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Leaning...? Help a new rider out!

4124 Views 32 Replies 19 Participants Last post by  DannoXYZ
Hey guys. Got my first bike, rode it for the first time yesterday, just a few blocks around residential streets. I actually got the hang of shifting....

But leaning/turning: I'm fuzzy on that.

The DMV handbook says that you "push right, lean right, go right". Meaning that you actually turn the handlebars to the left....:confused:

One guy I work with confirms this. But that's just TOO counter intuitive for me to understand.

Another guy I spoke to says, no, you actually push with your left, and the handlebars, to go right.

Can anyone shed some light on this, or point me someplace that can help me a bit?
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I'm a newer rider and am also still getting used to how a bike handles while turning at different speeds.

Like many say, look in the direction you want to go, and your body will almost instantly make your bike react to go in that direction. If you want to turn and you are still facing forward, you will likely keep going forward.
I still often make the mistake of not fully looking in the direction I want to go and am weak on my leaning techniques and often make wide turns and find myself having to slow down in the middle of turn which isn't good, because you want to keep a consistent speed while turning.

The faster you go on your bike, the more you will understand how countersteering works and how any shifting of your body weight will move the bike in one direction or the other. This is very important to know when traveling at high speeds on the freeway.
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