How to get over the fear of leaning

[YamahaMan444]

Originally Posted by theunderfighter

I would think to "kiss the mirror" your head would have to be pointed up, would it not? With your chest on the tank, and elbow to the ground, you have to be looking up and forward, do you not?

Well you don't literally, its just a good way to portray getting your shoulders and chest down, to be the best, you have to kiss the frame sliders like Marquez.

I'm not saying have your head all the way sideways, I'm just saying it should correspond with the lean of the bike somewhat.

But I think his point was to self examine and experiment and realize how much untapped potential the bike, tires, and you have. Which I can agree, but with serious lean angle, you need serious body position and I don't think a straight up head would help. Again, just something our instructors mentioned and that getting used to a cockeyed slanted horizon view is something to learn.

[theunderfighter]

Originally Posted by YamahaMan444

Well you don't literally, its just a good way to portray getting your shoulders and chest down, to be the best, you have to kiss the frame sliders like Marquez.

I'm not saying have your head all the way sideways, I'm just saying it should correspond with the lean of the bike somewhat.

So I was reading it different. I was reading it as saying keep your head up.... Not necessarily not tilted left/right, just not tilted down, towards the ground. Keeping your head and chin up, at whatever lateral angle that may be.

[YamahaMan444]

oh, agreed!!!

[morgstang]

Wife and i are doing our first trackday at COTA at the end of this month...hopefully we will get some good instruction to help us in the lean department.

[YamahaMan444]

Body position department is supreme.

You doing the Ridesmart trackday there??? Jealous and wish I could've gotten off work. But then again, buzzing at my top speed of 120 MPH on the back straight for 20 seconds would take the fun out of railing the corners. I'll still do it probably.

[morgstang]

Originally Posted by YamahaMan444

Body position department is supreme.

You doing the Ridesmart trackday there??? Jealous and wish I could've gotten off work. But then again, buzzing at my top speed of 120 MPH on the back straight for 20 seconds would take the fun out of railing the corners. I'll still do it probably.

Yes we are....we have a full garage if you change your mind...

[YamahaMan444]

I wish I could get off but I'm working a 12 hr shift Saturday and don't get off till 6am anyways. I appreciate the offer.

[theunderfighter]

Originally Posted by YamahaMan444

Body position department is supreme.

You doing the Ridesmart trackday there??? Jealous and wish I could've gotten off work. But then again, buzzing at my top speed of 120 MPH on the back straight for 20 seconds would take the fun out of railing the corners. I'll still do it probably.

Switch shifts and take the FZ1! I don't think you'll find yourself limited to 120mph ;)

[AFM674]

Originally Posted by YamahaMan444

It's actually a very effective and natural way to straighten the bike up. I do it at the track all the time, pulls the bike up and pushes it out to the edge coming out of a curve. Physics is your friend. Just don't overdue the throttle and it'll do good things.

The bike doesn't necessarily stand up on it's own when throttle is applied while still leaned over. If the bike is set up well it can still track and hold a fairly tight line as throttle is applied while leaned over. It's always going to push towards the outside...this is physics...just like closing the throttle will tighten your line up. If you are really good and spin the rear tire up and get it sideways...it will keep the bike on a tighter line. For instance a good rider good do complete circles on say a large doughnut shaped test track and hold a continuous tight inside line with good speed.

My point is the rider has to pick the bike up with input on the pegs, bars or body moment. The standard fast way into and out of a corner is straight up braking approaching the corner to scrub the majority of speed...then continued trail braking as apex approaches...then as brake lever is being released a subtle amount of throttle is brought in to stabilize the chassis and load the rear tire for a good dose of throttle to exit as hard as possible without running into the dirt on exit. There's obviously a lot more to it than this as no two corners, tracks, bikes or riders are alike. I just thought I'd chime in and give my 2cents. Motorcycles are fascinating vehicles that allow so many different ways to ride them and come up with similar results. This is why we love them so much. Well Fizzers...I'm heading out the door for a nice ride down past Big Sur on hwy 1 from Monterey Ca. Sunny and in the mid 60's. Pretty good weather for mid December.

[AFM674]

Originally Posted by dschult2

I think it's a feel thing that comes with experience. Sorta like the first time you scrape a peg. First time scares the shit out of you but then you get used to it and know what your bike feels like when it's leaned over that far. I can guarantee that you have way more clearance than you think you do. A good rule of thumb for how fast you can take a corner is whatever the suggested speed is you can usually double it, and that's with shitty body position to boot. If your doing everything right you could probably double it +10. Best thing to do is find some twisty roads and have fun. Just push yourself a little bit further each time over a familiar stretch of road. It'll come. I wouldn't worry too much about low siding your bike. Most people (especially a rider with only a few years of experience) crash because they feel they are entering a corner too fast so they slow down, stand the bike up, target fixate, and run off the road. In reality they had plenty of lean left and would have been just fine had they leaned a bit more. When in doubt - throttle out.

I think most of this is correct in my opinion, but the throttle out part is a risky suggestion for the rider that is obviously inexperienced. I would say if you find your self thinking your in too deep and start to panic a little...don't panic...stay with the braking and lean while closing the throttle completely. you must look through the corner while all this is happening. Your bike will go where you look. If the rider you're describing has already panicked and has sort of given up and is obviously heading into the dirt...throttling out would probably just launch you off the mountain side even further. Now if you're a motocross rider learning the street...now the throttle out and flat track method might work? Best advice...go slow on corner entries...work on exits and learning the road. Don't follow faster riders. I love all the input and information we all try and give to the community. I'm just throwing out some food for thought. I don't really know what I'm talking about yet...only 44 years of riding street bikes...another 10-15 years maybe???

[theunderfighter]

Very well said all in all. On my last ride I was really thinking about how wonderful a good moto ride is, picking your lines, planning your drive, skipping one turn to plan for the next, throwing your body/bike back and forth through a chicane section.

[Oldirtyrider]

Originally Posted by AFM674

I think most of this is correct in my opinion, but the throttle out part is a risky suggestion for the rider that is obviously inexperienced. I would say if you find your self thinking your in too deep and start to panic a little...don't panic...stay with the braking and lean while closing the throttle completely. you must look through the corner while all this is happening. Your bike will go where you look. If the rider you're describing has already panicked and has sort of given up and is obviously heading into the dirt...throttling out would probably just launch you off the mountain side even further. Now if you're a motocross rider learning the street...now the throttle out and flat track method might work? Best advice...go slow on corner entries...work on exits and learning the road. Don't follow faster riders. I love all the input and information we all try and give to the community. I'm just throwing out some food for thought. I don't really know what I'm talking about yet...only 44 years of riding street bikes...another 10-15 years maybe???

Facts , and I even have a background in dirtbikes . To be told my Gen 1 fiz is the first 100% road bike Ive ever owned . I rode all dualsports before it and dirtbikes before them . And I'll tell ya . A street bike was very different in handling characteristics . I even had slight nervous leaning the fiz when I first go it because on a dirt bike when you lean you can still remain somewhat upright on a turn as you throttle the rear of the bike into a drift and you dont have to be leaning with the bike as much .

And I got into a situation where I decided to turn too late and was leaned over but was nervous to lean any farther and I decided to straighten up and come across the bow of a cage sitting opposed to me at the intersection .

The cagers were shocked . I was like wow that could have been bad . But I guarantee if Id just tried to throttle out of that I would have sideswiped that cage .

So if you're scared to lean , like above just go into corner into such a speed your weak lean angle is comfortable and practice moving up a MPH or twoand couple degree more aggressive lean . After you ride for awhile you'll get the hang of it . For an uprigh touring bike these Fzs are pretty forgiving in turns.

[fermic37]

I sure hope the OP is alive and didnt push his luck too far. he hasnt logged on since 8/2017

[RIDER1]

Originally Posted by Oldirtyrider

Facts , and I even have a background in dirtbikes . To be told my Gen 1 fiz is the first 100% road bike Ive ever owned . I rode all dualsports before it and dirtbikes before them . And I'll tell ya . A street bike was very different in handling characteristics . I even had slight nervous leaning the fiz when I first go it because on a dirt bike when you lean you can still remain somewhat upright on a turn as you throttle the rear of the bike into a drift and you dont have to be leaning with the bike as much .

And I got into a situation where I decided to turn too late and was leaned over but was nervous to lean any farther and I decided to straighten up and come across the bow of a cage sitting opposed to me at the intersection .

The cagers were shocked . I was like wow that could have been bad . But I guarantee if Id just tried to throttle out of that I would have sideswiped that cage .

So if you're scared to lean , like above just go into corner into such a speed your weak lean angle is comfortable and practice moving up a MPH or twoand couple degree more aggressive lean . After you ride for awhile you'll get the hang of it . For an uprigh touring bike these Fzs are pretty forgiving in turns.

That is exactly my situation, dirt bikes, a dual sport and then first street bike was the FZ1. And yeah, very different handling, I feel I'm pretty cautious when it comes to leaning because I don't know how far I can push it. I'm guessing a lot more than what I am doing

[MichaelFZ1]

Originally Posted by RIDER1

That is exactly my situation, dirt bikes, a dual sport and then first street bike was the FZ1. And yeah, very different handling, I feel I'm pretty cautious when it comes to leaning because I don't know how far I can push it. I'm guessing a lot more than what I am doing

Don’t guess. Familiarize yourself with the road and corner speeds. Following faster riders can definitely help you get your lean up, just beware of your braking distance and zones. A smooth rider is a fast rider. Learn to link the corners being smooth with the perfect amount of throttle and you can start pushing the corners faster and faster. Before you know it, you’ll be scrubbing your boots.

[Oldirtyrider]

Originally Posted by RIDER1

That is exactly my situation, dirt bikes, a dual sport and then first street bike was the FZ1. And yeah, very different handling, I feel I'm pretty cautious when it comes to leaning because I don't know how far I can push it. I'm guessing a lot more than what I am doing

Right ? I really like it . The smooth rev range of the inline 4 , the mass of the bike on the highway . It really is a very different experience from even riding dualsports on the street .

I forget the fiz is a street bike sometimes and take her out in the woods with PIRELLI ANGELS on her lol Or try to hop a curb and then BANG , " oh yea , the center stand is there " xD

[RIDER1]

Originally Posted by MichaelFZ1

Don’t guess. Familiarize yourself with the road and corner speeds. Following faster riders can definitely help you get your lean up, just beware of your braking distance and zones. A smooth rider is a fast rider. Learn to link the corners being smooth with the perfect amount of throttle and you can start pushing the corners faster and faster. Before you know it, you’ll be scrubbing your boots.

good advice, part of my problem is riding very little and very little of that time is on decent corners but still fun to work on getting better and smoother

Originally Posted by Oldirtyrider

Right ? I really like it . The smooth rev range of the inline 4 , the mass of the bike on the highway . It really is a very different experience from even riding dualsports on the street .

I forget the fiz is a street bike sometimes and take her out in the woods with PIRELLI ANGELS on her lol Or try to hop a curb and then BANG , " oh yea , the center stand is there " xD

so true, I realized quickly that diving into a corner hard and then whacking the throttle open doesn't work so well on the street

[glory racing]

Originally Posted by RIDER1

I realized quickly that diving into a corner hard and then whacking the throttle open doesn't work so well on the street

Where does that work out well? ;-)

Years ago an old and wise racer told my son who was coming up through the amateur motocross ranks, "You're pretty good...but if you would slow down you would go faster".

[Cougar]

"Scrubbing your boots" made me laugh. I gave Jake a pair of boots that I had scrubbed a hole in the left one. Kevin Schwantz told me I rode with "duck feet" so I put the ball of my foot on the peg when I'm cornering now.

[klj7734]

Hmm... OP with only 2 post on the thread he started.
You think he might of leaned over too far!?