I say lean hard. I know if pros can go faster than me and they can make harder turns I should be able to make it, but of course if there is run off i'm going straight and not chancing causing damage or injury.
lets face it we're not as good as the pros and our equipment isn't as good.

 

I've had a couple experiances with this, not very proud of them...

1.) offramp at "65ish" - I had been on the highway for about 2.5hrs and was a little zoned out (close to 2am after a long, long, day) my bike was fully bagged (saddle bags, tail bag, tank bag), and I was coming off the highway, the offramp turned quickly, and I realized I was going way too fast to handle it... I stood the bike up and jumped on the front and rear brakes and came almost to a complete stop before I released the brakes and completed the turn. Based on the situation I was in, this was what I deemed to be my best option, the bike was weighted, so stopping would be easier, not to mention that if the saddle bags had hit the ground due to lower lean angle I'd likely lose it completely.

2.) Twisty road along the Kangamanga highway (misspelled that one...) in NH - I was riding a rented HD V-rod, and about a third to a half of the way through the curve I realized I was going in too hot for that particular bike, so I leaned it as far as I could, scraped a little peg and "accelerated out" of the curve.. had that been my intention on the bike it would have been cool, but it was a hairy turn and I thought to myself "This thing is going to really hurt if it falls on my leg". Again, that was the best move I could think of in that situation, the bike wasnt bagged, and the brakes are pretty sub standard compared to my F4i brakes, and there was a guard rail so I would have likely gone over the handle bars and down a rock face if I hit it while braking instead of pinning the motorycle between myself and it while sliding into it.

The strange thing is that these were both right hand turns, I don't know if I'm more complacent on right hand turns than left, or if its because I take more right hand turns and therefore am statistically more likely to botch it in a right hand turn. Regradless, you just have to trust your muscles and brain to react properly, and remember, if you are going down, try for a low-side rather than a high-side, physics tells us it will hurt your body less, although it may hurt your ego more...

 

as noob to the bikes i try to slow down as much as possible on the turns due to fear of debris on the roads. maybe because when i was on dirtbike for the first time in my life ( like 1996 ) rear wheel broke from under me on wet decking wood, It hurt and burned. never again.

but if you have to, i have noticed that if you lean the proper way and accelerate, the bike will do all the work for you. trust your skills.

 

These bikes are built for a purpose and unless you're a veteran track junkie or a up and comming pro you will not put the bike to it's limits. That however is not the same as having a ride malfunction and the bike can not compensate or fix and boom there you go sliding down the asphault.

When I started riding my friend took me under his wing and explained to me about today's technology. Trust your tires and your bike they were made with a purpose in mind. Every time we rode before we saddled up he would always say trust your tires, whether we we out hot-doggin it that ride or not. "Trust your tires." "Trust our tires." "Trust your tires." Well it all came extremley clear one evening there were a few of us out in the wee hours and I was chasing a GSXR 1000 around. Long story short he went by me on a straight and this was upsetting because he couldnt turn the bike just use its abilities on the straights. He checks up before a turn and I said, "here is my chance." I've been through the turn countless times but I came in way hotter than I ever have, first there was panic because of the safety barrier on the outside of the turn, then "Trust your tires" went through my head and I looked where I wanted to go and the bike did the rest.

So my answer is "Trust your tires." but on top of it look where you want to go and the bike will lean harder and you'll make it.

 

Lol right now I trust myself more than my tires on cold days. Gotta replace the hockey pucks.

But between trusting myself and trusting Ororo I barely blink when something like the rear breaking loose happens.

 

This thread has helped me a lot. Last year when I first got my bike I would take the corners so slow and almost be upright when I would hit them. This year something clicked and remember people from this thread saying trust your tires. A few times I have panicked and wanted to brake but then I remember trust your tires and I just lean harder into the turn. Not only will this make you a better rider but it is also so much more fun to hit that turn at 35 instead of 20