Perception Of Lean Angle

[bond_yzf]

been out today practising my level 1 stuff and i stumbled across a very quiet roundabout so thought i would work on my body position.....

 

what im finding strange is that i get to a certain lean angle and i physically cannot increase my lean angle anymore, it feels like my head is 2" of the tarmac which i know its not by pics from my level 1.

 

sorry to be a bit vague but dont know how else to explain it, feels like im cranked right over but im not my toe sliders arnt even touching down

[bond_yzf]

i think tbh im scared shitless that it goes from underneath me i cannot tell how far im over or how much im hanging off the bike

[Steve Rutter]

I was feeling the same until I did my first TD on my new bike, pushing past my self-imposed limits eventually resulted in the eureka knee-down moment. An instructor being on hand with me for the day helped a lot there too.

 

I've read that the human body has a built-in balance indicator and when it detects you're leaning beyond around 37 degrees, you think you're falling. A bike will lean quite a bit beyond this level though and it's a sensation you have to adjust to.

 

All that said, I can't do it out on the road and need a track to feel comfortable leaning that far. Your body position should be an off-track check done during level 2, so you'll know then whether you've got it right or not.

[Dark Suzuki]

what can help is try and keep your head as level as possible through the turn. small amounts of lean angle can feel like lots if your head isn't level. by doing this it will give you a better perception of actual lean and as opposed to leaning your head over as well.

[fritzdacat]

I find it easier to increase lean angle beyond a certain level when I pull at the outside handlebar instead of pushing the inside handlebar.

[Crash106]

I find I can lean over more on the street when I:

 

1. 
    
   
2. Look well into the turn, and
   
3. Only "lean" in very slow corners.
    
   

Yes, I know we all lean in all corners, but you know what I mean. There is no sense in me trying to touch a knee in a long swoopy 45 mph curve. I would need to go 90 to touch a knee on a curve like that, and I certainly don't ride like that on the street. At the same time, I can make a right turn going 20 and get a nice, playful lean going with little danger of a slide or severe injury.

 

If that doesn't do it for you, remember this the further you lean over, the less distance you have to fall.

[faffi]

Kenny Roberts the older always said it's the slow corners that will get you. Like you, though, I am usually more comfy throwing sparks around sub-60 corners than around very fast corners as I also solely ride on the road. However, with a very, very stable bike I have been scraping bits and sliding tyres at 120 mph and public roads when I was a lot younger and even more stupid than today.

 

Mostly, though, my discomfort towards high speed is that things happen in a hurry and it's difficult to read the road quickly enough.

[johnnyrod]

Tricky one, as Steve says, a track day is good to help you undestand the bike, as you go round the same bend a million times. Also try poking your toe out - put the ball of your foot on the inside peg and point your toe out and down, it'll catch the ground at some point and you'll strat to get an idea how far down you are.