In my experience on both ends of this kind of knowledge sharing and some exposure to fitness training certification, it's really important to make sure the words being used are clear and unambiguous. It's been ages since I was first dipping my toes into performance riding, but I'll never forget the onslaught of terms that
seemed clear, but in reality were loaded with double meanings and open-ended interpretations. That motorcycling community around me and on the internet was in constant discourse about the most basic things like physics of motorcycle dynamics, where everyone was passionately advocating "simple, common sense explanations" that were diametrically opposed to one another, did not help.
To wit, what does it mean, when we say "weigh inside/outside peg"? Already there is some debate about whether we are talking about initial steering, turning, or conclusion of a turn. If we are talking about supporting one's weight, what do we instruct about the rest of the rider's body. After all, for a given speed, acceleration, and attitude of the bike, if the rider wishes to modify an input somewhere, they will need to modify another input somewhere else to ensure the forces remain balanced. If all I do is start pushing harder on one footpeg or the other without changing anything else, I will begin to lift myself out of the seat. Is this what we want? How hard should I be pushing? Where should I be on the bike?
Another common phrase that appears related is "get your butt out of the seat". For years (literally!), I took it to mean I had to slide over to the side of the bike as far as possible to achieve proper cornering position. But in reality, it's connected to the whole peg weighing conversation -- we're asking the rider to use their legs as an extension of their suspension and to allow the bike to move more freely under them, as the bike experiences high cornering forces, bumps, or sliding.
It is so much clearer to point out that when we carry more of our weight on the pegs by taking weight off the seat, we are able to let the bike move more freely under the rider. When I think of the bike moving under the rider, much like a horse under a jockey, I get a crystal clear mental image and I no longer concern myself with details of how many pounds I should put on inside or outside footpeg, whist contorting the rest of my body into impossible shapes and forgetting the bigger picture of riding.
Which brings me to the thing I wanted to say to the original poster: make sure you build your skills step by steps and as you do so, always practice your entire skillset starting from fundamentals, onwards. I think it was Keith Code, who likened working on riding skills to building a cathedral -- you must start with the foundation and build each layer on top of a solid base before moving on to the next step. If one forgets these fundamentals or if introducing new skills changes some of our basics, we must go back and address these issues before we attempt to advance forward, or the whole thing will falter.
In my mind, riding skills (not to say anything about situational awareness, physical fitness, and street smarts) can be layered somewhat like this:
1. basic bike operation
2. relaxed joints, smooth inputs
3. vision and lines
4. speed judgment
5. throttle control
6. brake control
7. improved shifting
8. body english
Whenever I go back to the track or if I've just been off the bike a while, I run through all of the above in that order before anything else, spending generous amounts of time to ensure I realign myself. This process of mental maintenance never stops. Code talks about putting professional riders through his own fundamentals before they work on anything else. Be patient and continue reflecting on which aspects of riding feel in need of improvement and work on them.
That said, I think there's a video that
could be helpful, given the question. Someone posted this on another thread and I think this video (albeit not in slow motion) does a great job showing some good aspects pertaining to #2 and #3 on the list above:
[youtube]fXWVYtsf43Y[/youtube]
Of note here are:
- elbows
- position of head, implying direction the rider is looking
It's nice to pause the video at different times and compare where the rider is looking and where the bike is going. Don't worry about anything else right now!
but I've never really felt like pressing hard on the inner peg did much anyways, I'd just countersteer quicker/harder if I wanted to turn in more (I also weigh like 120lbs so it's not like there's a whole hell of a lot to distribute)