yao

1. The term "off-camber" often strikes fear in the hearts of neophyte riders. They've heard horror stories about innocent riders who enter seemingly innocuous corners only to discover the dreaded negative camber. (For folks who are confused, this is the opposite of a banked turn.) Although these poor souls usually make it through the corner, they exit with harrowing tales of near-death experiences. If you're correctly applying the SIPDE process (scan, identify, predict, decide and execute) the reality of off-camber corners is they're no different from other corners when approached properly. So, your first step in riding off-camber corners is to look ahead to see what's out there (as modeled by our intrepid rider above). If you're not riding your front wheel, it's harder to be surprised by changes in a corner. (If you don't remember SIPDE, take a MSF course.)

2. Why do so many people find off-camber corners unnerving? The primary concern is the lessened traction when the road tilts away. For example, even before you initiate a turn, your tires will already be off their center. In a cambered (or banked) turn, the weight of the bike presses your tires into the road, increasing traction. However, the laws of physics work against you when the road goes off-camber. The forces that typically push you toward the outside of a turn take away from your available traction. Also, you will need to lean the bike more-relative to the surface of the road-to make it through the turn. Therefore, traction and ground clearance issues require off-camber corners to be taken at lower speeds than flat ones. If not, you could run out of ground clearance.

3. Be sure to get all of your braking done early while you're still straight up and down. Trail braking into an off-camber corner is a risky proposition. Get a little greedy and the front end will tuck. (Remember, your tires are more on edge than in a typical corner and have a smaller footprint to hold you to the road.) Your slowest point should be as you enter the turn. Turn the bike late and quickly (i.e. late apex the corner) to minimize your time at maximum lean. Roll-on the throttle as early as possible to unload the fork and settle the suspension. Smoothness is paramount here. Your bike will naturally want to go downhill toward the outside of the turn as it interacts with the curvature of the road, and you will need to apply pressure to the inside grip throughout the turn.

4. Since you late apexed the turn, you will be closer to the inside of the turn later in the corner, but your line will still carry you wide at the exit, as in a traditional line. Be cautious about getting hard on the throttle until you're sure the bike is straight up and down. Like braking, traction for acceleration is limited in an off-camber turn. If you practice these maneuvers several times on a negative-camber corner, you will become familiar with the technique and will be less likely to panic when you encounter an unexpected off-camber turn out on the road. Still, the best way to avoid panic is to scan ahead and avoid midcorner surprises. So, go out, practice and ignore those riders who bemoan the terrors of off-camber corners.