Handeling corners & curves?

[skuuter]

Comanche has it dead to rights! I never took lessons on a trike. Rode two-wheelers for forty odd years then moved to my Honda Goldwing 1500 GL through necessity - wish I'd done it earlier! Ease into corners, look ahead, choose your exit and (gently) accelerate out. I'm taking bends and corners along with a bunch of two-wheelers and holding my own!

Yep....."FAST" goes with "SMOOTH"...Anyone that develops Their Riding Skills to the point of ALWAYS being Smooth, will automatically be Fast at some point.....

[Konrad]

So Glad I found you guys. I'm a newbie and am learning so much on this site. I've always rode on the back of a bike and after divorce last year I bought a Trike. I have no one to refer to or ask questions So having you here is like family. pepper Thanks for all the info

Yep - it's pretty much like finding a family but without the negative interactions! This is one of the very few forums I've found where people just enjoy helping each other without flames or caustic sarcasm.

[Shimpy]

Ray - Don't feel like the Lone Ranger. That "left turn stuff" happens to many of us. Should get better with time and practice. Keep at it.

For some reason I'm also more comfortable doing right turns but funny, when I was on 2 wheels it was just the opposite.

[meredog]

For some reason I'm also more comfortable doing right turns but funny, when I was on 2 wheels it was just the opposite.

easy remedy is to sit on the seat backwords then your left side will be on the right ?????????

[captdanwh]

sorry John Luciano, I have to say I had just the opposite happen to my trike. I was told by friends of mine who ride trikes to get that bias ply tire off of the front , so I did and could not believe the handling difference. I know Harley's have bias ply right out of the showroom but I suppose every trike is different and everybody drives them a little different. you may have a great feeling with bias over the radial or vice versa but I will never put a bias ply on my trike again. by the way, my ride is a 2007 flhtc converted with a Champion kit with solid rear axle, so you see anything different such as independent suspension or a different kind of trike kit could make a difference. we all try different things to give us a better ride, so if a different tire gave you a good feeling , that's great

[Calgary]

I read this entire thread before I took possession of my trike about six weeks ago and used the good advice given here while honing my trike skills over the past 4,000 miles. As mentioned, each day and each mile gets better. The first few miles I wondered what I'd got myself in to and decided not to sell my 1800 until I got a few trike miles under my belt and decided which way to go.

Well, I'm now listing the 1800 and completely loving the 1800CSC.

I just read the entire thread again and I really found it much more meaningful this time around.

Thanx to all of the contributors - your experience and advice has been very helpful.

[Craigar]

I just read most of this thread. It was full of very good advise and it covered some good points I need to remember.

I only have about 400 miles on a trike so far. My plan is to head up 'Indian Canyon' some day this week. This mountain road tops out at about 8,000 feet and is full of turns, curves, and challenges.

I'll be practicing all the good advise from this thread... great forum!

[Bill Reber]

Did 300 miles Saturday up around Black mountain , Trike did well only puckered me and the wife one time in a fast down hill switch back. Around Lake Lure NC I could see a lot of hard point touch downs in a few of the turns those mut have hurt.

[bpago]

Still a little bit confused. I have read posts that say "step on the outside board when cornering and posts that say step on the inside board when cornering. which is correct? I only have 700 miles on my new trike and pressure on outside floor board in turns seems to make me feel more comfortable. I agree, as with everyone else, that it is a time process after 40 some years on two wheels, there is definitely a difference.

Thanks to all!!

[Nana]

Do whichever way helps you feel most comfortable as you shift your weight or lean your body to the inside of the turn. The trike is not going to tip with normal riding, but that weight shift sure does make the turns feel more comfortable.

[Gold Rush]

Still a little bit confused. I have read posts that say "step on the outside board when cornering and posts that say step on the inside board when cornering. which is correct? I only have 700 miles on my new trike and pressure on outside floor board in turns seems to make me feel more comfortable. I agree, as with everyone else, that it is a time process after 40 some years on two wheels, there is definitely a difference.

Thanks to all!!

You've got it right. Some say lean and others say use you legs to maintain your riding position. I'm with the latter group. Staying centered directly behind the bike's center helps the rider maintain better control. Back in the two wheel days we could lean and still stay centered. Not so with trikes. I learned early to apply down pressure to the outside foot peg/rest and grip the inside of the trike with my other leg/foot.

Like Nana said... Do what works for you best. Try all the suggestions then stick with the one you like best. Constantly changing riding styles is just gonna confuse the learning process.

[bpago]

You've got it right. Some say lean and others say use you legs to maintain your riding position. I'm with the latter group. Staying centered directly behind the bike's center helps the rider maintain better control. Back in the two wheel days we could lean and still stay centered. Not so with trikes. I learned early to apply down pressure to the outside foot peg/rest and grip the inside of the trike with my other leg/foot.

Like Nana said... Do what works for you best. Try all the suggestions then stick with the one you like best. Constantly changing riding styles is just gonna confuse the learning process.

Thanks for the info. I think I'll keep trying outside floor board method. Seems to work so far and I'm getting better at it. Again thanks!

[brianl]

For some reason I'm also more comfortable doing right turns but funny, when I was on 2 wheels it was just the opposite.

I'm fairly new, having only been riding a trike since July. I've figured out that the crown of the road has a lot to do with how difficult a corner is. They usually slant from the middle of the road to the outside. This usually makes right turns easier than left because when you go to the left, the trike is tilting to the right making you feel as though you're being thrown off of the trike to the right. To compensate for this, I lean heavily to the left just as you would do with a 2 wheeler. Seems to help.

[cooltech]

You'll also find, I think, that you use your handle bars with different amount of pressure during turns since you don't really lean the bike, you push/pull the bars more. I dont' find myself working the boards as I turn.
Ride safe and enjoy.
"Brianl" mentioned the crown of the roads during turns. I try to positon myself so the front wheel is on the inside part of the crown of the direction I'm turning
cooltech

[curry]

I new to trikes talk, only two week with a 08 trike with a hannigan kit. I find this a very good topic. while my bike was being trike, I was read about taking corners & curves, and the crown of the road. Wait and pick up my bike on Oct. 4, 2013 and rode home, hadn't rode a trike before when 450 mile with it. Arm were sore from push & pull. The first week home I put 1500 mile on my trike riding with a friend getting tip from his on how to ride a trike.

[Old Fard]

For me to get out of town I have to deal with switchbacks and tight mountain turns. I lean to the inside just enough to "straight arm" the outside handle bar and take the load off my arms and at the same time put pressure on the outside leg to keep centered. In the hard tight turns I use my knees. So, I guess I am +1 for all these suggestions. The point is to do what you are comfortable with. I know that my trike can corner harder than I can, WHOOPIE!

[Pappy1]

Staying up with the two wheelers was the reason I went with the Solid Rear axle. I have a Champion kit on my 2007 Honda VTX 1800. Love it and I DO stay up with the two wheelers....regardless of what they are on.......and I am 68 years old.

I'm new to triking and just took ownership of a 2007 VTX 1800 F Champion! I love it and got broke in on it in about 200 mi. I ride with a Chapter of 2 wheelers ( 30 of them ) and have no problem keeping up with them. I thought i'd need to back out of the turns more then I do but not so!! Maybe just a little on the tight ones but catch up quickly! I run at the rear except for our drag rider,an organization rule!!! I ride 2 up 75% of the time with my wife. We have a Solid Axel !!!

[EarlyE]

Tire pressure is critical when talking about the handling of a trike. Most tend to think the tire pressure in the rear tires are suppose to be comparable to car tires since they are car tires but that is not the case.

[riverdoc]

The Wolf and John pointed out, do lean into the curves. This wil reduce the feeling you are being pushed to the outside of the curve. Also helps to push down on the outside footpeg - that will also help counteract the push away from the inside of the curve. Also it uses your leg to keep you upright instead of arms, mid and upper body muscles. Helps make it easier to steer. Wolf suggested taking a curve out & in. They teach that in the MSF riding classes. It is not only smoother line, you can also see further through a curve, so it's safer. Technical term is a "late apex". Generally good riding techneque on 2 or 3 wheels.

The MSF also taught "Slow, Look, Lean and Roll" to go through a curve. We don't lean, but slow slightly, look through the curve then power through. As john mentioned, use both arms - push and pull. If I have the backrest on, I also use that to push against. Again, not using the body muscles as much.

hdrider axes:Once you get the hang of it do you feel you can stay with or outperform a good rider on 2 wheels? Yep. A good trike pilot can keep up with most of the riders out there. I was going down the Pig Trail (locally famous for it's curves) to camp at a rally, and I kept having to brake in the curves for a pair of sportbikes ahead of me. They'd pull away on the straights, I would catch up on the twisties. They were dragging pegs, not hanging off on the turns. (I would guess good riders, not racers) They weren't too happy I was keeping up with their race replicas.

They were even more surprised when we stopped and saw I was pulling the Bunkhouse camper. I've always been able to keep up with cruisers and touring bikes. Sometimes a bit slower from a stop becouse of the extra weight, but right there wanting to pass in short order.

You can outperform two wheelers but who cares. Arkansas has switchbacks galore and really nasty curves in the mountains. I ride outside in and power through the curves leaning in remembering a golden rule -- look as far ahead as possible. You need to be careful if you have no shoulders on your roads, they are not very wide or the curves are blind. Outside-in is a general rules, but you need to consider the width of the road as well. I have seen several bad accidents when cherries (newbies) came down a mountain to fast and crashed (on curves) into riders going up hill. If you have no shoulders and a road that is not very wide, you will know when you feel safe and when you feel terrified. RIDE WITHIN YOUR CAPABILITY and forget about who is faster.

Does not matter.

RiverDoc

[robval87]

I have to agree with most here, I can for the most part out ride most 2 wheelers in the twist's and bends of mountain passes. I have had several friends question me as to why I was going so fast and I just replied "I was just riding and having fun." I wasn't out to outrun them, it just happened. I asked them why they were going so slow and their response was, "We were just slowing down for the curves, and you just kept pulling away." It took my a little while to learn how to ride with 3 wheels versus 2, but I wouldn't go back. Time in the saddle and the right setup (tire pressure and suspension stiffness) are key too.