i'm trying to improve my cornering...because i'm a little below avg at it. i've been reading the keith code books, trying to pick up some info from there...but i have some questions.

-peg weighting --- inside or outside peg? i've heard conflicting reports
-it's not a side-to-side slide, it's a pivot around the tank, right?
-i'm trying to get my helmet over my inside hand?

also, when is the proper time to start bringing the power on? i find that i tend to crack it on just a hair as i begin my turn-in to take out the slack in the driveline so i don't get a jerk when i bring the power on later in the corner. is this what you guys do?

any advice will help...i'm trying to really get comfy at this.

peg weighting:

mostly inside peg weight with a transfer to outside peg as needed for stablity.
weighting the inside peg helps lean the bike in while
weighing the outside peg helps put more weight down and into your cornering

what you will find yourself doing is basically manipulating weight between the two as you corner on through all the while using the inside of your thigh on your tank's back and side for stability within your weight transfers.

Make your setup before you turn and make Only Small adjustments mid or thru turn if you Have to.
In otherowrds get your body into proper position by putting the edge of your seat in your ass crack and set your upper body's weight where it needs to be in regards to your entrance rate and angle so as to provide proper weight balance between the front and rear.

all that comes easy as you just feel for it.
no better way to put it.
and don't forget tp go Light and play with different positions to find your nitche' of your present style.





swapping sides,

everything depeds on what's coming up.
so side to side don't mean squat unless it's a Perfect chikane and whatnot.

the best way to go about understaninding what you asked is to have the bike dance underneath you.
You are the manipulator and the bike is the machine,.
A machine built with two gyros and one you can directly manipulate (the front)
so when you flick you are in need of Setting Up your body's weight into the position that is required towards placing the proper weight balance at each peg and between the front and rear tires for the pavements element(ie smooth pavement, coarse, changing,,... ) along with your tires capabilities.

the variables are Always changing so work with a constant that is 80% what you think or feel as the breaking point and work on it from there.

before you know it you are understanding MORE of what the bike is willing to do with the power you ask it to do it with All within the means of due physics at hand.


now when to put on the power.

Modulate or Slowly bring it on as much as possible After the direct center of the apex.

so basically , when your bike goes into full lean you are just easing into a constant flow into the throttle, not on but not off... just flowing it to maintain velocity,
and then Just as you start feeling the bike coming up because you are now getting through the turn you EASE onto the throttle as much as you can within your lean angle, tire's, and pavements traction abilities allow before you feel it squirm underneath you as you exit the turn.

Now let me explain squirm...


Squirming of the rear has me hunch my back a little so as to balance my weight from front to rear and while I do that I make damn sure to keep constant attention on what is happening with the front, and lean angle traction in relation to throttle input.

sooo if you bag through an apex and the back comes out a little center you weight balance between your bar inputs and peg pressures front,rear, inside outside, whatnot, along with your body's mass slowly floating as a counter and put wieght where it is needed to eliminate the squirming of the front or the rear...


dang man,,, time for me to
:rantoff:

peg weighting- i like to be able to move my inside foot so i always try to hold my weight with my outside knee on the tanks and peg. if you get really really low, you'll drag your pegs and your toes. rather than grinding them down, i like to just lift my foot to allow a little more room. make sure you have only your toes on the pegs in a turn.

it's not a side-to-side slide, it's a pivot around the tank, right? do it how it feels best to you. you should pretty much have your body set up before you flick it into the corner. for me that means sitting up, getting my ass off one side the seat, flicking it in and moving my upper body off the bike at the same time as i go into the corner. moving your upper body out will help you stear the bike into the corner. if you "pivot" make sure the bike isn't leaning much yet. when you pivot, you not only transfer weight side to side, but also to the front and rear which can upset the bike.

i'm trying to get my helmet over my inside hand? yeah, for the most part. depends on how flexible you are really. but that would be a good place for it and would probably put you in pretty good form. i've been told to "kiss the mirror" which pretty much means that your head should be off and forward enough that if you leaned forward just a little more you could kiss the mirror.

also, when is the proper time to start bringing the power on? the sooner the better. the bike is more stable at lean angle with the power on. you lose momentum in a turn which slows you down and adds weight to the front tire. look at nascar, at daytona and tallagega. they pedle is on the floor and they lose 10-20mph by the time they come out of the other side of the turn. just turning in itself slows you down. so flick it into the turn and as soon as you are able, roll on just enough to keep all the momentum you went into the turn with and maybe be able to gain 1 or 2 mph. not a lot. just enough to take the weight off the front. as you get into the turn you will have your own time that feels comfortable to really start pooring it on. go with what feels comfortble.

and i mean that comfortable thing too. you can read books, write ups, watch videos, whatever. but if you try to do everything as you hear it "should" be or as you see it done, you're just copying. which is fine, but it will put you in a position where you are doing things you aren't comfortable with and you will probably wreck if you're doing that and pushing the bike at the same time.
if you're going to be doing new things and changing your riding style, do it slow. hang your upper body off a little more and keep at that for a while. then a little more, then a little more. so on and so on. if you try to just fling it way out there you are going to feel way out of your relm of comfort and you will run into problems.

take it slow and keep it safe keep it smooth and keep it comfortable. anything else is just asking for trouble

Come out for a sunday ride with me some time and I'll work with ya. Ask Luvfender how much confidence he gained by riding with us. I'll spend as much time working on it as you like.

Next step would be to do a trackday and have a control rider spend some time with you. I'm sure that would be a big help because you can focus on your riding rather than the cars and road conditions.

Let me know if you want to take me up on that offer.

definitely. i'm pretty busy until the 2nd week in may when school gets out. after that i'll come on up!

Cool. We'll set it up.

ok, i tried it out. the roads were cold so i couldn't really get my lean on, but it was good nonetheless. i think i was staying too upright previously. i concentrated on using my legs more to support me, and keeping my upper body forward and down. i tried to get my helmet as close to and outboard of the upper fairing tips as possible. this placed my abs on the tank so i could use my lower back and abs to support my upper body rather than my hands.

some curves were better than others. sometimes i was paying TOO much attention to my form and i wasn't looking into the turn properly. but i got a few where i got into a comfortable position and got my head and eyes looking where they had to...and it went really well. much more confidence inspiring.

can't wait to get a real lesson from you guys though!

The thing that made the most difference for me was to lead with my shoulder. If it's a right hand corner, sort of lean your right shoulder into the corner and you'll feel the bike dive into the corner. Just be careful - it caught me off gaurd the first time!