The Challenges of Cornering on Your Motorcycle

Heavy motorcycles like cruisers can be a little challenging to operate, especially if you’re accustomed to riding a lighter bike. This means that you have to change up the way you ride to accommodate that extra weight and bulk. One of the most difficult things for many riders is cornering, which takes a little finesse to get just right without scraping your bike on the pavement or worse, bottoming out.

Advantage PowerSports, located in Kansas City, is your Missouri motorcycle dealer. Here are some of our top tips for safe cornering practices on your heavy bike so that you can always ride safely and responsibly.

Cornering Challenges

Taking corners and sharp curves on your motorcycle can present some challenges when you’re riding a bulkier bike. Cruisers don’t exactly maneuver as easily and as lithely as a smaller bike would because of their bulk. The footpegs in particular make it difficult to avoid scraping against the pavement, and the exhaust pipe and side stand can even make contact with the road. Once you’ve leaned your bike over too far, then you’re much more likely to slide out and no one wants that!

Cruisers have a low clearance as well due to their long, low pipes, forward foot controls, raked forks and long wheelbases. All those hard parts can stick out and make a rider afraid to take a corner.

The static lean angle isn’t an issue with corners; it’s actually the dynamic lean angle that causes issues. Your motorcycle can tilt while standing upright without touching any parts to the road, but the dynamic lean angle will cause some parts to scrape the road if you’re not careful.

Aftermarket additions, bigger suspension systems, heavy saddlebags, a passenger perched behind you and even the road conditions are some other causes of cornering difficulty on your motorcycle. However, you should not overly concern yourself with this process as there are adjustments you can make as a rider to reduce the risks and make cornering a breeze.

Techniques for Cornering

It can be helpful to make your cruiser bike more corner-friendly by ensuring that its suspension is as high as possible. When you brake on your bike, it tends to press down on the suspension system, which puts it lower to the ground, so when you’re about to take the corner, make sure you’re not still holding down the brake.

Accelerating a little bit while taking a corner will help you to move through it more easily, even though going faster might sound less safe. The bike will lift up on its suspension system at the front, making the corner easier. Just make sure that you’re in the right gear before you begin taking that corner.

When you hear your footpegs scrape the road, then you know that you’ve nearly reached the maximum lean angle of your motorcycle. If you’re trying to take a tighter corner, then you may need to be in a lower gear to tighten the arc.

Try to keep your cornering arc as big as you can without veering into oncoming traffic, because a larger arc will require a less severe lean angle. Wider cornering helps you to see the road ahead as well so you know what you’ll need to do to safely complete the turn, whether it’s tightening your arc or opening it back up. Maintain a smooth and even speed as much as you can. Also, shift your body weight to the inside of the bike by sitting up straight and leaning your torso towards the inner mirror. This gives you more clearance so you can more easily take a corner.

We hope this guide helps you to safely ride your motorcycle on all the curvy roads you long to take. Are you searching for a new bike? Visit our website to take a look at our vast inventory of new and used motorcycles for sale at our dealership in Kansas City. You can even talk to our staff about our financing options. Advantage PowerSports proudly serves the cities of Columbia and St. Joseph, MO, in addition to the greater Kansas City metropolitan area.