Stupid rider skill (lack of) issue

Fz1fighter

Well-Known Member
I've notice that I seem to be far more confident leaning into a right turn than a left. I know I know it sounds ridiculous, so ridiculous in fact that I had to ask if anyone else has any weird riding quirks.
 
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Right Handed

I've notice that I seem to be far more confident leaning into a right turn than a left. I know I know it sounds ridiculous, so ridiculous in fact that I had to ask if anyone else has any weird riding quirks.

I'll bet you are right handed. This is a totally natural phenomenon. I am Right handed and have always felt more comfortable hanging off, doing right curves. You just have to work a bit harder in the lefts to get comfortable.
 
My neighbor is a racer/track junkie, and he's told me before that everyone has a preference. I'm right handed, and I do prefer turning left, although I feel perfectly comfortable with my rights as well. The only thing that'll help you be equally comfortable with both sides is more time in the saddle. I'm not sure if there is any correlation, but I am goofy (right foot forward) on a snowboard and skateboard, and also right foot forward on a bicycle. I ski a lot and used to ride bmx and my dominant spin is to the left side. Let me ask you guys, if you were to jump up and do a 360 degree spin, which way would you spin? Is it the same way as your favorite side to turn on?
 
I had the same problem, awesome on off ramp on my way home for a long fast left hander. I got to be pretty good lefts. I found a different exit on my way to work that only takes me a minute or two longer to get there and has an awesome right. I find that on/off ramps are a great non track place to practice. They are usually wide and forgiving.
Good luck man!!
 
When I first started riding I was more confident going left than right and the only time I've blown a corner is going right. I'm right handed and box lefty, and ride goofy foot. I also have had major injuries to every major joint on my right side and a bone spur on the right neural foramina of my C5-C6 in my neck. After putting in 21,000ish miles in my first year I'm comfortable going both ways
 
I'm lefthanded, but ambidexterous, and am way more comfortable turning left than right. When I was a kid my father forced me to write with my right hand cause he thought that being lefthanded was the sign of the devil. :dontknow: In any case, I always kept going back to my left, yet that's the only thing I use it for. I eat, brush my teeth, throw, bat, bowl, etc with my right hand. You'd think I'd be comfortable turning both directions but I'm terrible in sharp righthanders. :disapproval:
 
I think there are things in our "wiring" that dictate this sort of thing, but I also think that driving on the right side of the road makes it easier to follow the curve of the road on the right side. It is a very clear-cut view as it is usually easy to differentiate between the road and the shoulder. Making left-handers is made more difficult for me because I have to concentrate on what is sometimes an imaginary line on roads with no center stripe. Heading into a blind corner I can hug the edge of the pavement in right turns, while I have to continue to look for the line in left-handers. Misjudging that center (whether lined or not) can bring contact with large vehicles. I've not done a track day, but I'm pretty sure I would lean further in left turns due to my "wiring" if all I had to worry about was the edge of the track. On on-off ramps, with no center line to worry about, I am more confident leaning left.
 
I realized I was favoring left hand turns after looking at my rear tire wear during my first year of riding. I had a bigger "chicken strip" on the right side of the tire compared to left. It was good to realize, it made me work on getting comfortable enough to lean both ways equally through turns.

It still feels better to lean through left turns, now 4 years later... --MW
 
I am far more confident in making left turns for several reasons. Off-road riding, I use the rear brake to steer with the left foot out by the front axel to place more weight on the front wheel. Also, on the mountain roads, left hand turns provide a larger visual area. If nothing is coming, can lean over the center line, but I don't like leaning so close to the hillsides making rights.
 
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