set in your head lets do a little lesson.
Find a good road, empty and straight, clean and no debris.
Make sure its a dry day. Ride at about 50-60 miles per hour in a straight line. Now squeeze the front brake hard and apply rear brake. Progress at the same speed till you feel the back of the bike lift very slightly. This is the optimum point of braking. Now you know what it feels like, practice so that you can hit this point immediately you touch the brakes, and do it instinctively.
Now lets do this in the wet. Same road, and lower the speed to about 40. Now ride straight and this time leave the back brake alone, and squeeze the front brake hard and let go immediately. You need to get to the point your front locks and releases straight away. Dont be scared, as long as you release immediately, the bike will stay upright. Now keep practicing till you squeeze and let go without the front locking. This is optimum braking for the wet. Youll be surprised how well you can brake in the wet.
The same goes for the corners in the wet. The grip obviously is reduced but the lean is still there, you just have to be progressive and smooth.
Next time we will talk about the throttle mid corner and backing in in/out!

Not for the feint of heart!!

Last time we were in the middle of throttle control, brake control and general corner positioning.
I was going to talk about more expert cornering tech, but I think it best to save that till later.

Now as we progress with the speed into the corner, you will notice that the bike feels more stable in the fact it doesn’t wobble and fight to find an even angle. This is because the gyroscopic effect rises as the forward speed increases.
Remember I said about back brake and dragging it through the corner? Now is where you will see that work its magic.
You now come into the corner, faster than normal and set your apex and your exit. Look through the corner and see your escapes, and your line. As you dip in, you should already be on the back brake slightly, dragging it on the roll in.
Keep your throttle power on, and make sure you are comfortable, so there is no jerking on the throttle and bars, and no twitching on the saddle. As you speed up the bike stabilises, but you’ll also notice it becomes slightly more hesitant to turn. Even though you are leaning the bike doesn’t seem to be cornering as much.
This is due to the gyroscope effect and lateral pressures on the tyres. You now need to change the characteristics of the tyre.
This doesn’t mean that you change tyres or shape them; it’s simply changing the way their shape is on the road at that moment. If you push the bars the OPPOSITE way to the corner, the bike will lean slightly more, but the turn in of the bike will increase. This is because the tyre is forced to change its contact patch on the road.
Only use small amounts of input, and always keep throttle on. Don’t let off throttle, even if you think you are running wide, I promise you, if you let off, brake or panic you WILL run wide! Keep on the throttle and look for your exit, push more on opposite lock and you will go round!

This is now the point where you’ll notice the bike is now leaning of its own accord, the corner speed has increased significantly and your ass is still on the seat!! About now you can lean your knee off, rather than hang off like an idiot!

So let’s get knee dragging.
Ideally, MK is brilliant for practicing but with the advent of law enforcement pulling you for dangerous driving if caught Roundy rounding and the amount of traffic and diesel now spilt everywhere I WILL NOT advise anywhere. So find a nice corner that is long and sweeping enough for you to practice. Get the body positioned BEFORE roll in, knee out, bum ON the seat, maybe to start with one cheek off, and roll in! IF you’re lucky you will hit pay dirt first time out! But you will need to progress slowly, ease more throttle, do the tips we have learned and soon you will hear that sexy SCHHHH noise and feel the knee slider touch!
Always ride within your limits and stay safe! Remember knee down is really only necessary as a gauge for lean and speed on a track!
EXTREME CORNER TECH
So if you are now pushing on the bars into the corner, you’ll understand that the front end is pointing slightly away from the corner itself. As you progress you can aid your corner speeds and exit times by utilizing the rear tyre to point you at the exit BEFORE you reach the apex.
THIS IS NOT TO BE TRIED UNTIL YOU ARE PROFICIENT AND EXPERIENECED IN YOUR CORNER ABILITY
So the way this works is, as you roll in, you use a little more speed, your knee touches EARLY because of the added speed, so therefore you need to OVER push the bars. As you do that, you add more throttle, sit up slightly, and feel the rear tyre loose traction. It now tries to step out of line, rolling the bike laterally round its axis pointing you to the exit early. Now as the tyre breaks traction you must keep throttle on, or the tyre will re-grip and high-side you.
The tyre is now spinning and pushing outward at the back, you sit up slightly, ease the bars into the slide, similar to a speedway rider, and control the throttle to keep momentum.
At the point where you are directly at the exit, you sit further up, DONT LET GO of the throttle yet!! And straighten the slide, now the power is transferred from a slide into forward momentum, propelling you into the exit and away.
It’s a tricky manoeuvre but will gain you extra tenths per corner when playing catch up.
This is also where control of the rear brake is important.
So please don’t try the above unless you accept your own mistakes, can afford to drop your bike (because its 1000 times more likely if you aren’t proficient in this!) and don’t blame us if you try and fail!
The above is only for reading material and don’t try copying me as I take no responsibility for accidents!
Next time: wheelies!!!