Body Positioning Tips

[xsiliconkid]

How's ours?

gay

[Trouble]

This is interesting. Not to pick but look at the differences. Rider in front to rider in back.

I'm going to keep doing what I'm doing 'till I'm dragging elbow. I still need to look through turn 6 better - this photo shows my weakness where I think I look at the apex too long. Either that or I'm watching Tony to try to figure out how he's so friggin fast.

[6 Fingered Man]

I'm going to keep doing what I'm doing 'till I'm dragging elbow. I still need to look through turn 6 better - this photo shows my weakness where I think I look at the apex too long. Either that or I'm watching Tony to try to figure out how he's so friggin fast.

Figured we would see you in this thread.....

[BSR6]

This may be redundant since I don't have time to read through all five pages on this thread but as a rookie who made some significant improvements in body position recently, I thought I would chime in on what I did.

Someone mentioned in an earlier post that good body position is about being anchored to the bike through your feet and keeping off the bars. To me thats the best way to explain it. What I did to improve was changed the way I thought about it as I was setting up before the turn.

Before I was concentrating on hanging off the bike and leading with my shoulder. In reality I was pivoting around the tank and all crossed up. Everyone kept telling me "hang off more", but I was already trying to hang off as much as I could. If your leading with your shoulder your not thinking about the rest of your body and this may be why your crossed up. Think about your hips and your shoulders moving together, and make sure they are both facing straight (are parallel to the bars) as opposed to twisting towards the outside of the turn when you slide over on the seat. Push the bike away from you to decrease the lean angle as you move your hips and shoulders together and do this all at once. It should be one smooth transition, and completed well before you flick into the turn while the bike is still straight up. Another way to look at it is don't rotate around the tank.

The end result for me was that I found poor body position will cause you to stretch too far when you lean and feel tight as a result. This will result in more input to the bars and feeling less anchored on your feet. If you learn good body position you won't have to stretch as much but will actually be hanging off more, while feeling more solid on your feet with more flexibility. I made huge improvements when I discovered this.

[BSR6]

This is kind of a bad example but its the only pic I can access since I am at work. I think I may have been sitting up cause I was getting ready to flick the bike into 11a at the moment the picture was taken. Typically I would be a little lower and my head would be more inside. My shoulders are also a little twisted, normally they would be completely straight. I have more but will have to wait until I get home.

[Doc]

I'm going to keep doing what I'm doing 'till I'm dragging elbow. I still need to look through turn 6 better - this photo shows my weakness where I think I look at the apex too long. Either that or I'm watching Tony to try to figure out how he's so friggin fast.

I think you look good in the pic. Tony has a habit of keeping his head in the middle. Not to say there is anything wrong with that.

[OreoGaborio]

gay

OMG UR SO JELLIS!

[scottieducati]

Tony rides an old school style ala Mick Doohan.



Troy Bayliss to some extent is pretty similar...




But really it all depends on the bike, rider, turn... a whole slew of factors. Even Mick would get his head WAY out from time to time.. like sliding the sh*t out of it on exit



Sometimes the corner dictates the position, or the bike / how you fit on it, or sometimes it's just style.

The most important thing is finding a position that's comfortable for you, lets you get your ass off the seat by using your legs and weighting the pegs while maintaining a relaxed grip on the bars and loose arms.

Now a days riders who stray from "text book" are somewhat less common, at least at the higher levels. Kind of scary how these guys look like carbon copies of each other, eh?



So if you want to get "text book" don't hang off TOO much (like a monkey), lead with your inside shoulder and chin of the helmet and make sure your spine / shoulders are square to the center line of the bike.

Toni Elias comes to mind as someone very unorthodox that clearly sticks out from the crowd nowadays.



So there really is no "best" way to do it... try telling that to any of those pictured above who do it their own way.... there's just a more common / repeatable / teachable way. John Rossi of vivaducati.com does a body positioning seminar at our track days and E. Wood can definitely talk a helluva lot about how various positioning techniques impacts how your motorcycle works down to how it impacts your suspension.

Body on bike is something you (hopefully) never stop experimenting with / refining / learning... I try different things on the street quite a bit, especially using my legs to help steer the bike or lift myself off the seat to ease the burden on the tires / suspension in bumpy corners, something I really only do in T3 right now but hope to expand more and more.

I think you look good in the pic. Tony has a habit of keeping his head in the middle. Not to say there is anything wrong with that.

[Doc]

Ok so I kinda came to a revelation this past race weekend.

I hadn't really felt like my body position was ever good. I think it is a little better now.

I realized I led with my shoulder but this rotated me around the tank and didn't position me correctly (kindas crossed up). I thought by squaring my hips and shoulders to the front of the bike it might position my knee better. Scott (SMF) told me to go out and really exagerate the part I wanted to work on. I did that and felt better and was getting my knee down easily in places I hadn't EVER. (Not that knee down was what I was looking for)

I feel I was dragging the outside of me knee more before and now I am dragging more toward the front of my knee. It feels more comfortable and loose. I also don't feel as though I am weighting the inside bar as much as I used to.

To over exagerate my point, It was like my chin was connected to my shoulder and I was leading with my shoulder. Now I try to keep a 90 angle with my chin and shoulder and lead with my chin. (kinda)

[xsiliconkid]

Ok so I kinda came to a revelation this past race weekend.

I hadn't really felt like my body position was ever good. I think it is a little better now.

I realized I led with my shoulder but this rotated me around the tank and didn't position me correctly (kindas crossed up). I thought by squaring my hips and shoulders to the front of the bike it might position my knee better. Scott (SMF) told me to go out and really exagerate the part I wanted to work on. I did that and felt better and was getting my knee down easily in places I hadn't EVER. (Not that knee down was what I was looking for)

I feel I was dragging the outside of me knee more before and now I am dragging more toward the front of my knee. It feels more comfortable and loose. I also don't feel as though I am weighting the inside bar as much as I used to.

To over exagerate my point, It was like my chin was connected to my shoulder and I was leading with my shoulder. Now I try to keep a 90 angle with my chin and shoulder and lead with my chin. (kinda)

BINGO!....very cool.....

check out my power point presentation
YouTube- Body Position 1.2

[Pittenger5]

My right hand turn body position BLOWS. It makes me angry looking at pictures.

[Doc]

BINGO!....very cool.....

check out my power point presentation
YouTube- Body Position 1.2

I wonder where I got the information to work on my body position.

Although I had seen/heard this before it never really clicked until last race weekend. I don't know why. I thought I was doing it right. It really opens the corner up and I don't feel like my back is to the exit in 2, 6 and 9 anymore.

[BSR6]

Doc I think you and I are on the same page if you read my reply earlier on page 5. To me the whole "leading with your shoulder" concept was causing the problem. It may work for some but it definately didn't work for me. Concentrating on staying square with the bike in the hips and shoulders as you hang off makes a huge difference. It might be something to keep in mind as an instructor when you see people who are having an issue with being crossed up and too tight.

[smokinjoe]

So for one you have to stop chanting in your helmet "must not lean bike, must not lean bike". Also the plyometrics workout should help.

["Dangerous" Dan K]

Well, it IS Friday.

[dontpanic]

check out my power point presentation

That was an eye-opener. Thanks, Graham!

[Danz19899]

My right hand turn body position BLOWS. It makes me angry looking at pictures.

glad i'm not the only one . . . right handers kill me