Absolutely. About time somebody made that point. Maybe it's just us & a generation thing.
In my case being on a pedal bike from about 7yrs old & using it to ride on the road (none of these short stint BMX or stunt style or "specialist" mountain bike jobs)

Like you I do believe you either have it or not. Trouble is these days there's a whole generation grown up without the basics because the were driven/bussed/walked to school or the "caring" state said roads are too unsafe to cycle on (to be fair there is a damn sight more traffic. Many of these same people now see the benefits of 2 wheels or are told they are a good thing. Hence the growth of riding schools to give people some basic comprehension of what riding 2 wheels needs. That & in some case, some pretty crap road sense.

^^^

This is very good simple advice!

Be patient with yourself OP.

I must admit that I was going to post last night asking whether those that were struggling had come up via smaller bikes on the road, or straight onto a bigger bike?

I know that it's always the popular answer to buy a big'un as your first bike as it's only as fast as you turn the throttle, but I can't help but feel if you've ridden a 50, 125, restricted bike (now) bike then you are used to being able to carry corner speed from a young age. In fact, it's essential on a moped, and I wonder if, as the steps are progressive you naturally carry over the same mentality. I always suspect that if you go straight onto a big bike, you may be tempted to get your kicks on the straights to begin with. Not a criticism, and obviously not the case for many, just a thought

I started on a BSA C11G cost £12 ten shillings on my 16th birthday, flat out at 65mph and brakes were very poor, tyres were nearly bald.

I passed my test a month later and bought a BSA Gold Flash for £10, the swinging arm version. Brakes a bit better but I was still riding round on bald tyres, brilliant for sliding in the wet, but not very good at stopping. Flat out about 95 mph.

I rode push bikes for years before motor bikes and was a nutter going down hills, I never thought of what might happen if I couldn't get round a corner.

You've either got it or you haven't is my view and I packed in this year in March when I sold my Guzzi. I just became fed up of riding round and round, or standing in the garage thinking "where can I go today".

Oh no! You'd better get on the phone to the California Superbike School and let them know Keith Code is a fraud!

QUICK! So many riders are out there not riding properly and it's all the fault of that highly-trained, hugely experienced IDIOT in California!

Here's a video of some 'cornering crap'. It's all so pointless and boring isn't it? Trying to get better at something, increasing your enjoyment and getting more from your equipment by improving your technique. WHAT A WASTE OF TIME. Every Proper Rider (tm) knows that technique isn't important and you should just blast around on a motorcycle hoping for the best.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxqDGeUdrBw

I used to deliver for the Co-op on one of those very easy to fall off if you overloaded the basket!

What you need to realise is that Code and co. are making money out of people who have very little natural ability and never will have

I found it much easier as a new rider to learn countersteering by pulling the outside bar. I was pulling the bars anyway to hold on until I got some core muscles so i'd just relax my inside arm. It felt like pulling the bike over into the turn. Plus weight on the outside peg to enable 'locking' my knee into the tank to pull the bike over that way too.


As for it not being 1930, the physics of how bikes work hasn't changed.

Bearing in mind that I'm not an expert, but I'm a fairly competent, confident, all conditions road rider who tries to be smooth:


I look where I want to go and move my chin and upper torso in the same direction, pressing my outside knee (supporting my weight) into the tank

My hand (left for a left turn and vice versa) moves forward 'pointing' to the direction in which I'm wanting to go. My hands are relaxed on the grips.

(I've previously braked and shifted smoothly into the gear I require at a suitable speed for the corner, I'm easing off the brakes before turning in and roll the throttle open throughout the turn)


If you ride along a straight road you can practice this. With your arms loose and relaxed, shift your chin and torso to the left. Then do the same to the right.

Note which way your bars move of their own accord.

Then assist the bars to do the same thing by gently push-pulling whilst shifting your chin and torso to one side.

Practice this until it becomes one smooth movement.

Another exercise is to leave the bike in 3rd gear on a windy road and use the throttle only to control speed. You'll be forced to look ahead

Coo, don't some people get uppity easily?

Going back to the original point, you've probably answered your own question when you suggest you are approaching corners too fast. Why not slow down?
Most of us who have been brought up on old cars or 'bikes will have developed the habit of entering corners slow and powering through them. Modern cars and 'bikes will allow you to get away with loads of bad practices but for the sake of an easy life don't carry too much speed into a bend. Most everything else, countersteering etc. can be learned and improved with practice but if you are braking through the bend you end up trying to hold the 'bike up when you should be "cornering"...
As for the size of your chicken strips - just accept that for a long time, and highly likely, always, your 'bike will be far more capable than you. That is something that has changed from the old days, unlike the basic physics...