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How fast do you go on 90 degree turns?

13228 Views 41 Replies 25 Participants Last post by  Woomba
I don't know if I am right or wrong, but I feel like at low speed when you turn, you turn the handlebar in the direction you want to go, but at higher speeds you push the handlebar to counter steer and make the bike lean and therefore turn where you want to go. When making a 90 degree turn at a light - say you are cruising on a road at 40mph, change lanes into the left turn lane and the light is green, so you don't need to stop, but what speed do you slow down to? Considering the fact that the crosswalk strips at the beginning of the turn and the end are slippery, not to mention the cement part of the road for water to flow across the street when raining are slippery even when dry, how fast do you go during the turn approximately?
I used to have no question about it and would make the turns smoothly, but then I dropped the bike in a slippery area water drain area (when it was dry) making a sharp turn at low speed while leaning (the front wheel slid from under me, although I did not break, I just continued with the throttle, the wheel continued to slide out more until both I and the bike were on the ground :( Heartbreaking to drop a brand new bike, needless to say that made me less confident on turns and I don't lean as much, but I figure I should see how more experienced people turn. When do you start the lean, when do you come out of the lean, and how fast do you go when entering the turn (before speeding up at apex)?
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Lookie here: http://www.msgroup.org/Tip.aspx?Num=235&Set=211-245
Max speed is about 23 Mph/37 Kph for a right hand turn when driving on right side of road
Depends on road conditions really. Typically if a recommended speed sign is posted, it can be doubled. A skilled rider can do double plus 10 MPH.
FYI: This is very dangerous advice and should not be followed. In many cases it could get you killed. Read this: http://www.msgroup.org/Tip.aspx?Num=231&Set=211-245
I'm sorry, @woomba, but the last sentence discredits the author in the same vain the expert witnesses discredited themselves.

Late apexing purpose is to gather a deeper view in to the corner and to make the turn-in quicker. This means the bike is leaned over for less time. This is still a "single lean angle turn". Even though the author doesnt explicity state it, Fifty-pencing (or mid-corner lean angle corrections) is the inverse of a "single lean angle turn". It means the rider chose a bad line and it will require one or more course corrections throughout the turn.
There are other articles where he explains his reasoning about late apexing a corner in more detail. To elaborate, yes, if you plan to late apex a corner, you can't take said corner at the same speed as you would by taking a racing line. In order to do a late apex, you must be more conservative with your speed before turning in.

The advantage to late apexing is you get a better look at the turn, especially for unfamiliar turns (Blind turns in particular). Many accidents happen when a rider takes what they "think" is the racing line at a speed close to the limit. Then they discover they apexed too EARLY, run wide on exit, slam into the guardrail, and bad things ensue. Late apexing the unfamiliar turn would have saved them.

As for familiar turns, I have no problem taking the ideal racing line.
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