Scooter
Community

Just upgraded to a 500cc. I don't feel confident going round corners at speed (I end up slowing somewhat under the recommended speed so I don't have too lean too much) or going round roundabouts (and other slow manouvers) - if I go too slow I am afraid my super heavy machine will fall over (plus piss off the people behind me), but too fast and I might drift off the circle. Never had a problem with my smaller scoots strangely enough. Anyway, are there any courses in these areas that could help me gain a bit of skill? Would prefer Bathurst but I can travel into Penrith, and I'll be commuting to Canberra next year so I can do a course there.

Hi QC,

There are some excellent, excellent, excellent videos put together by Ken Whitehouse from HART (Honda Australia Rider Training) that you can find either directly on YouTube or here (http://www.youtube.com/user/scootersales) on the scootersales YouTube channel. Ken is a brilliant instructor and I am sure you will find some exercises to practice to help with your cornering. Not sure if you are riding a scoot or a bike, but the videos are scooter specific. He talks alot about positioning on the road, body posture, where to look, the interaction of brake and throttle, and much much more.

Some of the scenarios Ken deals with are (there are more):

* Scooter cornering techniques - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9cZF7DdmpBQ&list=UURccyfIjVpu_MW3rO5zN73A

* Slow speed cornering on a scooter - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NzdHEYedYzk&list=UURccyfIjVpu_MW3rO5zN73A

* Awareness techniques - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FV_fZM6iwRM&list=UURccyfIjVpu_MW3rO5zN73A

* Crash Avoidance techniques - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10VzlzyjsNA&list=UURccyfIjVpu_MW3rO5zN73A

* Emergency Mid-Corner Braking on a scooter - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fqn-FbTuDpk&feature=c4-overview&list=UURccyfIjVpu_MW3rO5zN73A

I know I learned a stack from watching and rewatching these videos shortly after I first started riding a motorised 2 wheeler.

Let us know how you go.

Ride safe.