Swivel Or Slide - Hanging Off

[Thor]

I continually read articles that describe hanging off as swivelling around your tank, as if it were a pivot point. For a left turn, you would swivel you left leg forward on the tank. This seems counter-intuitive to me, and sounds like you would be turning your upper body away from the turn.

 

For me, hanging off is an extension of getting as much of my body mass to the inside of the turn to decrease lean angle. I slide across the seat to the inside of the turn until my outside leg is hooked on the bike with my upper body and head position over the inside handgrip. This keeps me light on the bars and allows for a quick turning input. To transition to the next turn, I simply pull my body back onto the bike with my outside leg.

 

Am I missing somthing important here?

 

Thanks,

 

Thor

[Balistic]

Yes you are missing the blind following gene. I have the same affliction and have been managing my condition with trial error drills to great success.

 

There are a few more specific techniques to moving from one side to the other but the basic of staying square with the bike is one of the most important. I used to twist on the bike but that was when they all had Harley style tanks with nothing to hold onto.

Will

[stuman]

Thor, sounds like you have it right to me. I've read that same article about twisting around the tank and I don't agree with it at all. It sounds like your on the right track to me.

[rccline]

I hear a lot of discussion about moving shifting weight on the bike; weighting of pegs etc. to improve the c.g. of the bike+rider in the corner.

 

I'd like to hear some comments about a street riding technique which basically is a weight shift, rather than a repositioning. This was posted by David Baker on the BMW Sporttouring formum:

 

http://bmwsporttouring.com/ubbthreads/show...&o=31&fpart=all

 

Thanks.

 

Robert

[stuman]

That is a really good thread, the pics show a lot.

 

I think the main idea behind moving your weight on the street and track is basically the same. Your trying to move your weight lower and further to the inside of the corner so you don't have to lean your bike over as far. Whether you move your butt out of the seat or just move your upper body you?re still kind of doing the same thing. Your upper body has more mass anyway. I guess on the street it?s just easier to keep your butt in place and just move your upper body.

[rccline]

Thank you for the comment. I'm not moving my butt off center. But, simply following the advice to weight the ishium has helped me get the weight off the handlebars. I can't explain why, but it helps me keep the touch on the handle bars light, nor has it helped me work on setup speed. But, it does feel better. I don't have the feel for peg pressure.

 

I have been riding with cordura pants which don't grip the tank very well. Leather would be a better choice for gripping the tank.

 

Robert

[Thor]

The school sells pads you can put on your tank. If you don't have a feel for the pegs and wieghting, try hanging off on the street - even though you don't have to. Start by doing it in a straignt line to feel where the balance is so you don't hang on the bars. Once you start doing it in turns, you will get an exaggerated sence of what it feels like to weigh the inside peg heavily. As you corner speed increases you will be able to feel the transition from one peg to the other. This has worked for me, so maybe it might help. I think you are on the right track in keeping your weight off the bars. It has improved my riding considerably in the last few years.

[jmlfalco]

Hi Guys,

Sorry for bringing this up late. I just found this site, and it is great.

I have a slightly different take on the swivel around the tank, especially

after taking Kieth's course, and switching between a sports bike and a

standard.

 

When I swivel, I find that I move off the bike to the inside, but not as much,

and I move my body forward, and lower, which is what the BMW thread was

going for. This is especially important for standard drivers as the normal

position tends to be upright and back.

 

I certainly am no expert or racer, but it seems to work for me.

[Cookie]

One of the inherent problems with a Ducati 748/9*6/998 series is that the standard fuel tank i.e. not the re-profiled racing version, almost encourages you to pivot around it. Because of the relative narrowness of the bike it can carry amazing lean angles, but if your inside knee is against the bobywork rather than acting as a lean angle gauge it can end in tears

 

I always make sure that my hips are squarely across the bike in order to achieve this and I can personally recommend the Schools pads as a solution as well.