A$$ POSTURE?!

[KRAZYKAT]

so in da motorcycle safety course they told me to always have my ass seated centerly on da seat.but now i hear, and also see from some pictures,that when u go fast round corners,ur ass should b sorta hangin off da seat?and ur head should b bout where ur mirror is?do i understand this correctly?
i tried it out n it does kinda work.i guess if ur weight is to da inside of da corner,hangin off da bike,that the bike stays more upright,but still corners well.so, if da bike stays more upright that means u couold get more speed out of that corner.
am i kinda gettin this ass posture thing right??

[evil-eye]

lean angle

the position they showed u is for normal(to them)everyday street riding on a standard motorcycle.

on a sport bike,sport touring the further your a$$ is off the seat the less the bike has to lean in a corner. when you get your body off to the side off the bike you change the center of gravitty which forces the bike to go the way you are leaning

[Anonymous]

sounds like you knwo your ass pretty well and yes you correct about the ass and body postions hanging off the side of a bike lets it corner faster around corners to a degree but you still have to lean hence why the motogp guys damn near scrape there shoulders and elbows.

[KRAZYKAT]

so really leaning over is good.but when is too much? and whats this knee puck stuff? r u supposed to drag ur knee or keep it close to da bike?

[Junior]

Watch a motoGP race. You'll see.

[WildKat]

First make sure you know how to ride sitting properly in the seat before you start attempting a serious railing body position. Most everyday riding will not cause you to move your butt from normal riding position you learned in the course. You can lean pretty darn far without getting your butt off the seat and trying to drag a knee.

[paradoxmd]

You can lean pretty darn far without getting your butt off the seat and trying to drag a knee.

you can lean far enough without shifting your weight off the seat to still be able to scrape your foot on the road.

[md86]

But if you hang off , you can keep the bike more upright at the same speed , thus possibly saving your a$$ if you hit some crap mid-corner .

[KRAZYKAT]

WHATS A MOTO GP RACE?

[hellcamp]

WHATS A MOTO GP RACE?

[ZukiFred]

WHATS A MOTO GP RACE?

http://www.motogp.com/en/motogp/motogp_videos.htm?menu=videos

[tzortn]

How long have you been riding? It sounds like you are pretty new to it. If that is true do not worry about getting off of the seat. For now take it easy and make sure that you ride nice smooth lines. When you have that down you can worry about your body position..

At least that is my two cents.

[The CyberPoet]

I'll chip in here:

(A) Far more important than where your body is in relationship to the seat is the concept that the suspension is fairly settled when you start the turn. That means either staying where you are, or getting your body shifted over to where you want it to be before you start the turn, so you're not jerking your body over as you go into the turn.

(B) For newer riders, I teach them to stay on the seat, planted, and learn to simply swing their inside knee out about 20 - 40 degrees from where it normally is planted (inside means left knee on a left-turn, right knee on a right-turn). This both shifts some weight out (changing the center of gravity some) AND adds a bit of drag on the side of the bike where it will benefit. It's easier to learn to start here than to get your whole body off the seat, and you are far less likely to upset the suspension and screw-up (get banged up) as a result.

(C) If you watch race riders, they maximize their body position in correlation to the bike to maximize the speed they can go through a turn. These guys are literally shoving their whole bodies out from the bike to get an extra 10 mph through at turn -- and ripping through turns that you'd take at 40 mph max while doing 140 mph. The real world isn't a race track, and it is doubtful that you will (at least in the first few years of riding) push the bike hard enough that you actually need that mass-shift to stay within the traction limits of your tires -- most riders don't realize just how far they can lean a bike over and remain in-traction on good tires.
By comparison, European police riders stay upright with the bike and yet are acknowledged as being both incredibly fast and incredibly safe in the real-world in general (this is the same method I was taught as an instructor in Germany, although I will hang off occassionally if I really am pushing it to the max).

In a comparison test about six months ago, one of the Brit biker magazines took three riders to a track -- one former winning racer, a former police rider & instructor, and one standard street rider -- then turned them loose. The cop was within two seconds per lap of the pro, without sending his body out for the turns (the street rider was about 25 seconds down on both of them per lap at the start, about 14 seconds down on both of them at the end).

Finally:
In many states, it is illegal to move your butt off the seat. I know that the statutes here in Florida specifically require that you keep your butt on the seat (a wider seat makes it possible to shift and still stay on-seat).

Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet

[USCGC_Katana]

That is good info. as always...Thanks guys.

[KRAZYKAT]

I AGREE that is IS good info!