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running wide!

4K views 21 replies 15 participants last post by  z-weiser 
#1 ·
i had a butt clencher the other day when the bike was running wide in a corner i could't work out why it was running wide - i got twitchy and it did it again on a roundabout!

what causes this and what do i do about it??

only my second year on the bike and am still finding new scenarios!

Z:D
 
#2 ·
First thing that comes to mind is bad riding:D then head bearing, then tyres... then over loaded weight.. Tyres are easy.. if they are avon distenzia or if they are bald or uneven.. it is them.. head bearings.. put it on the centre stand and see if there is a "sticky" spot when you turn the bars left and right slowly.... over loaded.. can you see your feet? no..then that is it... :D
 
#5 ·
I think i figured it out.. it is the handlebar muffs....:D

No seriously look at the tyres (thread ware, pressure warping) and head bearings or even your wheel bearing (least likely for these symptoms)
 
#4 ·
You could try closing the throttle a bit...........:headbang: Or may be your rear tyre pressure is very low:eek: Or may be your steering head bearings are shot and notchy or just loose :( You haven't got just one pannier on with a spare engine in it have you:D
 
#7 ·
Z - we all have off days when things don't come together and our riding suffers, even if we don't admit it in public. And if you've just had a bit of a scare you'll probably tense up and take another corner badly too, especially if you're tired. If you're self-confidence has been undermined then next time you start to run wide you may try to scrub off some speed, stand the bike up and go even wider. What yuo need to do, of course, is increase the counter steer and lean further. Easily said, I know.

Don't worry, it was probably just an off day. Put it behind you and move on.

Z
 
#18 ·
Two tips:

1. Look where you want to go, not where you don't want to go (e.g. hedge on opposite side of road!!)

2. Learn about counter steering. This is really important for all bikers to learn and practise.

(Lots of material on-line, like this.)
Thanks to both of you guys, I have learned alot I never knew before. I'm sure I actually do a few of those things, purely through a "basic, self preservation" instinct, but it's great to see it in writing. Just hope it's deeply embedded in the old grey matter should the need ever arise!:D
 
#10 ·
Z , it might not be tyre or bearings or any part of the bike.

You may have closed off the throttle and gone in with the bike not balanced "front to back" ie loaded, albeit slightly, the front end. It's very common when riders are uneasy about things. Was it wet ? did it happen at the same place before ? . Sometimes rider develope a mental block on certain corners for no real reason other than they had a situation at it on a previous occaision.

When I had my first pan I had a rear end twitch one time going round a fast right hander , that I went round twice a day - every day , and for months after that I was getting the same twitch at the same point - of course it was not the bike, it was me , expecting a twitch and then inducing one by "tightening up" waiting for it. I never lost that twitch until they resurfaced the road !!!!!!
 
#11 · (Edited)
, expecting a twitch and then inducing one by "tightening up" waiting for it. I never lost that twitch until they resurfaced the road !!!!!!
I MUST RESIST I MUUUST REEEEEESISSST:laughing6::D


PHEW !!!!

wee man has a bloody good point if it was tyre pressures etc you would feel it through most bends you encounter

another thing to be wary of is your head races put the bike on the center stand and check the bars run smoothly left to right as worn head races can be a bastard through bends......oh you can go right to left if you want too:D
 
#15 ·
Get someone else to test ride your bike for..... just ask them to check out the handling and see if they notice it....

if they dont... and the bike appears mechanically sound.....

then just put the problem out of your head...

the more you dwell on it the more you will notice it...
 
#16 · (Edited)
Two tips:

1. Look where you want to go, not where you don't want to go (e.g. hedge on opposite side of road!!)

2. Learn about counter steering. This is really important for all bikers to learn and practise.

(Lots of material on-line, like this.)
 
#19 ·
thanks for all the tips!

i have been trying the same corner again and again and again to see what the problem was and i think it might have been tyre pressure or not concentrating or just about anything else!

but - i have now got it sussed and after a bit of thinking about it have got better at cornering - yes i did try a few other corners too!

just thought about setting myself up for the corner so by the time i got there all i had to do was lean and go round - the countersteering thing was a revelation - i have alsways done it but didn't realise how much i had to do it to really get Tizer to lean over and rail round!

thanks again folks!

Z:D
 
#20 ·
Great stuff above for mechanical reasons why you might run wide.

At the time though all you can do is steer more. Personally if I ever find myself going off my line, or if I had to leave my line for something and need to get back or just go tighter because I mis-read a corner I, as above...

1) Look at the furthest away piece of nice tarmac I can see.
2) Roll on a little more throttle, half a smidgen. =o
3) Get my head down as low into the corner as possible.*
4) Give the inside bar a push, countersteering, to drop the bike over further.

Hasn't not worked yet.

Basically, you go where you look. As you lean over your wheels get smaller, really they do, so you slow down, but you need to be at a constant speed to corner comfortably, so roll on so that as tire gets smaller it gets faster so bike goes at same speed, err on the side of acceleration. Your head is huge and heavy, it has a big effect on how your weight is distrubuted, so when things aren't going well chucking the big lump into the corner can help. It does for me. hehe. Then steer more.

*Four years in I still have to do body position then steer. When riding towards my limits I can sometimes lean the bike under me... not ideal, because then I need to lean over, which stands the bike up, then turn in again... argh...
 
#22 ·
i have pieced together all of the tips that people have given on positioning for cornering and i ended up giggling to myself for ages trying to do it all on a chair in front of the computer!

essentially you need to do a combination of the macarena and the hokey cokey whilst on a bike in a corner!

thanks again for the tips though guys - it did work and takign a bit of knowledge from a load of different riders and putting it all together then keeping the bits that work for me has made me a bit better on the road

nice one!:D
 
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