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Hey all,

TLoML and I were talking last night about riding skills and what-not, and the topic turned to whether people have problems with turning in one particular direction. She has issues with left-hand corners, whilst I sometimes have problems with right-hand ones.

An instructor years ago said something about it being all down to the dominant side of your brain.

Anyone else got any ideas on this?

I voted neither cos i can fall off in any direction, but i dont like negative camber corners. Always grip my seat round those

I am probably even.

I used to prefer L/H corners in my younger days but now feel just as confident with a R/H.

Well I voted neither .... but I'm certainly not perfect ....

Never even considered that it might be harder to turn one way than another.
I agree with Pierre about off camber bends - they can be a bit more of a concern sometimes - particularly in the wet ..... and I guess in this fair land we're going to get more off-camber right handers.

I was pondering this just the other day and reached the conclusion it might depend on how ingrained the 4 wheeled driving experience was ... and that it was probably different for those with LHD cars.

Of course I may have been pished at the time. Don't think I favour one or the other, although I prefer going uphill to down.

Corners.. hmm.. I prefer right handers... errm.. or do I.. well, no.. not really..

Put me down for an 'Neither'

But all that can be turned on it's head:

but i dont like negative camber corners

I'd have to go with the "neither" option as well - I used to struggle more with right-handers (against the norm in the UK, I think, with all the roundabout hero practice!), but I'll quite happily fall off in either direction now

I think this will depend on what bike you are on

an inline four will be harder to flick into one side than the other - due to the crank rotation direction

a v twin should have no problems, though I believe Guzzi approach can be entertaining - if you put the power on too fast while heeled over it WILL sit up!

Right handers, deffo.

I'm happy as a pig in shit chucking my left shoulder into a bend, but kinda shy away from the same enthusiasm on a right hander

Falcopops wrote:Right handers, deffo.

I'm happy as a pig in shit chucking my left shoulder into a bend, but kinda shy away from the same enthusiasm on a right hander

Be careful... bathwater and plugoles come to mind.

Whilst I wouldn't say I had problems with right handers I am definately more into lefters. My perfect track would be mostly left handers.

As for why....

possibly the brain thing and being right handed.
Also I feel more confident apexing a kerb than a white line. I may feel differently on a track but I can only guess.

A racer type once told me he preferred right handers as he is in better contact with the throttle when leaned way off the side. I wouldn't know

As an Instructor it is a question I get asked on a regular basis, and as an accident investigator it is something I have had to look into in some depth over the years and to be fair there is no generic or standard answer to the question.

There are numerous theories as to why an individual prefers one type of bend to another ranging from as already mentioned one side of the brain being more dominant to the other, left handed people being more comfortable with things on their lft than right and vice versa, road camber and a whole load of other theories, but no one has really been ble to nail it down.

However, more people seem more comfortable with left handers than they do with right, and when I have spoken to them most of them state that getting too close to the nearside kerb makes them worried about clipping the kerb and falling off.

When you talk to them and discuss the issues that itwould be safer to fall off into the kerb through a right hand bend as opposed to falling off into the path of an oncoming vehicle whilst going through a left han bend (which is the most popular type of accident through a bend) the penny then seems to drop as they start to realise that if they get it wrong going through a left hander, then the chances are they will run wide straight onto the opposing carriageway, where if they get it wrong on a right hander, the chances are they will end up in the bushes and their pride may be a little dented, but they will be alive

The other theory that has some credibility is the use of roundabouts. On roundabouts we always negotiate a right hand bend for want of a btter description, so because we do it most days, riders become more confident with right hand bends even though most (not all) are negotiated at fairly slow speeds so we become more confident with the bike being leant over to the right.

Samray wrote:.........., although I prefer going uphill to down.

nod nod me three but how would you know Sam ??? you lives in Norfolk and therefore have no hills at all

Aladinsaneuk wrote: an inline four will be harder to flick into one side than the other - due to the crank rotation direction

On both an IL4 and 'normal' V-twins, the gyroscopic effect of the mass of the crank is across the frame and makes a negligible difference to cornering. Certainly the direction of rotation would make zero difference to corners, but might affect wheelies

Boxer engines and guzzi engines it's a different matter, where the gyroscopic effect of the mass of the crank is in-line with the frame.

Fausto wrote: A racer type once told me he preferred right handers as he is in better contact with the throttle when leaned way off the side. I wouldn't know

More likely because nearly all tracks are right handed in the UK (apart from Rockingham AFAIK and no one races there).