Making tight, low speed turns

[Speeddog]

Lean the bike a *lot* more than your body, and use the clutch against the rear brake to keep the power adjustments smooth.

Be attentive when you get the steering up to the lock, it can all go wrong quickly at that point.

Also, you can adjust the steering stops to give you the most turning angle, leave a little clearance between whatever parts would touch.
*Absolutely* check to make sure it's not pulling on the throttle or fast-idle cables after you adjust it.
Let the motor idle, and turn the bars lock-to-lock to confirm you won't surprise yourself.

This came up on TOB, and I went out and tried it.
IIRC an 18' circle is as tight as I could go, and that was with bars to the stop for most of it, riding the clutch against the rear brake.

[ODrides]

Remember to turn the front wheel in the direction of the turn.  No counter-steering at these low speeds.  The bike will want to fall over, but the push from the rear wheel will keep it upright.  Always nice to practice in an area with a good amount of run-off room.  If you think you're about to drop the bike, give it some gas and straighten it up.  Eventually you'll be banging off sweet, tight, controlled U-turns.  And LOOK THROUGH THE TURN!

[ScottRNelson]

Also, you can adjust the steering stops to give you the most turning angle, leave a little clearance between whatever parts would touch.

If you adjust the steering stops for maximum steering angle, you have to be very careful every time you raise the tank that you get it centered when you put it back down.  Otherwise, on a Monster you can have fork legs contacting the tank, which can scratch or dent it.

[Mr Earl]

The best tip I got for making tight U-turns is to weight the outside footpeg.  That did it for me.  I actually wind up kind of standing on the pegs a bit, with most of my weight on the outside, and adding throttle to keep the bike from falling in.  I'll have to try the idea of clutch-sipping to apply power - that sounds smart.

[WestonWith2]

I am no where near an expert and am still learning these tight turns myself, but I always try to stand up a bit on the pegs and put little or no weight on the seat. This lowers the CoG on the bike and also makes it easier to shift /lean the bike.