alancoles
Dress for fall & avoid it
Agreed.Why is everyone trying to make this so complicated? Leaning off was started by racers in order to get more speed in a turn. How does this equal more speed? Simply because leaning off allows the bike to remain more upright and therefore faster (since hard parts are not dragging). Now the professionals are all over the place and as others have alluded to on this thread it really is now a science. Push, lean, rise up, get down, leg out, elbow out and all that and more depending on which turn they are in. Add to this the many racers who now drag an elbow in the turns and we street riders may need to just take a step back and rethink the necessity of any of this.
Today's tip: If you're into a turn hot hot hot (to quote a really good rider friend) then you may want to consider moving your mass (can leave the m off if you prefer) to the inside of the turn. This will keep hopefully the bike from dragging hard parts and will hopefully keep you out of the woods.
On the street you'll still look stupid but survival beats image all day long.
As far as I'm concerned, this is not something that should be part of anyone's daily riding and I don't care how well regarded the proponents are, I have yet to hear a convincing case for it, except for the situation several have shared here of finding one's self going into a corner too hot, etc., and need the benefit of additional cornering clearance.
Before I get a ton of irate posts, let me explain. On the track one is trying to find every 1/10th to 1/100th of a second and maximum performance is critical. On the street, survival is critical not maximum performance. If you are leaning off the bike in normal street riding than one of two things are happening:
- you are travelling at a speed well above the posted limits and therefore this does not fit the definition of "normal street riding". It might fit the definition of "your" typical street riding, but that doesn't make it "normal street riding". ;-)
- you are leaning off when it isn't necessary and are actually not learning how far your bike can actually lean with you in a standard riding position
#2 is very problematic. First, you are likely to actually become a very slow and hesitant rider if you are hanging off the bike at legal speeds or say 10-20 clicks above. At those speeds, the bike should have plenty of cornering clearance unless you are riding a few of the showier HD models. H-D's touring models often have more cornering clearance than many of their styling models.
To my mind, proper riding style for public roads is a) stay in your lane and b) keep your butt in the centre of the seat or just a slight "cheek shift" while cornering. Think about the idea of having a safety margin. There are far more unknowns and hidden hazards on public roads than on any racetrack. If you are already "hanging-off" the bike and one of those jumps in front of you, what do you have left?
I think everyone should practice sliding their butt (half of it) off the seat and slightly dropping a knee so that they understand the procedure and get comfortable enough doing it, but reserve that action for an emergency that could save your life. If you are doing this as a regular riding posture on public streets and not always riding at highly illegal speeds then I think you are not using the existing cornering clearance that your bike naturally has and therefore in an emergency situation you will not have a good idea of what cornering you actually have and you'll have very little reserve.
I have watched riders go down on public streets from both situations, not realizing that they had more cornering left because they appeared to be the ones always hanging off the side when it wasn't needed, and those that weren't aware of the extra clearance available if the did hang off the side properly. It is never nice to see, especially when injuries are involved. I hate seeing a motorcycle go down in front of me and have seen it happen to too many riders. Learning to understand and get comfortable with the limits of your bike goes a long way towards avoiding such a situation. Leaving a safety margin on public streets should be a no-brainer. The first and #1 improvement/farkle anyone should do with their bike is getting the rider into a good riding course (safe riding, performance riding, etc.). That one action has the ability to make any rider quicker, safer, and more aware. It will also definitely increase one's enjoyment of and appreciation for riding.