Body position

[GregGorman]

What effect does body position have on the motorcycle?

Why do racers hang off?

[bsicilia]

body position, hanging off does several things help you turn the motorcycle, helps you keep the motorcycle from going past max lean angle and the limit of were the tire will allow. allows you to get your knee down as a gauge so you dont go over to far.

what was the rest of the question

[seatec]

i also assume that it keeps your center of gravity low and the bike more upright to maximize your contact patch wiht the track

[GregGorman]

Yeah, all of that. Hanging off correctly moves the center of gravity lower and to the side the person is hanging off.

What's the best way to move the center of gravity? By moving your butt, or by moving your upper body?

[seatec]

Well both i would think. slide butt to the turn side and move head forward and kiss the (ficticious) mirror. use inner tight against tank to aid body when braking so arms wont get load up.

[GregGorman]

Well, if you had to pick one, which would it be?

[admin]

upper body

[admin]

moving the upper body leaves less movement on the bike while riding and also moves your weight on the handle bars at teh same time.
The ass is not going to do anything really to help your contact patch or your angle.

but when looking at my instructor in front of me i still see him move his ass with the knee and that des not make sence to me..

[GregGorman]

Yeah, moving the upper body moves more mass to the inside of the corner. It makes the most difference. There should be no extra weight on the bars. If there is, that means your arms are tense and that's not good. Moving the butt over allows us to move our upper body even further to the inside.

The confusing thing is that there are some riders, some VERY good riders, that just move the butt over. Watching Mick Doohan go around a left turn is an excellent demonstration of how to drag your butt on the ground and not crash.

No matter what you do with your body what basic rules should you keep in mind?