Motorcycle Riding – Cornering Tips

As professional motorcycle riders know, riding in general and cornering in particular takes a large amount of skill. As a relative newcomer to the world of riding, here are some tips that I have learned to help safely perform cornering in both wet and dry conditions.

Line up the corner so that you can enter wide and exit narrow.

When approaching the corner, slow down to the speed that you can safely take for the entirety of the turn and maintain a constant amount of throttle. This small amount of throttle helps to stabilise the bike and ensure it doesn’t fall.

Have a “cornering plan”. Before you reach the apex of the turn (or each apex, if you plan on having multiple apexes), know where you will enter the turn, know where you will look during the turn and know where you intend to exit the turn.

Turn the head to face in the direction of where you want to go. Keep the eyes up facing forward in the distance. Use your peripheral vision to navigate around close-by obstacles. Do not focus on the obstacles, otherwise you will more than likely end up hitting them…

When turning the head, keep the chin tucked down. This naturally helps to lower your centre of gravity.

With the chin tucked down, when you turn your head the rest of your body follows (e.g. hips) without any conscious effort on your behalf in order to naturally keep balance.

Do the “cornering dance“ – rotate the hip and from the thigh push your outside foot down on the peg (like in skiing). This helps to adjust your hips into an optimal position for the turn, lowers your centre of gravity and shifts weight onto the outside of the bike which aids to increase traction and control.

Keep the outside knee (at least) tucked in tight against the bike. This helps you maintain your ‘oneness’ with and grip of the bike and means that your back, shoulders, arms, hands and fingers can remain relaxed.

From your elbows (not shoulders), push the handlebar with your palms. If you want to turn left, push forward the handlebar with your left hand / palm. If you want to turn right, push forward the hand bar with your right hand / palm.

During the turn, your hands and all fingers should be gently wrapped around the hand grips (knuckles facing upwards), keeping a constant amount of throttle, and not playing with the clutch or brake.

If you have misjudged the turn and have not reduced your speed enough (bad), gently use the back brake – which will also help to keep the bike in control. Applying the front brake during a turn can result in a lack of control, especially if the front wheel skids.

On the exit of the corner, smoothly apply the throttle for a clean and fast escape. Although I was warned, I can confirm from personal experience on a closed circuit that applying too much throttle on the exit of the turn while the road surface is wet can result in the back of the bike sliding out from under you.

Side note: as I was writing this, I found it interesting that so many aspects of these tips remind me of various biomechanical lessons that I have learned in martial arts… Let those who have ears listen…