Gravel Cornering....How do you do it?

agreed entirely. just a bit of tongue in cheek.

Get forward, weight the outside peg, power on at the apex (as someone said, it's harder ro lose the front end under power).
Also look at what yer riding on - with a lot of gravel roads in NZ it's hard packed tracks where the the cars have been, so there's waay more traction than you think. When there is a lot of gravel sit back like on sand and don't worry to much if you get a bit of front end movement, you will get used to it after a while. If in doubt change down and give it some, lighten up the front wheel.

Great stuff Oscar - just clarifying please 'weight on outside peg' so if it's a 'right hander' we're pressing down on the right peg whilst weighting our upper body to the left (be that by moving across the seat or as I prefer 'standing' closer to vertical whilst pressing down on the right peg toward the road? - thanks

Who would have thought I'd come up in a discussion about riding fast on gravel
I am reading this thread with great interest.

you and @NZnic were right in the zone for a good stretch of the afternoon ride IIRC

The outside peg in a right hand corner will be the left peg

watched this yesterday....might be of interest

He is talking about low speed trials type cornering by the looks. What Oscar was saying is higher speed, bike tipped over , sitting on the outside of the seat like a motorcrosser, enduro rider and weighting the outside peg.

I am about to swear but if you watch the latest KTM Australia 2018 outback ride where they had 240ish bikes you will see some classic high speed cornering.
As Oscar said you gotta get up over the bars ( grip actually same side as the peg) weight the outside peg and get on the gas.
Nice to have a bit of run off on the corner that you intend practicing on though.
Can I watch
WR

no

I find his videos really good, & they confirm a lot of what I do naturally. It's just interesting to understand the reasons underlying why riding in certain ways 'feels' better.

It was interesting in this video his talking about steering with the knees & mid section. I also push the bike down when I'm cornering, but stay relatively upright on the bike, trying to 'peer' round corners, to get the best sight lines.

I've said it multiple times. Adventure Riding is a confidence trick. If you think you can do something, you generally can. If you think you have an issue with something, then you generally will. If you over think something, your riding generally goes to pot.

Anything I can do to get more confidence is helpful. Less weight on the bike, better tyres, & generally being less tired helped on the last ride. And of course riding an Airhead...

Strangely, my experience is that in group rides I have organised, some of the faster riders are also newer riders - they don't know what they don't know, & don't have a full understanding of the risks riding on gravel. Adrenaline & peer pressure. So they try to ride fast & cut corners. That works well because mostly I ride at my own pace, I prefer to ride at the back, & I like to have the crash test dummies ahead of me, not behind me. I've had one rider take on a 4WD mid corner, & it was like a bomb going off. Not something I care to repeat. But it does mean I need an experienced rider to take the lead...

I find the best way to stop the screaming from the back (when I have a pillion) is to plug in a bit of music. It's taken me years to find that out. It's much easier to get round corners when she's not fighting me...

Slidecars are another way of getting round corners quickly

This discussion reminds me a bit of when our first child was born. Like the responsible parents we were, we (or mostly the boss) looked at lots of parenting books - as there didn't appear to be a workshop manual. They all had different views on how to do it. So wifey just kept going until she found one that aligned with what thought was common sense and that became the go to book!!

Some things never change....

Almost seems like we need to find an closed course area where we could have a practice day.

If nothing else the comments so far have covered virtually every way to get round a gravel corner on a motorbike. Mission accomplished in that regard. It also shows, as @oldbeer has just pointed out, everyone finds what works for them then works at perfecting it. One thing age has taught me is there will always be someone who is faster, can wheelstand longer and has a better bike. Thankfully we have @Box'a'bits and the supertanker to make us all feel like Birchy

now that is a great idea!!!

I thought that was what the South Island was for......

Ha yea, Somewhere like a quarry area. Mind you, the South Island is just a big quarry

@Phreaky Phil - you've been looking at Jason Adam's SWT EnduroBoxer Treffen photos haven't you...

And Prusters

We used to practice in a quarry area of a mates place just out of town. Spent countless hours on dirt bikes up there. Then they decide to open it up so anyone could ride there, then the neighbours over the river complained and it got shut down.