Hi all,

I am a novice street rider. I am yet to try to track. Im pretty confident in most turns except one, the dreaded hair pin turn.

I was riding my r6 on some empty residential streets to practise U-turns to gain confidence for hair pin turns... unfotunately, i panicked in one instance and caused me to drop the bike whilst standing still. luckily it was only a minor scratch, but noticable.

I was wondering if you guys had any pointers and tips when doing u-turns/hair pin turns on an r6? eg, what would be the ideal speed to keep momentum, and what would be the best gear to take it?

thanks!

As long as you are in gear and applying a little bit of throttle should be able to power out of any lean angle you give. These bikes will lean ridiculously far over and come back, more so then you will feel comfortable.

On a tight turn you will want to stay to the outside of the lane, if it is a left hander stay out by curb if it is a right hander stay close to the center line....(wait do you drive on the left or the right down under? This is oriented based on driving on the right like in the US) So if you're making a hard right turn you want to drop the bike to the right, right? If you hang off the inside you may feel uncomfortable like you're going to fall over, so instead hang your butt off the left side and drop the bike even further into the corner. By doing this you will counter the tipping effect by pushing the center of gravity out, and the further you can lean into the corner the tighter you can carve.

This is the technique of choice by the MSF, Motorcycle Safety Foundation, here in the US. This is what is taught to navigate parking lots and ultra slow manuevers. I can tell you if it is public street you should have no problem navigating. In all but the narrowest streets you should be able to make a u-turn within the two lanes. Out on the road I doubt you'll ever find a hairpin with a radius that tight. So you should be able to ride through in 1st or 2nd gear, lean over, make the turn, and power out to right yourself.