General > Riding Tips & Tricks

Increasing your corner speed

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Rick:
Corners are tough to master for most folks, as a lot of things are happening when you enter and exit each corner.  The most common mistake is to look at the corner (essentially at the ground) while you are entering, passing through, and exiting the corner.  Try this:  Find a corner that has a smooth arc that you can ride in second or third gear with confidence.  Choose a smooth corner, one without rocks or whoops, so you can focus on technique.  As you begin to enter the corner, leave your foot off the rear brake, this is not a slide into/power out of corner technique.  As you enter the corner, turn your head towars the exit of the corner, keeping your eyes at the same level as before, and look past the exit.  You are essentially looking at WHERE you want to GO, not where you ARE in the corner.  Your head will naturally rotate back to center as you exit the corner, making you ready for the next corner/obstacle/trail tansition.

Most folks will look at the ground in front of their front tire, but the reality is that whatever is going to happen in that section of trail is going to happen whether or not you see it or not, as you are traveling too fast to compensate for that unkown obsacle anyway.  Trust your instincts to compensate for whatever is in the apex of the corner, and force yourself to ride based upon where you want to go, not where you have been.

Give it a shot, I think you'll increase your corner speed, as well as your enjoyment of the trail.  Think it won't work?  Next time your watching your favorite National MX rider go around the track at the next National, watch his head.  As he enters the corner, his head will snap to the exit, essentially making the spot where he wants to go.

Rick

mwt168:
Maybe just another quick tip, don't be afraid to lay the bike over while going through the turn. Depending on how sharp the turn is, you can lay the bike over and ride out the turn. Me personally, I don't slow down too much coming into turn, I make sure the back tire gets in the birm, lay the bike over, and at the same time I smash the gas. Reminder, pull the clutch in when coming into the turn. Make sure you keep the revs up while you're in the turn. As soon as you begin to exit the turn, dump the clutch and roll on the throttle. Depending if your going uphill or not you may not want to let the clutch out all the way. Basically use your clutch as a throttle, not the actual throttle. Hope this helps. Remember learn slow, get the technique down before you decide to go ripping through a turn.

KXcam22:
I find my KX steers very well by weighting the pegs.  Not so much for tight turns but in high speed sweepers and such. Experiment by putting all your weight on one pegs, then the other, and see which way the bike goes. Cam.

toddwunsch:
Yeah, the pegs tip was the best tip I've ever gotten.  Increased my riding ability one level with that tip alone.  In fast sweeping turns, especially in sand, weight the peg in the direction you want to turn.  It's amazing how the bike  almost turns itself.

KXcam22:
Todd,
  It's a neat trick. I used to race a 400 Maico that was the opposite.  You weighted the outside peg in turns. It took a bit to get good at since in tight corners you actually crouched low over the seat (but not siting) with all your weight on one leg on the outside peg.  You could  corner unbelievably doing this. My KX seems to respond to this as well (but only in slow tight corners) but not as dramatically as the old Maico. Cam.

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