Hailwood vs Marquez...Surtees vs Rossi

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Huge

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I?m having a little head scratch at Rockingham today.
I?m a fan of olde stylee riding that doesn?t move around too much for various reasons (mainly laziness). Never crashed, expecting to one day of course as I push a little harder each day.
Had two VERY close shaves today at Gracelands, a fast left hander that falls away slightly just past the apex. Both at mid fifties lean angle. First time I?ve ever felt the front really slide way, but luckily stayed on. Thank you RR.
One of the guys in my group (he was behind me) said that I?m more likely to crash if I do not hang off.
I only got passed by a couple of people in that very hairy session, so now wondering: ?am I closer to crashing by not hanging off??
I always figured it means one is slightly slower if one does not hang off.
What do you lot reckon?
-
I?m backing off a bit now as really can?t afford to chuck her up the track today.
 
IMO hanging off makes a big difference, the bike's less leant over, the tyre has more grip and your slider gives you a good feel for how much clearance you have left.
 
Lean Angle & Hanging Off

If I was given a ? for every time that I?ve told someone to hang off the bike more when instructing on trackdays then I could retire now...
 
IMO hanging off makes a big difference, the bike's less leant over, the tyre has more grip and your slider gives you a good feel for how much clearance you have left.

This.

Hugh, try instead of turning the bike into the corner (counter steer I know etc), try moving yourself across the bike by as much as is comfortable and feel the bike turn itself in, then add to the cornering with the handlebars. If you try it you will find that the bike can remain far more upright, so less lean, less crashy.
 
Lean Angle & Hanging Off

Body position is incredibly important and has a huge impact on the whole bike. It?s also something you have to experiment with. On track you absolutely want to be hanging off but in a nice, relaxed position that allows you to properly steer the bike and make any necessary control inputs throughout the duration of the corner.

In a corner you want to move your body inside of the turn so that you can keep the bike as upright as possible for more traction. Some racers don?t hang off very much whilst others will have their heads low and their knees and elbows on the ground. But that?s more to do with style and it changes with the generations. When you are moving quickly on track you have to hang off a certain amount in order to be safe. Perhaps the most common thing that I see with riders on trackdays is they simply do not hang off enough even when they think that they are. I normally tell them to exaggerate it especially as the pace and lean angles increase. However, if you hang off too much it can be to your detriment and affect your ability to steer and control the bike. This is particularly common with riders trying to get their knee down.

When you do hang off it?s important to bring your whole body over and not simply shift your backside off the seat. Ideally your upper body stays parallel to the centreline of the bike with your head off the side of the bike just as much. Just remember the whole point is to keep the bike as upright as possible to aid traction and grip. Hanging off helps with this. If you don?t you will generally experience slides as the lean angles increase thereby increasing your likelihood of crashing.
 
Guys,
Had such fun yesterday. Thanks so much for your help and input, it was eye-opening. I can see why people love this so much, just keeps getting better (and scarier).
Mac, your slider clearance tip is gonna be really useful, I didn't get to experiment with using it as a guide yesterday, too much else going on.
Andy, your tip about sending your body ahead of steering input was great, I can see it'll need lots of practice.
Ry, you should write a book mate. I learnt more from your comments at a track that Keith Code managed to instill over a couple books... where do I send my pound?
Cheers,
H
 
Track Instruction

Ry, you should write a book mate. I learnt more from your comments at a track that Keith Code managed to instill over a couple books... where do I send my pound?

I?m glad the advice proved useful. Consider that a freebie!
 
Worth looking at the California Superbike school for body positioning. Yes, it can be a bit one size fits all approach, but some very good tips in there through levels 1-3.
 
Troy Corser, Motovudu and CSS all have content on YouTube that is worth watching... Everyone just has to spend time figuring out what works for them.

- Alex
 
Some great advice above.

There's loads of good videos knocking about on youtube to watch. A few mentioned above but I've also been watching one from 'life at lean' that has some good explanations on why you should do and try certain things.
 
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