How to ride hairpins on a motorcycle

Hairpins are why riders drive hours to the Alps, and they're also where most riders feel least sure. They're slow, steep and tight, which needs different skills from fast, sweeping bends. The good news: once the technique clicks, hairpins become the best part of the pass.

The line: wide entry, late apex

On a hairpin, the standard line works like this:

1. Enter wide. Stay on the outside of your lane on the way in. This gives you the longest view around the bend and opens up the radius.
2. Turn in late. Wait until you can see the exit before you commit. Turning in too early points you at the outside of the exit, or across the centre line.
3. Apex late. Touch the inside of your lane past the middle of the hairpin.
4. Exit tight. Stand the bike up and stay in your lane as you leave. Oncoming traffic will be close.

All of this happens inside your own lane. Never use the other side of the road to open up a hairpin. Cars, buses and other riders come round blind.

Look at the exit

This matters more in a hairpin than anywhere else. Turn your head as far as it goes and look over your shoulder at where the road goes next, often higher or lower than you expect. If you look at the wall or the drop, you'll ride towards it.

Uphill hairpins

Uphill hairpins are the easier kind. Gravity slows you down, so the challenge is keeping the bike moving smoothly.

• Gear: usually first or second. Too high and the engine bogs down mid-turn.
• Throttle: keep a steady, light throttle all the way round. Closing it on a steep slope makes the bike stall or drop into the turn.
• Clutch: on very tight, steep bends, slip the clutch slightly in the friction zone to keep power smooth.
• Rear brake: a light touch keeps the bike settled at walking pace.

Downhill hairpins

Downhill hairpins catch more riders out, because gravity keeps adding speed and the weight sits on the front tyre.

• Brake early, upright and in a straight line. Be at your turning speed before you lean.
• Pick a low gear and let engine braking hold your speed through the turn.
• Use the rear brake gently to control speed at low lean, which upsets the bike less than the front.
• Stay off the front brake while leaned over, or use it only very lightly.
• Relax your arms. Grip the tank with your knees so you don't lean on the bars.

If you arrive too fast, it's usually because you braked too late. Next time, brake earlier, not harder.

Right and left hairpins

In right-hand traffic, a right hairpin puts you on the inside, with the tightest radius and the steepest part of the road. A left hairpin puts you on the outside, with more room but a longer way round and often a drop on your side. In left-hand traffic countries it's the other way round. Expect the tight ones to need a slower speed and a lower gear.

What else to watch for

• Gravel and sand collect on the inside of hairpins, right where your apex is.
• Cars and buses cut across the centre line because they have to. Give them room, and wait before the bend if a bus is coming round.
• Cyclists climbing slowly on the outside.
• Wet patches from meltwater, even on dry days.

Hairpins in a group

Ride in single file on a pass, with plenty of space. Everyone takes the hairpins at their own speed. A group that waits at the top is better than a rider pushed into a hairpin faster than they're ready for. See group riding formation for the basics.

Practise on a pass with gentle hairpins before you try the famous ones. Our guides to Swiss passes and Italian roads list good options, and the basics in cornering: slow, look, press, roll all still apply.