Show us your motorcycles

[Richard Selin]

If someone thinks the fastest way through the Dragon is a Gold Wing, I've got a bridge I'd like to sell you! Yes, they are faster than they look. Any motorcycle is faster than it looks.

That Wing rider in the video is scoring some impressive lean angle and is actually pretty fast. However, he has used up all his traction at the apex (in fact do I hear floor boards scraping?). Half a cheek off the saddle is not exactly hanging off, and that style of riding puts a tremendous strain on the tires and chassis. He is riding with very little room for error.

On the street hang off, keep the bike more upright, and you will be both faster and safer through the corner. Go into the corner slow(er), give the bars a good push to set your lean angle, stay slow until you see the apex (and hence the corner exit), give a little more push and lean as you push into the apex, the corner should be straightening out and then you can get on the throttle and drive out of the corner a little earlier than what these Wing riders are doing. If you've apexed but you can't get on the throttle then you've either apexed early or have used up all your traction and are probably crapping yourself (and dragging bits). I NEVER hit the apex on the street with a blind exit. I wait until I can see the exit of the corner. Remember, there are OLD riders and there are BOLD riders, but there are no OLD, BOLD riders.

Here's how my favorite racer of all time, Valentino Rossi, takes a corner, probably about 4 times faster than that Wing rider. You can hear how his bike is accelerating out of the corner at the apex while still leaned over, because he hasn't used up all his traction like that Wing rider. Very very fast.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wn6j2BIZc_E

Of course you can argue that is on a racetrack, so here's how it's done at IOM. Not a lot of lean angle but you can clearly see how Joey Dunlop is able to get on the throttle hard at the apex as soon as he sees the exit of the corner. Again a very very fast way to ride.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OmCYy3gXBIw

That rider on the Stelvio pass video sure swung wide on two of the right-hand hairpins in the first 4 minutes and change. Looks like he apexed early and ran wide into the oncoming lane. A textbook example of how NOT to take a corner, at least on the street where there could be traffic coming the other way.