Turning & Cornering

Study questions with answers

3 sample Turning & Cornering questions with the correct answer, a short explanation, and the official handbook reference. Read through them, then take the quiz above.

1. 1. As you ride through a curve, where should you be looking?

   Correct answer: Through the curve toward where you want to go

   Turn your head and look through the turn toward where you want to end up. Your motorcycle tends to go where you look, so keeping your eyes up and ahead helps you steer a smooth, controlled line.

   Source: New York State Motorcycle Manual — Cornering

2. 2. The safest way to handle a curve on a motorcycle is to:

   Correct answer: Reduce your speed before you enter the curve

   Slow down before the curve so you can hold a steady or slightly increasing speed through it. Braking hard in mid-curve while leaned over reduces traction and can cause a skid. Slow, look, press, and roll.

   Source: New York State Motorcycle Manual — Cornering

3. 3. To lean and turn quickly at normal riding speed, a motorcyclist presses on the handgrip:

   Correct answer: On the side toward the direction you want to go — press left to go left

   At speed you steer by pressing: press the left grip to lean and go left, and the right grip to go right ('press left, go left'). This countersteering is how a motorcycle starts a lean, and it is the key to quick, precise turns and swerves.

   Source: New York State Motorcycle Manual — Cornering