Hanging your arse off the seat.

[acydbyrn]

What does this actually achieve?

Normally I leave mine parked on the seat at all times (thats what its there for after all), but the other day I saw somebody with a KD and his ass off the seat so thought I would give it a try on the way home.

Since then I can't stop doing it. Don't know whats different but cornering just feels a lot better and I feel more confident with the bike, and not like I'm about to go sliding into the nearest hedge.

So what am I doing... other that looking like I'm about to fall off

[UnknownStuntm...]

You're moving your centre of gravity a little lower, and inside the bike's turning circle, while leaning the bike less - it's the first step in getting your knee on the deck. It keeps more of the tyre's contact patch on the tarmac while keeping a tighter line.

[acydbyrn]

Not sure I'll be getting my knee down anytime soon. XJ600 you see, though heard of one person (on here) decking the pegs.

Would I be right in saying then that using this method I can lean more that I was before, being able to take more speed into a corner but still only using the same amount of grip.

Arse off = more lean+more corner speed

Arse on = less lean+less corner speed



Forgive me for being a little slow on this

[UnknownStuntm...]

No, you're thinking about it wrong. The bike leans less when you move off the seat. It stays more upright, which keeps more contact patch, and gives you more grip. Which means you can pull the bike tighter into the turn.

[G]

As above, the actual bike leans less as your body is doing some of the leaning.
It's 'good practice' to lean your upper body off too - the position is often referred to as 'kissing the mirror', as that's generally around where your head should be.
Should be fine to get your knee down with some practice - I could on my DR600 trail bike with trail wheels (quite high up ).

Hanging off will generally allow you to get around a corner at the extreme.

[acydbyrn]

So how much do you guys hang off?

At the minute I'm only happy with hanging one cheek over with my chin jutting towards the mirrors. No doubt I will increment this over time as I find where the limits are.

I've no fear of the back stepping out of line (reckon I could catch that pretty quick) but s**t scared of the front going. Not had much front end confidence since my RS100 in the rain one night...a few real brown trouser moments! Thats another subject for another day though!

[G]

Hanging off smoothly should make it less rather than more likely to lose traction for the right speed.
It depends on a lot of factors, but for general riding I rarely go for more than an arse cheek off and body pushed out - almost always you don't move your body as much as you think.
For getting your knee down, especially if you're not that flexible, moving your upper body off twists your leg towards the road.

[acydbyrn]

Smooth is the number one rule for everything on a bike!

Would I be right in saying that gripping the tank with the outside leg is also advised.?

[Fawbish]

Only if you want yet another thing to think about whilst on a busy roundabout


Your leg will usually naturally find its own position, the back of the knee will sit on the corner of the seat/meets the tank. You'll realise as you get more confident hanging off like the bike, the leg that you're "gripping" with isnt really needed for road stuff.

Its quite comfortable to have your leg in the air and pointing out towards the sky whilst scraping your knee on the deck (though not advised for people just starting out with leaning )
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"Oh....it looks like Average Joe's is forfeiting the match!" - "Yeah, its a risky strategy but lets see if it pays off for 'em Cotton."

[deanoet]

Set yourself up for the corner before you get to it
So dont be shifting position while going round the corner. Obviously.

isnt it 3 points of contact they say?
Knee against tank, seat + another one?

Either way, just see what feels confortable.
Remember it is a road, and unpredictable with traffic and animals if in the country side
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CBT Passed 18th July 2007 : Previous Bikes> CG125 : Current Bike> Hornet 600 : PASSED DAS 30th Oct 2007
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[UnknownStuntm...]

I think the major thing you'll have to overcome here is that as Deanoet has mentioned, you need to set yourself up before the turn. So you're committed before you can really see it's safe. Practise on bits of road that are safe.

[OssY]

I was sitting in the pub garden the other day and i saw a group of bikes coming down the road towards the roundabout. naturally i was interested in wat was going past me, and i noticed the trailing bike was an 06 ninja. all the other bikes (there were about 6) turned right at the roundabout and the guy on the ninja set himself up for the roundabout before he entered it, But.
He was not in the correct/comfortable position for the bend and he tried to adjust mid lean and ended up going straight on instead of right.
Was funny to see him coming back up the road.

[acydbyrn]

OssY thats piss funny bet he was well embaressed! Me, I'd carry on and find another route!!

Closest I've come to knee down is trailing my toe along the road. I think I have the lean angle and speed, I just to need to get my body position right and get further forward on the bike rather than my normal sit up n beg position.

No doubt that eventually I will get there, just taking it little my little!

[Luke_Retrofly]

Seems like a good example
https://c4.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/73/l_5323c29136ab2166857f25f835c70213.jpg

[Deano]

a good tip for this is when setting yourself up for a corner you may find shuffling your arse over the seat may really unsettle the bike on the approach to the corner.

what I do is when tucked in, is make sure your stomach is against your petrol tank and then use this it to pivot your arse across your seat rather than dragging it across. so basically you lift your bum off the seat, shift to the left or right using your knees and then plonk it down all whilst your stomach is lying flat on the tank.
hopefully you should notice less movement from the bike on the approach to the corner and also really good if you decide you should be hanging off more in mid corner.

also personal preference is never more than one arse cheek off the seat, anymore than that and its unnecessary. more pose down more than knee down.

[Gazdaman]

[Flash Gordon]

This clip explains it very well (In my humble opinion)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCg3BMGe52M&feature=channel

[ajb]

I started doing this fairly recently and like you noticed a very different an better feeling from the bike.

I don't do it all the time, but on corners where I plan to carry a bit more speed then i'll shift over a bit, I am by no means going for knee-down though.
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CBR125R '05 > CB500 '00 > CBR600F '99

[bladerunner]

Just remember to keep your weight pushing down on the outside peg if you do. if your using the inside peg you'll stand a bigger chance of making the rear slide and also if you don't and the bike does slide on you...your a lot more likely to fall off the inside of the bike way before you would if your doing it properly. I hardly got my knee down on the track even on an RGV250...but I tend to use the front a lot harder than most
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Current bikes...cbr929, KDX200's, Rd125lc mk2, RGV250's

[ninjapower]

I have always done it, if I didn't I would probably crash, however I changed my style recently which does feel unatural but results are good. When you get off the seat make sure you dip your elbow down and head around the screen. Other tips are too push down on the peg and counter steer. Ive been riding all my life and still learning!

https://excoboard.com/forums/22303/user/200305/290214.jpg

https://excoboard.com/forums/22303/user/200305/290215.jpg