riding positions

Hey, How do you guys ride?? My friend says he keep his elbows locked and rest his weight on the heels of his hands. I tried this and it is oddly uncomfortable. But I noticed that since I started riding my 6th gen My wrists hurt. Any Ideas? (sorry if this is silly post)

 

Bubba Z, KC10 and others could offer a lot more info than I can, as they are very active in rider training. My input would say find what YOU are comfortable with. Personally, I try to find what keeps me the most relaxed without sacrificing responsiveness, and that changes a bit over the course of a longer ride and conditions. The sore wrist thing has been discussed a lot; try the "Search" feature.

 

In short, your friend is wrong.

The elbows should never be locked and one should never rest the weight of their body on their hands.

I recommend going to Media Play or Barnes and Noble off Route 301 near the Route 50 exit and snagging a copy of David Houghs "Proficiant Motorcycling" and a copy of Keith Code's "Twist of the Wrist II".

I have no idea were your friend leaned his riding position but I am hard pressed to find it endoresed by MSF and other experts.

BZ

 

Well, you answered your own question as to why your wrists hurt. This is phenominally bad advice from your friend. Your ultimate goal is to be loose & fluid on the bike. It will pay large dividends to your comfort while riding. Your weight should be supported by your core & legs. Your wrists & arms are for control, not support.

KC-10 FE out...
lane: :usa2:

 

after long rides if you put your weight on your wrist, they will hurt. In my case, I use my belly &/or tank bag for long rides. I still maintain control and can ride comfortably.

 

Thanks, I was trying to remember all that I learned from the MSF class also I thought it was something about keeping your wrists down, But it I'll do some more reading on it.

 

Your friend is totally wrong or incredibly wrong. You want to be loose and smooth on the bike and you can be confortable and enjoy the ride. I would suggest attending an Advanced Riding Clinic. I am a Lee Parks ARC Coach - in the ARC Clinics we teach suspension setup, body positioning and trail braking. Let me know if you are interested. You can also check Track Schools such as NESBA or TeamPromotion. Be safe and stop listening to people who do not know what they are talking about.

 

Try to find a position where your elbows are bent, so that your forearms are level with the road. You may need time to let your body learn this position, but it makes the bike almost effortless to steer. You will find yourself just hanging in the air above the tank, dipping a shoulder to countersteer, nudging the bike over with a knee. Very little energy required.
I learned this at TET School. (Trial & Error Training)

Mac

 

specifically, you should never lock anything - quite the contrary, everything should be loose except your outside leg which should be locked on the tank as a lever point.

Please read this in total, but specifically page 13 and 43-47 for this issue
http://files.meetup.com/1510087/A Twist of the Wrist II.pdf

 

I have posted this before. Find a parking lot or safe open area (have a friend with you or a group of riders). You can use safety cones or cut some tennis balls in half to make a circle and a figure eight to practice. Warm up your tires before doing the drills and practice the 10 steps to corner correctly and effortlessly below.

1. Preposition (inside) foot.
* Be on the balls of your feet for maximum leverage (for footpegs).
* Don't let any part of your foot touch the ground.
2. Preposition body.
* Put your body into the position that you want to be in, in the middle of the corner, BEFORE the corner even starts.
* Body centerline to inside of the bike centerline.
3. Push on outside grip.
* Keep bike from falling into turn by forming "V" position.
* Pre-load bike into wanting to turn.
4. Locate turn point
* Choose a specific point where you will initiate your turn.
5. Look through turn.
* 10-15 feet before turn point in turns under 30 mph.
* Connet the dots.
6. Relax outside grip.
* Gravitational and aerodynamic forces pull bike into turn without upsetting suspension.
7. Push on inside grip -- the FLOP!
* Do simultaneously with step 6.
* Once in the turn use ONLY the inside arm to steer.
8. Roll on throttle.
* Gently apply as EARLY as possible.
* Inversely proportional to lean angle.
9. Push outside grip.
* Help throttle pick up bike.
* Maintain "V" position.
10. Move back to neutral.
* Only after bike is completely vertical.

 

lol - I am not a believer in the TET School when you can go to the real thing and learn the correct way. If TET is your thing then enjoy, but you make no mention of looking through a turn or moving your body off the bike centerline. If you are a TET person that is good but you may get other people hurt with bad advise. Good luck with the TET method. Be Safe

 

Reverse cowboy.

If your wrists hurt you need to slide them down onto the hips a little. Better control and better feel, especially at extreme lean angles.

 

you need to hold your upper body using your core muscles, grip tank w/ knees and relax your arms.
a slight arch to your back helps keep the weight off wrist.

 

my stomach muscles are sore after a long ride....but my arms aren't...keep them loose

 

I use this riding position exclusively.

 

HAHAHA THanks I'll try that.




Thanks So much for everyone's replies and help. Do the Heli Bars make a difference as well?

 

Not every one has time or money for schools and track days, I was just trying to help the feller with a small start.
Safe is the only way to ride.
Sorry if I hurt, your pookie, Emon.
I forget, Yankee's always think they are smarter, and believe they know what is best.

Mac

 

They do a little but it is due more to putting your weight on wrist, you could try a cramp buster on the throttle.

 

Can't over emphasize the use of your thigh muscles to help steer the bike. At the end of a day of spirited riding, the inside of your thighs should be very sore.

Do a Pridmore school. You'll barely be able to walk at the end of the day your thighs will ache so bad - but that's a sign you were doing it properly.