Road crown (camber)

Road crown is the gentle arch built into a road, highest in the middle and sloping down towards the edges so that rainwater runs off. The angle of a road's surface across its width is also called camber.

For a motorcyclist this matters in bends. In a corner that turns away from the crown, the surface slopes the wrong way (off-camber), so you need more lean for the same speed and have less grip in reserve. Where the surface slopes into the bend, the bike feels more planted.

Watch for crown changes on narrow country roads and at junctions, and adjust speed before the bend rather than in it.