http://www.sportrider.com/ride/146_0110_motorcycle_riding/index.html

Riding Skills Series: Off-Camber Corners



illustrators: Dean Groover




1. The term "off-camber" often strikes fear in the hearts of neophyte riders.
They've heard horror stories about innocent riders who enter seemingly
innocuous corners only to discover the dreaded negative camber. (For folks
who are confused, this is the opposite of a banked turn.) Although these poor
souls usually make it through the corner, they exit with harrowing tales of
near-death experiences. If you're correctly applying the SIPDE process (scan,
identify, predict, decide and execute) the reality of off-camber corners is
they're no different from other corners when approached properly. So, your
first step in riding off-camber corners is to look ahead to see what's out
there (as modeled by our intrepid rider above). If you're not riding your
front wheel, it's harder to be surprised by changes in a corner. (If you
don't remember SIPDE, take a MSF course.)




2. Why do so many people find off-camber corners unnerving? The primary
concern is the lessened traction when the road tilts away. For example, even
before you initiate a turn, your tires will already be off their center. In a
cambered (or banked) turn, the weight of the bike presses your tires into the
road, increasing traction. However, the laws of physics work against you when
the road goes off-camber. The forces that typically push you toward the
outside of a turn take away from your available traction. Also, you will need
to lean the bike more-relative to the surface of the road-to make it through
the turn. Therefore, traction and ground clearance issues require off-camber
corners to be taken at lower speeds than flat ones. If not, you could run out
of ground clearance.




3. Be sure to get all of your braking done early while you're still straight
up and down. Trail braking into an off-camber corner is a risky proposition.
Get a little greedy and the front end will tuck. (Remember, your tires are
more on edge than in a typical corner and have a smaller footprint to hold
you to the road.) Your slowest point should be as you enter the turn. Turn
the bike late and quickly (i.e. late apex the corner) to minimize your time
at maximum lean. Roll-on the throttle as early as possible to unload the fork
and settle the suspension. Smoothness is paramount here. Your bike will
naturally want to go downhill toward the outside of the turn as it interacts
with the curvature of the road, and you will need to apply pressure to the
inside grip throughout the turn.




4. Since you late apexed the turn, you will be closer to the inside of the
turn later in the corner, but your line will still carry you wide at the
exit, as in a traditional line. Be cautious about getting hard on the
throttle until you're sure the bike is straight up and down. Like braking,
traction for acceleration is limited in an off-camber turn. If you practice
these maneuvers several times on a negative-camber corner, you will become
familiar with the technique and will be less likely to panic when you
encounter an unexpected off-camber turn out on the road. Still, the best way
to avoid panic is to scan ahead and avoid midcorner surprises. So, go out,
practice and ignore those riders who bemoan the terrors of off-camber corners.