Best riding/cornering technique for street twisties?

And I put emphasis on "street" instead "track". The question is about "hanging-off" vs. staying up on the bike with a slight lean. Sure, for racing on a track - the most corner speed can be achieved by hanging off. But, for the street is this really the best technique for fun and safety?

Was recently talking to a high level rider/former racer. He said he felt it was best on the street to stay on top of the bike with a slight lean inside. Best because "you shouldn't be going track speeds anyway" and if you do get into some trouble (hit some sand etc) you are in a much better position to control if you are more on top of the bike.

Thoughts and discussion?

From Niall MacKenzie, who is faster than me or you.

He doesn't put his knee down and makes sure he has good visibility through the corner. In other words, don't blitz through blind corners.

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As much as this subject has been done to death and there is no correct answer, it still comes up and came up recently on a ride I was on. I was told that I was not leaning off the bike enough, by a guy that was going a good bit slower than me through the corners.

I usually get "one cheek off" to set up for a spirited corner entry... but dragging a knee is only for the track IMO, or when there is perfect visibility through the whole turn.

Now that's funny right there.

Solid Advice!

Best technique is to ride within your limits and match your line and technique to the conditions in that corner. Conditions vary so technique should as well. When it comes to cornering there really is more than one way to skin a cat. Optimizing sightlines if they are limited and keeping ones options open is the recipe for ending the day in the same condition you started it in.

Line: In general I set my entry speed early and conservatively, come in wide on the gas and arc for the apex. If I can't see the apex I leave some buffer in my speed as I come through so I can tighten my line further if needed. If the inside line is clean I'll set my arc to dip in close to the apex. If I see the road is dirty, has a pothole, etc I adjust the arc of my line early so as to avoid the problem area. On dirty roads I tend to pick a car track and stay in it rather than use the entire lane, doing so avoids unnecessary mid-corner drama.

Body position: My body position tends to be neutral a good deal of the time anymore. Being neutral on the bike is the least "committed" of the body positions and allows for easier more controlled shifts in body position as the need arises IMHO. Though depending on the corner, my pace, the road conditions, available sight line, or even the bike I am on, I may opt to hang off or I may push the bike down into the corner.

Best line? The one that gets you through the corner safely.

You're just jaded and bored, LOL. Not all of us are comfy sliding both the front and rear around corners ya know...

Study still shots of Marquez/ Rossi/ any fast guy. Try mimicking them while going around a corner. Pay close attention to how their body position changes from entry, to midcorner and finally to exit. Mimick the crap out of them. They are all similar. Soon you'll have the basics and start to develop your own style. Trust your tires and remember to look where you wanna go.


Also a good reason to not "hang off" the bike when your on the street is it draws attention from unwanted eyes. If someone sees you hanging off a bike mid corner, they assume your hauling ass and riding in an unsafe manner. That is why it's recommended to ride in a more upright position when on the street. You draw less attention to yourself when your out playing.

I can't tell if you're joking or not?

From the ops post, emphasis mine:

Hanging off is a means to decrease lean angle. That can be a safety measure for sure. But it's also a more committed position that is harder to deal with the unexpected from. It also shortens ones sight line on wooded roads, roads cut into mountain sides, etc. If it fun? Hell yeah! Is it safer? Meh... Depends on ones pace and the situation.

If at the end of the day you get home in one piece whatever method you used was good enough. Heck you can even do the Rossi foot dangle if you enjoy it.

There is no "correct" answer here. The most important consideration is what do you feel comfortable with. I have owned bikes that felt much more comfortable in curves if I was hanging off and others that didn't. Another important consideration is your bikes clearance. If your bike has limited cornering clearance then hanging off on the inside may be the only way to carry any speed in a curve.

If your bike has good cornering clearance then just do what feels the best for you.

And, as someone else already mentioned, hanging off makes it look like you are trying to go fast and may make it more likely you'll get pulled over.

Google "Riding the Pace". It's a good place to start.

Nope not joking.

What better way to learn the proper technique then to study the big boys? As long as your hang off is not super exaggerated like some riders out there you will be fine. And like others have mentioned, hanging off is a way to increase ground clearance and make a bigger contact patch. Study the big boys and apply it to your favorite corner. The end result is not going to happen overnight, so just keep refining your structure and enjoy looking good while doing it. Easy on your inputs as well. Real Easy.

I would love to live near all these hard turns that you can see all the way through!

take the MSF BRC2 course or the Advanced Rider Course and apply what works for you. When it comes to "street twisties" as you call them I have never had a need to hang off or dip a knee into a turn, and the only chicken strips on my tires are at the edge of the tread at the sidewall.

No, I didn't snip them off with a side-cutter.

OP here: Some clarification - when I posted this, I wasn't really looking for advice or training. Thanks for giving suggestions though. I was really looking to discuss the merits of what the racer said about staying up on the bike vs. hanging off on the street. I just thought it was an interesting comment from a high level rider/racer.

Here is a good street technique.

I think I can appreciate, and practice, what the quoted person was advocating. Weight on the inside hip, shoulder down, knee kinda drops out naturally. But it's a comfortable position to re-mount the bike and keep control of the bars and controls. Leaning way out MotoGP-style feels a bit uncomfortable because of the distance I am from the stuff I need to hang on to and use.

But in moderate to heavy rain? I'm Rossi without the lean, trying to get even 1% more up-right. Maybe that's not the best way to do it, I wonder every time I'm out in the rain. But it feels right for the circumstances, and that's probably all it boils down to. Even racers seem to vary their style because "I think its better than the other guy's method".

You're bikes only going to like to be leaned over so far, so the faster you go, the more you're going to have to lean to help that machine out. That being said, the slower you go, the more you can let the bike lean, to the point that putting around the bike is doing all the leaning, and you are basically upright. I think that would translate into at normal cruising you're only slightly leaning into the corner.

.... that is likely because you don't hang off, if you don't you have to carry more lean to make the same corner at the same speed.

Slow in, fast out. Another Mackenzie gem.