So I took the Whoflung 250R out for a blat yesterday...

[Radar]

Yeah will do mate. Although I dunno when that will be as my legs are killing me from all that leaning off. But yeah man, for sure.

What does everyone mean by "leaning off"?
Is this like what MX riders do?

I've heard two different things on this topic. Some say that when cornering you should keep in line with your bike, and others say that you should slide so that your body is more upright. Mostly I see guys (who go fast around corners) lean with the bike, and not do anything special with their body.

[DarkLord]

Hey Radar,

From what I understand from talking with my flatmates who are both experienced riders, leaning off is basically that you sit right off the bike and lean your body right over into the direction of the corner you are taking. Your knee should be sticking out and your toes should be on the pegs and if you get the bike leant over far enough your knee should hit the ground, hence the term "knee down". I didn't have my toes on the pegs the other day and my boot scraped the ground before my knee, which is not desirable!

From what I gather you are to take the corner more with your body than the bike, you want to keep the bike as upright as possible and let your body weight do most of the work. The bike will always be leant over to a degree of course but it should be your body doing the bulk of the leaning.

Hope this helps and to all the experienced riders out there if I am wrong please feel free to correct me as I'm still learning too and want to soak up as much info as possible.

Cheers!

[Cr1MiNaL]

Hey Radar,

From what I understand from talking with my flatmates who are both experienced riders, leaning off is basically that you sit right off the bike and lean your body right over into the direction of the corner you are taking. Your knee should be sticking out and your toes should be on the pegs and if you get the bike leant over far enough your knee should hit the ground, hence the term "knee down". I didn't have my toes on the pegs the other day and my boot scraped the ground before my knee, which is not desirable!

From what I gather you are to take the corner more with your body than the bike, you want to keep the bike as upright as possible and let your body weight do most of the work. The bike will always be leant over to a degree of course but it should be your body doing the bulk of the leaning.

Hope this helps and to all the experienced riders out there if I am wrong please feel free to correct me as I'm still learning too and want to soak up as much info as possible.

Cheers!

The force is strong in this one!

Radar to add to his post, ur knee does not always need to be sticking out (especially if you don't have sliders). Besides at this level of learning getting ur knee down will be quite a shocking experience and not desirable mid corner. The aim is to be smooth. Brake and shift down gears before the corner, be in your powerband during the corner and accelerate out of the corner. It is a beautiful feeling. Prepare your mind and body for obstacles mid corner (apex) and prepare for gusts of wind from oncomming vehicles. Give yourself enough room for error (because we are humans and make mistakes) and other riders too as some tend to use your lane when they run wide (I've come across a few munters like that).

By sliding ur but (half of it) off the seat and protruding your shoulder towards the corner and looking through the apex (as far as the road meets), what you are doing is effectively positioning your body in a better position to counter-steer your bike( a whole new ball game, use the search function for this there are many good posts on the concept). Besides, as he mentioned earlier your bike leans less through the corner and hence reduces the chance of a lowside. It is a common belief amongst learners that leaning the bike more makes you go faster. I cannot condemn this belief enough. You might not be much faster if you don't lean off but you are safer. And safe is the name of the game.

The only time I don't lean off is when I am trying to scrub new tires in. For this however you need to be very progressive. Progressive leaning is a topic for another time I think. If you need any help with all this jargon flick me a pm and I'll take you all out for a bit of a ride.

Cheers
Raj (YR64L).

[TLMAN]

Congrats on Raj's bravery to display his licence plate on the pictures

Why would Raj need to hide his plate??

[svr]

Interesting to read all the comments on the young fellas riding.
For my 2 cents of experierience I'd say confident cornering and knowing how fast you and your bike are capable of taking any given corner is the single most important riding skill you can develop. Riders crash bailing on corners and trying to slow down when the bike could be going way faster and still make it - you really dont see many crashing from going too fast/ leaning too far. Hanging off really helps in committing properly to making the corner, and makes the bike handle better as well (also you can keep your head upright which helps speed and depth percerption). Visibility, not grip is the big limiting factor to safe speed on the road, especially on left handers (I'm also a road designer - those `50kph' corners we are proud of taking at 130 often have 50 kph of stopping distance visiblity).
Anyway, learn 100% on the track, ride 50% on the road - smooth, smart, safe.
Enough seriousness. In Sum, `bikes fall over if you too slow' (Fred Gassitt)