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Keith Code

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Keith Code last won the day on March 22

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  1. I can appreciate the idea of watching top riders ride and figuring out what to do for your own riding. The only problem with that, I've found, is I still cannot ride like Marc Marquez or my all time hero, Valentino Rossi. But, when it comes to foot position there are some basics with the human body and physics that to apply. This may be contrary to or agree with some, either way, they are basic. When we move from side to side or forward and backwards, the ball of the foot is always our first point of contact unless you are doing it VERY SLOWLY. Flat footed moves require anyone to put their whole foot down and then transfer most of their weight onto it and the entire body is swaying side to side. Try it and see what I mean. Moving off the ball of the foot, we stay in balance and distribute our weight more evenly and we do NOT have to swing our body mass over and we do NOT have to change our balance point for the entire body. Does that mean the arch and heel methods are wrong, NO, it does not but it does point out which is the most efficient, strongest, most in balance way of moving our entire body. OK, what does that have to do with riding, pretty much the same forces apply to it because we are also lightening up our torsos, off the seat or lighter in it, in order to move relatively quickly as we must do in any series corners, like esses. Using the ball of the foot also gives anyone the most powerful lift position using the calf muscle. So what? Well, if you are using the method of locking your outside leg into the tank by wedging your inner thigh into it with an up press at a slight angle to engage it, which anyone can do, you have the most powerful engagement possible with a body. That's an advantage. Rather than trying to squeeze the tank, scissors style, where you do not have nearly as much power, your legs will get very tired, very quickly. Not to say we don't use that, we do, just enough to get engagement on the tank and YES grip material, as there is on many Moto GP bikes these days, helps. They often use some clear or slightly milky grippy plastic stuff. But what's the point in locking onto the bike to begin with? Using whatever method, locking onto the tank as your stable point on the bike has other advantages which become more difficult using the arch or any other part of the foot which lessens the "calf power" from the ball, being your base. Additionally, locking onto the tank is in line with the center of mass of the bike and the rider. That's an advantage because it is the part of the bike that moves the least, no matter what the bike is doing, as opposed to, for example, using the bars as a stable support point for your body mass. That alone is a huge benefit, you aren't being thrown around by the bike's movements. In addition to that, having your leg locked onto/into the tank in that fashion is the most stable position for your body's mass because the leg is connected to the pelvis and your body's center of mass is located in the cradle of your pelvis. So, your balance is maximized, your are the most agile, most powerful and the most relaxed you can possibly be while still maintaining your position and stability on the bike. Any sport or fighting discipline has that as the most basic goal for mobility, strength, balance, control, movement capability. And, aside from all of that, you can be the most relaxed when your core center of mass is stable. Resting your legs when you aren't using them, like the straightaways, is fine. That you have to move your feet is part of the game of cornering, no doubt about that. No doubt about it keeping the feet off the ground dragging holes in your pricey boots. No doubt that you aren't having to stabilize yourself by some other less efficient method. Having said all of that, which is inarguable, you might point out that Mick Dohan, musti time world champion, didn't have the body position that nearly every other rider has, these days. Also, you might also consider that GP bikes are, usually, more adjustable than your average street based bike and can be adjusted for different riders. Back a few years, one of my students had the opportunity to ride Danny Pedrosa's Honda Moto GP bike which is set up for a rider who is I believe 5'1" and my rider is 6'. He said it was nearly unrideable for him. All things considered, the base line for body position that is my definition is: Harmony with the motorcycle, freedom of movement on it and precision control over it, with the minimum necessary effort. Comments welcome. Keith
  2. E C; Thanks for the report, too bad it was wet. Next time 🙂
  3. On to something valuable is good, that's the way its been going since I started coaching way the hell back in 1976 🙂
  4. El Colibri; First off, thanks for trying it out and comparing it with the other technique you'd done before at the school. That gives your observations more credibility for me. Yes please, do come back after your COTA tarck day and let me know but I'm willing to wager that if you can get it to work on the street, it'll that much easier there and the COTA apex 'curbing' is already pretty friendly. Keith
  5. This thread started me thinking. Dangerous, I know. Some riders, very good ones, claim they just know where the tires are and can hit a tight apex. I can't but I'm happy for them. Knee to curb is workable, or, more descriptively, Knee Over Curb. 9 out of 10 students reap substantial improvements with that drill. AS Hofoot said, she can't see the tank on her small bike and if body position is good, with head low and turned in to the corner, it may be similar on a big bike. The more "GP" the body position the less tank you'll see. One other thing just struck me as a possible device for estimating the location of the tires in a corner. It's the position of your outside foot. Look at Yakaru's shot at Streets, or any shot in the thread, the outside foot is very close to being perfectly over the rear contact patch, not quite directly over it but that would give you a safety margin if it was a help. I say "if it was a help" because I have no idea if this would work for anyone. You could call it a research project at this point and I hope to try it out for myself as well. Keith
  6. Lebedo; I wasn't worried about you stealing my stuff, everything in the books and videos is for riders to improve themselves, if you see better ways to instruct from the books and videos and you see it helping your students, I'm happy about that. The bike should not stand up once pressure is released after the counter-steering pressure is applied. If the rider is crossed up as you illustrate in the photo then it WILL have the tendency to stand up. This is possible. Also, riders often restrain the bars with the opposite hand e.g., press the right bar to turn right but their left arm is stiff holding on to the left bar. They could be pushing or pulling on the left bar. If they are pushing on it the bike will stand up. When you instruct counter-steering you always look at both arms. The negative effects on handling from being too tight on the bars is well covered in" A Twist of the Wrist II" Keith
  7. Where and for what rider training organization do you instruct? I'm asking to get an idea of what the purpose of the training is that is offered. Your questions can be answered I just want to get some background on your instructing.
  8. Lots of good data from some of you and especially Hotfoot’s info. Here’s just a bit more on the subject of Pivot Steering. May be repetitive of some data already written but look it over an do the experiment at the end for fun. My statement in Twist II about getting your weight closer to the center of mass or center of gravity by weighting the pegs rather than the seat and any implication that it alters the center of mass (COM) or center of gravity (COG) was, or helps in any way is, for lack of a better words, junk, incorrect, wrong. Weight in the seat or on the pegs does not change the COG of you or the bike, at all. If you could move your body's mass lower than the seat or tank, it would but it has to be the mass changing position, not where the mass is connected to the bike. Putting more weight on one or another peg is only changing its connection point. If you weight one peg you will go lighter in the seat and un-weight the other peg some. A very slight weight imbalance may occur but it has little, or no, effect on the bike’s direction. When a bad passenger leans the “wrong” way, the rider must compensate by leaning the bike over more to stay on line. The COG of the passenger becomes offset from the bike’s COG and it must be leaned more to balance out the offset-from-center COG. The same goes for riders who hang their bum way off but leave their torsos crossed up, on the other side of the bikes center line. The benefit of the bum off the one side is neutralized by the torso mass being crossed to the other side or staying in the middle. In a straight line, moving your body’s mass over to the side, as in preparing the hung off riding position, creates a weight and COG imbalance. The bike veers toward the hung off side’s direction, slightly, not enough to turn into any corner on a race track at speed but does work on the road in some sweeping corners–at road speeds. Pivot steering, as many have pointed out, has nothing to do with the weight on the outside peg. The peg is used as a push–off/pivot point. The weight on it has no measurable effect on the bikes balance. The thigh/knee are driven up and into the tank from the peg by doing a ‘calf raise’, pivoting off the peg. For pressing, or for pull-plus-press steering, there is no more stable or stronger body position than the Pivot Steering technique. This is easily demonstrated. Have a friend hold a small bathroom scale flat up against the wall. Stand in front of it and line up your right arm with the scale. Plant both feet solidly about footpeg width, about 2 feet from the wall. Press on the scale with your right palm as hard as you can. Get the reading. With feet in the same position, shift all your weight onto the right foot and then press as hard as you can on the scale with the right hand again. Get the reading. Finally, pivot all your weight from your left foot and press on the scale. The last will be the highest reading by a substantial margin. That is one of the benefits of Pivot Steering, maximum strength which also tells you it is the most stable body position possible for counter steering. The weighting of pegs in off road conditions was mentioned for traversing across slanted ground. In that scenario, the rider’s body mass also changes position in order to weight the peg and that shifts the combined COG to their benefit.
  9. I was so proud of that shot, no one had ever showed how much distortion there was on setting down a wheelie of angle. There's so much going on that we still don't fully understand.
  10. Look again. He rolls it off to get it pointed up the hill to #4 right before and just after the second apex. The uphill magnifies the slight roll off to bring the bike around and minimize lean on the exit and his getting max gas towards #4. If you look closely, the speed at the second apex goes down, only 1 mph, but that's enough to get it pointed. At least for him 🙂 In addition, that slight roll off transfers weight to the front allowing the bike to turn a tighter arc at that point. KC
  11. First off, how do you define "maintenance throttle"? Brake release is, as Hotfoot pointed out, corner specific. What the 2 second brake release is, is an average, some longer, some shorter time. There are a few, but not many, corners where it would take a whole 2 seconds to go from upright to full lean. If you are thinking about then to get back to the gas, that's simple, as soon as the bike is pointed to the apex you intend to hit. If you can get the bike turned, and aimed there, very quickly you now have the opportunity to get back to gas. That could be very early on, well before where you kiss your apex--for some corners. What that tells us is the quicker the steering is initiated (from full upright to your max lean) the earlier you are releasing the brake. Why? The bike is pointed where you want it to go, no reason to spend more time waiting for it to slow (coasting) you are welcome to get back to gas and stabilize the bike with your great throttle control. Rule of thumb would be: The quicker you steer, the earlier the release. The other rule of thumb you might consider is: You always trail out the brake whether you are finishing it fully upright or as you lean into the corner. Why? Because your opportunity to get your entry speed right where you want it is easier when you take the time to taper off the brakes rather than just dumping the brake lever quickly. As an aside, there are definitely corners where you wouldn't call how you brake "trail braking". Rainey corner at Laguna Seca is a good example. You fly int the entry area and need to scrub off say 5 to 10 mph. The brake action is a simple in and out squeeze and release, not abrupt on either end but not long either. We have video with data showing a very good rider who I'd call a Quick Turn Artist, getting the bike point very early and only losing 1 mph between brake off and gas on and that 1 mph loss was well before the apex. Keith
  12. No Vic; The drills are along the lines of getting the best positioning on the bike with what you have to work with, in our case, the S1000RRs. We do also have foot pegs that we designed which are far more comfortable and stable than standard ones on any sport bike. KC
  13. No patent, patents are a PITA. All they really give you is the right to hire a lawyer to defend your patent. Kind of cynical 🙂 It's just an idea I've had for many years. A good coach can help adjust a rider to their bike which mostly means doing the best with what you have and what you can adjust. I spent two days with Joe Roberts last Fall playing around with foot peg positions, one day in the garage and one day at the track. In the end, pretty much everyone has to deal with some degree of compromise. There are some basic drills we've developed to find optimum seating position and peg placement. It's very interesting how some very subtle changes can make a huge difference in rider comfort and stability.
  14. Thank you. This is an area we are still researching and figuring out. We've developed quite a few body position drills for both on and off track (skid pad) exercises. It still mazes me that something that looks so simple--getting into good body position habits--can have so many points of resistance. I'd love to have a body position bike where every dimension of it could be adjusted: where the seat, tank, pegs, bars could be configured any way you would want them. For example, if the tank could be lengthened, shortened, widened or narrowed, raised and lowered, along with the other components, eventually you would come up with a bike that fit you perfectly and allowed real freedom of movement and optimum control with the least possible effort. I can dream, can't I 🙂
  15. Speed and Direction When riders say they would like to increase their confidence and control, what do they mean? Aside from pleasing the eye and entertaining discussions about them, all motorcycles have the same six controls–throttle, front brake, rear brake, clutch, gear lever and handle bars. Those six controls are how we change or maintain the speed and the direction of the bike. And, that is all they do and it is all you do while riding. Good control amounts to correctly choosing where and how much you change the speed and direction of the bike. Likewise, any and all decisions you make are based on changing or maintaining speed and direction. The bike is more than likely capable of performing well but in those moments of confidence shattering doubt, the rider isn’t. All dramatic situations on any motorcycle have been and always will be based on the rider's inability to correctly change or maintain its speed or direction. Aside from mechanical failures there are no other "situations". Someone could argue that point: “What about hitting an on or off ramp diesel spill; that doesn’t fit the maxim above?” I’d have to agree. However, the majority of motorcycle accidents these days are single vehicle, loss of control in a corner, crashes–not ones which no one can control. Speed and direction changes can be limited by the individual machine's controllability factors. Its handling of the road's surface and potential for stability are based on its suspension and frame configuration; its throttle response; gearing and braking characteristics and the tires' compatibility with all of the above plus electronic intervention that can alter your direct control over them such as ABS and traction control. Problems in controllability aren't bad. They are the road signs which have lead designers and engineers towards machine improvement from the beginning. For example, it hardly matters whether suspension was first conceived to achieve better traction on bumpy roads or to provide a smoother ride to eliminate the need for kidney belts. Both were situations that caused problems. Suspension did result in a whole new range of potentials for controlling speed and direction and a significantly more hospitable machine for rider comfort. Any rider's true skill level can only be measured by his ability to determine exactly WHERE to change or maintain speed and direction and execute the right AMOUNT of each. There are no other components to skill. While riding, the combinations of speed and direction inputs result in arriving somewhere: for example staying in your lane or using a late apex to handle a decreasing radius corner. Confidence is achieved when the rider is certain that the machine is going in the right direction and will arrive at a predictable location, at the right speed. You might need to be stopped or to swerve before hitting a car which pulled out, or it could be exiting the banking at Daytona wide open at the top of 6th gear doing 175 mph pointed down the straight––not at the wall. It makes no difference, both are determined by where and how much the rider changed or maintained their speed and direction. The ability of a rider to determine speed and direction changes relies solely on the amount of space they have to work with. This is the determining factor for where to change and how much to change them. Judgment could be defined as: fitting the right degree of speed and/or direction change into the amount of available space in order to arrive or not arrive (like missing a pot hole) somewhere. This leads us into the area of the rider’s visual aptitude. On a practical level, always having a destination plotted out in front is wise. The five faults that stand in your way are target fixating on something, compulsive over-scanning, tunneled vision, looking too close or too far ahead. Your visual skill is based on how many of those five are absent– anytime and anywhere you ride. Becoming aware of the five and gaining control over them WILL lead to improvement.
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