Hanging off

[flashgordon]

just wondering today whilst out on the bike if hanging off the bike is needed or not as last week whilst going round a left hander my footpeg hit the ground, although this caught me buy surprise it didnt unsettle the bike.
How many on here hang off on a regular when out for a quick ride?

 

[n1one]

I ride to work almost everyday and go through 20 miles of deserted and curvy roads through rolling farm land...also has a nice rotary 10 miles into the ride.

Sooooo, yes I hang off the bike everyday...both directions...kind of like my daily workout!

 

[CHEMIKER]

It depends on what you're after. I try not to ride it hard enough to scrape pegs or hang off on public roads; just a personal preference. Too many dangers (diesel fuel, rocks, other vehicles) for me to push it that hard.

If I ever want to really see what the bike can do (which I really want to do), I'll take it to a track, where the road is smooth and clean, and visibility is good.

One thing you can do to help with peg scraping is take the curb feelers off the bottom of your pegs. That will give you a little more clearance before you touch down.

Ride safe.

 

[jtarkany]

In the past couple of months I have gotten into doing more canyon riding, I have started moving my butt and hanging off the bike (have not scraped the pegs yet) In the immortal words of that world class rider Tony Chin, "toe, knee, chin..."

My reason for doing this is not so much because I need to, I'm really not going fast enough for that yet, but more to develop the feel, muscle memory and habit of it. I am sure that at high speeds it will be necessary, I can't imagine race riders do it just for show.

I am capable of taking the same corners at the same speeds with my butt firmly planted on the seat, but when I do move and hang, the bike responds with more agility and a lot less effort. By developing the habit now, I am hoping that it will improve my riding later when I can open her up and push it at a track day.

Hope this makes sense and helps :thumbup:

 

[Stumbles06]

I wouldn't say I hang off, I shift my butt a couple of inches on sweeping corners, no knee out though (I don't have scrapers on my pants), I find leaning the top of the body towards the apex and looking through the corner is all I need to do.

I'm no racer, if/when I get to the track, I'm sure the rest will come.

:rockon:

 

[dean2287]

I hang off quite a bit. It comes from an old cycling philosophy about cornering...lean the body, not the bike. I feel more comfortable hanging off the bike. I don't drag knees, but I probably get the knee about a foot off the ground with my butt right off the seat. I don't do it at all unless I'm wearing my street pants with knee armour.

 

[fz6nick]

Chances are, I'm riding hard and I'm riding fast. Never faster than the road conditions will allow though. I love to hang off the bike and do it all the time, even if its making a slow sharp turn. I like to pretend im my childhood hero Wayne Rainey.

 

[SovietRobot]

After I installed the FZ1 handlebars which are shorter, I've had to hang off the bike a lot more to do the same amount of turning/leaning.

Not much of a problem, just takes getting used to.
I love hanging off and welcome it in the twisties.

 

[jmerch44]

Hanging off just feels awsome. it does serve its purpose though. it changes the bikes center of gravity so you dont have to lean the bike as much to make a turn. it doesnt make much of a difference on the street, but it does feel alot more controlled and stable around corners. plus being closer to the ground makes it not so scary, LOL. not nessasary though.

 

[Drinky]

Only do it when possible/needed, the dutch landscape is a lot less curvey.

but what chemiker says is a bad idea, do not remove those little thingies that stick out,
it allows the footsteps to fold in, its a warning you shouldn't go any further, because your foot steps can lift the entire bike off the ground throwing you into a nasty slide..

 

[flashgordon]

Thanks for the advise and comments, i sahll have to experiment moving around more.
I've heard the storks under the footpegs called hero blobs before, anyone else got names for them?

 

[Stumbles06]

I've heard the storks under the footpegs called hero blobs before, anyone else got names for them?

Peg feelers. They do their job (until you wear them down like Ozzieboy...lol), just give you a warning that your pegs are close to the ground.

If you watched the 250's race today, then you can see by Simoncelli's accident, pegs hitting the ground doesn't end well!!!

:rockon:

 

[Speedygonzales]

Going faster on your bike = working on body position.

Period

If you don't care about "speed-performance" it's not necessary.
If you do, it is.
It makes cornering much safer.

 

[lonesoldier84]

In the past couple of months I have gotten into doing more canyon riding, I have started moving my butt and hanging off the bike (have not scraped the pegs yet) In the immortal words of that world class rider Tony Chin, "toe, knee, chin..."

My reason for doing this is not so much because I need to, I'm really not going fast enough for that yet, but more to develop the feel, muscle memory and habit of it. I am sure that at high speeds it will be necessary, I can't imagine race riders do it just for show.

I am capable of taking the same corners at the same speeds with my butt firmly planted on the seat, but when I do move and hang, the bike responds with more agility and a lot less effort. By developing the habit now, I am hoping that it will improve my riding later when I can open her up and push it at a track day.

Hope this makes sense and helps :thumbup:

well said i was going to say much the same stuff. from when i started i have always tried to develop good muscle memory for cornering and over the past 16,000km i have gradually gotten quicker....but always smooth and in control.

speed comes with time. it rises out of smooth operation and experience.

i will be taking my riding to the next level on the track in a few weeks and for the rest of the season. the public road is a good place to start and develop somewhat aggressive riding ability....but you really do need to cap it off before it gets unsafe and take it to the track.

 

[FZ1inNH]

In this case, had you taken the hanging off approach, the peg would not have likely dragged. Was it the peg or the feeler attached to it?

Had you been off the seat, your added weight to the inside corner would have allowed the bike to remain more upright thus allowing more clearance for the peg. This is the fastest method of cornering and why you see the GP racers so far off the side of the bike. They are keeping their bikes on the very edge of the tire that still allows traction without dragging hardware other than their knee puck. The puck is another important part of GP racing. This allows the rider to provide stability in the corner for himself and the bike in that his leg is flexible, like a shock absorber. If his knee was locked and immovable, it would have the same unsettling effect that your peg did.

In short, the farther you hang off, the more upright the bike can remain and the faster you can negotiate the corner. :thumbup:

Hope that helps!

 

[gew]

no i dont hang off. i dont pretend to be a racer and i have nothing to prove. i dont think looks "cool" either.

 

[lonesoldier84]

no i dont hang off. i dont pretend to be a racer and i have nothing to prove. i dont think looks "cool" either.

is it possible to negative-thank a post?

:spank:

 

[FZ1inNH]

no i dont hang off. i dont pretend to be a racer and i have nothing to prove. i dont think looks "cool" either.

Hanging off is a function of getting around a corner faster while keeping the bike more upright, more traction and less likely to drag hardware as the OP stated. It is a normal and acceptable skill in motorcycling that has nothing to do with posing, pretending or looking cool. It is a developed skill, typically at the track (we hope).

I hope this helps clarify the need to hang off at appropriate times.

 

[Speedygonzales]

is it possible to negative-thank a post?

:spank:

+ 1

That was an idiot reply from the guy ...

 

[keira]

I hang off when appropriate (on the track, or on very sharp turns that I am taking hard and feel like I need the extra clearance). I do tend to hang off when out for a regular ride, because I feel doing it is the best way to train myself and strengthen the muscles. One day I was goofing off and took a sweeping 90 degree turn at about 20mph (speed limit) hanging off as fara s I could without falling over. Rob was behind me and said that though I was totally off the seat, the bike was still perpendicular to the road. It was a pretty cool illustration of just how much our body shifts affect our turning capabilities.

When you do start doing this, believe me, you will feel like you can't hang off any more than you are, and then you'll get a friedn to video you from behind and you'll see that youa re barely moving on the seat. It is amazing how much we can do and how far we can go as riders.