Turn Navigation ??

[Spike]

So the wife decided she's going to get her license now...took the sypder out for her first test drive (rode mopeds and dirt bikes as a kid) and her only real issues is she is not as comfortable on left handed turns. :dontknow:
She said it's almost like she's going to fall off when turning left....

Any suggestions? Not sure the difference for a left from a right turn for her. She's followed me in the car while I've been out on the bike and says that didn't help. Would love to hear someone else explain turning so she can get another persons perspective. Thanks.

 

[Wheeler~]

Best suggestion, in my opinion, on a right turn, use the left foot to push on the left driver pedal for support and the right foot on the right driver pedal for support on a left hand turn. Takes a very short time to become comfortable with this technique. Other than that, leaning into turn direction and gripping the seat with the inner thighs.

 

[Bob Denman]

These things are addictive; aren't they?
Do you have a parking lot where you can set out a couple of cones for her to practice? All that you really need are about 4 or five cones and a couple of hundred feet... Set up a place where she can make 90 degree turns: both to the left and to the right. Let her make some runs: nice and slow and comfortable. If she's not digging the left-handers, it might have to do with how she leans for them... This might just be a case of her needing some seat time to get used to the feeling... :thumbup:

 

[boborgera]

So the wife decided she's going to get her license now...took the sypder out for her first test drive (rode mopeds and dirt bikes as a kid) and her only real issues is she is not as comfortable on left handed turns. :dontknow:
She said it's almost like she's going to fall off when turning left....

Any suggestions? Not sure the difference for a left from a right turn for her. She's followed me in the car while I've been out on the bike and says that didn't help. Would love to hear someone else explain turning so she can get another persons perspective. Thanks.

Tell her to look past the turn ,Not looking down at the road. Head level.:thumbup:

 

[daveinva]

Funny that I read this, I was just talking to a friend who passed his two-wheeler MSF course this past weekend, he expressed surprise at how hard his RIGHT-handed turns were on the motorcycle.

Whereas I noticed how hard LEFT-handed turns were on the Spyder (at least in my trike class they were).

Right turns, smooth as silk almost immediately. Left hand turns, however, always required a bit more attention (especially to avoid gunning the throttle).

I'm less than a week out from getting my Spyder (yay!), I plan on doing a LOT of PLP, in part to get the left-hand turns down.

One additional trick I learned in my trike class from the instructors (on top of the good advice above) is the "sliding hand" technique on the throttle. When you're making a turn, rather than holding the throttle like you normally would, pivot your hand to the side so you're almost holding the throttle grip like you would twist open a bottle (but not all the way to the end). You can get a bit more fine-tuning of the throttle in turns this way, and on the Spyder, as long as you maintain a good grip on the handlebar, there's no risk of your right hand being out of position (since there's no handbrake to worry about, for good or ill).

Anyway, I've never known any rider to regret parking lot practice. If it's boring, you're doing it wrong; if you're doing it right, it's *hard*-- you're pushing yourself to learn-- but it's oh-so rewarding when you're on the street and it's all muscle memory.