Climb off or stay onboard?

[slofox]

The modern superbikers all seem to climb way off the bike in the corners. This practice seemed to appear in the early seventies - maybe related to the advent of the then popular two-stroke race bikes, all of which produced tons more oomph than their British predecessors...like Norton's AJ's, Gold Stars etc etc.
I can see the point of hanging way out there at the speeds the modern day bikes achieve - the tyre angle is reduced etc etc. But I question the need for this degree of "overhang" unless you are on the track and pushing it hard.
Hugh Anderson, in his day, was one who had the reputation of "being at one" with his bike - ie he didn't climb all over the thing but stayed tucked in. He was great to watch - very much a part of the machine. Course he did most of his riding on smaller capacity bikes so may not have had the need to climb all over. That said, I personally like to stay tight with the bike most of the time, although if I do cock up and find myself in a corner too fast, then a little judicious overhang does do wonders......
What do others think? Anyone else like me - a throwback to the olden day tight style? Or am I just an anachronistic dinosaur, heading for extinction and the great race track in the sky?

[jim.cox]

Seems to me to depend on the bike

Hanging off my Hailwood is just a complete waste of time

But I LOVE getting my knee down on the newer Ducatis

YMMV

[Gremlin]

I can see the point of hanging way out there at the speeds the modern day bikes achieve - the tyre angle is reduced etc etc. But I question the need for this degree of "overhang" unless you are on the track and pushing it hard.
Its also fun... bike there, you here, close to the deck with almost nothing beneath you, guiding it through the corner etc

For hours of riding in tight twisty roads, it sure adds a good workout as well, if you are constantly climbing around the bike. Also depends on the bike. Fun to hang off the zx10, but I don't go that far off anyway, the cb900, its easy just to sit still, and flick the bike from side to side.

[xwhatsit]

Hanging off GiJoe1313's RZ250 (but not too far) made sense -- the tyres are square and ancient, and don't like to lean very much. Hanging off a TRX850 didn't cause anything to go wrong but didn't do very much other than make me feel like a Cool Dude -- then again, I wasn't pushing it very hard. Hanging off my 250RS does not feel good at all; I think the geometry and design is just all wrong. Once the pegs touch I just lean my shoulders/head across further, does the same job with less wankery.

Hanging off a Super Cub will cause the bike and you to topple over.

[imdying]

Hanging off is fun, riding bikes to me is about having fun, so hanging off it is! On the RGV, and being 6 foot, hanging off is compulsory, else it's hard to get my foor back far enough on the peg to keep it outta the way of the ground in comfort.

[mouldy]

You only need to hang off if everything is dragging on the ground , it looks ridiculous hanging off when the bike is hardly leaning over .

[MSTRS]

No need to hang off at all. A little bit of 'kiss your mirror' is fine, good even, but anything more is either pose value - or you are riding too hard for the road.

[texn]

hang off! even if it serves no purpose.....gotta look good.....:blip:

[henry]

Do what ever makes you feel comfortable.

[R6_kid]

'hanging off' brings your COG closer the ground, meaning that the bike itself doesnt need to lean as much to take a given turn at a higher speed.

What this means is that you can lean off a bit/or a lot if you please and you'll be giving yourself a little bit extra lean angle in case you need it, or you can use that lean angle anyway and go faster.

Getting your knee down is certainly more of a track-only thing.

But be warned, swinging from side to side over the course of a 4-5hr ride through the twisties is going to work your legs pretty hard and may require a HTFU pill, or just leave you walking a bit funny for a day or two afterwards.

[imdying]

id go with hang off, because if you fall off you will be closer to the ground, less distance to fall, hence lessoning your chance of breaking your bones and getting injured.

Unless it high sides you the other way, then it's further to fly, more momentum, more broken bones :D :rofl:

[koba]

yeah, all depends on the bike and/or riding situation.
Even on the track in long sweeping corners it can be better to stay closer to the centreline of some of the slower (streetstock at least) bikes.

[CookMySock]

Its also fun... bike there, you here, close to the deck with almost nothing beneath you, guiding it through the corner etcFun? it's godlike! Its funny watching the look on cagers faces coming the other way, especially if theres two bikes tight.. :crazy::gob::eek5::angry::eek::nono::drool:

Classic!!

Steve

[Warr]

Have ridden behind guys that are firmly planted in their seats but generally they are behind :)
To me if the metal bits are dragging its time to slow down or move your butt and for me the latter works fine.

[eelracing]

One of the great things with riding bikes over say driving a car is the fact that the riders body has a direct influence on handling.I say instead of sitting there like a lump use a bit of body english and get experimenting.It might look a bit wanky on the road but its still learning new stuff for when you may need it.

[johan]

...

But I LOVE getting my knee down on the newer Ducatis

YMMV

hear hear! But i think this guy is overdoing it a little bit. (2.40 minutes in the video)

http://vimeo.com/1682207?pg=embed&sec=1682207

[OutForADuck]

I've been hanging off for so long it seems so unnatural not too. In a corner I want touch points (arm across tank, seat inside knee, all weight carried on inside peg etc) and damned if I know how you do this whilst just sitting. Plus the balance & feel just doesn't seem to be there.

[avgas]

stop drop and roll

[slofox]

Hugh Anderson, in his day, was one who had the reputation of "being at one" with his bike - ie he didn't climb all over the thing but stayed tucked in. He was great to watch - very much a part of the machine. Course he did most of his riding on smaller capacity bikes so may not have had the need to climb all over.

Hmmmmmm..........I have just found a photo of Hugh with his knee sticking out....but not climbing off the bike I might add....the dude following him, (Alan Shepherd), has the knee in......seems that Alan is the "tidy" one, not Hugh as i first stated......firkin memory is failin' like me knees...and me brain...and....never mind....

Personally I have no inclination to stick my knee out. This is because I would not want to land on one if I arsed off, being as how both my knees are knacked already....rather slide on me bum than the knee....

[McJim]

I'm a shit rider so don't take this a advice...it's just what I do. On left handers I sit in my seat and move my upper torso to the left as I corner (countersteering as required). On right handers I move my right arse cheek and upper torso to the right (but make no effort to stick my knee out) and I've become comfortable with the control this gives me in corners.

MSTRS can confirm what a slackarse I am in the twisties though so no heed should be paid to me.

[Qkchk]

If you really want some useless information.........


I stick me knee out on the inside of a corner without moving my arse.

Ive thought about this a couple of times, one theory Ive come up with is that the knee acts as an 'airbrake' and so with air resistance on the inside makes the inside line of the bike move slower than the outside...(to the minimal degree) sounds silly but it works for me.

[MSTRS]

MSTRS can confirm what a slackarse I am in the twisties though so no heed should be paid to me.

You did just fine, esp as you were on a strange bike.
Have you managed to relax the FrozenWithFearGrimace yet? :eek5:

[mstriumph]

my riding is very ordinary, i'm not a poseur so flash don't interest me
and my bum is firmly planted on my fluffy seat cover with knees gripping the tank
[yeah - i too can remember when everyone used to ride that way ..... *sigh* time flies]

but i still enjoy the amount of influence you can have on the bike just dropping a shoulder or moving your ribcage sideways over your hips or shifting your weight from one footpeg to the other or similar .....

each to his or her own i guess .......

[imdying]

each to his or her own i guess .......Definitely... only have to watch one motogp race to see that even at that level, there's no definitive way to ride :)

[slofox]

Interesting how close the poll is.......I expected many more to hang off than stay tight.....

[slopster]

Of course leaning off will lessen the tyre angle which is good but a lot of people over do it and if your not firm and stable on the bike it probably does more harm then good. Nothing funnier then seeing people hanging way off the side of the bike while not even leaned over very far.

[hospitalfood]

hanging off sucks when you hit a big northland pot hole ( range in size from 20 cm to half the road ) and you wish at that moment you were counter steering.
i find i will move my arse to the inside but still counter a lot of the time with the elbows well bent. ( this is possibly a fatal mistake and terrible style )
i find i need to remind myself to bend my elbows, and when i do it makes a massive improvement to my riding ( from shit to average ).

[speights_bud]

Sit yer arse down, until you run out of ground clearance, then hang it out there and fang-dangle it around, each bike has different clearances obviously, but i lean accordingly, be it due to clearance or other things such as wanting a bit more security with tyre contact over a surface change etc.
If in doubt try scrape everything you can just coz its krazy cool and grind that 'Q' off Quasi's awesome sliders:eek: :niceone:

[Chrislost]

The modern superbikers all seem to climb way off the bike in the corners. This practice seemed to appear in the early seventies - maybe related to the advent of the then popular two-stroke race bikes, all of which produced tons more oomph than their British predecessors...like Norton's AJ's, Gold Stars etc etc.
I can see the point of hanging way out there at the speeds the modern day bikes achieve - the tyre angle is reduced etc etc. But I question the need for this degree of "overhang" unless you are on the track and pushing it hard.
Hugh Anderson, in his day, was one who had the reputation of "being at one" with his bike - ie he didn't climb all over the thing but stayed tucked in. He was great to watch - very much a part of the machine. Course he did most of his riding on smaller capacity bikes so may not have had the need to climb all over. That said, I personally like to stay tight with the bike most of the time, although if I do cock up and find myself in a corner too fast, then a little judicious overhang does do wonders......
What do others think? Anyone else like me - a throwback to the olden day tight style? Or am I just an anachronistic dinosaur, heading for extinction and the great race track in the sky?


i like to slide over so that only one cheek is on the seat.
I find that if i do this i dont need to even hold onto the handle bars for most corners(within the speed limit) and a little weight on the footpegs will make the bike stand up, or lie down if the corner tightens.




I dont ride fast, so if you do, ffs hold on to the bars.

[slofox]

I find that if i do this i dont need to even hold onto the handle bars for most corners

If I let go the handle bars the throttle shuts and the bike stops.......dammit...

[carver]

ride with the few.....

[McJim]

Have you managed to relax the FrozenWithFearGrimace yet? :eek5:

No such luck - the wind musta changed that day :gob:

[Chrislost]

If I let go the handle bars the throttle shuts and the bike stops.......dammit...

set your idle to 5000:lol:

[FROSTY]

Mate I got a great bit of advice from mr crosby many years ago
do what feels comfortable to YOU --ferk anynbody else

[T.W.R]

Giacomo Agostini is the man to thank for hanging your plumbs into the wind when cornering :yes: he's the one that started in all in racing circles.

There's plenty of reasons to do it on the track but 9/10 times on the road it just looks :tugger: