Track riding is *highly* relevant to street riding. It's always better to have more skill for a situation than not enough. Tracking gives you this.

Step1) Unless the entry speed is utterly ridiculous, keep in mind "the bike is capable, even if I'm not."

Trailbreaking is also a good thing to master - it makes you faster and - more important - it gives you a sense of control and security

Never forget my (In to fast moment) The owner of the bike shop I was working in let me take his brand new Yamaha Venture Royale for the weekend. So I and a friend (he had a GL1200) went for a ride on some 2 lane back roads. At one point I thought it would be cool to see how fast this new v-4 pig was and that was fine until I creased the top of a small hill only to find a 90-degree L/H turn right in my face. I started grabbing all the brakes I could find and right off the bat shifted into panic mode, then something in my head started screaming at me to get off the brakes, stop looking at the fence and lean. Well, I made it as luck would have it. No more road racing pigs for me.

I only ride on the street, but I still find this channel very useful and informative. I think we all struggle with corner entry speed. I have improved a lot, but it seems to be a neverending battle, especially on the street where you can't memorize every corner unless you ride the same road all the time. Over coming your natural reaction to fear and taking a good line is huge, now I working on body positioning and keeping my head and eye pointed in the right direction. Practice, practice, practice until it becomes habit.

My name is Jorge Lorenzo and I race in MotoGP. Thank you for sharing this technique I will be trying it during my next race in Catalunya.

I used to have the "in too quick" problem, but my wife divorced me and I no longer am afflicted.

My last trackday whilst on the 'warmup lap' my instructor rode way faster than I was used to. I was still thinking about my 'cold' tires and just couldn't keep up until I froze and missed my breaking point. Now I lost my group and I was thinking how my session was over. Then something snapped and I decided to try to catch up to my instructor again. Within a lap and half I caught him and suddenly I had so much confidence I went from being the slowest rider in the group to being one of the fastest.

Oh man. I just crashed 1h ago into a corner because of the panic. I just couldn't think for 10 seconds what to do. I stiffed up in stead of relaxing my body and lean in to the corner. Many thanks for that video. It helps for the future

in too fast "feeling" has kept me alive in the canyons!

I have found many riders have their suspension so far out of whack it is almost dangerous. The rebound damping is usually set like a catapult and so many have no idea how to set it. I would like to see suspension setups done as part of the UK bike test.

3:30 for this who are not that good at interpretation, like me,he means the more you look ahead the slower things seem to your brain, the closer you are looking down the faster things are and more prone to panic

The first enligtening step to overcome this problem, for me was what they call in CSS "No brakes/No body position/Gas only" drill. By not overloading my mind with how much i use the break, i forced myselft to choose better lines/speed and push my boundaries generaly. Secondly, to overcome (up to a point) the fear of leaning the bike, i went to an empty parking lot and rode about 1000 cirles until i could scrape a knee for a ful circle both directions with steady throttle and good body position (bad body position = almost impossible to knee down) Lastly, to steer faster, i picked up a turning point (eg a tree, a crack in the pavement etc), then an apex point(if a corner was blind, an imaginary one) and connected them with an imaginary line. That should tell me HOW much steering input i had to use. It was a tricky one to perform but now i do it in every corner, even on unkown roads. Lots of more things to work on, but basically that's what nailed it for me.

The comment about breaking harder first instead of when you’re on the corner is spot on. I’m an average rider but I’m v good at braking hard, anticipating the corner, breaking hard when you still have 100-50m and gradually easing as you approach the apex is a brilliant and crucial skill to master and could save your life! Thanks man

Life at Lean im looking forward to the Lean barrier video you are gonna make. I think that is my barrier in this segment. Cheers for the great content!🍻

i also think fatigue always plays a bigger role than we give it credit for... i know the more tired/hungover i am, the closer i look to the bike

This was a good video. This guy knew what he was talking about. 90% of videos about how to ride give the worst advice!

The few times I overspent my personal comfort envelope I drifted to an oncoming lane, it's a lonely road thank God...not good even more panic..I forced my lean angle, uncomfortably, but the tyres held hmmm more trust now, I am really good at rolling off throttle and feathering the brake just enough ...I must keep the panic grip off the bars and focus where I want the bike to go. It will go there, even at uncomfortable entry overspend. It helped me to go faster. My track is only open 2 times monthly as we share with all motorsports. So I have to hit my empty canyon runs weekdays and find common corners in the canyon I would find on track. I still feel like I'm in a TT roadrace though, turns in my canyon need to be tighter. I have 15000 miles on my CBR all in practice mode ..no sightseeing or dawdling rides. Just execution and focus. I get lost on what to be practicing or if I'm even practicing correctly. My 2.2 13 turn track has a 1:29 record lap I can run sloppy 1:55s. I am 60 and in good condition. 6' 2" , 185 pounds. Much to learn.

Hit a corner to fast today on my CBR backroads New Zealand went off the road and slid into a tree. bike went off to the side. Picked it up quick safety check and the bike was ok to ride home. 1 and a half hour ride home after that with 2 fractured ribs. Lesson learned. my problem is it was a new corner to me and it was hard to judge entry speed. Being a learner doesn't help but lesson learned. Can't wait to get my bike fixed and ride again. My poor baby.

I freaking love your videos...it’s like you’re in my head. You talk about a lot of stuff that I’m relatively insecure about....thank you so much!!

I definitely am struggling against the lean angle barrier. I had the similar problem driving until I found an instructor driving the same car as mine and I got a ride along. It's too bad we can't do that on motorcycles.

yes, got my first ever bike not many days ago. done a total of 400 +km of lifetime bike riding experience. went to hills and got confident taking curves fast and ran into a 180 degree turn and off the bike across the divider.

Another street rider here. This advice is also great for avoiding hazards in the twisties and reducing the chance of swinging into the wrong lane on tight, blind corners. Good, practical stuff!

Been riding 12 years and thought of myself as a capable rider. Had a wreck last year on a very technical road and haven’t been able to mentally recover yet.

Took a school that simply covered vision and markers. brake point, turn in, apex, exit. They said most of the time in a day you are blind. everytime you look from one object to the next you dont see what is in between. Simply looking at what im writing here and then up to the tabs I have open there is a moment of blindness were only blurry colors occur....Left that school and increased my lap time by 8 seconds in one day. I never look off track and I focus on my markers. Those simple tools will increase confidence and not overload the brain with data allowing me to concentrate on other things like lean angle and speed.....Which i have seen you covered in other videos. Appreciate your info...

To get over the 'rushed' feeling, I would practice by braking early and soft, then set my speed (adjust brakes, throttle) until I am comfortable with the speed I am about to enter the corner. Feel how the bike behaves. Get used to that speed, then work on braking later and harder bit by bit.

I have to say the no brakes exercise in combination with knowing how big my chicken strips are was the best way for me to break through these barriers. It's hard to get into at first but in spots where you'll feel like breaking, try pushing the handle bar instead. What I've found is that I would break on corners that never needed breaking and people that I ride with are always breaking where they don't need it. (I do a lot of open/back road street riding)

Keith Code: Counter-steering always works, on any bike, in any corner. Thank you for the upload.

Great review for cornering. Here's a couple of extras, trust your tires, if you have prepared a chose the proper tire you are partway there. Second trust a ability of your bike. These two areas will help build your confidence. Having bit the dust a few times, keep practicing!!

oooh. Something I can use this Sunday. Thanks Dan!

Looking far enough ahead is also super important when passing on winding roads, don’t be so focused on the vehicle you want to pass that you miss both the curve warning sign and the curve you could not see because the vehicle blocked your line of sight. In the US, you can’t always count on local jurisdictions to use double yellow lines for no passing zones, In Pima County AZ it’s just a relatively small easy to miss no passing zone sign and the same yellow dash centerline that in most jurisdictions means passing is allowed. The county did it to save money on striping maintenance, and it could end up costing you your life.

sometimes i'll give myself the feeling on purpose. i think a lot of riding comes down to edging your comfort zone further and further. just as you mentioned, even when i feel this, im able to make these turns easily, not at max lean, not with max brake pressure. so much of riding is mental, which i guess makes sense since it is pretty deadly if you make a mistake at the wrong time. very important to understand and process these feelings and see how they line up with what the bike can do piloted by you. i dont know if courage is the right word, but skilled riding takes something like that just to get there

I found engine braking has saved me. Irrelevant for a track as instead of a 600 i ride a 1450 Zx14r on the road. But that motor pulls me up. After overshooting a tight corner on a 600 triumph i realised i should have leaned more and trust the tyres and frame and ignore the scraping. Its done to visual perception and disorientation. After all on the same 600 Triumph TT bike you could ride straight at over 160imh in a downpour on lousy backroad surfaces and thebike had no issues. The tech is amazingly well refined.

That’s it, I’m a club racer but still having trouble with corner speed. Now I’m focusing on looking further ahead. When I remember to do so I can corner better and smoother. When I loose focus by keep steering at the rider ahead of me I get freaky and slower. Look ahead ! Thanks for great technique videos.

This simple format with the POV bike is better than many much bigger tubers I follow. Good stuff.

Great advise. Literally every point made here were mistakes I made early on

I still choke on that feeling with no notice. Yes, I think vision is a big part of that. I'll work on that tomorrow :)

Hello from Greece! As a new rider and beginner at the track...i find your videos extremely helpfull! Thanks for your great videos and help! Can't wait for more! You got all the support!

seeing through the turn and having confidence in your tire traction are what is key.

I get that feeling stopping for a late red light . Very helpful video. Light initial braking is definitely my problem.

Excellent video for once again! One more factor I have found out is not having the correct lines. Often this leaves you with less space on corner exit and causes panic.

With practice comes confidence! The more you are familiar with the track the more your can increase your speed and reduce your time. Even pro riders take several rounds of “free practice” to familiarize themselves with the course and make set up adjustments to their bikes, all in the name of increasing the comfort level of getting into and out of the turns, and reducing their lap times.....

well in a local crit race on the road bike i was hitting a fast left corner and realizing midway i might not make the exit. so i had a few options: -do nothing -> high chance of crash -braking -> most definitely crash -lean even more -> maybe crash i keept calm, choosed last. i knew my tires and the bike could handle way more than my skill and i made it.

The first and the most common reaction when you enter too fast in a corner, is tightening the grip on the handlebars. This is a mistake that increases your chances to run wide or crash, but can eliminated through training.

My best cornering has been done when i 'come' in too fast...road & track...but that is when I have taken my best corners ~!!! But that is akin to 'pushing the barriers' and you will eventually crash, as Ihave BUT you HAVE to push the boundries !! I still feel when you go in too fast...you are FORCED to "take" the corner....oooh the satisfaction !!!!!

I remember a week after I passed my test. Id got a 2004 ZX636R . My ex gf's dad found out and asked me if I wanted to go on a ride out in the Fen countryside. We all road 7 or 8 miles out into the fens and after running down a half mile straight we are to what looked like a 120 degree ish corner. But as I git close I realised it was almost a 90 degree corner. 100% thoughti was gonna bin it and end up in the canal. I remembered my instructors words of 'if youre ever going into a corner too fast just brake gradually another 15-20% and just hang on the inside. Definately saved my stupid arse that day but I wish there had been some vids like this back then. The biggest thing I learnt was go at 50% until you've ridden a corner at least once.

Biggest help for me as a new rider was hearing about trailbraking and then practicing that every time I ride. Just the very notion that braking deep into a corner is even a possibility helped a lot. It's saved my bacon several times where panic would probably have been the alternative. Instead of having a really bad experience, I just squeezed the front brake, leaned in and held the brake until a more suitable speed was achieved. Too many people ramble on about not ever touching the front brake in a corner and it's just plain stupid.

I use this channel to improve my street riding 😉

Just giving a thing a name helps. I never thought of it this way, but it's spot on.

I've had this moment of fear a few times, but it's only materialized once on the road. I came in too hot on a tight downhill right hander, and I wasn't on the brakes enough. I realized it before I hit the apex, but I drifted over the line before I got my speed down enough. A car was in the other lane, luckily they were slowing for the tight corner so I had time to get out of the way. That was probably the most scared I've been on a bike so far. It's really calmed me down.

oddly enough, i never have had any fear of lean angles or getting on the throttle (instructor feedback, not my inflated sense of self LOL). But... after low siding a couple years back I developed a sense of "in too fast" and i've been working to get rid of it ever since.

Yes, I have had such an experience. About eight years ago I came in to turn where I thought I was going to fast, I let off the gas almost completely, and it damn near killed me. I did ended up dumping the bike, but it was only at the very last second where I came to an almost complete stop. I was lucky that I didn’t wipe out going at the speed I was. But I was told by the more experienced rider I was riding with, who routinely takes corners like this one, much faster than I was going, that I had plenty of speed forgiveness to play with, and that I could’ve made that turn without any problems at all. He would know better than me. After all he’s been a sport bike rider for years. I had just made the transition from cruiser bikes. I’ve never ridden a motorcycle in this manner before. Pretty INTIMIDATING I’ll admit! But it is a lot of fun.

Came "in too fast" to turn 1 at Thunderbolt NJMP. Went off track and layed the bike down relatively safely, although i did end up tearing a ligament in my thumb. The footage shows that i definitely wasn't in too fast. I most likely wasn't keeping my vision up and onto the next turn and probably was braking too late into the turn. Thanks for the advice in this video!

Open up your vision. Look way ahead and many of these issues wiil recede. True!

I can't afford to do a track day, and the track is quite far away from where I live. I've had this feeling in canyons. Lately I've resolved to 1 slow run of a canyon, even if I know it well, before I go a bit quicker. That way I seen any new hazards, and I relax and get a feel for the bike and other conditions.

Great video! Well I used to ride at a much faster pace trying to break my lean angle barrier and I did, however, when I pushed the levels of my bike and tires, I began crashing. I crashed alot and now I'm guns shy taking it slow all over again.

I'm a rider dealing with these problems. I want to go faster but i'm just not able to switch the button and really commit to a corner. I started practicing on an empty parkinglot trying to get my knee down while riding figures of 8. It's at a low speed so it isn't as scary and after an hour or so I saw my chicken strips getting thinner and thinner until I hit the edge of the tire and even a little scrape from my kneeslider. I now know my bike will lean that far without me falling off. Little by little I gain more confidence as a rider.

Did some supermoto training a couple of weeks ago. Really amazing what you can achieve by just leaning more instead of slowing down (no brakes exercise).

Good points...especially lean barriers. The human brain gets a little spooked at anything beyond 20 degrees of off center. As we all know even stock bikes with stock tires will hit 45-50 degrees easily. Once your brain understands this is “okay”, some of those barriers start to fade away and corner speed increases. 👍

I'd mention one more thing. Relaxed on the bars. If you tense up on the bars, while also trying to countersteer, you hinder the bike's ability to turn/keep its line.

so closing your eyes and crying isnt an option Because Corners dont care about your feelings...

Squaring off as many corners as you can will make this much more often than not just a crap corner than an off track experience. I know this sounds ridiculous but you can also try squinting your eyes. If you just don't allow them to go full panic wide open you can often manage to handle the situation. Probably has to do with sensory overload, whatever, it works.

I’d love to have the courage to do track days and learn better riding techniques. I’ve often had the “in to fast” fear but have always come through the corners without issue so my fears were baseless.

You are very, very good. You really know how to address these issues. Your videos are spot on. thanks

Aaaaaaahhhhh Yes! This feeling can be summed up as the "Oh Shit! Oh No!" moment. All bikers have experienced the "Oh Shit! Oh No" moment when riding.

So glad I found this channel last week. Thanks for all the help even for us experienced riders

Hi Dan, had a issue with the panic mode, I saw somewhere on your site about setting up for corners which helped me and this took off some of my fear. My riding felt smoother and or forcing myself not to use the brake as much which also helped me in the panic mode due to processing or trying to process to much in a short period of time. In real track times I was very slow compared to other riders in our group back then, making way too much out of it and getting myself into the panic situation which was scary and self inflicting. Confidence for me was the key, not necessarily the speed. We will all get at the top if we listen and practice good advice and taking small steps as well as having confidence in doing so. Looking at some little kid with a 125cc on the track passing me up in the corners made me think why can't I do that! A rider can and it's all about your confidence and goals, we can all get there in time! I have met and became friends with a half dozen rider which I see at every track session and can tell you that all of the riders that started out not to long ago within a year or so are riding in the upper intermediate group and racing in a short time because of more seat time and getting more familiar with the track. Like everything in life repetition is the key and your body and brain with automatically do the rest. Dan, I'm running Q3Plus which I also ride the same tires for canyon riding, are you using Pirelli's! Which tire and what size. My son had gone with the rear 60's instead of 55's and he prefers the 60's, maybe it's due to having more ride height. Much thanks for your valuable information, keep up the good work!!!

Trackday classroom in New Hampshire, years ago: the instructor starts talking about "in too fast", and you could see the frustration building. "T-t-t-turn.. the...Bike. Just ... TURN.. the F*****ING BIKE!!!"

Quick direction change is one of my personal 'challenges'... Turns #3 & #4 at Road Atlanta (where I do most of my Track Days) has been the 'thorn in my side' for years !! They use a tighter 'kink' there for motorcycles than they use for cars, and it is a left-right-left, as you crest a hill, and into a FAST downhill straight... so you want to exit with as much speed as possible to take advantage of the downhill run... I even stand nearby and watch other riders -- particularly during Race Events with Riders like Josh Herrin and Kyle Wyman -- and still can't see what they do 'differently'. It doesn't come up in my street riding, other than an occasional dodging of road debris, so I don't 'obsess' over it. The 'other' problem I have is vision limited by my helmet... When I ride in the mountains, there is a Lot of elevation change. And as I try to stay tucked low on my bike, and raise my head to look forward, my helmet gets pushed down over my brow... limiting how far ahead I can see the roadway! I don't have a turtle neck... in fact, because I am somewhat muscular, my back and shoulders do have a layer of muscle that makes the problem worse. But I have tried a number of good, quality helmets, and not found one that is 'cut' high enough in the rear to avoid 'the push' nor with more brow visibility in the front...

I think one good way to break the lean angle barrier is practice circles at low speed in parking lots, in this scenario you can tighten up the circle still at low speed but leaning the bike very low. Practice slow and then practice fast. Not my idea btw I saw it at MotoJitsu which is an other good Chanel like this one.

Had this problem and was kind of stuck at a certain level for it seemed like a while! Really hard to break through that mental barrier of "I'm going too fast into this turn!" Just takes a while to get a feel for it is all, but great info on the breaking and where to look!

I've had a few "In too fast" moments on the street when I was driving like a hooligan (I don't recommend this type of driving) One time I sended the bike (a dual sport) on a paved corner. Entering on it I doubted if I was going to make it... The only thing that I made was trying not to panic, there wasn't place to going wide and brake. I just give balanced throttle for loading both tyres equally and give lean angle as far as the bike could keep. Lean angle is generally much higher than you think if you don't upset the bike and let it do the work.

Been riding for a few good years but I'm having this feeling quite a lot these days on the road with a few very slow speed crashes into ditches :-D . Your explanation of the vision seems to summarize the issue I'm facing. Should work more on it and concentrate on what I'm doing :-D Thanks!

👍brilliant point on vision!...BRILLIANT!

I had a close call, once. Me and my buddies were riding along the highway. I thought we were going for the next exit, but they decided to take an exit earlier. By that time I was trapped behind a car. To make it, I had to accelerate, pass in front of the car and try to make it onto the exit lane in time. Well, I made it, just before the tip of the gore. But now I was going 140 kph and there was a corner starting in a few meters. So, I slammed on the brakes, squeezed them for all I was worth and released them to go into the corner. By that time I was still going 100 kph. About 20 kph too fast for my liking. I threw my bike into a mean lean and held on for dear life, giving just enough throttle to keep a little pressure on the rear tire, while braking ever so slightly to get the speed down. I made it, but I'm pretty sure I touched the outer markings. The bike hadn't even flinched. Thank heaven for the riding education we must go through to get our license, here in the Netherlands.

and keep it up. your channel should have at least 10x the number of subs and will one day soon

Great vid as always - clear, concise and useful. Thanks.

I did it recently on road actually, I ended up just saying to myself "of course you're going to make it, stop being silly" which allowed me to relax again, take back control of the bike and ride on through. "Twist of the Wrist" called this "freezing" an SR (survival response).

Wow...looks like I've been breaking all wrong. Hard to light makes much more sense when I think about it. Then, it's just a case of judging when to come off the brakes to allow sufficient speed for the corner.

I had that moment. In the end I was overly hyped because that corner was beautiful

Great video! Definitely something I've been working on, for me its been a combo of all of that. Hard brakes, being intentional with when I start the turn in, looking up and through the turn. Today hitting some local turns I had the same feeling but applying those techniques it was more just getting used to it than thinking I was really going off the turn.

Fantastic advice- wish I'd seen this a few years ago before I (unnecessarily) dumped my bike at a track day! :) Didn't hurt myself but in hindsight I probably could have at least kept the bike upright and saved some damage.

My main cause of this is vision. I only ride on the road and I use a very dark tinted gold visor. I am constantly looking at the road directly in front of me for gravel/potholes. But whenever I get this feeling I just think if my pegs aren't scraping I can lean more. I'd rather low side than go wide in to oncoming.

I thought this was gonna help me with my tinder dates, I was wrong

Excellent vid - loved the vision part. I subscribed 👍

So much good information! Love this channel!

Beginners should always buy a bike with a huge lean angle. If your bike scrubs the foot pegs when you lean just a little, when you go into a turn too fast, you wont be ABLE to lean any further to make the turn.

Assuming you're not on a nice track with plenty of run-off, the only option you have is to buckle down and take the turn. You'll either find out you can take the turn that fast after all, or you're going to crash. If you race, this will happen periodically. If you ride back roads, it will happen from time to time. If you don't commit to the turn and give it your best shot, you're going to crash anyway, so you might as well make your best effort and see what happens. Obviously if you're on a nice track with plenty of room, you can always straighten up and run off the track. Not always possible.

Great video! I'd love a more in depth problem solving video in the future.

I had the feeling once, crashed it. Repaired it, now i know where the limit is. EXACTLY where. But only some battlescars and scratches on the bike later... Also now my friends say I am a better rider now, i think cuz now the fear of crash is kinda gone.

One of the best ways to improve is to ‘chase’ a slightly better rider. You begin to subconsciously take in their movements and make them yours. Just don’t pick someone so good you’ll end up in over your head.

For me two problems: 1. Lean angle barrier. I think that I will falling off bike or that both me and bike will be pushed to ground under gravity. Source for this fear is maybe poor body position because I dont feel bike support. Knee and elbow need to be in contact with tank all the time. 2. "To fast" feeling and I slow in the middle of the corner. Uff, bad...Occasionally. I think that speed is to big for that corner and bike will drift sideways. I brake in corner. Speed is well bellow tire limit but I think that tires cant handle this speed. Simply, I need to go track. Cant progress on street and alone without supervisor.

This was super insightful!

This just happened to me crazy how this video came up on my feed. I did not get the upset stomach feeling, maybe because I knew I had it in control. Came to the corner not fast but because a car just entered the corner as I was about to lean, I just straighten up a little, release the throttle and give little pressure on the front brake. I reached as far as the side line, if I was going fast which I normally do on that corner, it would not have ended pretty

Thanks for the video. Im going to the circuit for the first time so not sure if ill be able to remember all the steps and adwices, but i hope i get use to it

My problem is definitely lean angle barrier. Just not confident enough with my body position to add lean angle. Can’t get a get lean angle because I’m going to slow and have too little centrical force. Basically I need to grow a pair and get set up for the corner and just go for it at this point.

Good video and see this so many times on track. I suffered with this so much when I first started and the vision skills were totally key to sorting this out. Even now I find myself scrubbing off to much speed to ensure bike stability mid corner.

Thanks I will check that out

This is absolutely brilliant!

Love your videos. Thanks