Has anyone actually fallen over from leaning in a turn inexperienced?

bottomdog · 06-07-2007, 04:22 PM

Whenever i try to lean I only do it like 2 inches (TOTAL NEWB AT RIDING) but has anyone actually fallen over from leaning? do you have to know how to lean properly? It seems like one of those things i will get better at the more I try but its almost like I just need to trust the bike. I guess my question is has anyone here tried leaning and actually wiped out or is it just a matter of trusting the bike?

Also when i try to lean i find myself leaning the bike but keeping myself straight instead of being apart of the bike like usual..

I have no experience but I figured this is the new rider forum so some people may also be a bit curious...

bush · 06-07-2007, 04:24 PM

Yeah, it's called a lowside and it happens everyday.

dreesemonkey · 06-07-2007, 04:29 PM

The most important things I've found so far have been looking through the turn (not in front of you), keep your arms 'loose' on the bars, rolling on the throttle to settle the suspension, and then leaning with the bike. Probably in that order. Just practice, you'll get better.

bottomdog · 06-07-2007, 04:31 PM

yeah Ive heard of lowsides of course but I thought they only happened when there was oil slicks or gravel and stuff.

Thank you!

I will search for the correct way to lean a bike without lowsiding!

FZ6 Dude · 06-07-2007, 04:33 PM

you said you had a problem with you leaning your body and the bike staying straight...? if that is the case try putting more input into the handlebars... at first it will feel ackward but if you push up on the right side of the handlebars when going into a right turn at speed then the bike will lean to the right and the same goes for a left turn you push up on the left side of the bars and it will go left... so its backwards to what you would think it would be... and yes you can lowside a bike in a turn if you lean the bike too far... but you have to be pretty far leaned over... or have something go wrong in the turn for that to happen...

FZ6 Dude · 06-07-2007, 04:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bottomdog

yeah Ive heard of lowsides of course but I thought they only happened when there was oil slicks or gravel and stuff.

Thank you!

I will search for the correct way to lean a bike without lowsiding!

yes road hazards are something to always keep a look out for but not the only thing that can cause you to lay the bike over... you can run into a turn too quickly and go off the road... or you can lean the bike over past the tires traction limit and the bike will slide out from under you... again that would take a large lean angle... sounds like the best bet for you to do is to find a nice open empty parkinlot for you to practice some turns at a low rate of speed then gradually increase... as you get more comfortable with it... and you will eventually get a feel of where the limit of the bike is...

Hagios · 06-07-2007, 04:38 PM

Yep. You can lean far enough that you end up digging your footpeg/shift lever/brake lever/fairing in some cases...Basically, whatever is the lowest point when you're leaning, into the ground and that will cause you to lose traction. Here's a picture of tinyminds from VFRD (I have no clue if he is a member of SBN) attacking the Dragon on his VFR. He's literally on the edge of that limit, judging from the fact that you can see sparks in the video that this is pulled from. A little more and he'd have been sliding off the road.

I must also note, especially since this is the new riders forum, that this is in no way meant to endorse riding 10/10ths on public roads (those who know me, know that I am an incredibly conservative rider on the street), but rather to illustrate what we're talking about.

MAD_CAT · 06-07-2007, 04:55 PM

yep, I lowsided last year. I went into a tight 90 degree turn. I left off the gas and bang, my footpeg dug into the steet. I would have made it through if i stayed on the gas. newbe mistake.

acalliste · 06-07-2007, 05:03 PM

My one crash (so far) was in my first year of riding, and was due to a worn front tire, turning on a slipperly intersection.

I'd say it was mainly caused by a lack of experience and some ignorance on my part, from not scanning ahead, not realizing what was happening & knowing what to do when it started to happen, and not paying attention to the fact that my tires were wearing out before I set out that day.

Ivan_markII · 06-07-2007, 05:10 PM

I've seen all kinds of lowsides.

A common one is the gentle accelerating through a turn and the rear tire steps out...and out...and keeps going. I think what happens is the rider is on the throttle, spins the wheel, and keeps that throttle open.

Then there's the conversion to highside whereby the rider, with cat-like reflexes, closes the throttle in the middle of the slide. I've never seen that happen personally.

And finally, the most common lowside is the one where the rider goes into the turn, waits, and then gets spooked for whatever reason and hits the brakes, stands the bike up, and hits the edge of the road/track, then lowsides. Most common!

Last lowside is the one where the rider stalls the bike in the middle of a very slow turn, and drops the bike.

scuffedknees · 06-07-2007, 05:35 PM

its going to take you a lot of pratice before your comfortable leaning . Got to a open parking lot (some corp center on a sat or sunday) and just pratice turning at different speeds ..it will help

RayOSV · 06-07-2007, 09:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by scuffedknees

its going to take you a lot of pratice before your comfortable leaning . Got to a open parking lot (some corp center on a sat or sunday) and just pratice turning at different speeds ..it will help

This is a great way to get more comfortable leaning and turning. Just make sure the surface is clean. You can lay out a "course" in your mind and repeat variuos types of turns over and over at increasing speeds.

Little Joe · 06-07-2007, 10:07 PM

Parking lot practice is a huge help. You have the benefit of no traffic to worry about (so you can concentrate solely on riding) and room to go wide if you make a mistake (like going into a turn to fast). Don't try to ride on the street until you are comfortable with rolling through low speed turns.

Have you taken the msf course? They willl teach you to look through your turn, roll on the throttle, and lean with, not against, the bike.

-Joe-

Jeckyll · 06-07-2007, 11:44 PM

As usual, a lot of different types of advice.

A few comments:

1) Are you talking about leaning or 'hanging off'

Leaning is a natural reaction of the bike when you go into a corner. If this is unclear take (or re-take) a decent riding course.
Hanging off is the action the rider takes to change his/her position of the bike, moving mass towards the inside of the corner

2) If you are talking about leaning and you are trying to 'sit up' while trying to turn the bike, you are in fact fighting the bike and making it more difficult to turn. This can have potentially devastating results (i.e. crashing)

Now, the only time that you may see people sitting up while turning the bike is when riding dirt bikes. Completely different technique.