[motorcycle.com] - New Rider: How To Take A Sharp Turn From A Stop

Have you ever seen a rider who pulls away from a curb, crosses one (or two!) lanes of traffic before easing his way back into the right-hand lane that he originally pulled out into. You know what he was when pulling across traffic and then back into the right lane? A target. Although this is a skill that is so basic that it is taught in motorcycle safety courses, we’ve seen enough near misses that we believe many riders do not know how to make a sharp turn from a stop. Hopefully, this article will do a small bit to help remedy this problem.

New Rider: What Is The Friction Zone?​

The best place to practice this maneuver is in an empty parking lot. You can use the lines for the parking spaces to demarcate the lane you’re trying to stay within


Begin with your bike perpendicular to the road’s curb. Put the transmission in gear.


Turn the handlebar to the right. With practice, you’ll learn the correct amount, but this is not a full-lock turn.


Lean the bike to the right. Shorter riders may want to put their left foot on the peg and take a step away from the bike with their right foot.


Ease out the clutch into the friction zone and pull into the right-hand lane while maintaining slight pressure on the right grip. Notice how the rider is sitting upright and allowing the bike to lean underneath him. Finally, be sure to look where you want to go.


You don’t want to practice this exercise on a street. Go to an empty parking lot and use the parking space lines to stand in for your parking spot and the lane you want to pull into. Just start with your rear tire on perpendicular to the line as you would with the curb. That way, if you run wide, you don’t risk running into opposing traffic. Don’t be surprised if it takes you a while to master this task. It is a fairly complex mix of clutch and throttle management plus body position while the bike is at its least balanced state.

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