position on seat

[ducfun]

Recently I saw a post about foot position when riding and the responses has helped me.

I've also been wondering where people position themselves on the seat. do you make adjustments in your location? I tend to move closer and closer to the tank until it is uncomfortable then I slide back. For those of you with clip ons, did this change a lot when your swapped  to them?

[CDawg]

I move around a little bit depending on the situation, but most of the time when I am crusing normally I have my bum all the way to the back of the cycle.  It's harder on the lower back but makes my forearm slightly more horizontal.

[Ducatista]

Going from what the Cornerspeed instructors say, you should sit as far forward on the tank as you can.  Don't go for a nutcracker, but you want your weight as far forward as possible.  This in no way ever means "leaning" on the bars.  Your arms should always be floppy and relaxed, only used for steering input, throttle, and levers.  It should never be used as support for bodyweight.  Obviously, if you're super-slabbing and have zero need for performance, it doesn't really matter where you sit.  Just do what's comfortable.  But for the track and the twisties, shift it forward.

The reasoning provided is all about tire contact patch.  When you're concerned with cornering, you want your front tire's contact patch to be as large as possible, since that is where your traction is shared between steering and braking on corner entry.

[ducfun]

Nice! Thanks for the info

[Xiphias]

For normal riding I'm 1" from the gas tank.

[mxwinky]

Read Nick Ienatsch's book "Sport Riding Techniques" and I think you'll find a ton of great stuff there, including very good tips about riding position.  He recommends (and my practice bears out) that you should be about 1" back from the tank, arms bent (not stiff and straight), with your torso supported as much as possible by your abdominal muscles.  You've got to be able to move your head and torso to the inside during cornering to properly weight the bike, and sometimes if you're pressed right up against the tank this can hinder your movements.  Also he explains how straight stiff arms will impart incorrect movements and deflections into your steering inputs and actually induce headshake and wobbles.  The bike needs to be able to allow its steering to correct itself without having to resist your stiff arms.

[GLantern]

Same as above about 1 inch from the gas tank arms relaxed, cornering however im hanging completely off.  If im tucked in though really tight on super slab i have my but right up against the back of the seat.  This is just to get myself under the windscreen.