Stroker Posted April 19, 2014 Report Share Posted April 19, 2014 I was watching this race - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UkAKN1I-784 Watching Doohan....it strikes me that his body position is a bit off...is he twisting a bit on the bike because he is hanging off so much? Or is it just me? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dkk Posted April 19, 2014 Report Share Posted April 19, 2014 What an epic race that was! (BTW the MotoGP video pass is almost worth it just for the access to all those classic races). Yeah Doohan had a fairly "unique" style. :-) Obviously worked for him though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YellowDuck Posted April 20, 2014 Report Share Posted April 20, 2014 You ask me, they're all a bit "crossed up" by today's standards. Riding style fashions come and go, and those guys all cut their teeth on bikes that were nothing like today's racing machinery, and with pretty crummy tires as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stroker Posted April 20, 2014 Author Report Share Posted April 20, 2014 Correct, i saw the first lap and thought it was only Doohan but then i saw different riders at different points being crossed up, with their lower body twisting around the tank a bit... Maybe the coaches can elaborate on this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sifubs Posted April 20, 2014 Report Share Posted April 20, 2014 Baylis had a similar style but not as crossed up as Doohan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
faffi Posted April 20, 2014 Report Share Posted April 20, 2014 Keith Code said something about Doohan being the only rider who could ride crossed up and barely ever fall off. Over the years, he reduced his crossed up position to the point of virtually nothing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmckeen Posted April 21, 2014 Report Share Posted April 21, 2014 I believe in that era due to the unpredictable nature of the 500cc 2 stroke engines that body position was beneficial to help save a possible highside Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stroker Posted April 21, 2014 Author Report Share Posted April 21, 2014 How could you save a highside with that position? Being lower meant it was more difficult for the bike to throw you off? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
faffi Posted April 21, 2014 Report Share Posted April 21, 2014 Being lower meant you would get flying that much higher when you got thrown since you could be accelerated over a much longer distance. Riding with the torso high was very common back then, both for the common belief it was good to avoid highsides/reduce their nastiness and because it generally seemed to be the norm. Look at old pictures and films, and the majority rode like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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