Body Position Issue

[ells]

I have always had a problem with getting into what I will term as a racers cornering body position. On the road this has not been an issue. However after taking up racing this is now becoming an issue. Last time out I can see I am getting right to the edge of my tyre.

Several people have picked up that I hardly move my backside off the bike but it feels awkward and it feels like I am hanging off a fair way. I got videod last time out and I can now see hat I am only moving a couple of inches for each corner. I am overweight with sho arms and legs which makes moving awkward.

Any suggestions for what I can do to the bike such as lower the seat, move the pegs etc that may help? Need to find a way to get my weight over so I can keep the bike as straight as possible.

Cheers

[bradvanhorn]

You only mention your lower body. Perhaps most important, what is your upper body doing? Are you locking-in on the tank with your leg(s)? Are your private parts bumping up against the tank? If you can post a few pictures, that I think would be very useful so we can better see your position.

[mblaster]

I dont know anything about anything. But I do know that getting off the bike requires a bit of athleticism. If you are packing extra lbs it would be very hard to move around from side to side in an agressive position. Sounds to me like you know what to do as far as riding goes. Take it from an old geezer...you gotta keep up the work on stretching and your fitness.

[ktk_ace]

if your belly is covering the tank like a bean bag chair, the friction is going to make changing positions much harder imho.

 

im not sureif waxing the part of the tank that makes contact with your stomach is a good idea...

 

 

[anthem]

I don't have many track sessions under my belt, but I will tell you what will really help. Forget working out everything as we would all like to do that. Just get on a stationary exercise bike (not a regular bike) and work out for 10 minutes (and hopefully moving to 20) and go for harder and harder resistance levels. I try and get to about level 14 on these stationary (bikes) for that time duration. Once you can get to that type of resistance (I got there in a 2-3 weeks) and I'm carrying at least 30lbs more than I should be - you'll feel your legs much easier to push off the pegs and move around the bike,.

 

Now, ideally you are fit everywhere, but I found that biking on a stationary bike with resistance got me comfortable with moving myself around the bike on the pegs (and able to slide my ass from side to side without too much effort).

[BLSJDS]

What bike are you riding / racing? Do you have adjustable rear sets? Even a small adjustment in footpeg position could help significantly with body position, getting locked on to the bike, and body movement. Your butt really doesn't need to move that much, but your torso does, especially in the chicanes / quick transition corners.

 

FWIW, I am 6'0" and used to weigh 195 lbs (not muscle ). This year, I dropped down to 180 lbs (mix of cardio and weight training) and found it MUCH easier to move around on the bike and was not nearly as fatigued at the end of the day. I would definitely recommend working on physical fitness.

[mugget]

I'd have to agree, it does sound like achieving a certain level of fitness would go a long way to help you. I would classify racing as the very high end of "sports riding". The key word being "sport"...

 

I have also been fairly heavy (although not overweight) and noticed a massive difference in my riding after I dropped some 14kg of body weight. Being heavier it just took much more effort to get off the seat, to hold on with my legs when braking hard etc. But reducing body weight will take time.

 

For something that may help immediately, consider the following:

• If you're transitioning from a left hand corner to a right-hander, how many times do you change your seating position? If you're moving to the centre of the seat in between those corners, you're using more energy than needed. Moving directly from hanging off the left of the seat to hanging off the right of the seat will save you energy and effort.
• Do you find yourself wanting to push on the 'bars during hard braking? This could indicate that you don't have very good grip with your legs/knees. Maybe consider traction pads (IE, Stomp or Tech Spec). Another thing I have heard of some people doing is sitting right against the tank during braking. This means that you don't have to "hold yourself back" as much, since you can't slide forward if you're already up against the tank. (I personally haven't tried this, I prefer to sit back a little so my leg is at a good angle to get maximum contact with the tank.)

 

 

I would definitely think about playing with footpeg position. Maybe if you move them higher it will mean that you don't have to lift yourself as much to move on the seat? I am thinking of a 'peg to seat distance that is equal or shorter than your lower leg could help?

 

If you've never really been comfortable with hanging off the edge of the seat, I would suggest practicing that, even on the road. You don't have to go fast to use a certain body position. You can even be riding in a straight line with one cheek off the seat. Just doing that and swapping sides will help you get a feel for it, and get used to it.

 

 

Finally - are you really going to the edge of the tyre? Did you come to that conclusion after looking at a used tyre? Or did you actually feel that you were running out of traction at full lean?

[ells]

Bit of an update.

 

I have been working on fitness using a personal trainer to do one session upper body, 1 session lower body -both session are aiming at Core stability and strength ending with a cardio work out. This has seen good improvements in my physical fitness, mainly with race stamina and my ability to move about all race long on the bike.

 

Bike ergonomics - I do not have much to adjust - mainly seat height and moving seat forwards / backwards

 

Raced a different bike with a different seat / bars /pegs setup and it felt completely different. Only wish I had measured everything Compared to my bike so much happier to move around and my bum was definatelly further off the seat in corners. Suspect its the footpegs being further back.

 

Tyre - the tyres I use are a soft road legal tyre (control tyre) and I am about 1mm from the edge. from looking back at photos I can see the bike angle is more extreme as I am not hanging off the bike, fellow racers who are off the bike more have their bikes closer to the vertical.

 

Lower leg angle - Watching some people such as Lorenzo his lower leg on the inside appears to be parallel to the tarmac, while my lower leg is more vertical.

 

Having sold my old race bike and buying another I have an excellent opportunity to address this again. Stomp grips did help on the old bike!

 

all help gratefully received.

M

[BLSJDS]

Good to hear you are getting it sorted out .

[EricG]

Well, I have to echo the OP to. An extent. I'm 6'4", 285-290, 54" chest. I already do Spinning for an hour twice a week, Yoga once a week, power lifting on a 6 day split. The only thing I've dropped recently is Karate as I just don't have the time for it. That said, I can't seem to find the right position on my BMW K1300s to hand off the bike with any level of surety. Bike weighs twice what I do, so it's stable, but ridiculously easy for me to flick by just shifting my weight around without hanging off.

 

So, how do I try to hang off at my size, and given the way I can shift weight, would it be counter productive to even try hanging off? I just feel that bikes weren't meant to handle people my size sliding around on them like this. But I'm willing to try if it makes sense and the physics will handle it.

 

[ThomasDark]

ells,

 

For starters, I'm 6'5", 225 which is well outside the "desired" measurements for sport bike riding. I ride a completely stock CBR 954rr. I used to have issues wearing myself out trying to get "off the bike" with my lower body. This is what I've found:

 

1. The majority of your mass( or any human's mass) is above the hip bones, regardless of "girthiness". Therefore what you're doing with your shoulders is more important than your hips.

 

2. When I move my hips further off the bike I find it turns my shoulders to the OUTSIDE of the turn unless I'm VERY diligent about straightening my outside arm. This leads to feeling (an likely being) "crossed up", which unless your last name is Doohan is likely hurting your riding ability.

 

3. If I move my butt off the seat LESS, but turn my hips into the corner, (sometimes referred to as pointing your d!ck at the apex, or at least trying) I am able to break at the waist much more effectively. This allows you to drop your chest/upper body to a lower position AND you don't have to crank your head as far to find your exit points and other visual queues.

 

4. Since your chest is usually the most elevated portion of the "mass" that is your bike and you (ultimately those two bodies determine your Center of Gravity) being able to bend at the hips in a more forward direction, in line with the normal directions of articulation of your body, will GREATLY lower your Center of Gravity.

 

In essence, Lower CoG=More vertical bike as you don't have to lean as far to resist the angular force trying to stand you up and make you go straight.

 

Just my $0.02, so maybe I'm right maybe I'm not. Turning my whole body to face the inside of the corner seems to work for me.