Motorcycle training - positioning and cornering tips

Positioning

Car drivers are relatively limited in their ability to alter their position within the lane, since they normally occupy about 50 - 70% of it.  Hence, most car drivers focus on keeping their vehicle centrally within the lane.  Motorcycles on the other hand occupy a very small %age of the lane and can use this to great advantage.  You can alter your road position to:

	Improve your view of the situation ahead
	Improve your chances of being seen by other road users
	Avoid hazards in the road or improve surface grip
	Reduce the severity of a corner or bend
	Give information to influence other road users

Improving your view

Most advanced riding literature states that you should always ride at a speed which will enable you to stop in the distance you can see to be clear, on your own side of the road.  Therefore, if we can only see a short distance, we must ride more slowly.  Apart from weather conditions we find that obstructions stop us from seeing ahead.  This may be another vehicle, a tree, a building etc., so where possible and where safe we need to position our bike to allow us to see around the obstacle and thus allow us to extend the safe stopping distance and the time we have to react to a hazard.

The simple diagram bellow shows two typical blind right and left hand bends.  Notice that despite both bikes being at the same stage of the bend, only the blue bike can see the potential oncoming hazard.

The same rules can be applied when passing a row of parked cars (or any obstruction).  By moving out and away from the obstruction, you are improving your view and reducing the risk of being hit by someone opening a car door.  You are also improving your chances of seeing and reacting to stray pedestrians or vehicles coming out of driveways.

 

Improving your chances of being seen

In addition to being able to see the potential hazard, there is also a good chance that the blue rider can be seen by the driver in the red car.  It is important to remember that as a motorcyclist you have a relatively small profile.  Statistics show that 1 in 3 motorists don't notice motorcycles, so you should do everything you can to increase your road profile.  Generally, you should ride in a prominent position giving you a good view of the road ahead and the flexibility to react to the unexpected.  Provided you are not on a motorway, this is normally near the centre of the road.  Be aware that other vehicles may interpret this as an indication to turn, so keep a good look out for traffic coming up behind you.  In this position, you are more likely to be seen by oncoming traffic and will also stay out of the blind spots of traffic ahead of you. The diagram demonstrates just how vulnerable the yellow rider is compared with blue.  Apart from not having a clear view of the road, they are also less likely to be spotted by other vehicles.  In the second example the blue  bike should be moving to the left (slightly) to avoid coming into conflict with the oncoming vehicle (this is discussed in the next section).

Avoiding Hazards

Even the best of British roads are not built with motorcycles in mind.  You'll notice all sorts of hazards from uneven repairs, pot holes, paint and metal covers which as a minimum will be uncomfortable to ride over, but more often will upset the stability of your bike.  In bad weather, you should also be aware of micro climates (e.g. patches of ice on an otherwise dry road often caused by shade) and standing water after rain.  Wherever possible, you should avoid these hazards, by planning a route around them. All roads have some hazards to deal with, even if the road is empty and straight, the edge of the road presents a hazard.  This is another reason why positioning close to the centre of the road reduces your risk.  You are roughly equal and therefore the maximum distance apart from the two hazards.  If however you spot a vehicle coming the other way, or a traffic island, you should move over slightly (centre of your lane) to maintain that equal distance.  If the hazards are not equal (e.g. a large truck coming the other way), then consider moving over more.  When planning your positioning, you should consider the following in order:

Safety The ideal position for a left hand bend is over to the right (centre line), but you should give up this position if you see oncoming vehicles.  (less view, but further away from the hazard).  Safety is the highest priority Stability The ideal position for a right hand bend is over to the left, for maximum view around the bend, but the road on the edge is often full of debris and poor surfacing.  This will affect your stability, so you should compromise your positioning (less view but more stability). Stability should be considered above maintaining the best view of the road. View If it's safe and the road surface is good position for maximum view.  Providing there is an advantage in doing so. The diagram shows two riding plans:  The solid line shows where the rider has compromised view for safety.  In addition where the second bend is open it may be safe to improve stability by staying upright.  This would not be acceptable if the rider could not be certain that there were no oncoming vehicles.  The dotted line represents the uncompromised route that does not prioritise safety or stability over view.

When  choosing a position it is important not to increase the distance we can see, at the cost of needing more time to get back to our own side of the road.  This is shown in the diagram (left) with three potential plans.  The coloured dots show the point that the oncoming hazard would come in to view.  The yellow point has the earliest view (extra advantage shown as x), but has the furthest to travel to return to the safe position (shown as y).  The pink route sees the hazard last, but has least adjustment to make.  The blue route offers the best combination of the two and also shows a brief excursion to the offside, early on where safe and can improve our perception of the bend.  This initial sideways movement helps us gain a second view point to get a better picture of how tight the bend is.  It essentially widens our 3D view. When considered using the off-side it's worth noting that: Any oncoming drivers may panic when they see you on the wrong side of the road and react unpredictably. Any gain in view may be lost by the extra effort required to return to safety, this may result in a lower cornering speed due to the need to be able to stop safely on our own side of the road in the distance we can see to be clear. It can appear dangerous or confusing to other motorists who may be following.

Reducing the severity of a bend

Motor-sport has been doing this for years, to enable the maximum speed possible to be achieved while going round a bend, often referred to as taking the racing line.  However as road riders, we should remember that a race car or bike doesn't expect to find traffic coming the other way and will normally not have to deal with blind or unknown bends.  It is important to note that taking the race line around a bend will significantly reduce your visibility, limit your options for reacting to hazards and reduce your ability to plan ahead.  Safety and visibility must always take priority over smoothing a bend, but there is a point when it can be done.  This is normally the point when the bend starts to straighten out.  Obviously if the bend is minor and you can see it is safe to do so, then you can consider straight lining it.

Positioning to influence

When considering adopting any road position, it is important remember that other road users may interpret it wrongly.  Tucking in to the left, on a right hander, may indicate to following traffic, that you are stopping or moving over to allow them to pass.  Always be prepared to compromise your road position, if you feel that it could give false information.  You must always prioritise your hazards and ensure you deal with the most immediate first.  If you have a car approaching from an entrance and a right hand bend soon after, moving to the left to get a good view of the bend ahead, could be interpreted as an intention to turn left. Any car approaching could pull out in front of you.  In this case you will need to sacrifice your early view of the corner, in order to give information to the approaching vehicle.

Here are some other examples of when you may need to take an alternative position: Lane Sharing - Imagine you are approaching a ‘T’ junction on a busy intersection and intending to turn right.  Your ‘L’ test text book will have told you to move over to the right.  However, an impatient motorist behind you may feel there is sufficient space to ‘lane share’.  They may even spot a gap before you and attempt to beat you out of the junction.  Your courteous action may inadvertently put you in danger.  You risk being hit, when the other car comes along side, pulls away and you could get pushed out into the path of oncoming traffic if you both exit at the same time.  In such a case it may have been better to take a more central  position (within your lane).  This will create less room for a vehicle to squeeze along side and may discourage them from lane sharing.  The same applies when waiting at traffic lights. Multiple Lane Roundabouts - If you're going straight over on a roundabout, the highway code says you take the left lane and indicate just before you exit.  However, many motorists will assume that your are turning left and may pull out in front of you or move into your path without realising that you didn't exit.  Again you will need to use your judgement as to the best lane to take.  It may be better to use the middle lane and watch out for motorists in the correct lane. Corner Cutting - You're turning right from a minor road narrowed by parked cars , into a major road.  If you take your normal right hand position, you run the risk of being swiped by a car turning into your road and misjudging the gap.  By taking a central lane position, or hanging back from the junction (assuming you can still see), you reduce this risk. The busier the traffic, the greater the caution you will need to exercise.  Not just because there are more hazards to look out for, but also because other motorists will be prepared to take greater risks in order to avoid the chaos.  Road positioning can help you make safer, smoother progress and give you an early view of hazards, but never forget your immediate surroundings or sacrifice your safety for a better position.

Cornering

Cornering can be the most challenging and enjoyable aspect of motorcycle riding.  If done correctly you will feel confident, in control of your machine, able to make good progress and get a clear view of the road ahead.  If done badly you will have some of the scariest moments of your riding career.  Poor cornering ability is responsible for most bike accidents which do not involve other vehicles.  Enter a corner too fast, grab the brakes mid corner when you realise you can't make it and you're well on your way to a visit to the ditch and possibly the local Accident & Emergency.

	What makes a good corner?  Ideally you should be able to take the line you want, make smooth progress without braking and be able to react to any potential hazards.
	What makes a bad corner?  Braking mid corner, running wide, deviating from your preferred line or braking traction are all symptoms of poor cornering technique.

Maintaining Traction

Before going into the techniques you can use to improve your cornering ability, it is worth going over the basics of traction (grip).  It is essential that you maintain grip throughout your cornering manoeuvre as it highly likely that that a skid or slide will result in a spill. Any moving object carries momentum, when you change the direction of an object, it's momentum will want to carry it in the direction it was travelling.  On your motorcycle the force of the engine and the grip of your tyres is the only thing making you turn.  Too much momentum against too little grip will result in a slide.  The following lists some factors which will affect your grip:

	Surface conditions - Rain, grease, ice, paint, mud, oil etc., will all reduce tyre grip, as will a poor road surface or worn out tyres.
	Balance - Changing the balance of your bike during the corner will cause the force to shift on your tyres.  Braking will cause the force to move towards the front, accelerating will move it to the rear.  Too much of either will result in a slide.
	Angle -  The camber of the road and the amount you lean the bike over will determine the area of the tyre you use and ultimately how much grip you will get.

Your tyres are only capable of providing a limited amount of grip,  you have to decide how you want to use it.  If you need too much for braking, you'll have less available for accelerating and cornering.  If you are running out of cornering grip, braking will increase your chances of loosing traction.  Also too much braking will compress the forks and make it harder to steer.

Judging the severity of the bend.The severity of the bend will ultimately determine your approach speed, but it is not always obvious from the entry point how severe the bend is.  Here are some points which will help you decide;

:Road Signs - Most roads will have some sort of warning sign indicating the severity of the bend look for this and any warnings painted on the road.  These will give the most obvious indication of the severity of the bend.

Vanishing Point - As you approach the bend find the point where, according to your eye, the two sides of the road join ‘the vanishing point’  if this seems to be getting closer to you, the bend is tightening up, if it is moving away from you, the bend is opening out.

Other Vehicles - Are vehicles ahead of you braking hard as they enter the corner? Are vehicles coming the other way moving slowly?  If the answer is yes, the corner may be more severe than you think.You should also understand the vertical factors such as cambers and hills which affect a bend.  A banked bend and an incline has the effect of reducing the severity, while adverse camber or decline increases it.The basic approach

Throughout the cornering manoeuvre you should constantly seek information about the changing situation which may require you to react.  At each stage think about the potential hazards that can occur and how you might manage them.  Constantly ask yourself ‘can I stop safely if I need to?’ - Always expect an oncoming car with two wheels in your lane, just around the bend.

Position - As you approach the corner adopt the most appropriate position for the bend.  When choosing your position, consider in order your safety, stability and information (view) needs, when determining the best position.  Resist the temptation to smooth the bend too early as this will impact your view and limit your options. Speed - Aim to settle your entry speed in good time, remember slow in = fast out.  This will allow you to gather information as you prepare to round the bend and keep the power on around the bend, which will improve your stability.  Use the vanishing point to check that your speed remains appropriate, if it moves within your safe stopping distance, you'll need to slow down, if it moves away you may speed up. Gear - Selecting the appropriate gear will have a huge impact on your control as you take the bend.  Choose an appropriate gear that will allow you to adapt.  If the bend tightens, you'll need to slow down.  If you have selected a low gear you'll be able to engine brake to wash off speed.  This will affect the stability of your bike much less than applying the brakes Accelerate - As you reach the end of the corner (vanishing point moves away) and providing it is safe, smoothly roll the power back on as you bring your bike upright continue to accelerate until you reach the desired speed or other conditions apply.  As soon as the bend hazards have past, start searching for the next hazard, resist the temptation to power out of the bend, as there may be a speed limit change or another bend ahead. Key Tips: Keep the power on slightly as you round the bend, to counter the effect of the turn and maintain your bike's stability. This also encourages the rear wheel to track outwards, which will increase the tightness of the turn, requiring you to lean the bike over less.  Closing the throttle will reduce this and encourage the bike to stand up and run wide. Keep your head up and physically look where you want to go, this will help you put the bike where you want it to be and the position will feel more natural.  If you stare at the edge of the road, it's where you'll end up. Avoid using the brakes when cornering If you need to slow down use engine braking, if that is not enough use only the rear brake with extreme caution.  In 9 out of 10 situations applying the brakes will not improve things and is likely to make the steering heavier and encourage the bike to sit up and run wide.  The only time braking will help, is if the bend goes down hill.  Physically leaning your body toward the turn will tighten your line and reduce your lean angle. Keep your arms loose and your weight off the bars, as this will increase your control.  If you press down slightly on the pegs you'll find the steering becomes a lot lighter and the bike will be more responsive. Use Counter Steering to initiate the turn - Counter Steering is steering the bike in the opposite direction.