cruiselady Posted June 23, 2008 #1 Posted June 23, 2008 Help! I am a old newbie and love to ride as long as it not over 55!!! All of a sudden I do not like left turns. Any suggestions?? Any suggestions that will help me will be greatly appreciated. And yes I have gone to motorcycle school too! Karen the cruise lady:scared:
Buzzard1 Posted June 23, 2008 #2 Posted June 23, 2008 Help! I am a old newbie and love to ride as long as it not over 55!!! All of a sudden I do not like left turns. Any suggestions?? Any suggestions that will help me will be greatly appreciated. And yes I have gone to motorcycle school too! Karen the cruise lady:scared: KEEP YOUR HEAD UP----Look down the road where you WANT to go because your going to go where you look. Get the bike moving before you start your turn. GOOD LUCK----Buzz
BoomerCPO Posted June 23, 2008 #4 Posted June 23, 2008 Practice,practice,practice! Use large parking lots.....set up cones or tennis balls cut in half to mark your training area. Borrow or buy the "Ride Like A Pro" DVD's and devote the time needed to acquire the skills offered. There is no magic pill to overcome fear or inexperience.....Practice and time in the saddle is the only way to go. Ride safe and good luck. Boomer
BradT Posted June 23, 2008 #5 Posted June 23, 2008 Maybe the handlebars need adjustment. I can only think that when you turn left your reaching with your right and is it possible, that the your reaching may accelerate the bike so your concerned ? Just a thought ! There seems to be something that is bugging you as left and right are basically the same turns. Brad
GeorgeS Posted June 23, 2008 #6 Posted June 23, 2008 Find a large Unused parking lot on Weekends, to practice on.
gibvel Posted June 23, 2008 #8 Posted June 23, 2008 What, exactly, about left turns scares you? Leaning too far? Throttle hand extended and feel unable to control the throttle? As others suggest, large parking lot practice.
Marcarl Posted June 23, 2008 #9 Posted June 23, 2008 Two things come to mind, the one is the throttle issue, and it can be REAL, but takes practise to figure out, the other is that there could be an issue with the steering not giving you a smooth left turn and that would take the fun out of it. Yes it could be the rider as well, but usually there is a reason why the rider reacts differently to different turns. Head up though when doing a turn, for sure. Often the culprit. When we get worried over something we tend to watch it very closely, so if you are watching your turn very closely, your head will be down and watching the next 20 feet of travel, bad move, look up and down the road to where you are going and the turn will suddenly become smooth and easy. Let us know how it all pans out or if you have more issues. Carl
KiteSquid Posted June 23, 2008 #10 Posted June 23, 2008 Practice,practice,practice! Use large parking lots.....set up cones or tennis balls cut in half to mark your training area. Borrow or buy the "Ride Like A Pro" DVD's and devote the time needed to acquire the skills offered. There is no magic pill to overcome fear or inexperience.....Practice and time in the saddle is the only way to go. Ride safe and good luck. Boomer I'll second that. Click HERE to go to Ride Like A Pro web site and PLEASE buy the DVD. BTW I am not affiliated with Ride Like a Pro, but I am an advocate of the lessons presented!!!! and Practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice!
GeorgeS Posted June 23, 2008 #11 Posted June 23, 2008 Or, get a Cheap , small , dirt bike. Anything that runs, take it out on desert dirt tracks, and practice practice Also, check with the local guy who runs the Driver Training course in your area. He might have some suggestions as to a good place to practice
SilvrT Posted June 23, 2008 #12 Posted June 23, 2008 this could be some kind of "mental phoenomena" .... like... years ago, whenever I was driving along a lake ... I'd get an almost overwhelming urge to just crank the wheel and drive into the lake.... It got so bad I'd have to consciously force myself not to. Very weird... that stopped sometime ago... not even sure when.
BoomerCPO Posted June 23, 2008 #13 Posted June 23, 2008 Dang.....I get that very same "mental phoenomena" every durn time I drive by a Dairy Queen......sigh..........
funrider Posted June 23, 2008 #14 Posted June 23, 2008 If the left turn is after making a stop, I suggest stopping a little further back and get going in a straight line before making the turn.
SilvrT Posted June 23, 2008 #15 Posted June 23, 2008 Dang.....I get that very same "mental phoenomena" every durn time I drive by a Dairy Queen......sigh.......... I sure hope they have a "drive in" ......
StarFan Posted June 23, 2008 #16 Posted June 23, 2008 years ago, whenever I was driving along a lake ... I'd get an almost overwhelming urge to just crank the wheel and drive into the lake.... . Lucky you didn´t live in Finland, the country of the thousand lakes.
funrider Posted June 23, 2008 #17 Posted June 23, 2008 Lucky you didn´t live in Finland, the country of the thousand lakes. Or in Minnesota (USA) Land of 10,000 lakes.
timk Posted June 23, 2008 #18 Posted June 23, 2008 I justt read about this in a mc rag, something to do with left brain, right brain. I feel more confident/ able to push it thru right hand turns myself, but am not fearful of lefties.
SilvrT Posted June 23, 2008 #19 Posted June 23, 2008 Lucky you didn´t live in Finland, the country of the thousand lakes. I used to live in Ontario .. Lake of the Woods area (Kenora) .... maybe that's where I got it from???
SilvrT Posted June 23, 2008 #20 Posted June 23, 2008 I justt read about this in a mc rag, something to do with left brain, right brain. I feel more confident/ able to push it thru right hand turns myself, but am not fearful of lefties. so, does the right brain control the left hand turn or is it the other way 'round? Might be a slight inner ear infection causing some sort of "off-balance" issue .... ?? I know I used to have a lot more difficulty making tight right hand turns... until I saw the "Ride Like a Pro" CD .... man what a difference that made! Now, I'm not saying that CD will cure your inner ear infection!!
StarRider07 Posted June 23, 2008 #21 Posted June 23, 2008 Get the "Ride Like A Pro" DVD. WOW! I just got it and was only able to watch about half of it and then had to leave. After getting the bike out, I sat there and went over in my head what I had just watched. I started off and noticed a difference right away. You see, I had the horrible habit of watching the road in front of me during a turn from a stop. Today, from a stop sign, I made a right turn. Foot on the rear brake, wheel turned to the right, head turned to the right looking straight down the road I was turning on to and I'll tell you,,,, it was like the bike was on auto pilot. I was always nervous making a u-turn. Thought I would try that now that I seen that part of the video. It was a piece of cake. I feel I must say this, although I may be wrong. BAD HABITS ARE VERY HARD TO BREAK! For the 45 minutes of riding I did after watching that video this morning, I had to THINK about my turns. Like I said, I have/had the very bad habit of watching in front of me, looking downwards and only looking a few feet (maybe 6 feet or so) in front of me. Guess it is the fear of potholes. Don't know why but I do know now that it is NOT the way to do a turn. Like everyone is saying: PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE and then PRACTICE some more. You need to break the bad habit (a form of hypnosis) (emplated in the brain) and eventually, you will have the new techniques emplated in your brain so you will then start doing these moves without thinking about it. Oh, one more thing................ GET THE RIDE LIKE A PRO DVD! Ride safe,,,,,,,,,,,,,, ride with wisdom.
SilvrT Posted June 23, 2008 #22 Posted June 23, 2008 Get the "Ride Like A Pro" DVD. WOW! I just got it and was only able to watch about half of it and then had to leave. After getting the bike out, I sat there and went over in my head what I had just watched. I started off and noticed a difference right away. You see, I had the horrible habit of watching the road in front of me during a turn from a stop. Today, from a stop sign, I made a right turn. Foot on the rear brake, wheel turned to the right, head turned to the right looking straight down the road I was turning on to and I'll tell you,,,, it was like the bike was on auto pilot. I was always nervous making a u-turn. Thought I would try that now that I seen that part of the video. It was a piece of cake. I feel I must say this, although I may be wrong. BAD HABITS ARE VERY HARD TO BREAK! For the 45 minutes of riding I did after watching that video this morning, I had to THINK about my turns. Like I said, I have/had the very bad habit of watching in front of me, looking downwards and only looking a few feet (maybe 6 feet or so) in front of me. Guess it is the fear of potholes. Don't know why but I do know now that it is NOT the way to do a turn. Like everyone is saying: PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE and then PRACTICE some more. You need to break the bad habit (a form of hypnosis) (emplated in the brain) and eventually, you will have the new techniques emplated in your brain so you will then start doing these moves without thinking about it. Oh, one more thing................ GET THE RIDE LIKE A PRO DVD! Ride safe,,,,,,,,,,,,,, ride with wisdom. Yepp... DITTO for me too... never realized it until I saw that DVD .... amazing difference and yes, each time I make tight turns, I consciously still have to think about it and not succumb to habit.
KiteSquid Posted June 24, 2008 #23 Posted June 24, 2008 Racers say "look where you want to go, not where you are?"
CrazyHorse Posted June 24, 2008 #24 Posted June 24, 2008 People usually have more trouble with the right turn because the throttle is very close to your body more unatural to twist I guess easier to do farther away like a left turn. Are you left handed?
skydoc_17 Posted June 24, 2008 #25 Posted June 24, 2008 Hi Karen, When I am riding two up with Jean, she complains about left turns as well, I am left handed and tend to "swoop" a little lower on the lefties. Here are a few simple things that I do when making any turn: 1) I look ahead where I want the bike to go. 2) I tighten my abdomen and "squeeze" the sides of the bike with my legs to connect myself to the bike, like riding a horse. At this point I feel secure on the bike and confident that this machine is under my control which is different than riding as a passenger. In the begining you will have to think of these steps, but soon it will become a fluid motion. So the more you do it, the easier it will get. I hope this helps, Earl and Jean
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