2 Questions

[dmj120]

1. A couple weeks ago I was watching MotoGP when Stoner tucked the front (halfway + through the turn) on a long, fast sweeper. Why?? Once leaned over slow push and release then roll-on. Don't understand how the front washes out after completing most of the turn.

 

2. Staying loose while riding = pretty easy; loose while racing... huh??? Predicated on the Spies' Yamaha commercial "..with you tongue through the front wheel and barely hanging on..." Is there some sort of technique to stay loose when you're pushing so hard? I think it normal to tighten-up when you're giving it everything you've got, you're 100% determined and your adrenaline is flowing.

....I'm getting pretty light on the bars, twisting my hips and locking-in my lower body; at non-insane speeds. I'm wondering with that amount of intensity how someone could maintain such physical calmness.

[Bullet]

1. A couple weeks ago I was watching MotoGP when Stoner tucked the front (halfway + through the turn) on a long, fast sweeper. Why?? Once leaned over slow push and release then roll-on. Don't understand how the front washes out after completing most of the turn.

 

2. Staying loose while riding = pretty easy; loose while racing... huh??? Predicated on the Spies' Yamaha commercial "..with you tongue through the front wheel and barely hanging on..." Is there some sort of technique to stay loose when you're pushing so hard? I think it normal to tighten-up when you're giving it everything you've got, you're 100% determined and your adrenaline is flowing.

....I'm getting pretty light on the bars, twisting my hips and locking-in my lower body; at non-insane speeds. I'm wondering with that amount of intensity how someone could maintain such physical calmness.

 

 

In the UK, there was an interview somewhere, and Stoner was quoted as saying "I rolled off the gas and leaned it more to change the line". . . . Wonder why he crashed?

 

With respect to staying relaxed at 100%. Well, when you know how it should feel, as soon as you do feel yourself tense up you can resolve it. It's not easy for sure, but it's definitely an improvement. I often find myself when racing in the moment that I do the relax drill mid corner, and voila.

 

Bullet

 

Bullet

[dmj120]

 

In the UK, there was an interview somewhere, and Stoner was quoted as saying "I rolled off the gas and leaned it more to change the line". . . . Wonder why he crashed?

 

With respect to staying relaxed at 100%. Well, when you know how it should feel, as soon as you do feel yourself tense up you can resolve it. It's not easy for sure, but it's definitely an improvement. I often find myself when racing in the moment that I do the relax drill mid corner, and voila.

 

Bullet

 

Bullet

 

Thanks for the reply, Bullet. Never heard Stoner's interview - yeah, guess that does make sense

 

Guess the relaxing thing is part of the mental stamina aspect, huh

[the razor]

In the UK, there was an interview somewhere, and Stoner was quoted as saying "I rolled off the gas and leaned it more to change the line". . . . Wonder why he crashed?

 

With respect to staying relaxed at 100%. Well, when you know how it should feel, as soon as you do feel yourself tense up you can resolve it. It's not easy for sure, but it's definitely an improvement. I often find myself when racing in the moment that I do the relax drill mid corner, and voila.

 

Bullet

 

Bullet

 

Thanks for the reply, Bullet. Never heard Stoner's interview - yeah, guess that does make sense

 

Guess the relaxing thing is part of the mental stamina aspect, huh

 

Hello Fellows.

I have to second what bullet said. I have been practicing my level 1 skills.

Since I am more concious in relaxing when I make my turns and the way it feels. It is amazing when sometimes I do not and immediately my subconcious let me know and I relax (I think I have one sub.)

It is becoming a habit, when I am tense in a turn , I can detect it immediately.

Put it in another words. I do not feel my front end when I am relaxed. When I feel it is because I am getting tense. I just keep practicing and repeating my self in every turn relax, relax, relax, until it becomes the norm.

 

Keep it safe

55 AND STAY ALIVE

The razor.

[khp]

With respect to staying relaxed at 100%. Well, when you know how it should feel, as soon as you do feel yourself tense up you can resolve it. It's not easy for sure, but it's definitely an improvement. I often find myself when racing in the moment that I do the relax drill mid corner, and voila.

Guess the relaxing thing is part of the mental stamina aspect, huh

 

Surely it's about mental stamina, but also about NOT spending all of your mental capacity, so you have time to notice that you're tensing up, how the bike likes to wiggle, and the handlebars like to "wave" to you.

 

 

Kai

[Cobie Fair]

Pretty well known about Rossi and his heartrate compared to others. If his heartrate isn't out the roof, think he's working as hard as the other guys?

 

CF

[dmj120]

This must be synonymous with "the fast guys always look smooth and like they're not really trying." Logically, I can get my head around the above points, but -well- maybe it's that I'm still 'trying'. I've been trying to assymulate this issue with drumming... the looser your grip equals faster, more stamina and more control.

 

What exactly does the "handlebar wave" mean, Kai?

[faffi]

And yet the fast guys can wear out their boot soles in a weekend of racing and need to tape up their hands to stop them from bleeding

 

Colin Edwards is perhaps the smoothest, most elegant racer out there. He isn't winning. Part of it because he doesn't get the best bike, I'm sure, but I still doubt that he's the fastest rider in the class.

 

Tony Elias and Iannonne, the two fastest riders this season in Moto2, are very physical on their bikes. The same can be said about Crutchlow in WSBK.

 

EDIT: Having just read Code's piece on smooth, it appears that what looks smooth and relaxed doesn't actually have to be it and vice verse

[acebobby]

1. A couple weeks ago I was watching MotoGP when Stoner tucked the front (halfway + through the turn) on a long, fast sweeper. Why?? Once leaned over slow push and release then roll-on. Don't understand how the front washes out after completing most of the turn.

 

2. Staying loose while riding = pretty easy; loose while racing... huh??? Predicated on the Spies' Yamaha commercial "..with you tongue through the front wheel and barely hanging on..." Is there some sort of technique to stay loose when you're pushing so hard? I think it normal to tighten-up when you're giving it everything you've got, you're 100% determined and your adrenaline is flowing.

....I'm getting pretty light on the bars, twisting my hips and locking-in my lower body; at non-insane speeds. I'm wondering with that amount of intensity how someone could maintain such physical calmness.

 

 

In the UK, there was an interview somewhere, and Stoner was quoted as saying "I rolled off the gas and leaned it more to change the line". . . . Wonder why he crashed?

 

 

Bullet

 

Hi Bullet

I never heard the stoner interview, but that would seem to make his lowside crashes obvious, even to a mear mortal such as myself!

What confuses me is that this year ohlins have thrown more resources and development time at Stoner's setup than any rider in history even though every bike on the grid runs ohlins they couldn't get a setup that gave Casey confidence in the front end! Then onto Ducati, they developed a fairing with wings (look at the front of the desmo) that in theory loads the front end more, does it actually work, who knows but it has filtered onto Nicky's bike and will be on the customer bikes when they return to Europe, and will probably be making there way onto the 2012 1198 replacement. It seems he has had a lot of money spent on him from all angles to cure a problem that may now be just a chopped throttle!

 

Onto the relaxing thing, I think its easy to relax on your bike if you are confident that you and your bike is ok, Confidence is the key word here but think about it. What is confidence?

Some people think of it as gutsy or ballsy but thats not it, If you are confident you can drag your knee through a series of turns then thats how you ride those turns, you dont even give it a second thought, but if you think you could drag your knee through the turns but are not to sure then you will be entering those turns not quite so confident, and I bet not quite as relaxed as you could be! Another way of looking at it is this, imagine you are out on a session at your favourite track, lapping good, really enjoying yourself, feeling like you have never riden so well and suddenly you have a thought, did I torque up my front spindle bolt. Boom, in an instant you just lose confidence in your bike, what would happen to how relaxed you are now?

To use Casey as an example again, you can tell the difference in his and his bikes body language when he's riding with confidence, and he becomes unstopable until something happens to dent that confidence, he's on a confident roll right now and enjoying himself again and I bet if all goes smoothly he could easily win or at least get a podium in every race till the end of the season now!

 

Bobby

[khp]

What exactly does the "handlebar wave" mean, Kai?

It means what it reads - that my handlebars suddenly decided to do a waving motion in a 270 degree right hand turn.

I've detailed it in a post called "Thank You CSS, for not crashing".

 

Kai

[dmj120]

What exactly does the "handlebar wave" mean, Kai?

It means what it reads - that my handlebars suddenly decided to do a waving motion in a 270 degree right hand turn.

I've detailed it in a post called "Thank You CSS, for not crashing".

 

Kai

 

That's a nice write-up. Glad you made it through, Kai. I've never had that feeling; the closest I've came is feeling the front wanting to tuck.

 

I've had a few times that the 'chicken-wing' thing helped me to avoid a bad day-- but on the streets, not the track; ie noticed sandy and watery patches.... but I had the time to think of the relax drill and of the Twist 2 vid (how the bike reacts in the wet when leaned over scene).