Good form vs bad form - photos

[Slide Panda]

Elbows down? No - elbows up! If you elbows are down - really - close in to your body is a better description, then you are forced to operate the throttle by flexing your wrist. If you have them up, away from your body, then you can operate the throttle with a twisting motion of your forearm much like you hold and turn a screw driver when you're woking on something delicate. You don't want to turn the driver too hard right? So you don't gorilla grip it like a baseball bat , instead it's laid across your palm with the tip end of the handle exiting by your index finger, and the thumb laid down the length of the handle with the tip pointed towards the tip of your imagined screw driver.

As far as that gap at your outside leg - there's no need for it, but it's probably not hurting much either. Might be taking a bit more energy to achieve - vs being more relaxed and just rested on the tank/frame. If you were further off the saddle that gap would close up. But if you look at most photos, there's some gap there - especially on narrow bikes like Ducs

[Triple J]

To clarify...the inside elbow should be out...the outside elbow should be "down", resting on the tank.

[manwithgun]

and what abou legs?? i am confused if it is normal to have that HOLE between leg and bike... thanks

I've found that this is inherent to trying to hang off of a monster due to the shape of the tank.  There are no aggressive angles to lock into so I often find myself leveraging off off the outside peg to find some grip between my inside thigh and the back of the tank.  I've actually devised my own trac-pad system since most available products are utterly useless.  Probably why CA Cycleworks is developing a track tank...  One of these days I'll posta pictorial of how I set up my monster for the track.

[mr.freezer]

thanks guys a lot... I´ll try tomorrow... and maybe during next weekend there will be another photographer

[Triple J]

Here's an example of good great form. It's arguable if you really need to get this far off the bike, and he usually doesn't during a race (this is a trackday photo), but I'm not arguing either way. This is Andy DiBrino, who is a local OMRRA & WMRRA racer, and is only 17 years old. He also does an AFM round here and there, and is starting to do AMA rounds. I can confirm that he is F-A-S-T!! Wouldn't be surprised to start hearing his name nationally next year, as he's too good and too young to only club race.

Cool picture, so figured it would be a nice addition to this thread.

[mr.freezer]

so I tried to improve... here is photo from todays ride...











And if you guys don´t mind checking my album from today and comment also others... 5 guys riding.. thanks..

PS: my girlfriend was taking photos and he started too late after apex..

[Slide Panda]

Need to fix your images. You linked to a post, not the image itself

But I managed to find the gallery. The photos of you, not very telling. There's just it much going on - but in a way that's good. Ill look more closely when I'm not on an iPad

Now your buddies.
Guy on the Honda is a low side waiting to happen. He's dragging knee, with his body crossed up forcing the bike to lean more. When I get back to a real computer not this iPad ill draw on a couple of his photos to illustrate. But basically it lookalike he's hunting to geta knee at the cost of proper form and it'll bite him

The guy on the suz need to watch his freaking feet. He's in sneakers  with his inside foot almost heal hooking the peg and getting close to touching the pavement. He's going to get a nasty surprise if it touches down in sneakers. Least bad is just a good scare... Worst? Probably knocking it off the peg so hard you run over your own foot then crash.

[The Bearded Duc]

And if you guys don´t mind checking my album from today and comment also others... 5 guys riding.. thanks..

I'm no professional and probably not even close to good in comparison to everyone posting in this thread but I think you should most certainly work on your lines.

I know you said that road is closed when you guys ride but practicing your lines (entry, apex, and exit), along with body position is key to becoming a "good" rider. There is no threat of oncoming traffic on that road but if picking an inside line that is too inside becomes habitual there could certainly be a chance of getting hit on another road.

[mr.freezer]

thanks guys... I will try to improve... and thank you for those 2 guys too... there were 2 more...  one on a newer GSXR  and one in black on Honda... next time I´ll try to take photos of another curve...

[Slide Panda]

Well, you fixed the images... but now I can't back track to your gallery  What's that link?

[Slide Panda]

Ok, got down with my computer ninja skills and found 'em

So the lines are a tad arbitraty, since each photo is different. It's my best approximation, so don't sue, pregnant dog or otehrwise grump.  One line is the approximate lean angle of the bike, the other is (roughly) traced from the riders tailbone to/through thier cervical spine.

We could get a better comparison if all the shots were nice head or tail on shots, that would allow us to see the riders shift in the saddle. But, we have what we have.

Let's start with Lindz showing how it's done


Then me, showing how the slow do it



Now you, and your buddies Mr. Freezer

[mr.freezer]

wooow... thats amazing... I´m really thankful for this... really like it... I wonder you´ve done so much work, just to show me this... Thank you again... as I can see on the first image - that guy doesn´t have elbow up...

[Slide Panda]

This *should* be the link to the gallery
https://plus.google.com/115933301955798156400/posts
- Some descriptive notes in there too

[Slide Panda]

wooow... thats amazing... I´m really thankful for this... really like it... I wonder you´ve done so much work, just to show me this... Thank you again... as I can see on the first image - that guy doesn´t have elbow up...

Really not that much work for me. I design websites - few lines and circles is quick work.

The guy - Lindz in that first photo does have is elbow significantly away from his body if you look. It's out, almost as far as his knee - there's a big gap between his arm and his body. In reality, it's probably more up than in my photo - but he's on a sport bike and I'm on a SuperMoto - the ergonomics are a lot different so it will make for a different look. For example, he's got his outside arm relaxed and draped across the tank. No matter what, I cannot have the same on my bike as the bars are higher than any other portion of the bike.

Each bike, with it's differing controls and seating will require something a bit different - there's no 100% this is exactly how you should be on EVERY bike. Too much variation of human bodies and bikes. But, I'm trying to show that there are some fundamental items are important.

[mr.freezer]

thanks a lot again... will send more photos maybe on wednesday..