manual63
08-11-2003, 01:36 PM
After doing the beginner group ride Yesturday, I have some suggestions in this area. I noticed a lot of riders stand up and have their butt quite a ways off the seat when doing turns or going over technical sections like rocks and logs. If you stand high off the seat and don't brace the seat against an inner thigh or even slightly pinch it with both thighs, the bike is very loose and unstable beneath you.
I recommend that you learn to actually stay as low to the seat as possible and keep your knees well bent. Allow the seat to rest on the inside of you outter leg when in corners. If you are corning correctly, your outter leg should be in the down position and your butt should only be an inch or two off the seat. If you need to clip out and stick a leg out, you want to be slightly rested or sitting on the seat to stabalize the bike. By staying as low as possible, you lower the CG (center of gravity) of you and your bike. A lower CG allows you to have a more stable turn. The higher you are, the more tippy you will be and you will have less control.
Now when going over technical areas, you should slightly pinch the seat between your legs and also stay as low as possible. This will allow the bike to be more stable over rough sections. Allow the bike to ride the terrain and don't force it to not move, but just lightly control it's left to right movement by pinching the seat. The bigger or rougher the terrain, the more space you want between your private parts and the seat. Rember to lean back as you go over logs and such, but also stay low behind the seat, not above it.
I actually do this a lot and it helps in steering the bike. I notice people wobble and steer left to right trying to regain control of the bike when they do technical stuff. Keeping the seat from moving will stablize the whole bike and give you better steering control.
I recommend that you learn to actually stay as low to the seat as possible and keep your knees well bent. Allow the seat to rest on the inside of you outter leg when in corners. If you are corning correctly, your outter leg should be in the down position and your butt should only be an inch or two off the seat. If you need to clip out and stick a leg out, you want to be slightly rested or sitting on the seat to stabalize the bike. By staying as low as possible, you lower the CG (center of gravity) of you and your bike. A lower CG allows you to have a more stable turn. The higher you are, the more tippy you will be and you will have less control.
Now when going over technical areas, you should slightly pinch the seat between your legs and also stay as low as possible. This will allow the bike to be more stable over rough sections. Allow the bike to ride the terrain and don't force it to not move, but just lightly control it's left to right movement by pinching the seat. The bigger or rougher the terrain, the more space you want between your private parts and the seat. Rember to lean back as you go over logs and such, but also stay low behind the seat, not above it.
I actually do this a lot and it helps in steering the bike. I notice people wobble and steer left to right trying to regain control of the bike when they do technical stuff. Keeping the seat from moving will stablize the whole bike and give you better steering control.