Standing while riding

brownie0486 said:

Lowers the center of gravity, one can put weight on the front of bike while climbing and put the weight further to the rear when doing downhills. I rode the Dalton last year to the arctic circle and back. First 130-140 miles seated at 40-45mph and being bounced all over the seat, The last 60 miles I stood up, was able to move up to 55mph and had a lot more stability taking the pot holes and keeping the bike up on the loose stuff that turned slick as snot after a light rain.

The off road courses all have you standing on the pegs for a reason. It's NOT just because it looks cool. All the dirt riders on smaller bikes do the same once on the dirt. It's not exclusive GS riders. Watch the motocross races, they stand not sit. If sitting held any advantage they'd be sitting, the advantage is in standing.

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And standing up is good form for riding over road debris like 4X4's, mufflers, and nasty potholes since your legs are used as shock absorbers and help keep you from being launched off the bike.

brownie0486 said:

Lowers the center of gravity, one can put weight on the front of bike while climbing and put the weight further to the rear when doing downhills. I rode the Dalton last year to the arctic circle and back. First 130-140 miles seated at 40-45mph and being bounced all over the seat, The last 60 miles I stood up, was able to move up to 55mph and had a lot more stability taking the pot holes and keeping the bike up on the loose stuff that turned slick as snot after a light rain.

The off road courses all have you standing on the pegs for a reason. It's NOT just because it looks cool. All the dirt riders on smaller bikes do the same once on the dirt. It's not exclusive GS riders. Watch the motocross races, they stand not sit. If sitting held any advantage they'd be sitting, the advantage is in standing.

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Yes
Well said.
OM

Good stuff. Thanks for the info. I meant GS riders ......well, BMW. Never thought of the motocrossers; spot on. I have seen a lot of photos with riders standing in the ON.

Cheers!

AKsuited said:

And standing up is good form for riding over road debris like 4X4's, mufflers, and nasty potholes since your legs are used as shock absorbers and help keep you from being launched off the bike.

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Exactly.

It primarily allows the rider to move independently from the movement of the bike. For example, a rider sitting on the seat of the bike when it hits a rut, rock or hole. The bike is abruptly jerked to the left as is the rider. The combined weight of bike and rider are moving in the same, undesired direction, which amplifies the force of the bike’s movement. If the same thing happens to a rider who is standing on the pegs, then the rider is able to move his weight independently of the bike to counter the bike’s movement and steer the bike in direction desired.

I do not believe I have seen a photo of a GS rider sitting in the ON... I think they mandate standing.

PGlaves said:

OK, but what brand Mink Oil should I use to lubricate my seat? Same for the pillion section?

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Skip the Mink Oil and apply some Atsko waterproofing spray to your riding overpants. Same effect. DAMHIK.

AKsuited said:

And standing up is good form for riding over road debris like 4X4's, mufflers, and nasty potholes since your legs are used as shock absorbers and help keep you from being launched off the bike.

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I always get my butt a few inches off the seat--no need to 'stand' per se any more than that--and use my knees as shock absorbers over train tracks, potholes, etc. I do it because I like to treat the bike as if I really like it, which I most assuredly do, and it feels like I'm shielding the bike's pricy suspension parts at least a bit by doing this.

brownie0486 said:

Lowers the center of gravity, one can put weight on the front of bike while climbing and put the weight further to the rear when doing downhills. I rode the Dalton last year to the arctic circle and back. First 130-140 miles seated at 40-45mph and being bounced all over the seat, The last 60 miles I stood up, was able to move up to 55mph and had a lot more stability taking the pot holes and keeping the bike up on the loose stuff that turned slick as snot after a light rain.

The off road courses all have you standing on the pegs for a reason. It's NOT just because it looks cool. All the dirt riders on smaller bikes do the same once on the dirt. It's not exclusive GS riders. Watch the motocross races, they stand not sit. If sitting held any advantage they'd be sitting, the advantage is in standing.

Click to expand...

Standing may shift the CG forward or aft, but increasing the distance from the ground to the rider's body mass can only increase the combined CG of the bike and rider

The benefit of standing is in part gained because the rider’s mass is raised and can be used to control and correct the movement of the bike.

I do it too to cool the bits and add a little relief on long days on pavement but off-road it is used a lot as it actually lowers your Center of gravity as your weight is on the pegs instead of the seat plus it allows you to move around on the bike for more active bike control.

So, the comment to just raise your ass off the seat to absorb bumps is a good one and I do that a lot on the sections where I have a smooth line memorized but still has unavoidable large bumps/slams. Some sections though are just too bad to do that and standing is really the only safe way to navigate the section at speed. You trade safe navigation for ultimate speed in going from threat recognition to full braking though as you practice riding standing up you can eventually shift and brake from that position. I am just passable at it without moving the foot controls.

One thing I do though which is related to this since I snow ski, I will ride as long as possible like a jockey with ass just off seat to get semi-isometric working of the the legs to build leg strength. I have to be very conscious of knee and foot positions and end up pinching the tank pretty hard with my knees when doing this. But not only do you get exercise and build strength to be able to ride with more weight on the pegs (also good for road riding on the twisties), you can stay down behind the wind screen with good access to controls (which you lose with full standing).

One thing I could say to those who don't ride daily is that boredom can drive you to do more experimentation and develop practice routines for mirror scanning, body positioning etc. I will have to come totally clean and say I will not be done practicing standing until I can lock the throttle and stand and steer with no hands on the bars. I am not kidding. I will draw the line however at standing on the seat. I met a guy on the road once who was finishing a cross county trip on non-slabs on a cruiser bike. When he started the trip he had just begun riding and when I ran into him in San Jose he could take his jacket off without stopping and could stand on the seat. Boredom is the mother of invention sometimes too!

akbeemer said:

The benefit of standing is in part gained because the rider’s mass is raised and can be used to control and correct the movement of the bike.

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I always thought this was hilarious... (even now that I own a GS)

Nice!

36654 said:

Standing may shift the CG forward or aft, but increasing the distance from the ground to the rider's body mass can only increase the combined CG of the bike and rider

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That's not what I've found when moving from seated to standing on the Dalton Hwy. 45mph tops seated and barely able to maintain balance due to road surface. Standing, immediately moved to 55mph with more stability and balance of the bike.

The weight is on the pegs. It was offered that the best riders become a neutral force on the bike standing. It takes a lot of practice to get there [ I'm not there yet and may never get to that level ] but I have much better control of the bike standing for the same reasons others have posted here.

Moving the weight of the rider from the seat at about 32-33 inches off the ground to the weight on the pegs which are 12" or so off the ground lowers the COG. This guy explains it in simple terms.

https://youtu.be/1pwOB5I1m7Q

Just putting weight on your feet and leaving your butt on the seat helps a bunch, unless the road is really rough. Then standing up works better.

akbeemer said:

The benefit of standing is in part gained because the rider’s mass is raised and can be used to control and correct the movement of the bike.

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Not disagreeing with this but I think it's somewhat more subtle than that. The benefit of standing is that the rider's mass is decoupled from that of the bike - the bike and rider can move independently from one another (within limits). There is a longer lever arm when the rider is standing so lateral motion of the rider to control the bike is more effective. Also for large road/trail bumps, less compression damping is needed because the resisting force is reduced by the mass of the rider, and less rebound damping is needed for the same reason. This allows for a more compliant suspension overall, making the ride more comfortable for minor irregularities.

I was on my way home from a Ride Like A Pro course and got pulled over in a small town in New Jersey for standing on the pegs. I came to a stop sign, sat down and came to a complete (not rolling, whew!) stop and got lit up after I made the turn. During the ensuing discussion, the cop saw that I was from a neighboring state and commented suspiciously that I was a long way from home (about 75 miles IIRC). I pointed to my pannier which at the time showed that I'd ridden through over 30 states and said, "No, this is just a day trip". Ultimately he let me go with a verbal warning.

Re center of gravity or center of mass. Opinions do not matter. Physics is not optional.

R65_Steve said:

I'm gonna call my next band "Cool the Jewels".

I saw a ton of guys doing that at the National Rally. I wasn't sure why, a young lady who took the GEARS class told me they do it because it looks cool.

I have a habit of standing for a second or two once I get moving on some occasions, picked it up years ago. Less to cool the jewels and more to let my pants settle better. If that makes sense. But I'm never doing it at more than like 15 or so. If you're standing on the pegs at 70 on the Interstate, you're either braver or crazier than I am. (I have slid onto the backseat to stretch my legs on the slab).

Interesting topic.

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After about 300 km in a day, I start standing on the pegs to stretch my legs a few times an hour. I almost always do it at highway speeds, and never thought of myself as either crazy or brave. But then I have an unfared R1200R so I am used to the wind pressure from highway speeds.