New Boy Here In Need Of Help

[rhema83]

Good observation--different riders look different on the bikes. Just as each of us walks a little different we tend to sit on the bike the way it feels best to us. Some riders do lots of stretching exercises, some look stiff, some relaxed.

 

*snip*

 

One thing you want to be aware of is the basic idea of why riders hang off and when you look at someone you can make a simple decision based on that.

 

The basic idea is to lower the combined center of gravity of the bik and the riders body mass which can only be done by bringing the body off the inside of the bike, this, among other things allows for less lean in the corners.

 

If they have their butts way off the seat but their upper body is countering that by being across the tank in the opposite direction they are not getting the full benefits of hanging off.

 

Instead of getting their weight to the inside of the bike their torso mass is countering that and they may be worse off than if they just sat up straight on the bike.

 

Use that as your guide and you can't go wrong if you are trying to learn hanging off.

 

Ben Spies "Elbows" rides like that because it is comfortable. try it yourself and see what it feels like. Try other body positions as well to see what they feel like, it is quite fun to mimic what a pro rider does on the bike and you can learn something about different body positions.

 

All of our Level III is based on this but we start setting you up at Level II on the "Lean Bike" which is when we work out the basics of how to do it best and fit you onto the bike.

 

Keith

 

Great piece of advice from the guru.

[botte]

Kevin:

 

I'm curious about what actually caused your crashes. You said that they happened when your (stock) pegs touched down. Are they hard-mounted (i.e. not hinged)? If they are hinged, I don't think they would have been the sole cause of your crashes.

 

Could the crashes have been caused by something else that was hard-mounted to the bike and touched down, or did you just lean off the edge of the tires? If the former is possible, it might be a good idea to find out what's touching down and get it tucked away. Additionally, could you have been losing ground clearance by backing out of the throttle at the apex?

 

These questions are in addition to the body position thing-- I agree with the concensus in the earlier responses.

 

Best of luck!

 

-Eric

[mike isbill]

I'm no expert, but it sure looks like the unstable body position is causing you to be pretty stiff through your arms. I know that if I unexpectedly scrape pegs and I'm stiff on the bars, I invariably convert that jolt of surprise into some input at the bars. Normally that was the old SR of rolling of the throttle, and trying to stand the bike up, both of which toss addtional weight onto a front end which is already doing alot of work, compressing suspension and compounding the issue. This caused me to (nearly) crash a couple times...I was lucky. Once I got the body position down and was comfortable with it, my arms were much more loose and it allowed my brain to actually dictate what my hands did rather than just react after fear had done it's dirty work. Loosen the arms up and actually try and rest your outside arm on the tank, lock into the tank with your outside leg, and put your upper body low and to the inside of the centerline of the bike. Oh, and definitely go do the school. Nothing like having those guys demonstrating it right in front of you and critiqueing on the spot to make it work for you.