Turning standing

[Chouca]

I´m riding almost only woods and I am standing most of the time.There is much information here on turning seated, like weight the outside peg, move forward etc., but I have not found anything on what to remember when turning standing!

My experience is that I avoid washouts better if I weight the bars when I turn standing, as I see it that must be the only way to get the weigt on the front wheel when standing!

Any ideas?

 

[joereitman]

Weigh outside peg, turn your whole body into the turn, get your outside leg forward and pressing against the tank, get your tail to the outside, keep both legs snug against the bike, keep your weight off the bars and on the pegs to keep CG low, countersteer so the bike leans more than you do, keep that inside arm straight and low.

 

[carlbielke]

Hejsan!
Remember to weigh the outer peg, it doesn't matter if you're standing or sitting, place your weight as low as possible in order to maintain a low center of gravity. Also use both of your knees to grab the bike, and keep a loose upper body, it's wasted energy if you hold on too tight.
Also, remember to keep your outer elbow up, you loose a lot of control if you let it drop.
Buy Gary Semics book if you want to know more, it's an excellent source.

 

[flo]

This subject is very interesting. Joe you are right, but when the conditions are slippery, than the bike leaning is not such a good idea. I found out that in slippery conditions is better to let the bike as vertical as possible, weight a lot the outside peg, head as far as possible in front of the bars and lean the body to the inside to compensate the positon of the bike,don't weight the bars. PLEASE CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, is only what i have feel and thought is ok. Like Chouca, i could not found clear info on this subject (books or videos).

 

[High Lord Gomer]

I never hang off the inside of the bike. If I lose traction and the bike starts to slide out, I'm then in no position to recover.

 

[SpectraSVT]

From what I have been taught or read the same principles apply to standing as sitting. Don't lean with the bike into the turn. Thats asking for a washout. Weighting the bars is not a good idea either and can be tricky especially if you hit something that messes up the front. Since you have weight on the front the hit just gets amplified and you get out of position. I always try to keep me body as upright as possible while standing around corners. I use my feet to initiate the turn while using side to side movements. No body twisting. You want to keep as much weight over the CG as possible. The bike may be leaned over but your not.

 

[duke]

In terms of upper body positioning, some teachers, like Gary Baily, advocate that the head and shoulders should lean into the turn, while your butt sits on the edge of the seat, outside knee pressing into the tank, weight outside foot peg, etc...What are your comments regarding this theory? I must admit, that direction change is fascilitated easier when the shoulders and head lean into the turn, all the while the lower portion of the body remains more on the outside of the seat in order to maintain traction. However, if I am negotiating a wide sweeping corner, then I will feel more comforrtable keeping the upper body,straight up and down. In this instance the turning radius is pretty wide to begin with, and asmooth wide arc is the goal. Again, any coments?

 

[joereitman]

counteersteering is the fastest way to initiate the turn, imho, by far. When you say leaning head and shoulders into turn do you mean forward lean, or twisting body, or both? You must be forward some to properly weigh front tire. You must move our head forwards as you accelerate coming out of the corner to keep the proper racing line and keep the bike from wandering to one side or the other. And twisting the body into the turn really helps you wieght shift to the outside and also aids focusing on the target down the track, be it jump, whoops or next turn. The bike goes where you look.

Just my .02. FWIW, I think Albertyn has some turning stuff on how2ride.com.

 

[Chouca]

Thanks to you all,

I have been out in the snow practising for two days now and I find that weighting the outer footpeg, moving the outer leg forward and pressing against the tank is what works best for me. Defenitely I feel more in control if I let the bike lean and stay standing upright even if I´m now on snow with good studded tires.

The only advice I found in articles and books is from Bales Pro Motocross and offroad motorcycle riding techniques where he says regarding high speed turns "When you stand through a turn , try to weight the front of the motorcycle to make sure the front wheel has traction, but keep both feet on the footpegs".

 

[duke]

By leaning my upper body, i mean just that. Tilting the torso in the direction you are wanting to go. As for twisitng the body in that direction, some advocate this technique, others denounce it. Dick Burleson is an advocate of twisting the body in the direction you want to go. I would have to concur that it offers a form of leverage in manipulating the bike to turn. Gary Semics opposes such measures claiming that it removes control. I think your body type has a major influence on how you are able to direct and guide the machine. We are not all 5-7/140 pounds as are most pros/magazine test riders.

 

[agitt73]

ive been watchen the gncc's on tv when when its muddy the pros do weight
the handle bars the thery is the back tire follows the front tire
but the back my slide around sounds like good balance job to me

 

[agitt73]

by the way they are standing with knee's and elbows bent

 

[joereitman]

Even the inside elbow is bent? On all turns!? How much, compared to outside elbow?

 

[SpectraSVT]

I thought this was a turning while standing post. Sounds like alot of what is begin said is for sitting.

 

[joereitman]

Lots of same principles apply. Come to think of it, seems like they ALL apply, imho. Except standing the outside leg is well forward of the inside leg. My .02.