Seating position

[gixerracer]

Have read some pretty bad advice on here mostly from Biggles.
Get a copy of Simon Crafars new book/DVD Motovudu it will be the best tool you will ever own

[schrodingers cat]

Have read some pretty bad advice on here mostly from Biggles.
Get a copy of Simon Crafars new book/DVD Motovudu it will be the best tool you will ever own

Please elaborate. What he said seemed to make a lot of sense..?

[Biggles08]

Please elaborate. What he said seemed to make a lot of sense..?

Don't worry....don't listen to Craig unless you like dirt bikes and sand.

[gixerracer]

Please elaborate. What he said seemed to make a lot of sense..?

The only good advice was get some Stom Grip I thinkg it has many advantages for braking and cornering.
The biggest problem with these types of websites is they are full of experts that have been around for 5 mins and already have all the answers which is laughable at best.
The thing about body position is its all about moving the centre of gravity, when your braking and cornering you want to be as far forward as possible and only need to be back in the seat when your trying to tuck in down a long straight or perhaps a very long sweeper but we dont have much of them in NZ.
Regarding Biggles comments having the ball of you outside foot on the peg is also bollocks unless your in a chicane type situation where you need to change direction very quickly, it doesnt matter what you do with your outside foot as long as its comfy for you.
As I said try and get a copy of the Motovudu book.dvd its all better explained by Simon Crafar whom I am pretty sure has a better CV than biggles

[Biggles08]

The only good advice was get some Stom Grip I thinkg it has many advantages for braking and cornering.
The biggest problem with these types of websites is they are full of experts that have been around for 5 mins and already have all the answers which is laughable at best.
The thing about body position is its all about moving the centre of gravity, when your braking and cornering you want to be as far forward as possible and only need to be back in the seat when your trying to tuck in down a long straight or perhaps a very long sweeper but we dont have much of them in NZ.
Regarding Biggles comments having the ball of you outside foot on the peg is also bollocks unless your in a chicane type situation where you need to change direction very quickly, it doesnt matter what you do with your outside foot as long as its comfy for you.
As I said try and get a copy of the Motovudu book.dvd its all better explained by Simon Crafar whom I am pretty sure has a better CV than biggles

Ha :-)....Can't argue with the last comment however my advise is not based on my 5 min of experience, more so what I have picked up from those who have done the California Super bike School along with what was taught to me by one of their coaches when he went through the 'steering drill' with me...it worked well (although still trying to perfect it). Another good book/DVD is 'twist of the wrist 1 & 2' which will say similar things to what I have described.

If it doesn't work for you that's fine...it works for others. Now go make some sand castles or something.

[gixerracer]

Ha :-)....Can't argue with the last comment however my advise is not based on my 5 min of experience, more so what I have picked up from those who have done the California Super bike School along with what was taught to me by one of their coaches when he went through the 'steering drill' with me...it worked well (although still trying to perfect it). Another good book/DVD is 'twist of the wrist 1 & 2' which will say similar things to what I have described.

If it doesn't work for you that's fine...it works for others. Now go make some sand castles or something.

How Many world superbike races and 500gp races have the calafornia superbike school guy's raced in and won or ?

[Mental Trousers]

How Many world superbike races and 500gp races have the calafornia superbike school guy's raced in and won or ?

How many WSBK or 500GP race winners have the California Superbike guys tutored?? You'd be really surprised by how many.

[schrodingers cat]

Confident on the front grip - go further forward.

I must admit I am a sook what it comes to the front end. Its something I'm working on.
The bike is 1000cc so a find than when I crack the throttle the front grip disappears anyway so I tend to sit on the rear tyre to maximise traction. I'm guessing that with experience/confidence I'll tend to weight the front a bit more and carry the mid speed.

Generally, feet directly underneath the hips is best for movement and control. Many people prefer to push the pegs back as far as they can, but it restricts movement like that.

What would be the downside of having the pegs a little forward oF the hip joint? (Just curious)

That (and sliding forward under brakes) is exactly why I changed the shape of the tank at the back. Once I did stomp grip wasn't necessary, it was a bonus.

Just to confirm - did you just pack out the knee cutouts wider or did you pad the back edge of the tank also?

when your braking and cornering you want to be as far forward as possible

Am I to presume that thing is to maximise the amount of front tyre you can use? I'm a big fella, 185cm and 110kg so I suspect my upper body already weight bias's forward. I realise it is generally accepted that your body COG is in the centre of the pelvis but that is when the body is in a balanced state not the unnatural leaning forward stance a sports bike puts you in.

Regarding Biggles comments having the ball of you outside foot on the peg is also bollocks unless your in a chicane type situation where you need to change direction very quickly, it doesnt matter what you do with your outside foot as long as its comfy for you.

I'm going to view the ball of the foot as 'a nice habit to get into but not essential for now'
I will get librarian wife onto the bok recommendation!

I prolly seem like a total nana with all the questions. On other weekends I engineer circiut race cars at a fairly high level so my approach to thinking about my motorcycling is a bit the same. I like to know what is 'ideal' and why.
When I get on the bike I just ride the thing and enjoy it. The time for thinking has passed, the time for doing has arrived. Afterwards I like to review what went well and what I intend to do more of.

Once again - thanks for the insights

[quickbuck]

I must admit I am a sook what it comes to the front end. Its something I'm working on.
The bike is 1000cc so a find than when I crack the throttle the front grip disappears anyway so I tend to sit on the rear tyre to maximise traction. I'm guessing that with experience/confidence I'll tend to weight the front a bit more and carry the mid speed.

UUmmmm, what do you mean by "Crack the throttle open".
If you mean slightly open it, like just off the idle then you are doing it right. If you mean feed it a hand full then WRONG!

The front wheel initiates the turn.
Once the bike is turned, it will continue to turn at the angle you have set the rear wheel at a "cracked" throttle setting until you do something else... usually turn the bars into the corner (But not many notice this happens).

Remember this:
You can turn the bars as FAST as you like in the dry (Not be confused with going as fast as you like into a corner), and the front will not let go. The wet is slightly different though....

[schrodingers cat]

UUmmmm, what do you mean by "Crack the throttle open".
If you mean slightly open it, like just off the idle then you are doing it right. If you mean feed it a hand full then WRONG!

The front wheel initiates the turn.
Once the bike is turned, it will continue to turn at the angle you have set the rear wheel at a "cracked" throttle setting until you do something else... usually turn the bars into the corner (But not many notice this happens).

Remember this:
You can turn the bars as FAST as you like in the dry (Not be confused with going as fast as you like into a corner), and the front will not let go. The wet is slightly different though....

Open slightly. It seems to carve the turn best when the chain is trying to travel just a little bit faster than the rear wheel but not accelerating. Feels like it controls the rear height(?) Then its the waiting game until I can roll the throttle on...

Interesting comment re bar input speed - I'll play with that.

[quickbuck]

Open slightly. It seems to carve the turn best when the chain is trying to travel just a little bit faster than the rear wheel but not accelerating. Feels like it controls the rear height(?) Then its the waiting game until I can roll the throttle on...

Interesting comment re bar input speed - I'll play with that.

Correct.
All the suspension is stable at a constent throttle setting.....

You can only open the throttle when you can see the exit of the corner in all cases on the road, and most on the track....

[schrodingers cat]

Correct.
All the suspension is stable at a constent throttle setting.....

You can only open the throttle when you can see the exit of the corner in all cases on the road, and most on the track....

I draw a series of imaginary arcs through the corner as I approach it and allow the eye/hand magic to carry me through. I'm looking ahead for my exit point and allow the bike to rotate through the turn until throttle will carry me forward to my exit point before winding the throttle in.

I'm not very fast but I think my basics are ok. If I were younger and sillyer with less knowledge of consequences I might be faster

[Mental Trousers]

Generally, feet directly underneath the hips is best for movement and control. Many people prefer to push the pegs back as far as they can, but it restricts movement like that.

What would be the downside of having the pegs a little forward oF the hip joint? (Just curious)

It feels retarded cos you can't get your body down as your legs are stopping you from leaning forward. I had some peg hangers made for mine and we had them too far forward.

That (and sliding forward under brakes) is exactly why I changed the shape of the tank at the back. Once I did stomp grip wasn't necessary, it was a bonus.

Just to confirm - did you just pack out the knee cutouts wider or did you pad the back edge of the tank also?

Just the knee cutouts. I made 2 seperate ones. The back of the tank was clear except for some grip.

You can see the dark green things at the back of the tank in this pic. They were only rough ones to try out but they made a hell of a difference for me.



I thought about padding the back of the tank so I was back a bit further cos I always seemed to spend a lot of time sat back from the tank. But once I made those 2 I found I wasn't sitting back any longer. Seems I was moving back so I could get my knee under where the top of the tank curves outwards but that wasn't necessary any longer.

[schrodingers cat]

Right - got some stomp grip on the bike (Cheers Biggles!)
Very happy now. Being able to lock into the bike with the legs makes a massive difference. Its easier to ride with precision (and you can feel how important it is to do so). I'm riding faster easier and not terrifying myself so often :-)

[nzspokes]

Generally, feet directly underneath the hips is best for movement and control.

Just spotted this. Very interesting. Mine are a good 200mm forward of my hips on my Ninja. Been having some trouble with sore hips etc with it. Had been thinking of moving pegs. If I go to pegs that are further back I guess it reduces my hip angle so should help and give more control?