Moving weight around bike to suit cornering?

[bobsmith]

Oh and something no one's mentioned... When you're riding for 6 hours from Palmy to Auckland with minimal stops. Shifting your bum around is an excellent way to prevent you from having really really sore bum during/after the ride. Try it. You'll find that it makes your bum a lot more comfortable.

[Pwalo]

FWIW you're probably going to gain more by learning throttle control and counter steering than any amount of shifting your weight around while you're riding on the road.

It never fails to surprise me how little Mr Rossi moves around on his bike (well unless he's trying to make up time on the Ducati throught the bends).

[Sully60]

I remember when I tried hanging off (well not much) the Hyobag for the first time, I wondered why i hadn't done it sooner. I may not have been going through the corner any faster but it made me feel more confident for some reason. Maybe it just promoted a better line or something.

I think you're on to something there Skel.

But I would say there's difference between "hanging off" and "shifting weight".

Personally I cannot just stay "plopped in the middle of my seat" (something to do with ADHD I imagine).
I'm always shifting around when road riding to load the pegs, getting into a position to pick the bike up on the corner exit, keeping the bike more upright, blah blah blah.
I could probably sit on the seat and ride just as well but it just doesn’t feel safe to me.

And like Jim2 said (3. Do not use the handle bars as gym equipment. They're for steering not hanging on to.) A lot of these movements are to do with allowing me to keep my contact with the handlebars just for steering, controls input and feedback.

"Hanging off" as I would describe it is a racetrack only tool IMO. To achieve the desired effect of hanging off requires the rider to have their weight a good distance from the centreline of the bike which is fine if you can be that committed (like racers can be) but it can limit your control options if things don't go to plan.

[skelstar]

Yeah 'shifting weight'.

Had a mate video me (from in front) going up the Takas a few weeks ago. While I was riding I was thinking that it was going to look ridiculous me jumping around on the bike so much. Truth is, in the video you hardly noticed, but more importantly my HEAD DIDN'T MOVE!

Have since made a conscious effort to move my upper body when I shift my weight. I find in the more aggressive maneuvers, that touching the tank with my elbow on the 'uphill' side helps.

[McDuck]

I own a Katana like his. The pegs don't touch down until you've fallen off.

Why would you need to shift your weight on it on the road?

It has its place for sure, but until he starts riding the 650 it isn't going to be obvious.

Would me being very bigish change anything? (BTW is your kat a 80s one or a 90s one?)

[pritch]

try and kiss your wing mirrors as someone on here put it a while back.

The idea is to have your head near the mirror toward the inside of the turn.
If you look at the racers, like my current avatar (that's Rossi by the way, not me), that's what you should be trying for.

Most people who are trying to get their knee down do it completely wrong, they have their head and torso totally over the wrong side of the bike (kissing the wrong mirror.) They are just swivelling their hips and pushing the bike down. You shouldn't have to look far to find pics demonstrating that on KB.

It occurs to me that if you practice the correct form, sooner or later your knee may make contact with the ground. If you set out with the aim of getting your knee down, you will almost certainly be doing it wrong.

But hey! look at size of my chicken strips...

[007XX]

... try and kiss your wing mirrors as someone on here put it a while back.

That would be my lovely teacher master DMNTD. It's exactly what he told me to do on the 23rd of December when I did my first track day, and it made a world of difference

However, I am not an aggressive enough rider on the road to shift my bum, but it was a world of good on the track...

And the "kiss the mirrors" advice worked on the track and on the road btw.

[vifferman]

The idea is to have your head near the mirror toward the inside of the turn.
If you look at the racers, like my current avatar (that's Rossi by the way, not me), that's what you should be trying for.

Does Rossi have special invisible mirrors? :spudwhat:
Yeah, lead with your chin.

[discotex]

That would be my lovely teacher master DMNTD. It's exactly what he told me to do on the 23rd of December when I did my first track day, and it made a world of difference

However, I am not an aggressive enough rider on the road to shift my bum, but it was a world of good on the track...

And the "kiss the mirrors" advice worked on the track and on the road btw.

Yep I find moving my upper body to the inside of the bike much more predictable for 99% of corners than getting my arse over. That said if I know the road and the corner and plan to nail it through a corner I'll shift my butt.

unfortunately this does nothing for speed / cornering. it might feel good but it's just you - you're not performing any better.

I think you misunderstood what Keith Code is saying in that article you were talking about. He's talking purely about what leans the bike over and yes, countersteering is the only way you will get a bike to lean over.

What Mcduck5n is asking about is in addition to countersteering. Moving your weight inside to the inside allows you to corner sharper or the same sharpness with more speed with the same amount of lean angle (of which there is a limit).

I'll try to explain it but it's hard without pics.

Say you're about to go around a 55km/h corner. From previous experience you know that you always touch your pegs down if you take it at 90km. If you then take the same corner hanging off the inside of the bike you will be able to go faster than 90km/h before your pegs touch down. Conversely if you lean to the outside you will touch your pegs down earlier.

To be honest with the small amount of ground clearance on crusiers I'm surprised it's the sprots bikers hanging off

Anyway - this is all someones else's logic. and no i didn't bring names, dates or numbesr with me. so it's probably all shit. who cares, it's late.

You should bring names. Keith Code knows his shit and reading Twist of the Wrist massively improved my understanding of motorcycle dynamics and therefore improved my riding. I highly suggest you read it. Only $32 at fishpond.

[James Deuce]

Would me being very bigish change anything? (BTW is your kat a 80s one or a 90s one?)

No. Provided you move smoothly and hover over the seat you'll have no dramas. Mine is a 90s Kat.

I've yet to see a compelling argument for hanging off on the road. Moving a couple of inches in the seat if the corner tightens up, yes. Making sure your body weight is on the inside of the bike in a corner (pointing your shoulder at the apex will do this for you unconciously), yes. Hanging off like a peat monkey in search of a shot of Laphroaig, no.

Read this:

http://www.canyonchasers.net/reference/the_pace.php

This guy can ride rings around anyone on KB.

[ital916]

I didn't know about weighting the pegs? SO when say taking a 55km/h corner at 90km/h lol you would shift your weight left, kiss the left mirror and weight the right peg...how does wieghting the peg physically work?

[jrandom]

This guy can ride rings around anyone on KB.

He sounds like a typical American blowhard. Fat and loud and not nearly as fast and/or intelligent as he thinks he is.

...

I wrote that, and then thought, don't pre-judge, go check his credentials. So I googled him, and learned that he won a few no-name club races 17 years ago and has been a bike journo ever since.

Colour me unsurprised.

[McDuck]

One of the benefits i found was with my size i could move around more and reduce any discomfort form being squashed on a small bike.

[buellbabe]

Very interesting read...This whole weight transfer/shift thing...surely its an instinctual thing that should come naturally to anyone who has been riding enuf years? I'm not talking about trying to get yr knee down but just normal cornering...

I don't hang off the side of my bike but I do shift my weight to suit what I want the bike to do. I don't consciously think about it, its just something that my body does naturally.

[007XX]

Yep I find moving my upper body to the inside of the bike much more predictable for 99% of corners than getting my arse over. That said if I know the road and the corner and plan to nail it through a corner I'll shift my butt.
.

Exactly...so between that and a little coutersteering thrown in the mix, my confidence and ability increased enormously on the day, and for the following rides (between Auckland and Wanganui for example). I can now "shadow" 007XY in the corners when I used to fall back due to throttling down in fear I couldn't take the corner unless I powered down.

It's an awesome feeling being in control and gliding around the corners