TIPS & TRICKS: PICK THE PERFECT LINE ON YOUR MOTORCYCLE

Tip #154 from the pages of The Total Motorcycling Manual.

When motorcyclists talk about “line,” they don’t mean something you use for fishing. They’re talking about the exact path their bike travels over a road or track. Each line has three parts: the entry, the apex, and the exit, and a line is usually described as having an early or late apex. In addition to the illustration here, a great way to visualize line is to visit a racetrack and look at the darker area on the track surface, where the bikes have laid down rubber from their tires.

Most new riders begin their turns too soon and go into an early apex, which forces them to run wide on the exit. Entering the turn wider and waiting later to make the apex may seem counterintuitive, but it’s usually both safer and faster. You can see farther through the turn, and at the turn’s exit you’ll find you have much more road to work with.