full lock slow speed turns

[Shep]

I can't remember when I couldn't do a slow feet up u turn??? Is this not just basic bike handling??

Relax and practice, the more you think about it the less chance you have of being relaxed And how do you expect to be able to do it well if you don't practice

Shep

ps Get a trials bike, you will learn more about motorcycle control in the first couple of days out in a clay covered hilly woodland, than in a year of road riding

 

[GrinningGSer]

It surprises me that so many experienced riders cannot do anything other than hoon around. This is basic bike control, which most riders learn in their teens on a small bike,accompanied by the inevitable learning curve, The newbies do a lot now as part of compulsory training. Perhaps age means that some peeps on big expensive bikes (that tend to be older) have missed out on the basic stuff and maybe even missed out on the gradual progression to big bike size?

Find a quiet car park and have a play or better still do a course, its really bloody great fun and so worthwhile

I wish that I could do a cowboy mount/dismount, I missed that one in my learning curve and need to find somewhere to practice. Easy on a pushbike but my brain won't let me practice it on my expensive motorbike !

 

[krytengs]

ah, i see.


it's a trick for people who aren't cool enough

....and should be a basic skill if you ride a bike.

Not a U turn - but I like to play a game when I ride (if there are no cars behind me) - as I see lights change, I slow down as I approach them and try to slow my riding to a crawl and try to time getting to the stop line just as they turn green, without having stopped or put my feet down at all

 

[cookie]

....and should be a basic skill if you ride a bike.

Not a U turn - but I like to play a game when I ride (if there are no cars behind me) - as I see lights change, I slow down as I approach them and try to slow my riding to a crawl and try to time getting to the stop line just as they turn green, without having stopped or put my feet down at all

i do that.

 

[Steptoe]

Makes you look cool when out with your mates and they're doing 6 point turns, and you are feet up one side of the road, swing around to the other and away...while they're still shuffling back and forth...good enough reason for me

What is this shuffling back and forth nonsense ? FFS, you're on a GS, just ride up on the pavement.

 

[Captain Black]

There is one reason only why riders struggle with slow turns and figure of eights.

Body weight.

If it's in the neutral or to the inside of your turn you're likely to feel the bike want to fall to the inside which causes you to put your foot down.

Practice shifting your body weight from the waist upward to the outside of your turn and don't drop your inside shoulder.

"Body weight" yep unfit fat feckers who just can't do it because they're (A)
fat and (B) shit.

 

[Pukmeister]

"Body weight" yep unfit fat feckers who just can't do it because they're (A)
fat and (B) shit.

Plenty of skinny feckers in my local bike café car park that have to park near the gate as they daren't (can't) negotiate the parked bikes without putting a foot down.

 

[wheelnut]

It's all in the mind.

And practice, which brings confidence, which takes us back to point 1

 

[BBB61]

The decision of the DSA to incorporate the U turn into the CBT syllabus must rank as one of the most monumentally stupid decisions they have ever made.

 

[Myke Rocks]

Forget about whether it is cold or warm!

No one mentioned anything about having a cold versus warm engine. I set off from cold and did a u turn full of confidence but the engine had a little cut back which very nearly ended with me looking a bigger twat than usual. Luckily I compensated by whacking the throttle open which picked the bike up and straightened it out and went through the neighbours hedge. Luckily he was on holiday

You are correct.
When I do a full lock turn, I usually do it with a constant throttle of circa 1500 revs, and use the clutch to control speed. I cannot do it on throttle because BMW in their wisdom fitted a first gear so high as to make it impossible.
If, when turning, I feel the bike dropping "inwards", I instantly drop the clutch and crack open the throttle. This instantly lifts the bike out of the drop.
Myke

 

[verona]

MMM

Growing up in Italy and driving/riding on the right hand side of the road u turns are much easier as you do them usually to the left and can still put your left leg down if need be as well as slip the clutch and apply the rear brake at the same time. This makes practising mastering the clutch and rear brake much easier and safer. Then once mastered you will be able to do them turning right. What you should look out for is the curb on the other side of the road its all very well looking where you are going but first make sure you have enough room to turn around. know your turning circle. As said before slow speed control is essential get used to using you rear brake with the throttle on to balance your bike this also applies to filtering.

 

[Nutty]

The decision of the DSA to incorporate the U turn into the CBT syllabus must rank as one of the most monumentally stupid decisions they have ever made.

Why?

 

[BBB61]

Why?

Because CBT is designed to train a person to a safe basic level and a U turn is not a basic manoeuvre. When CBT first started in 1991 the U turn was not part of the CBT syllabus and quite rightly so. I could think of other things I would rather be working on during a CBT rather than spending time training to carry out a manoeuvre that the vast majority of riders are unlikely to carry out whilst riding.

 

[Nutty]

Because CBT is designed to train a person to a safe basic level and a U turn is not a basic manoeuvre. When CBT first started in 1991 the U turn was not part of the CBT syllabus and quite rightly so. I could think of other things I would rather be working on during a CBT rather than spending time training to carry out a manoeuvre that the vast majority of riders are unlikely to carry out whilst riding.

Ah, OK. But it should definitely be part of the full bike test.

 

[BBB61]

Ah, OK. But it should definitely be part of the full bike test.

Therein goes a tale. It was the second EU Licence Directive that brought about the module 1 and 2 tests and the requirement from the directive was that the test should involve at least two manoeuvres to be carried out at slow speed. But thanks to the DSA doing their usual gold plating there are four low speed exercises - slalom, figure of eight, U-turn and slow riding in a straight line. The figure of eight is a complete waste of time and I am also sceptical about the usefulness of the U-turn. After all, how often do most motorcyclists actually do them in everyday riding?

 

[Nutty]

Therein goes a tale. It was the second EU Licence Directive that brought about the module 1 and 2 tests and the requirement from the directive was that the test should involve at least two manoeuvres to be carried out at slow speed. But thanks to the DSA doing their usual gold plating there are four low speed exercises - slalom, figure of eight, U-turn and slow riding in a straight line. The figure of eight is a complete waste of time and I am also sceptical about the usefulness of the U-turn. After all, how often do most motorcyclists actually do them in everyday riding?

The figure of 8, I guess is to gain handling skills, but I can't imagine a case of ever needing this on the road. The riding slowly in a straight line seems odd to have in the test, as it's very easy.

You're right about how often we actually have to do U turns in every day riding, and although it's part of the test, may not be used for years once you pass. Like most things, it's one of the manoeuvres that you develop once the test has been passed, if you so wish. Some people would rather ride to the next roundabout or turning before doing a U turn, and find them very daunting, but it's a good skill to have mastered.

I think that moto-gymkhana should be part of the test.

 

[BBB61]

The figure of 8, I guess is to gain handling skills, but I can't imagine a case of ever needing this on the road. The riding slowly in a straight line seems odd to have in the test, as it's very easy.

You can gain handling skills by other means without training for an exercise that has no relevance to real road riding.

You're right about how often we actually have to do U turns in every day riding, and although it's part of the test, may not be used for years once you pass. Like most things, it's one of the manoeuvres that you develop once the test has been passed, if you so wish. Some people would rather ride to the next roundabout or turning before doing a U turn, and find them very daunting, but it's a good skill to have mastered.

Going on to the next roundabout, or turning round in a garage forecourt or a car park is always going to be a safer alternative to the U turn. That's why I opposed the introduction of the U turn into the CBT syllabus. I would rather be spending the time spent on the U turn in improving a trainees real road riding skills.

I think that moto-gymkhana should be part of the test.

Don't say things like that, there are crackpots at the DSA who might take that idea and run with it!!!

 

[Zorro]

.

And why do some people find left hand U-turns more difficult than right handed ones..?

 

[cookie]

And why do some people find left hand U-turns more difficult than right handed ones..?

i find most people can go faster through a fast turn one way (left usually) than the other. maybe it's the same at slow speeds?

i think it might be to do with left or right handedness. anyway, i regularly followed a quick left handed mate and it worked wonders for me, and visa versa for him probably

 

[Timolgra]

You can gain handling skills by other means without training for an exercise that has no relevance to real road riding.



Going on to the next roundabout, or turning round in a garage forecourt or a car park is always going to be a safer alternative to the U turn. That's why I opposed the introduction of the U turn into the CBT syllabus. I would rather be spending the time spent on the U turn in improving a trainees real road riding skills.



Don't say things like that, there are crackpots at the DSA who might take that idea and run with it!!!

What you appear to completely misunderstand is the importance of being able to handle the bike at slow speed 'before' going on the road and that some exercises generate wider skills other than simply your gripe of the U turn.

Of course it depends how long it takes you to teach a U turn