I started riding motorbikes last July. Lately I have been analyzing my abilities and this one was an issue that stood out:
I am a lot more comfortable in left-hand corners than right-hand corners. Do other riders have this issue?
Here are some thoughts as to why I have this problem in and approaching corners:
1) Rotating grip (throttle) on the right side as opposed to fixed grip on the left (clutch). I am a little more tentative using counter-steering techniques on right-side grip as opposed to left, i.e. I grip the throttle a little more than I would the clutch-side grip.
2) History from riding bicycles. Yeah, bicycles! As a kid I remember practicing braking/skids when I had one of those coaster-type brake bikes where you pedal backwards and I can say I nearly always used the right pedal to slide out to the left, almost never to the right. Just thinking about the action of using the left pedal and skidding to the right makes me uneasy.
3) History from driving cars. Yeah, cars! I would guess learning to drive in the States, i.e. driver on the left side of car, would give the driver a certain ease looking left and, over time, a slight unease for things right-hand sided as compared to the left? I would love to know how lifetime right-side drivers (UK, Thailand, etc) feel about cornering.
4) Lack of proper training or practice.
I think I could have summarized all that in one word:
HELP!
I am a lot more comfortable in left-hand corners than right-hand corners. Do other riders have this issue?
Here are some thoughts as to why I have this problem in and approaching corners:
1) Rotating grip (throttle) on the right side as opposed to fixed grip on the left (clutch). I am a little more tentative using counter-steering techniques on right-side grip as opposed to left, i.e. I grip the throttle a little more than I would the clutch-side grip.
2) History from riding bicycles. Yeah, bicycles! As a kid I remember practicing braking/skids when I had one of those coaster-type brake bikes where you pedal backwards and I can say I nearly always used the right pedal to slide out to the left, almost never to the right. Just thinking about the action of using the left pedal and skidding to the right makes me uneasy.
3) History from driving cars. Yeah, cars! I would guess learning to drive in the States, i.e. driver on the left side of car, would give the driver a certain ease looking left and, over time, a slight unease for things right-hand sided as compared to the left? I would love to know how lifetime right-side drivers (UK, Thailand, etc) feel about cornering.
4) Lack of proper training or practice.
I think I could have summarized all that in one word:
HELP!