Cornering Technique - Body Position

what this means is that you have emergency capacity and that you have speed capacity. So you can go faster thru the same turn with knee down and start to use up the rubber.

#thumbsupneeded

 

Just avoid being too close to the centre line ok right handers

 

That cameraman is rubbish, and he's written all over your pictures.

 

Moto GP have just shared a Reale Avintia video on Facebook. It's to demonstrate a wheelie but the start of the video shows the rider entering the final corner at LeMans. Braking in a straight line, the rider (Loris Baz) is sitting tall and then changes his riding position as he tips the bike into the bend. It's a sort of fluid and progressive duck and his shoulder doesn't reach the lowest point until some way through the bend. If I knew how to link to FB I would because it's pertinent to the topic. Andy

 

That's some extreme hanging off in the last pic... looks like you're gonna jump off the bike..

 

I'd imagine his body is already in the right place (lower) and he uses his head dropping as a trigger for his shoulder (or visa Verda) to when to turn. For us mere mortals, it's a good way to concentrate on turning at an increased speed rather than panicking because we are getting quicker

 

I wish I could link the video. Seems to push his arse into the back of the seat, starts to brake, dangles the inside leg and then in this fluid movement, sinks forward, chest on the tank, head over the top clamp and shoulder level with the handle bar. As has been mentioned, inside toe on the foot peg and outside heel on the foot peg. The video really does encapsulate a lot of what has been said. Can someone link the Reale Avinitia FB page to here ? Andy

 

Nice slowmo. If you notice, he is well into position way before the turn.

 

Some nice riding there ^^ Cream.

Been some reference to chicken strips, see picture of my Angel gt. Its not here for bragging rights, its not fried or anything, I just get the feeling that a lot of this is to do with tyre profile. seriously feel like the KTM has a lot further to lean (on the right tyre!). Sure if hanging off more might use less tyre but this is surely down to the profile/shape..

 

Sports profiles definitely allow greater angles of lean than sports touring profiles.
The difference between the two is like the difference between the blunt and sharp end of an egg. It stands to reason that if you were to wrap the same width of tread around those two profiles, the sharp end will lean further from the vertical than the blunt end before it reaches the edge of the tread.

I changed from Roadsmart IIs to M7RRs on my SMT precisely because I was running out of tread under normal riding. The quality of the chassis and the amount of ground clearance available easily outstripped the profile capability of the tyres but being an upright with long travel suspension hanging off to increase cornering speed without increasing lean wasn't so easy for an average Joe like me. Fortunately being based on the supermoto format the SMT runs conventional sports-sized rime. I have the same trouble now with the 1190 Adventure which has replaced the SMT but adventure-bike rim sizes restricts tyre choice. Luckily the 1190's suspension is more sophisticated and the riding position more roomy than the SMT's and its generally a more stable platform so I'm finding I can use body positioning more effectively. And that underlines a crucial point: body positioning isn't the same as knee down. Yes you need correct body position to get your knee down but you absolutely do not have to point your knee at the tarmac to reap the benefits of body positioning. If you can master hanging off, regardless of whether your knee is poking out like the handle on a teapot or remains firmly inboard, you will get a much faster cornering speed and more grip from the same degree of lean than you would if you remained perpendicular in the saddle.

And actually, scything through bends with your body moving fluidly from one side of the bike to the other looks damn cool even if your knee never attempts to sniff the tarmac, because its fast and smooth and fast and smooth is good.

 

Actually J biker, as you seem to be getting such good performance out of the Angel GTs, and as they come in silly adventure bike sizes, I might try them on the 1190 when the Trail Attacks run out.
If they can cope with what the 1290 can throw at them there can't be a lot wrong with them.

 

Completely agree with this. I hardly ever have my knee down for more than an initial angle check as it just gets silly replacing sliders all the time and very expensive if you start going through leathers accidently which can often happen. That said it's important to play around with the positions and balance so it makes sense to go through a few sets of sliders. Plus it didn't happen if there wasn't a hero picture so that's the priority.

 

One of the (level 3?) CSS sessions is on the hook turn... hold your body position and steering input steady, and move your head position to tighten or open your trajectory... it is amazing the difference moving just your head about can make to correcting your line without risking piling on more lean angle by counter steering.

 

Yes, and as a lot of top riders use the Doctor's Dangle, it is clear most of them are not clamping the tank, and instead using the inside of their thigh against the back of the tank to support them.

 

That what Corser, Crafar, Dickinson (no not the teak looking bloke!) all recommend.

 

I've been thinking about that a lot since riding the R6 this year. I think I mentioned in an earlier post but the brakes on the Panigale are the best of any bike I've rode but I dont clamp the tank as it doesn't naturally support like on the R6 and other jap bikes. On the R6 I always clamp the tank because it takes a massive amount of distance out of the braking distance, literally a third or more I reckon. Doesn't seem to be required to clamp the tank to keep your weight back on the Pani, perhaps because it's longer wheelbase it's easier??

 

Brads right about keeping some spare on tyre. I get to edge on Winchester GP aka those 2 roundabouts connected by a dual carriageway. Last time I had the front skipping and it felt like it was pushing and couldve let go. Had I used knee down and hung off more, I wouldnt have been putting myself at risk. Brand new tyres probably helped me there. I need to learn to hang off more and lean less.