Steering a motorcycle on a curve

Tips on how to corner safely with your motorcycle

EXAMPLE

It was just another one of those Sundays when I take my motorcycle out with my friends to enjoy the mountain roads, an excuse to have a good time together. We are a group of motorcyclists who like to enjoy our motorcycles, but we always respect the speed limit given on the road.

On one of the left-hand curves of the stretch of road we were on, I came very close to an oncoming car. Seeing it so close, right at the apex of the curve, scared me and I went straight off the road with my motorcycle.

It was not the first time I had problems steering on curves, both right-handers and left-handers, but this time I ended up falling, although without very serious consequences.

Second chance:

If you watch a motorcycle race, you will realize that the drivers move across the entire width of the track when they are going to take one curve or another. The goal is to steer in the safest way and in such a way that the motorcycle loses as little speed as possible. On the street, we have to keep this in mind, but without being so extreme.

On the open road, you have to be aware that there are formidable guardrails and other drivers and vehicles alongside you. To avoid risky situations, we have to steer appropriately so we do not move out of our lane or from one side to another.

Every curve is a world of its own, but you should be aware that there is a relatively general way to steer on left-hand curves and right-hand curves.

In this example, our protagonist was taking a left-hand curve and, from what he tells us, it would appear that he went into the curve from the left side of the lane. When he tried to lean to take the curve, his body and part of the motorcycle invaded the oncoming lane of traffic or were very close to doing so. Upon realizing that another car was coming, he straightened the motorcycle and his body, fortunately avoiding a collision, but this movement caused the motorcycle to stop veering and it went straight to the outside the curve, even though it was not speeding.

To avoid this situation, left-hand curves must be taken from the outside the curve, slightly inclined on the right side of the lane, and you must brake before leaning. With this movement, we can delay our entry into the curve slightly, when we begin to lean, and thereby prevent our motorcycle from carrying us to the outside the curve in an uncontrolled way. We also improve our visibility, since our protagonist could have seen the oncoming car or any other surprises much earlier.

When it is a right-hand curve, the indications are similar but on opposite sides, thereby preventing us from invading the oncoming lane of traffic when coming out of the curve.

It goes without saying that this steering must be done at an appropriate speed and respecting the speed limit. It is always easier to correct any errors if we are going at a reasonable speed.