[dcmonster]

I was riding this weekend in some great hill twisties in the mountains of VA and confirmed what I always noticed.

I learn and corner better going left than right. It's not a whole lot but my left foot touches when I lean it out and I feal more comfortable on that side.

Anyone, notice this too?

 

[elpato]

Yeah I used to corner really hard to the right till I dumped it on the track going really really fast. Now I go further left. Getting back to being comfortable to the right but the vision of flying on the ground 100+ is still with me.

Pato

 

[Tarik]

My chicken strips are slightly smaller on the left. On my last bike it was the right. Then I had none on my NT-650. Maybe Monsters are 'leftheavy' ;D

 

[Doc]

In countries where we drive on the right, left turns are a longer wider arc across another lane requiring less lean. Right handers are sharper.

Foot drag is due to both controls and habit. Most of us don't wind the he11 out of 1st gear every time. If you have your left foot under the shifter ready to upshift into second, the chances of scraping your boot increases. Even in tight right handers, the right foot does not need to be pointed down.

 

[TheJonesBoy]

I usually scrape the left foot, but it is just the roads I ride on have better lefts than rights.

I usually scrape the sides, not the toe, so I don't think it is because of the way the toe is pointed. Then again, I wear fairly wide Doc Marten boots.

 

[AlexB]

Left feels more natural.. .I attribute it to many years of running track in high school!

Even with the car on the track I'm better with left turns... I think that's because we sit on the left side of the car, closer to the inside of the turn.. dunno.

 

[Herb]

Left feels more natural.. .I attribute it to many years of running track in high school!

Even with the car on the track I'm better with left turns... I think that's because we sit on the left side of the car, closer to the inside of the turn.. dunno.

Nah, it was all those years off watching NASCRAP!! I always knew you were a hillbilly! ;D

 

[scrappy]

I'm better on my rights. I attribute it to the time I dumped on a left by falling asleep...

 

[AlexB]

Nah, it was all those years off watching NASCRAP!!

 

[dcmonster]

"In countries where we drive on the right, left turns are a longer wider arc across another lane requiring less lean. Right handers are sharper."

That would make perfect sense. Left turns you see more road riding on the right

Thanks

D

 

[brsimmons]

Scooby, are you a left-hander? Just wondering.

 

[scrappy]

Scooby be right handed...

 

[zeus]

I used to favor my left as well... until I scraped the kickstand a couple times in a turn - scared the [email protected] out of me. Now my tires are telling me that I favor my right side, and am very careful on the left turns, even now that I grinded off the little kickstand nobby-thing.

 

[TX907]

I also really prefer left-handers. I really don't like tight right-handers.

Also, I prefer uphill rather than downhill turns.

So a downhill, tight, off-camber right-hander makes me want to go home. :-[

 

[ysr_squid]

I learned that I lean much better through turns that I can see through. It doesn't matter if I know the road I have a serious mental block (I envision trucks in my lane) in the blind turns. Since I can see further through turns in USA I always lean further/ride faster through left hand turns. On the tracks... I noticed that I ride through left hand turns better also. But I figure that American tracks tend to run CCW with more left turns.

 

[DUCMS4]

Squid - thanks for that. I was ifnding it hard to work out what side of the road I was riding on and concequently which turn was longer and gave more sight.
Okay so I spend most of life in Brittain with intermittent solaces to Europe for the odd (very odd) year or so, before finaly making it out her to California. So I agree to being totaly screwed up.
BUT one thing rings true is that I have many times got my foot stuck between the shifter and the road on left hand turns. So much so that I am seriously considering changing the up/down.
Anyone comment on how long it takes to get used to shifting up by pushing down.
God I hope all this makes sense in the morning............
Where is that beer.

 

[marlene996]

I don't think it takes any longer to get use to the reverse up/down shifting than it does to shift after 2nd without clutching. Which if you don't know, does not take long to adjust to at all, because it feels so much better.

I am also way more comfortable with left turns than right turns, unless it's a chicane and then I feel like I'm hitting both sides equally.

 

[bshinn]

When I first started riding about an eon ago, I favored my left side. I guess i still do, but I've pretty much trained myself to not have a favorite side, but if you pressed me..... I'm still more comfortable diving HARD into a left corner.

Most people are more comfortable turning left when they are learning to ride. Think about it...most people are right handed. It's natural to want to protect that side of the body.

Going fast on 2 wheels is as much mental as physical. Google "Keith Code" if you want to improve your skills. The stuff he will teach you will be a helluva lot cheaper than the parts and hospital bills you will rack up trying to do it on your own.