Advice needed - Tight turns from Stop

[nats]

There seem to be a lot of posts and tips on slow or tight turns but mostly while at low speed so the bike is somewhat rolling. I am very interested to hear from you guys on tight turns from a halt..say at junctions. I guess many of the techniques used will be similar to slow tight turns but a bit more tricky as you start from 0 speed to very low speed exiting while turning so a lot more things going on. Any tips will be much appreciated. Thanks!

[Statler]

drag back brake a little if needed.  Stay off the front brake.    Use the clutch to modulate speed, not the throttle once it's cracked open.....ie:  if you are going a little quick and drifting wide, use the clutch and rear brake to slow and tighten the line versus chopping the throttle.

for real tight turns from a stop sign or light I have revs up, clutch slipping, and back brake dragging a little until it's time to accelerate away.  You can do this smoothly at a walking pace with practice.

you can prictice in parking lot similar to the drill of just barely creeping along very slowly at high revs with clutch modulation.    The next step is to do the same thing from a stop and use the parking lines as lane guides.   At some point you can start from a stop, do a tight circle, and stop where you started.

After that the stopsigns and lights will be nothing.

[nats]

Thanks for the quick reply. I will surely try it out tomorrow. Reason my asking ~ dropped the bike during last ride coming out of a junction/ gas station onto a busy road. Something happened and next thing me and the bike was sprawling on the ground...

[Statler]

ah.   hope all is ok.    That might be a different situation....sand/oil, etc. on way out/in to gas stations common.    When leaving parking area onto busy street another good idea is to already be at as much of an angle so as to enter the street straight without turning much....so when you come to a stop before pulling out you are already pointing with traffic versus 90 degrees to it.... then you are accelerating while very upright and heading in the right direction.

[nats]

You are right. On that fateful day, I was actually positioned to take a sharp 90 degrees turn from a stop position. The gas station was about 4" lower than the street hence there was a slight slope to tackle during the exit. I was going up very slowly. Handlebars lock max for the turn. Did not know the rear break trick then. In that scenario, the lean and lack of speed was a complete recipe for disaster. It's been 3 weeks and I've only got on the bike once after but the adrenaline and anxiety were just enormous..!!

[Statler]

Forgot to mention....don't look down when you do this.   If you look at the ground by the front wheel you will land on the ground by your front wheel.   Look up to where you want to go.

[Special K]

+1 on everything Statler is saying. I was in your shoes last year, parking lot drills and any road you can practice on with little or no traffic to rattle you is key. You have to become completely acclimated to your bike and it's controls so that it's intuitive. I don't think about the process any more I just look. If you're looking at the ground or your handlebars you're inviting trouble.

That "looking where you want to go" they teach in MSF class is right on the money. If you haven't taken one of these or even an experienced rider course it  could be a confidence builder. I've even gone back to where I took the class to practice those low speed figure 8 turns in the box.

When I had trouble with hill starts I just found a place to practice and did it over and over again. Stalled lots of times, just grit your teeth and do it again until you can do it every time.

Don't get discouraged, just practice in a safe place.

[nats]

Thanks for all the good tips, guys. I do re-call vaguely looking at the wheels while turning. Maybe that was why I went down. The bike is at the shop for minor repairs due to the fall. Will get on to practice as much possible once I have it back. The other set back is my lack of height. The bike is kinda tall for me. I usually only manage to tippy toe on 1 foot at stops ~ despite having lowered the bike in all possible manner. But never had a problem for the last 2000 miles. It's my first fall therefore it has kinda taken a tow on my confidence.

I have asked the shop to put in a 14t sprocket, hopefully this helps a bit on similar condition in future. It is unfortunate we do not have those MSF courses here in my country (Malaysia). Used to ride a sportster for several years and never had this problem neither - probably because I could touch the ground with both feet. Monster is kinda big in size for me ~ but I still love it and have to work on managing all the set backs.

Thanks again guys.

[Howie]

The best of us have been known to do a low speed drop.  Don't let it get you down.

[nats]

Thank Howie. That sure is good to know. Many would just blame it on the bike being too big for me or the fact that I am a lady riding a monster 1000 etc. All said, it was a technical error and I am all too keen to learn a lesson from it and hopefully emerge a better rider from the incident. Thanks to you all of you. 

[somegirl]

Totally agree with the advice, those low-speed tight turns can be tricky indeed.   If you feel any uncertainty, just use more throttle.  As Statler said, use the rear brake and clutch to control speed, and the throttle will help stabilize you. 

I often have to do a U-turn from a stoplight to get into a gas station.  I knew I had improved my technique when I was able to do an emergency stop mid-turn once when someone ran a light and suddenly turned into my path.

Being a short rider is challenging too, but it will definitely improve with time and experience!   And the first fall is the worst one (mentally/emotionally), don't let it get you down too much.

[nats]

Thank you, somegirl. It's encouraging what you said. An emergency stop mid U-turn...that must've been some experience. My experience was similar to your mid U-turn emergency stop ~ except I fell instead. 

[webspoke]

I had an s2r1000 and also needed lowering (shortened rear link, front forks pulled up 1/4").  I also got the lowered seat (620 seat).  That was almost 1" lower than the stock seat.  All of the mods together helped a lot with confidence on the bike.  The s2r's low bars also do not help with leverage.  Slight risers for the bars will help lighten the steering too.