This Week 28 Feb - 6 March: Your Ride and Practice

[Terminated]

This week Chanceyy and Quallman1234 are your selectors and they will be looking at good new rider training practice and welcome input from senior riders and mentors.

This week’s review will cover rides from Wednesday 28th February to Tuesday 6th March reported here in this thread and selection will be made by Tuesday Evening.

Some Insight From You Please:

In your replies please include responses to:

1. "What Do You Think Are The Qualities of a Safe Rider?" [give one or two examples]

and,

2. " Do You Think You Are A Safe Rider? Why or Why Not. [one or two supporting statements]

also for the more 'Experienced Rider'

3. "Have you noticed any 'slippage' in your riding?" [One or two examples]

eg. For me, I notice I forget to do my head check now and then [and I am not an experienced rider yet.] For others it may be hazard detection - you see the Pedestrian Crossing but did you check for pedestrians?

Those selected will have their training comments copied to BuckBuck's Update - Newbie Training thread and they will in turn be the selectors for next Week’s Where Did You Ride and What Did You Practise?.

I encourage all newbie riders to seek out a riding Mentor to review your riding skills and technique periodically throughout your graduated licence time. Go for mentor riding reviews and discuss the matters that have been identified, then practise, practise, practise.

When you go for your ride think about those things you want to focus on and review before you set off on your ride.

I invite any new riders to put forward their comments relating to specific training sessions they may have had recently and not necessarily just this weekend's ride.

The key benefit that I am encouraging is: for new riders/all riders - to 'key in' their training comments to this thread and by doing so, this is reinforcing a personal training discipline.

For those posting to this thread, a degree of humour is welcomed as are pictures of your ride, however please note that the emphasis is newbie training awareness.

You take the time to train on the motorcycle, you take the time to make an entry to this web site, and hence you have indirectly reviewed your own personal training discipline. Well Done.


Heads Up and Enjoy
BuckBuckNo1

[Terminated]

[Have you read the post immediately above this one?]

Last week I canvassed several riders for their comments on the first two questions:
Qualities of a Safe Rider, and
Do You Think You Are A Safe Rider. Why or Why Not

I had a reply, from an experienced rider, that missed entry to last weeks BuckBuck's Newbie Training Update and so post it here [anonymous]:

1 - One word sums up a safe rider - anticipation - to be able to identify hazards on the road, the possible actions of other motorists, the impact of weather,tiredness,mechanical factors etc. and to be able to react to these things in a safe and timely manner.

2 - I like to think I am a safe rider, any risks I take are well calculated based on over 30 years of driving vehicles all over the country, on road and off. I have the odd scar from the times I got it wrong, and those are the lessons I learnt the best!


Thanks in advance for the responses.

[It may be helpful if you indicate your riding experience eg. for me it is Restricted sitting Full in a few weeks.]


I look forward to the entries this week.

Heads Up and Enjoy

[quallman1234]

Bump.

Ill write my report soon.

[Lissa]

Hmm lets see.

Went on the track (Manfield Open Day) yesterday. The very first time I have been been to or been involved in something like that. As I didnt really know what to expect (esp not the amount of people there) I complained in the thread that I was nervous and not confident to do it. I got alot of support, pms... thank you everyone.

So I started the day at 6.30am. Meet up with the Rapa Boys and headed off to the track. Beautiful riding just as the sun is coming up.... so peaceful and quiet.

Followed right behind kinje. As we rode along a stupid idiot in a ute passing a truck, on our side of the road... it made kinje slow right down and we all made our way to the left. Grrrr my heart was pounding, gave me a hell of a fright, I'm sure it did for him as well.

Track day was great.
My first session on the track. I kept scraping my boot on the corners. Ok, so thats great, cause I love leaning my bike and cornering.. didnt bother me too much, just became extremely annoying. Another annoying fact was my bike is so gutless :( I wanted to cry. I know I have the skills and confidence to do so well.... my bike is holding me up. So again I am unhappy with my bike... but thats for entirely different thread.)

So last session I got to ride someone elses bike. A honda no less. OMG...I had no idea how much I loved riding until I got on that bike. So I took the corners really slow, because I didnt want to pay up for any damage I might cause. But the straights... whoo hooo a bike that can accellerate so quickly and effortlessly..... can it get any better?

So what did I learn:
1. That I have to learn my lines alot better.
2. I love big fast bikes.
3. I love cornering, I have great confidence. And love the feeling of powering around the corner.
4. I love big fast bikes.
5. I have to push my limits. Was such a baby at the start of the day, didnt want to go on the track, but in the end... it was freaken awesome. Even though I was the only one on a Ginny.
6. I love big fast bikes.
7. I was surprised at just how far I have come in just a few months of riding. I guess I really learnt that I am better than I give myself credit for. Just got to believe in myself even it no one else does.
8. I love big fast bikes!!
9. Place your ball of your foot on the pegs, helps to stop the boot scraping around corners ... thanks to fatjim!

"What Do You Think Are The Qualities of a Safe Rider?"
1. A safe rider isnt too impatient to pass a car just for the sake of passing. If the car in front or you is going at a reasonable speed, there is no hurry to pass it and make a wrong judgement call.

" Do You Think You Are A Safe Rider? Why or Why Not.
Yes and no. I sometimes am too impatient to pass a car. My bike cant get up speed well, so I have to time it very carefully. I would like to think I am a safe rider. I ride alot with others and make sure that I am following them correctly, I check my mirrors constantly and I try to read the road and any potential hasards.

[Grub]

I went to the Manfield Track Day too (my second). This time, I knew more, had practiced more and was much more aware of what I was doing and had a lot of things to try.

One my first Track Day I was scraping my boots and generally scaring myself. In the intervening weeks I set out to understand corners and bike dynamics. I am lucky that I commute over Paekakariki Hill Rd daily against the traffic so I have time and space to work on these things.

I've started riding on the balls of my feet and getting out of the seat - very much like a jockey. Through the twisties my bum is not on the seat at all. This puts my weight way low and stablises the bike. It also allows me to apply pressure to the pegs to adjust my position in the corner. The result of all this is that the bike is standing up more and using a better part of the tyre than its shoulder. Consequently, the bike feels like a 150 beneath me. Instead of hauling it into the corner, my body is already there off the bike on the inside of the approaching bend, all I do is pull the bike down to meet me heading for the apex. More controlled, more adjustment, more stability.

The *theory* being that there is better clearances, better grip and more control at the same speed as before. The *reality* is that I realised two weeks ago just how much faster I was taking those (157) corners! That wasn't the object of the excersise at all. I don't want to go faster, I just want to be in total control of the bike. The silly thing is that I feel much safer than I ever did before.

I took this to the track - what a difference. I kept dinging my footpegs, I was stepping the back out, I got into a weaver around the sweeper. Yes I was pushing it but somehow just felt better about being on the bike. I graduated from the Slow to the Medium group. All that came from practice and thinking stuff through - and being lucky enough to have a daily ride I can develop those skills on.

What did I learn?
Nothing from any of that! I learned the most valuable lesson I've had since getting back on a bike in October and I learned it on the way home. I learned that you always have to be alert and you always have to be ready and that tiredness is your greatest enemy.

I took the long way home, had a magic ride all through the back of the Manawatu/Horewhenua between SH 1 and SH57 (Shannon Rd). I was in the groove, not going fast, buggered from the rideup-trackday-ridehome combo but nicely mellowing. On a sweeping left hander, an easy 80kmh one, I was doing about 70 when I saw right in the middle of the corner :sick: gravel! :sick: It was right on my line and there was no way I could go under it or around it. I stood the bike up, took a heap of back brake, went through it sideways with the rear sliding left then straight ahead then right as I braked-released-braked. As soon as the front wheel was clear of the crap I grabbed a handful of that too. It felt like the bike wanted to high-side me but it all stayed good and I stopped in the waist-high long grass a centimeter from an electric fence just beside the farm road that had spilled all the shit onto the corner in the first place.

So ok, I was alert enough to get out of it but I just couldn't help feeling I had been let down by lazy hazard-observation and incident prevention. I should have been thinking about the possibility of gravel being there - well that's how I felt as I sat there in the grass composing myself anyway. I still think I was right.

For god's sake don't tell Nasty, she'll just worry.

What are the qualities of a safe rider?
One who has their head outside of the bike at all times, one who is anticipating rather than reacting - examples above

Do you think you're a safe rider?
No of course not. If I was I wouldn't have been in the situation above. Nobody is safe on a motorcycle. You just have to mitigate the opportunites for it to all go wrong

Have you noticed any 'slippage' in your riding?
Yes! I was tired, exhausted actually and I was in a groove with no cars around and I was relaxed. Up until that point, I felt that my skills and attention levels had got better every week.

The lesson? ... you are *never* as good as you think you are.

Brett

[James Deuce]

This puts my weight way low and stablises the bike.

Contrary to popular opinion, that is not the case. Think about it for a bit.

Other than that brilliant write up.

[Grub]

Contrary to popular opinion, that is not the case. Think about it for a bit.
Other than that brilliant write up.

OK, I'm all ears Jim. My fat arse on the seat vs my dainty feet on the pegs ... surely the CofG has to be lower, the bike is certainly more chuckable.

[Nasty]

...
I took the long way home, had a magic ride all through the back of the Manawatu/Horewhenua between SH 1 and SH57 (Shannon Rd). I was in the groove, not going fast, buggered from the rideup-trackday-ridehome comb but nicely mellowing. On a sweeping left hander, an easy 80kmh one, I was doing about 70 when I saw right in the middle of the corner :sick: gravel! :sick: It was right on my line and there was no way I could go under it or around it. I stood the bike up, took a heap of back brake, went through it sideways with the rear sliding left then straight ahead then right as I braked-released-braked. As soon as the front wheel was clear of the crap I grabbed a handful of that too. It felt like the bike wanted to high-side me but it all stayed good and I stopped in the waist-high long grass a centimeter from an electric fence just beside the farm road that had spilled all the shit onto the corner in the first place.


I don't know why I have to find these things out on a website .... grrrrrrrrrr :angry:





The lesson? ... you are *never* as good as you think you are.


But I KNEW THAT!! :yes:

[James Deuce]

OK, I'm all ears Jim. My fat arse on the seat vs my dainty feet on the pegs ... surely the CofG has to be lower, the bike is certainly more chuckable.

A low centre of gravity on a motorcycle destined for the road or race track is a bad thing. The c of G needs to be near the roll centre of the bike. Ask Wayne Garner whether or not an underslung fuel tank help the handling of an NSR500. Some hefty bikes like Triumph Rockets and Suzuki M109R's have low Cof G's to help low speed handling, but they seldom get pushed really hard, to where a low C of G would do things like push the front tyre hard, and make the bike increasingly difficult to steer.

What you've done is change the rider's C of G in relation to the bike, not the C of G of the Bike, and probably moved the combined centre of mass forward. I've got a cool picture in a magazine at home that shows the relative effects of moving the rider around in relation to the CofG and the CofM. I'll try to scan it and chuck it up.

The contrary view below makes more sense to me, though I think the first guy is thinking of the Trail bike technique of standing up tall, not hovering over the saddle like you're describing.

http://www.msgroup.org/DISCUSS.asp

http://www.msgroup.org/Contrary/NEG142.html

[chanceyy]

well another goal has been reached ..

after attending track days & watching everyone else have fun .. all i wanted was a bike to go out there & give it a go ...

ever since I got RZ that has been my main goal .. getting her legal & getting myself as legal as i can so that i could attend

As the day got closer the excitement & nervous anticipation was taking a toll. Bearing in mind I have had a total of 5 road rides on this bike .. so yesterday was my sixth .. After not sleeping much on sat nite I was up early to take care of animals before heading to manfield.

Now a choice I had made was to trailer my bike up there, & so glad I did. Figured that the day would be pretty draining & if I rode home may have been tempted to be a bit more complacent & an accident could be on the cards. Not mentioning the fact I could take chilly bins, chairs etc so was more comfy up there. Talked U4ea into taking part & she was great company on the way up, esp when ppl passed us with bikes on back but two chicks in the truck .. looks were priceless. Thanks to Dogsnbikes for the loan of the trailer .. its an awesum trailer for bikes ;)

Guess those who know me well could tell that I was not my usual social self, retreated a few times (being tired & nervous) just to think about what my goals for the day were.

a) to have fun
b) to learn how to corner
c) to feel my bike more
d) to play with the powerband
e) to have fun
f) to push myself to my boundaries (not past them .. but to them)
g) to look through corners
h) did I mention to have fun ?

did I reach my goals .. ??

well i sure had fun .. that goes beyond saying, after coming off the first session I dunno that i was smiling but i sure was inside.

Learning to corner, My Mentor pointed out that i was to far on the inside & the ins & outs of the consequences of that, he showed me some lines then followed during the day after that I could follow the stream & got more speed & a wee bit more lean as the day went on.

Feeling my bike .. damn straight I felt her all day long & she did not mind .. ohh we not talking like that.... umm yes I felt when i did not have the revs right & put her into top without having enough revs & that horrible engine noise coming into play, also came in a bit hot to one corner, grabbed a heap of brake went to down shift but downshifted to many gears .. umm that was interesting .. but flicked it up another gear for the corner & it was all good. This bike feels incredibly stable & I absolutely :love: riding her

playing with the powerband .. this wee bike has awesome pick up after the corners, had someone on a RD comment how he could not catch me .. Mind you he was gutted cause he thought the RZ was only a 250 .. think he felt better when he realised it was actually a 350... :innocent:

taking the riding to my limits .. I recognised when I was tiring & stopped pushing the try, but it was interesting as the faster riders caught me on the last lap how i instinctively wanted to speed up to keep up with them .. but i had nuffing to prove to anyone else so tapped that feeling down. I trusted the information ppl esp those experienced riders have been telling me & trusted the bike to try & increase speeds through corners etc which is easier to do on the track than the road .. awesome

looking through the corners .. this is something that I was teaching Clive on saturday with the horses & how this works .. can honestly say it works on the bikes ... by taking a long focus to where you want to go you naturally distribute weight to push the horse/bike into the direction you want to go .. (attending the track day with shaun harris when he took the walk around the track explaining how he rides the track is where this insight has come from & I can understand his concepts as they relate to how I ride my horses)

Its taken me a day to assimilate how it all went yesterday & I am so thrilled to reach another goal. Thanks to everyone who assisted with getting me out there & the supportive comments through the day. Its hard to take it all in at times, & then I dunna do well with compliments .. so thank you I really do appreciate it (even if i seem embarrassed)


1. "What Do You Think Are The Qualities of a Safe Rider?"
someone who knows their limits & rides within it .. not outside it, is not influenced by peer pressure & keeps to that boundary.


2. " Do You Think You Are A Safe Rider? Why or Why Not.
Being a newer rider I feel my senses are heightened, but lack experience to take it all in at once .. road conditions, hazards, speed, concentration etc therefore riding with others & small trips on my own to build up the skills needed ... I work on trying to be safe every ride .

[Grub]

A low centre of gravity on a motorcycle destined for the road or race track is a bad thing. The c of G needs to be near the roll centre of the bike.

Good stuff Jim, a fine read. I don't want to hijack the thread but would like to continue this discussion in the interests of learning. I read your post at work and immediately took off for Paekakariki Hill Rd to examine this theory and discovered something else about what I call the "jockey" position. Now class stop sniggering@! this has nothing to do with missionaries.

I remembered another benefit of being on the pegs and using the thighs as springs. Just as in skiing, your legs are acting as dampers and in some of those rough corners where a bike can loose traction, being out of the seat and suspended reduces the unsprung weight of the bike. It hops less on the rough stuff and stays in smooth contact with the road. A big improvement.

[quallman1234]

My week involved riding to school in the weekdays and had some fun riding over to the waniu coast, continued to practice my counter steering all week long and finally getting a hang off it :)!.

Went for a ride with fridsy on sunday and that was fun :).

Apart from praticing countersteering i havent really done too much :(.

However my focus for this week is low speed handling :).

Ill make my choice later today :Punk: .

[chanceyy]

this week I have picked Lissa

also a first timer out on the track & I know that we both experienced the nervous anticipation preceeding the event ... We both got a lot of support from the old hands who answered our questions & boosted our confidence prior to the day as well as on the day.

one thing that i have problems with was underestimating my ability, lissa also experienced this & from the day her confidence has soared. She still recognises that she has lines to learn, but also the ride on a bigger faster bike has given her an insight to what is ahead from the GN... just remember bigger bikes bite well girl ;)

speed is as speed does, always remember to ride to your ability, :D



Hmm lets see.

Went on the track (Manfield Open Day) yesterday. The very first time I have been been to or been involved in something like that. As I didnt really know what to expect (esp not the amount of people there) I complained in the thread that I was nervous and not confident to do it. I got alot of support, pms... thank you everyone.

So I started the day at 6.30am. Meet up with the Rapa Boys and headed off to the track. Beautiful riding just as the sun is coming up.... so peaceful and quiet.

Followed right behind kinje. As we rode along a stupid idiot in a ute passing a truck, on our side of the road... it made kinje slow right down and we all made our way to the left. Grrrr my heart was pounding, gave me a hell of a fright, I'm sure it did for him as well.

Track day was great.
My first session on the track. I kept scraping my boot on the corners. Ok, so thats great, cause I love leaning my bike and cornering.. didnt bother me too much, just became extremely annoying. Another annoying fact was my bike is so gutless :( I wanted to cry. I know I have the skills and confidence to do so well.... my bike is holding me up. So again I am unhappy with my bike... but thats for entirely different thread.)

So last session I got to ride someone elses bike. A honda no less. OMG...I had no idea how much I loved riding until I got on that bike. So I took the corners really slow, because I didnt want to pay up for any damage I might cause. But the straights... whoo hooo a bike that can accellerate so quickly and effortlessly..... can it get any better?

So what did I learn:
1. That I have to learn my lines alot better.
2. I love big fast bikes.
3. I love cornering, I have great confidence. And love the feeling of powering around the corner.
4. I love big fast bikes.
5. I have to push my limits. Was such a baby at the start of the day, didnt want to go on the track, but in the end... it was freaken awesome. Even though I was the only one on a Ginny.
6. I love big fast bikes.
7. I was surprised at just how far I have come in just a few months of riding. I guess I really learnt that I am better than I give myself credit for. Just got to believe in myself even it no one else does.
8. I love big fast bikes!!
9. Place your ball of your foot on the pegs, helps to stop the boot scraping around corners ... thanks to fatjim!

"What Do You Think Are The Qualities of a Safe Rider?"
1. A safe rider isnt too impatient to pass a car just for the sake of passing. If the car in front or you is going at a reasonable speed, there is no hurry to pass it and make a wrong judgement call.

" Do You Think You Are A Safe Rider? Why or Why Not.
Yes and no. I sometimes am too impatient to pass a car. My bike cant get up speed well, so I have to time it very carefully. I would like to think I am a safe rider. I ride alot with others and make sure that I am following them correctly, I check my mirrors constantly and I try to read the road and any potential hasards.

[quallman1234]

I went to the Manfield Track Day too (my second). This time, I knew more, had practiced more and was much more aware of what I was doing and had a lot of things to try.

One my first Track Day I was scraping my boots and generally scaring myself. In the intervening weeks I set out to understand corners and bike dynamics. I am lucky that I commute over Paekakariki Hill Rd daily against the traffic so I have time and space to work on these things.

I've started riding on the balls of my feet and getting out of the seat - very much like a jockey. Through the twisties my bum is not on the seat at all. This puts my weight way low and stablises the bike. It also allows me to apply pressure to the pegs to adjust my position in the corner. The result of all this is that the bike is standing up more and using a better part of the tyre than its shoulder. Consequently, the bike feels like a 150 beneath me. Instead of hauling it into the corner, my body is already there off the bike on the inside of the approaching bend, all I do is pull the bike down to meet me heading for the apex. More controlled, more adjustment, more stability.

The *theory* being that there is better clearances, better grip and more control at the same speed as before. The *reality* is that I realised two weeks ago just how much faster I was taking those (157) corners! That wasn't the object of the excersise at all. I don't want to go faster, I just want to be in total control of the bike. The silly thing is that I feel much safer than I ever did before.

I took this to the track - what a difference. I kept dinging my footpegs, I was stepping the back out, I got into a weaver around the sweeper. Yes I was pushing it but somehow just felt better about being on the bike. I graduated from the Slow to the Medium group. All that came from practice and thinking stuff through - and being lucky enough to have a daily ride I can develop those skills on.

What did I learn?
Nothing from any of that! I learned the most valuable lesson I've had since getting back on a bike in October and I learned it on the way home. I learned that you always have to be alert and you always have to be ready and that tiredness is your greatest enemy.

I took the long way home, had a magic ride all through the back of the Manawatu/Horewhenua between SH 1 and SH57 (Shannon Rd). I was in the groove, not going fast, buggered from the rideup-trackday-ridehome combo but nicely mellowing. On a sweeping left hander, an easy 80kmh one, I was doing about 70 when I saw right in the middle of the corner :sick: gravel! :sick: It was right on my line and there was no way I could go under it or around it. I stood the bike up, took a heap of back brake, went through it sideways with the rear sliding left then straight ahead then right as I braked-released-braked. As soon as the front wheel was clear of the crap I grabbed a handful of that too. It felt like the bike wanted to high-side me but it all stayed good and I stopped in the waist-high long grass a centimeter from an electric fence just beside the farm road that had spilled all the shit onto the corner in the first place.

So ok, I was alert enough to get out of it but I just couldn't help feeling I had been let down by lazy hazard-observation and incident prevention. I should have been thinking about the possibility of gravel being there - well that's how I felt as I sat there in the grass composing myself anyway. I still think I was right.

For god's sake don't tell Nasty, she'll just worry.

What are the qualities of a safe rider?
One who has their head outside of the bike at all times, one who is anticipating rather than reacting - examples above

Do you think you're a safe rider?
No of course not. If I was I wouldn't have been in the situation above. Nobody is safe on a motorcycle. You just have to mitigate the opportunites for it to all go wrong

Have you noticed any 'slippage' in your riding?
Yes! I was tired, exhausted actually and I was in a groove with no cars around and I was relaxed. Up until that point, I felt that my skills and attention levels had got better every week.

The lesson? ... you are *never* as good as you think you are.

Brett

I pick grub this week simply because he has realised that you are always learning and cant afford to get cocky with this as a hobby/ life :).

Everyones write ups this week were excellent :), thanks for the good reading guys, ill make a more formal write up next week.

Kyle

[quallman1234]

Have you noticed any 'slippage' in your riding?
Yes! I was tired, exhausted actually and I was in a groove with no cars around and I was relaxed. Up until that point, I felt that my skills and attention levels had got better every week.

The lesson? ... you are *never* as good as you think you are.

Brett

I pick grub this week simply because he has realised that you are always learning and cant afford to get cocky with this as a hobby/ life :).

Everyones write ups this week were excellent :), thanks for the good reading guys, ill make a more formal write up next week.

Kyle

[Terminated]

Thanks Chanceyy and Quallman for your selections for this week.

Congratulations to Lissa and Grub. Interesting reading.

It was good to get the insight.

I will send PM to you all shortly.

Whoops some discussion further on below....well done guys.

[Kendog]

A low centre of gravity on a motorcycle destined for the road or race track is a bad thing. The c of G needs to be near the roll centre of the bike. Ask Wayne Garner whether or not an underslung fuel tank help the handling of an NSR500. Some hefty bikes like Triumph Rockets and Suzuki M109R's have low Cof G's to help low speed handling, but they seldom get pushed really hard, to where a low C of G would do things like push the front tyre hard, and make the bike increasingly difficult to steer.

What you've done is change the rider's C of G in relation to the bike, not the C of G of the Bike, and probably moved the combined centre of mass forward. I've got a cool picture in a magazine at home that shows the relative effects of moving the rider around in relation to the CofG and the CofM. I'll try to scan it and chuck it up.

The contrary view below makes more sense to me, though I think the first guy is thinking of the Trail bike technique of standing up tall, not hovering over the saddle like you're describing.

http://www.msgroup.org/DISCUSS.asp

http://www.msgroup.org/Contrary/NEG142.html

Thats a pretty good site with some useful info.

I have also been trying out the 'weight on the peg' theory, in particular puting my weight on the outside peg in corners and to me the bike feels way more planted. Probably not because of a lower CofG but more to do with the bike being held in a more vertical position while I can lean over more.

On his site he has another article where I think weighting the outside peg is of benefit, but it is not mentioned:
http://www.msgroup.org/TIP203.html

Am I on the right track?

[Grub]

Am I on the right track?

I think so ... and isn't it amazing trying some of this stuff.

I'm not consciously loading the outside peg but using the body to get inside of the bike for the turn does stand it up, does seem to use a better part of the tyre and just feels (your word) 'planted'.

I also find that if I have to change line in the corner (crazy car drivers over centreline usually), my body position doesn't change, I just push the bike up or bring it down. The bike feels like a nifty fifty instead of a 185kg sporter. What's happening is the greatest mas (me) is unhinged and floating free so the adjustment to the bike is effortless.

I don't know if I'm on the right track either but I'm learning so much in trying. Especially seeing how far i can/need to hang off the bike for certain corners and working on different leg positions.

I should say that I am not only moving my bum but more importantly head, chest and shoulders. If I want to tighten a corner, I just lay down forwards. My chest is touching the tank and i am looking under my mirror stem through the corner.

[James Deuce]

You guys are on the right track. Just remember that on the road you don't need to go into full on racetrack attack mode to make a difference. Moving a couple of inches in the seat and sticking a knee out will give you mostly the same effect.

A mate of mine got done for reckless for hanging off because he "wasn't in full control of the vehicle". It could be argued he was more in control.

In terms of how distributing your weight works, if you weight the inside peg you are adding force to the vector that is trying to make the bike move to the outside of the turn. Weighting the outside peg cancels a little of that force and adds some to the vector keeping the bike in touch with the tarmac.

[Grub]

You guys are on the right track. Just remember that on the road you don't need to go into full on racetrack attack mode to make a difference.

I know ... it looks totally stupid as well! I don't do it where I can be seen :) If another bike/vehicle appears I sit up and ride nicely.

Because I have the hill rd to try it (157 corners in 11.1km), I am able to see how much of this affects how much of that, where weight tightens or widens a corner etc etc.

Mostly I end up carving a much tighter corner that I need to so now I'm thinking that I can add a little more speed or apply power earlier to make the best of it.

I'm also aware that one day I might get to the boundary ... so sometimes I just back off and admire the scenery (well i did once ...)