It seems way too often that you hear about riders (often new, but not always) getting into a corner a bit too hot, then locking up the brakes or tipping the bike upright while trying to slow down, then running it straight off the road with the rear tire skidding and bouncing. I know because I’ve done it. Not just once, either. Yeah, it takes me a long time to learn some things, but once I DO learn it, I can remember it for days. Maybe weeks! Besides, practice makes perfect, right?
Well, oddly enough, the problem here is not usually excessive speed, but the rider not looking where he wants to go, or more likely, the rider not looking far enough ahead to be able to make the bike go there.
Modern sport bikes are truly amazing machines. They can wrap around a corner at speeds and lean angles that make you talk to yourself under your helmet. They can also handle mid-corner adjustments with extreme precision and stability.
If you’ve ever watched professional motorcycle road racing, you’ve probably seen riders looking almost 90° to the side while approaching a tight corner. What they’re doing is deciding where they want to be in the next split second. The further ahead you can look, the faster you can go.
But there’s more to it than simply looking ahead. The last thing you want to do is fixate on a target. But you need to be able to hit a specific point on the road every time without actually focusing on that point. In order to do that, you need to move your focal point ahead at pretty much the same speed your bike is moving, as though your eyeballs were on wheels and rolling at the same rate and along the same path you want your bike to go.
To practice this, get on a familiar canyon road or on a racetrack and find a corner that’s tight with a clean, un-obstructed view. Take the corner at a comfortable speed, and find a target or marker of some kind that is easily visible (the apex often is a good marker). Take note of how close you are to that point before you begin to look ahead for your next reference point.
If you are staring at that point for more than a split second, or until you’re on top of it, you’re fixating on the target. This makes it very difficult to adjust your line or make a correction for an obstacle in the road, or a decreasing radius corner.
Practice this a few times, each time looking at the target sooner and sooner (increasing the distance to the target). You should start to notice your cornering speed increase easily without the un-easy feeling of being on the edge of control. You will also notice your head turning more and more the further ahead you look. You should be able to quickly adjust your view to allow for the best, safest line through the corner.
