As i move up the learning curve slowly i am spending more time thinking and experienting with my body position.
I am finding that when riding, the slope of the seat tends to slide me forward toward the tank, in the process sqrunching my nuts. Nothing a stop sign adjustment cant shake out, but has got me wondering if i should be trying to push my butt back on the seat more. The bike does seem to corner better when i can get some weight over the tank.
Anyone care to discuss and help me?
About 1" back, hold your body with your abs and legs.
Sometimes when things get spirited, I tend to move forward as well, but not nut crunching...
Q
Squeeze your knees together, as Q says you should be using your legs and your abs.
If you find a lot of pressure on your arms/hands when you are going downhill, then you are not using your legs/abs enough.
Get the DP touring seat and the nut problem goes away. Best $225 i ever spent. Oh and the seat is also a lot more comfy then stock for longer rides too.
Jerrsun
interesting on abs and knees. I have noticed that as i get more comfortable on the bike in general i have been getting in a bad habit of leaning on the handlebars too much and locking out my elbows when just cruising along.
Will work on a more active body position.
I personally "ride" the tank. Weight over the front is where it is at for my style and the excitability of this bike.. I have the DP gel seat and it works wonders but I have simply gotten used to the "pressures" of riding that position. [laugh]
I find that using my legs to keep me off the tank tends to upset fluidity for me... YMMV.
+1 on the abs and knees.That's the only way to go. [thumbsup]
Try gusseted jeans way more comfortable riding.
Quote from: somegirl on August 27, 2009, 06:34:23 AM
Squeeze your knees together, as Q says you should be using your legs and your abs.
If you find a lot of pressure on your arms/hands when you are going downhill, then you are not using your legs/abs enough.
She doesn't know-I still have my nuts, despite what she claims.
I ride way up -- on the base on the base of the tank. If you get your butt if off the seat to one side or another, it's actually your inner thigh on the tank more than your nuts. It helps get weight over the front.
It's probably less comfy than other positions, but it's good for spirited riding. It's also a bit hard to do with the stock bars, but if you have clip-ops, it shouldn't be a problem. Also, the farther forward you are, the less likely you are to try to straightarm the bars and the more likely you are to lock on the tank by squeezing your legs.
That said, it's hard to tell how the ergos of your bike fit your body.
Been thinking about this a lot lately myself. I tend to slide forward on the tank when riding hard, and have consciously sought to get my chest on the tank when leaned over...
That said, I know the Keith Code school stresses getting your butt BACK on the seat in order to better lock in your outside leg. I do find that scooting more back and having some weight on the rear can settle bike in a corner, and does help in anchoring when hanging off (especially if you apply their "calf raise" technique to lock on the tank.) But damn, it's awful difficult to do that with the stock Monster seat, IMO.
It's a bit of a dilemma - I think the Monster tends to be kinda light in the front, in general (which is why I got clip-ons), and it certainly helps to be as low on the tank as possible. But it's harder to lock in that way, in my experience. Would a DP or Corbin seat really help with this? I have heard they cut down on the slide factor (which tends to happen even when I'm in my leathers, and even though I have Tech Spec on my tank.)
Interested to hear any other opinions on this issue...
Topangster
I find the old monster tank and the monster ergos are not great for getting a good leg lock-off (the 696 and 1100 are MUCH better). I choose to just weight the front, knowing that I'm not going to get a great grip with my leg. Some of that is because I'm a midget and some of it is the ergos of the bike and the shape of the tank cut-out.
Hm, maybe that's what I'm running into. In all the pics I see of myself hanging off, I seem be holding on with my mid-thigh, not the outside knee (which would seem to anchor better.) So maybe it is the ergos...
deleted
sorry, i was drunkposting.
I find it best during spirited riding to be slid back in the saddle. This puts my knees right in the tank cutouts so I can squeeze the tank during breaking and for me at least, sitting further back makes it easier to move around and hang off while in the twisties.
Yeah, I do find being scooted back in the saddle helps in the twisties, that's what I've been working on. But I do seem to slide a lot, even with Tech Spec on my tank. Does the Corbin or DP Comfort seat help with that?
Topangster