Here is a saying you should commit to memory.
You should always look where you want to go and know that your motorcycle will go where you look.
Honestly this was one of the things that was the hardest for me to incorporate in to my habits of riding when I started on this journey to improve my own riding skills several years ago.
It did not feel natural for the motorcycle to be pointed one way and my head and eyes turned another way. As I started to force myself to do this on every turn I quickly noticed how much smoother my cornering was. Soon it became natural to turn my head on every corner and now it feels unnatural not to do so.
So what do we mean by looking through the turn? As I approach the corner I scan ahead through the curve looking for gravel or debris in the corner and assessing the tightness of the corner but before leaning the bike in to the corner I have my head and eyes turned fully towards where I want the motorcycle to end up.
Once I have assessed that the corner is clear of debris and it’s radius I know what I want my entry speed to be so I slow with both brakes to my entry speed and then I look though the corner to where I want the motorcycle to end up using my peripheral vision to assure that I am on the expected path.
A lot of riders when they are learning this technique look only by moving their eyes. What you want to get in the habit of doing is fully turning your head or point your nose in the direction you want the motorcycle to go.
Not only will this technique make your cornering smoother you will see potential hazards much sooner with more time to react. For an example of seeing hazards sooner see Episode 8 where having my head turned in the corner saved me from a serious accident.
Start practicing turning your head every time you turn a motorcycle, you will be surprised at how much easier the bike seems to turn and before long you won’t want to go around a corner without turning your head.
If you have not watched episode 13 of MCrider it has some good background information on how motorcycle cornering works.
