Turning Radius of 1300

SMSW

Joined
Sep 4, 2013
Messages
8,175
Location
Cleveland
Bike
2010 ST1300
What is the turning radius of an ST 1300? Put it another way, how narrow a road will allow a U turn (turning diameter)?

Have you ever been on a road that did not allow a no stop U turn?
 
No, unless it was one lane.

Most two lanes are paved 24 to 28 feet wide if built to FDOT or state DOT guidelines and it's pretty easy to turn an 18' diameter circle on the ST without dragging anything. The LEOs that compete in motor competitions surely do it in less.
 
With proper training and practice you should be able to turn any motorcycle in a narrow road. It is all about throttle/clutch control and forcing the bike to lean over as far as possible while in motion.
 
SMSW said:
What is the turning radius of an ST 1300?
Click to expand...

It is all about practice as shown in the videos. This is where a lot of parking lot work helps immensely. Friction zone and trail braking are a must for doing small radius circle and have other great applications as well.
 
Thank you all. I plan to practice this in a parking lot as soon as I take the bike out, along with emergency stops. This spring I'll be going to a rally in which we camp along the Ohio River. Last year I noticed a number of steep, winding roads that led up out of the valley in this area (WVa side) and I want to explore some of them. Having done a U turn on a rural Ohio Road last year that was pretty close to MY ability to turn the bike, and having traveled some in our car in Ohio and Pennsylvania that were more likely 1 1/2 lanes wide (two cars could NOT pass for long stretches of the road) I wanted to know the min turning radius. If you recall, Karen mentioned (in another thread) riding up a dirt road in the mountains (White or Green? I forget) and having a hard time turning her bike around.

I simply wanted the info so that if in doubt, I can pace off the width of the road.
 
I think this bike is incredibly easy to maneuver in tight spaces, very surprising considering its size and weight! It seems like there is no limit to how tightly you can turn.
 
Dirt roads are a chalenge for a street bike for turning. Inclines and declines even more challenging for turning
 
I've dropped my bike twice. One of them was attempting a u-turn on an uphill. I thought I had enough forward momentum to complete the turn by just coasting, but the hill was steeper than I thought and I ran out of forward movement and couldn't get on the gas fast enough.

After that, I found an empty parking lot that had a pretty good slope to it and practiced u-turns using friction braking. I do all of my tight turns using friction braking now, even on flat ground. I'm still not great at tight maneuvers, but I can comfortably make u-turns in less than 25 feet... 20 feet if I'm careful, but they're very slow.

I don't know what the turning radius is, but I don't want to try and make a u-turn too close to the steering lock.
 
SMSW said:
I simply wanted the info so that if in doubt, I can pace off the width of the road.
Click to expand...
I believe that with practice comes ability and confidence. You won't have to pace off the road. You'll know simply by looking whether or not you can turn within the confines.
 
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