Proper Body positioning when cornering

[ucb]

From there it's personal preference, if you want to look like Ben Spies and try to drag elbow. unforunately you cannot fully appreicate this until you go to the track and expience it at full speed.

I thought I was close, but pictures said I was still 8"+ away

But I agree with ya, I barely leaned the bike over at all on the street, I learned 99.5% of my cornering skills (or lack there of) at the track. I only had a few months of riding under my belt before I got out to the track, so it's not like you need to be close to knee-dragging to get out there

As long as you can effectively turn and control the bike, you will be fine out at the track

 

[Squiddly Diddly]

Some of the advice in this thread is absolutely hilarious. Lol

I know that for some the picture perfect image of how they should look in a turn comes from watching Moto Gp.

I ride a sport bike as well as a motard and while the premise of turning is the same, body position is not always the same.

I tend to get into the hanging off body position while on the gixxer through a turn and on the motard I use almost the same technique I use when on my dirt bike which is more of a crossed up hinge turning technique meaning I'm leaning my body away from the direction I'm turning as almost a counter balancer effect to how far my bike is leaned over. But of course I can get into that hanging off position as well on the DRZ but my preferred bp is the one I just mentioned

Watch some dirt bike and/or supermoto guys and u will understand what I'm talking about.

My point is that body position is relative to a lot of factors; speed u are travelling at, type of corner and how deep u ran into it, bike u ride, etc.

My guess is that if ur coming into corners and in fear that u are going to blow them in anyway whether too wide or cutting them too close to the inside then perhaps ur not travelling at a pace that is trully comfortable for ur skill level.

If u feel like u have to over compensate for ur path of travel through a corner by applying more brake than usual then ur going too fast for ur comfort level.

Granted trying something new can wreak havoc on anyone as has already been stated by another member but u really should slow ur roll a bit until ur comfortable with what u are attempting to do. U should also first and foremost get some proper training from a anctual riding instructor whether that be at a trackday or some other place. Do not go out with just some yahoo u don't know from adam who may have no idea what is the best way to do things the proper way. Sometimes u will pick up a habit that will later have to be unlearned which can be extremely difficult to do.

I do agree with Josh the track is a very good place to perfect ur skill set but definitely not the right place to learn how to ride ur bike.

Just my penny penny take it for what its worth.

 

[Aluisious]

I thought I was close, but pictures said I was still 8"+ away

But I agree with ya, I barely leaned the bike over at all on the street, I learned 99.5% of my cornering skills (or lack there of) at the track. I only had a few months of riding under my belt before I got out to the track, so it's not like you need to be close to knee-dragging to get out there

As long as you can effectively turn and control the bike, you will be fine out at the track

That's what C group is for...I've seen some really slow people out there and it was never a problem.

 

[stangmx13]

....

One thing that I notice is that on consecutive corners I find myself braking too much instead of just leaning into the turn. It feel as if I try to lean the bike over but its not enough and I'm going to run wide, when in reality I never did run wide.

....

one thing that i didnt even think to mention b4 based on the quote... this could also be a suspension issue. at your safe speed, poor suspension setups could easily give u the feeling of running wide w/out causing the bike to do so. poor body position is of course no help, but u may feel terribly uncomfortable w/ your current BP because the bike is not reacting the way it should during a turn. how is your setup?? sag correct??

 

[209manny]

one thing that i didnt even think to mention b4 based on the quote... this could also be a suspension issue. at your safe speed, poor suspension setups could easily give u the feeling of running wide w/out causing the bike to do so. poor body position is of course no help, but u may feel terribly uncomfortable w/ your current BP because the bike is not reacting the way it should during a turn. how is your setup?? sag correct??

My suspension feels like it is setup pretty good, funny thing is that around town when taking turns it feels very smooth, but when I took it out on 49 the bike felt heavy to maneuver around corners.

I am sure that my problem is that I am afraid that I might crash so I tend to brake a lot more in order to be safe. The speeds that I'm going around corners is not fast at all, I am taking them around 35mph and even slower for the real sharp ones.

I went up 49 and by the time I went back down, I started to lean into the turns instead of braking, and knowing that the speed I was going was perfectly safe for the corner, and that there was no need to slow down more. I think it might just be a mental thing, maybe a fear that I might not be able to stick to my line, but I just kept at it and focused on where I wanted to go and everything went fine.

I crashed last year by chickening out mid turn when I fixated on some gravel and then tried to stand the bike up mid corner and brake. I think I am still a bit scared that I might do the same. At least now, I won't go out of my comfort zone and try to push myself. I don't care if I am going 10 mph around the turn as long as I do it safe, comfortably and smoothly.

 

[Burning1]

If you're afraid you might crash, you're probably riding outside your abilities. Fear is a warning sign, and comes before panic. Panic causes riders to do things that can cost them traction, or lead to a crash even when the machine is easily capable of making a corner.

 

[louemc]

Well said Burning1. There is no place for fear. Depending on how fearful it is, it ranges from slowing to stopping the correct thing from happening.

Doug Polen puts it this way. "The first thing is to remove emotion from the equation. All the emotion in the World will not stop or turn a motorcycle. It's a machine and requires inputs to function". He suggests that the majority of people who crash, do so because they got spooked and allow emotion to fog their perception, which exagerates the predicament-often with disasterous results.

For the OP, if you mean hwy 49 just south of Coulterville, and you don't have the skills to be totally comfortable. Your making a huge error to even ride there. It would be hard to find a more un-forgiving set of twisties.

I see riders from Modesto up there that aren't just a hazard to themselves, but also to whoever happens to be where they are when they blow it.

 

[209manny]

Well said Burning1. There is no place for fear. Depending on how fearful it is, it ranges from slowing to stopping the correct thing from happening.

Doug Polen puts it this way. "The first thing is to remove emotion from the equation. All the emotion in the World will not stop or turn a motorcycle. It's a machine and requires inputs to function". He suggests that the majority of people who crash, do so because they got spooked and allow emotion to fog their perception, which exagerates the predicament-often with disasterous results.

For the OP, if you mean hwy 49 just south of Coulterville, and you don't have the skills to be totally comfortable. Your making a huge error to even ride there. It would be hard to find a more un-forgiving set of twisties.

I see riders from Modesto up there that aren't just a hazard to themselves, but also to whoever happens to be where they are when they blow it.

Funny thing is, when I rode Hwy 49 on my xr650r motard I felt just fine and wasn't scared one bit, but on the cbr I rode a lot worse. I'm not getting scared mid corners its more like a pre emptive kind of fear/caution that I get when I see an upcoming turn.

 

[VaderSS]

My suspension feels like it is setup pretty good, funny thing is that around town when taking turns it feels very smooth, but when I took it out on 49 the bike felt heavy to maneuver around corners.

I'm wondering if the heaviness you felt was from your arms fighting each other.

I force myself to relax the outside hand, and anytime it starts feeling heavy, when it shouldn't, it's because I'm grabbing on with both hands and my arms are fighting each other.

Ironically, for me, that stretch of 49 south of Coulterville is where it all came together for me, and I got into "the zone," on a bike, for the first time in decades.

That is one unforgiving road though...

 

[ucb]

I'm wondering if the heaviness you felt was from your arms fighting each other.

Yep, if you are stiff on the bars, ironically the bike doesnt turn as well, because you aren't allowing it to with your stiff arms

 

[ucb]

That's what C group is for...I've seen some really slow people out there and it was never a problem.

Yep, its called the novice group for a reason

 

[Desmodromic]

Crossed-up but notice the #1 in his bike. BTW, 5 times world champ...

 

[tzrider]

And then there were his right-handers:

 

[ucb]

Yeah, just because a select few had success with riding crossed up, doesn't mean its something that should be taught or condoned.

 

[Desmodromic]

Here are "some" more

http://www.visordown.com/motorcyclenews/view/motogp_500cc_past_masters_ride_motogp_bikes/1845.html

Lets not for get King Kenny

There is more than one way to ride a bike... The modern style that is being thought now, is well modern. New, neo, our generation.
More and more ride the agro style of today but current riders like: Hodgson, shakey, and Duhmel (even Mladin) have a kind of in between style of old and new. I think a lot of the crossed old style came from engines with retarded power and tires better suited on a bicycle.

Don't get me wrong, I don't ride crossed up. Just wanted to point out that: "There is more than one way to skin a cat"

 

[ucb]

Yeah, just because a select few had success with riding crossed up, doesn't mean its something that should be taught or condoned.

And the last 3 dont really look all that crossed up and Rossi could be in the process of standing the bike up in that picture

And all are on the track, for street riding proper BP can't really be learned or fully utilized

 

[Desmodromic]

And the last 3 dont really look all that crossed up and Rossi could be in the process of standing the bike up in that picture

And all are on the track, for street riding proper BP can't really be learned or fully utilized

The first guy is Schwantz riding Rossi's bike (helmet gives it away)

 

[Noaleridingfool]

Try using this link...

Trackdays and read a few of these, you will get the jist in a few outings...

http://www.amazon.com/Twist-Wrist-B...=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1240440036&sr=1-1

 

[VaderSS]

Here is how I've been doing it, minus the riding the center line...

 

[JeffKoch]

Don't get me wrong, I don't ride crossed up. Just wanted to point out that: "There is more than one way to skin a cat"

Bikes and tires were very different long ago, it's not helpful to compare old-school riding styles to modern riding styles with modern bikes and tires. 500GP stars would probably get destroyed by modern competition, even if they rode identical bikes.