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Getting Locked On To The Tank


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Since doing all 4 levels in the USA last year, i have struggled with my lock on to the tank, and therefore proper steering. I had a bit of a eureka moment last weekend when i spoke to Bullet at Jerez, and tried a different bike.

 

So, initially i did CSS on the S1000RR, and i found it very difficult to get connected to the bike properly. I really struggled to understand the pivot steering/quick turn/lock on drills because of it. When i got home i rode my new bike, a cross plane crank R1, and had similiar difficulties. It was only at the weekend that i spoke to Bullett about my body position and then rode my friends cbr600 and something clicked. On the cbr, i could push my knee upwards into the cut out of the tank, and then take all my weight off my arms. On my R1 (and the S1000RR) when i push my knee up, my leathers slide up the stomp grip, and i dont get a positive connection. Infact, my leathers have worn out the seam from sliding over the stomp grips on my bike, so i dont think i'm not getting this from lack of trying.

 

After a conversation with Bullet, i tried hanging off less, and this helped, but didnt alleviate the problem entirely. On the cbr, i could hang off as much as i liked and still get a positive connection with the tank.

 

 

So, i'm looking for ideas on how to solve this issue, and also how you guys feel on your S1000RR's and R1's. I'm thinking about modifying the shape of the tank with fiberglass, or getting grippier fabric stitched into the inside of my leathers.

 

 

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I have some suggestions that are reasonably inexpensive to try:

 

1) Could you use more stomp grip to give you some grip with your inner thigh? I'm short and on one of my bikes my knee did not reach the tank cutout. So I put stomp grip where my leg DID contact the bike, which was about halfway between my hip and knee, and that helped.

 

2) Do you have a good heel guard that you can use to get some grip with your heel? That can make a surprising amount of difference.

 

3) There is some roll-on stuff available for horse riding called Saddle Stick or something similar, it is made to help slick leather show boots grip better on saddle leather. It can help make your leathers grippier and does not hurt the leather. It's clear, like a type of wax, and very inexpensive.

 

4) Velcro.

 

(ok, kidding on the last one)

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stomp grip is in the right area, it covers quite a large area of my leathers, it just seems to be at the wrong angle due to the tank.

 

The heel guard is carbon, and quite flexy, i'll look into getting something more substantial

 

Will look into saddle stick. I need to get the leathers repaired anyway, so will ask repaired if they have different grades of leather to stitch in.

 

Have already considered velcro (not kidding :D )

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I found my S1000RR was perfect for locking onto, it had the added advantage that the side of the tank at the top was perfectly shaped for locking my forearm and elbow into as well, so I could use that as another anchor point. Not sure really how my GSXR 1000 compares in that respect. Unless you can get hold of a different shaped tank, it could get to the stage where another bike might be the answer? From looking at a few, it seems that Ducati have really nailed the shape of the tank cutouts.

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For some reason your diagram wasn't loading properly for me, but I went searching for some images of the new R1 and from what I can see the tank does look a bit tricky... as if it just tapers from the bottom to the top with no cutouts? At least they really don't stand out in photos...

 

If you can't move your rearsets to adjust your knee position, maybe worth considering adding a little bit of a foam stopper (or similar) above your knee position to give you something to lock into? Or can you play around with your body position, maybe moving where you sit to give your knee a better angle to 'point' into the tank?

 

That's a strange one though. Never noticed that on the R1 before, seems like a really strange way to build a tank!

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Hotfoot and others' suggestions might have solved your problem already. You might want to check your pants too. If it is too loose, it will affect anchoring the tank (tip from Cobie).

Hope you are not wearing a size 34 when 30 fits well. :D

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  • 4 months later...

just coming back to this. I'm still struggling. I've had grippy material stitched to my leathers which helped a wee bit, but i rode my friends CBR600 and its night and day better.

 

I was watching Crutchlow in the moto gp today and he has virtually no contact with his outside foot on the peg. I dont know how he can do it without hanging off the inside bar. Short of selling the R1 and buying a CBr600, i'm kinda stuck

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I was watching Crutchlow in the moto gp today and he has virtually no contact with his outside foot on the peg. I dont know how he can do it without hanging off the inside bar. Short of selling the R1 and buying a CBr600, i'm kinda stuck

 

Pro Racers are able to hang off without any significant "lock on" due to the ammount of G force they carry in the corner. Consider If your carrying 1 G of cornering load there is just as much force holding you on the bike horizontaly mid corner as there is when your sitting on the bike fully upright.

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I know what you mean about being locked into the tank. I had a 06 CBR600 and now I have a 07 675 race bike. It felt really different then my CBR, the CBR felt very natural for me to lock into but the Triumph is taking a little bit of extra effort. However every bike has it's pros and cons. For me the adjustment to getting used to the 675 totally outweighs going back to a CBR. Although my CBR had vortex adjustable rear sets and the Triumph has fixed position GP rear sets so that makes a big difference too.

 

Seems like you either need a custom tank (which I have heard of people doing) or consider a different bike. In the end it doesn't matter how fast the bike is, it's how fast the rider can be on the bike. If your not confident in your positioning on the bike you wont be able to push all the way.

 

One thing I didn't see mentioned was a different seat? What kind of seat is on the bike? Maybe a thinner seat will allow you to keep your legs lower and grip more on the tank? Not sure if this would really help or not but just an idea because I know on my 675 the seat sits up a good 1/2 inch then my CBR did because the seat is thicker plus in the back the seat is actually raised off of the rear subframe.

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I was watching Crutchlow in the moto gp today and he has virtually no contact with his outside foot on the peg. I dont know how he can do it without hanging off the inside bar. Short of selling the R1 and buying a CBr600, i'm kinda stuck

 

It's really interesting watching pro racers, especially those guys in GP. While it does show what is possible at the highest level, it does not necessarily mean that it is something that is beneficial to us "regular" riders, or that it's something we should even try to imitate.

 

If I recall correctly, someone on the forum here (was that you, T-McKeen?) mentioned that Crutchlow rides that way simply to overcome setup limitations of the bike. He has said that he is too short to have his outside foot on the 'peg when cornering (since he leans so far off the inside I suppose). So we can guess that he would actually prefer to have his foot on both 'pegs, that surely would give him more control. What it does show is those riders amazing ability to ride around those kind of setup limitations...

 

While it may not be a good idea to try and imitate having your outside foot off the 'peg mid-corner, I think it is very beneficial to be able to imitate the kind of adaptability that those riders show. What I mean is, if you can persist in trying to find a good body position on your current bike, and you eventually find it, that will give you great confidence knowing that you can get on any bike and be able to solve any body position issues.

 

I have never been in that situation myself, I can only imagine that it must be very frustrating... the only thing I can suggest is to think about the exact differences between your bike and the CBR600. What do you need to achieve the same feel or body position on your own bike? Whether it be bike modifications or dramatic body position changes. I would look at all the geometry like footpeg-seat distance, seat-to-handlebar, handlebar-to-seat etc. Although you have probably already done all of that... it's a tough one, I don't know what else to suggest!

 

 

 

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I was watching Crutchlow in the moto gp today and he has virtually no contact with his outside foot on the peg. I dont know how he can do it without hanging off the inside bar. Short of selling the R1 and buying a CBr600, i'm kinda stuck

 

It's really interesting watching pro racers, especially those guys in GP. While it does show what is possible at the highest level, it does not necessarily mean that it is something that is beneficial to us "regular" riders, or that it's something we should even try to imitate.

 

If I recall correctly, someone on the forum here (was that you, T-McKeen?) mentioned that Crutchlow rides that way simply to overcome setup limitations of the bike. He has said that he is too short to have his outside foot on the 'peg when cornering (since he leans so far off the inside I suppose). So we can guess that he would actually prefer to have his foot on both 'pegs, that surely would give him more control. What it does show is those riders amazing ability to ride around those kind of setup limitations...

 

While it may not be a good idea to try and imitate having your outside foot off the 'peg mid-corner, I think it is very beneficial to be able to imitate the kind of adaptability that those riders show. What I mean is, if you can persist in trying to find a good body position on your current bike, and you eventually find it, that will give you great confidence knowing that you can get on any bike and be able to solve any body position issues.

 

I have never been in that situation myself, I can only imagine that it must be very frustrating... the only thing I can suggest is to think about the exact differences between your bike and the CBR600. What do you need to achieve the same feel or body position on your own bike? Whether it be bike modifications or dramatic body position changes. I would look at all the geometry like footpeg-seat distance, seat-to-handlebar, handlebar-to-seat etc. Although you have probably already done all of that... it's a tough one, I don't know what else to suggest!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Would a different seat not work? I am curious because I am thinking of trying it myself.

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If I recall correctly, someone on the forum here (was that you, T-McKeen?) mentioned that Crutchlow rides that way simply to overcome setup limitations of the bike. He has said that he is too short to have his outside foot on the 'peg when cornering (since he leans so far off the inside I suppose).

 

Yes that was something that I had mentioned in another thread I believe, and I have tracked down the source of the information, Per RRW September 2012 Issue Page 39, in the MotoGP notes inset Cal claims the reason he can't touch the outside footpeg at full lean is "My Legs are too short!", they also mention that this was similar to Randy Mamola on the NS500, but that is before my time cool.gif

 

 

 

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I'm 6'3" so that ain't a problem for me. :D

 

I've been trying to think of a way to get over this that doesn't involve pushing up, and the only thing I can think of is pushing in the way, or twisting my hips round to face in to the corner more (as that will force my outside knee into the tank). Has anybody had to do that rather than push up into the cut out?? A downside of that is that the inner thigh muscles arent as strong as your quads. will try it on Friday and report back

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