I was wrong about Racetecs

They fucking rock!

Yes, yes, I've still got the "crap, shit and awful" same ones on I had
when I bought the bike but today is the first chance I've really had to
test them out - Right to the edges and little bobbles on the slick bits.

Sweet.

Still can't GMFKD though. 6"-8" further over to lean apparently. That's
better than I thought because it felt like I was *miles* away.

Trackday here we come.

<Rubs hands with glee>

 

Whinging Courier wrote

I am pleased for you dear.

KD is not about getting the bike over, it is about getting far too far
out of the seat for it to be deemed sensible. Gower knows all about it,
google for some of the threads back when she posted as he.

 

In uk.rec.motorcycles, steve auvache belched forth and ejected the
following:

FFS, I was hanging onto the bike by my leg! My arms were at such a funny
angle to the bars that holding onto them with any kind of properness was
just not a viable or comfortable option. I just ha to rest my hands on
them almost an hang onto the bike (like I say) with the calf of my leg.

If I can get to the edges, I'm damn sure I should GMKD. Maybe you're
right. Maybe I'm not off the seat enough. Having said that though, two
cheeks off the seat looks poop.

 

Almost certainly what you were doing was trying to get your bum down - a lot
of people learning to 'hang off' have a tendancy to slide their bum off the
seat, but then twist their body back into the bike, so that their bum's
hanging down, but their inside knee is practically touching the fairing.

You have to make sure your legs are spread as wide as possible (insert
appropriate schoolboy comment), but also that your torso is facing towards
the inside of the bend. Even if you think you're doing this, you're probably
not. Imagine you're trying to twist round on the bike to look at a mate
behind you - that might help you get into the right position.

 

In uk.rec.motorcycles, Monkey belched forth and ejected the following:

That's actually what it felt like, yes.

What do you mean, inside knee? The one that's nearest the road? I had my
bum off and the ball of my foot on the end of the peg. I've seen it done
and was quite a natural thing to do, my foot just wanted to do that. I'm
fairly sure I had my knee out but having said that, I didn't make any
effort to 'strain' my leg to get my knee out.

What I did was, I stood on the pegs enough to lift my bum, shifted a
cheek off what seemed like to the edge so that my (ahem) crack was on
the edge of the seat and then sat down again, put the ball of my foot on
the peg and went into the corner (it was on a couple of roundabouts I
tried it). At first it didn't feel like I was making much progress so
progressively went faster and faster until my confidence in other
motorists ability to detect my speed ran out.

I was definitely leaning more with each lap but like you say, it felt my
like I was going to get my bum down.

I think you're right. I was hanging off but clinging to the side of the
bike. I can't quite recall clearly but I think that's what I was doing.

Thanks for the tips. I'll try the "looking at a mate" thing tomorrow.

Cheers!

 

Yep - that's the one.

You don't have to *really* strain to get your knee out, but once your body's
in the correct position, every extra inch you can get your knees apart is an
extra inch closer to the road, give or take.

Sounds like you've got the right idea - it's just that your body's not quite
in the position you think it is. Exaggerate everything - if it feels like
you're hanging off / twisting a bit too far, you're probably about right.

Worry more about getting your body pointing to the inside of the turn, and
less about 'hanging off'. If you've got a bum cheek off the saddle, that's
plenty. You shouldn't have to stretch to reach the bars.

Good luck - usual disclaimers apply ;-)

 

Sorry - bad form and all, but I just re-read that, and it didn't really tie
in with the 'twisting over leaning' approach. I was just trying to get
across the fact that any position will look much less extreme to an
observer, than it feels to you.

 

In uk.rec.motorcycles, Monkey belched forth and ejected the following:

Right, so also, if I do stick my knee out by way of effort, my body
might just naturally fit into the position it needs to be in because
it's more comfortable that way?

OK. What I think you mean is, if I'm sitting upright on a straight road
and slid my bum off, my hands and arms will be in the same position as
they would be if I was cranked over?

Thanks and of course

 

In uk.rec.motorcycles, Monkey belched forth and ejected the following:

I also didn't mention that I felt like I was twisting my torso.

I guess I shouldn't be doing that.

 

Possibly - teaching someone how to do the KD thing is all about finding
something that works for that person. The 'twisting round to look at a mate
behind' thing works for me. I'd say with the sticking the knee out thing,
rather than trying to spread your legs per se, try to get the knee you're
trying to KD to point as far backwards as possibly, IYSWIM. You could spread
your legs wide but still have your inside knee pointing at the fairing, if
your hips / torso aren't aligned properly.

Not exactly the same, but if you think about it, in a 'bum down' position,
the arm on the outside of the turn will be at a stretch. In a proper KD
position, the shifting of the bum and the twisting of the torso will almost
cancel each other out as far as arm stretch is concerned. You should still
have a decent bend in both arms to maintain control.

 

At a guess, torso and hips should be more-or-less in line. I reckon you want
to try to get your head and shoulders pointing into the turn, and the rest
will follow. Hopefully.

 

Simon Gates wrote

Returns Error 404

 

Simon Gates wrote

also returns Error 404

and there is a diesel currently leading the Le Mans 24hr.

 

Simon Gates wrote

That's better but please don't take that as a comment on the content.

 

(Looking at the link that actually worked) yeah - if you look at the
position of both your knees relative to the bike, the right knee isn't much
further from the bike's centreline than the left. Your bum's moved into the
turn, but everything else has moved out of it, negating the effect.

I think it's a defence mechanism - moving away from the bike feels unsafe if
you're not used to it, so if one bit starts moving away, the other bits try
and claw their way back on, to stop you 'falling off'.

 

I just clipped the url to:
http://www.semi-evolved.org/cadwell

and then clicked on the jpg.

 

In uk.rec.motorcycles, Monkey belched forth and ejected the following:

Right.

I'll be out of here in 20 minutes or so for KD R.2

Wish me luck ;-)

 

already baked.

 

It's very black. Can't believe that's it you though - no 1/4 mile of
blonde hair trailing down the race track. ;-)

 

Uh oh - that was posted five hours ago, and he's not replied since...