My Sportbike riding position

Coxyzxr · Brolly Dolly Joined: 22 May 2008 Karma :

Hey guys, a while back I made a thread about how I'm having real difficulty keeping up with my mate on his R6, and my other mate on his ZX7R and how I seem to lose confidence into corners and other such stuff.

Well an update, I'm been trying out different riding positions and find that when I really lean forward and try to 'kiss the mirrors' so to speak, (imagine a peice of string attached from one mirror to the other, and trying to kiss that string in the middle) then this bike really performs well, confidence is 10 fold and I find myself getting excellent lean angles I'd only dream about when just 'sat normally' on the bike.

Is there a reason for this? I understand this means more weight towards the front end, or is it just how I should of been positioning myself when trying to make progess on the twisties?

What ever the reason, it works and works well. R6? what R6? lol, my mate even said I done well to keep up with him "on that old thing" after a long cornwall/dartmoor trip last month.

Don't get me wrong, I still had to work bloody hard but the bike was working with me not against me.
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**WAS FITTED "WRONG WAY ROUND" !** CANT ACCOUNT FOR THE STUPID !

D O G · World Chat Champion Joined: 18 Dec 2006 Karma :

One reason for this is the arm position.

When you lean forward more, you lower your shoulders, which also lowers your elbows. This means that your forearm becomes more perpendicular to the forks - making it easier to exert a countersteering force, and therefore eaiser to turn.

The other element is the fact you are dropping your body closer to the ground, towards the inside of the bend, which (through some whizzy physics) creates a turning force in itself, reducing the necessary anlgle of lean, and making the bike feel more stable.

If you want to learn more about body positioning and the like, you could do worse than to read a copy of Keith Code's Twist of the Wrist #2 book - is good stuff.

Glad you feel better on the bike! Thumbs Up

nick606 · World Chat Champion Joined: 12 Nov 2006 Karma :

D O G · World Chat Champion Joined: 18 Dec 2006 Karma :

I did have a pdf copy, but may have lost it since I change computers. I will search for it...

nick606 · World Chat Champion Joined: 12 Nov 2006 Karma :

cheers mate.

I just don't know what to do really with myself, and can't seen to get comfortable with hanging of the bike.

whoring time

colin1 · Captain Safety Joined: 17 Feb 2005 Karma :

I agree with the leaning forward thing.

Most people ride sportsbikes as if they are a sit up and beg bike, and then wonder why they get sore wrists.

forearms parallel with the ground and shoulders well in front of hips definitely helps

it feels unnatural at first but once you get the feel of it its much better than trying to ride a sportsbike as if it was an upright bike
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colin1 is officially faster than god