Ducati Sporting Club UK > General > Idle Chat > Help and Advice needed......body position...

hi all,
Well after speaking to some riding mates and from the replies on here,i really do need to work on my body position but what is the best way to learn?

read certain books?
go out with some x-racers?
Watch some motogp vids?

Help!

Hopefully doing pembrey again on the 30th of July with moggers if he books....I tried to borrow an Instructor for a session but he was all booked up way before i got to him.

Would it be good to try and get one for the next trackday?

Hopefully some peeps will come down and join in!


Ed

[dickieducati]

CSS. having said that there is no one right position in my opinion. bayliss's position is a shambles but he not the slowest on a bike.

[brownrigby]

You can gain some hint's and tips from the vids and mags but it's about you and the bike really,comfortable control.Main prob with most people is when they hang off the bike for 'THE' knee down is they just try to stick the knee as far away as poss at 90 deg when IMO it's a smooth slide out and forward with the knee pointing forwards and down and your head going towards the mirror position.

However there are plenty of TOP riders on here by the looks of it with some great advice so i will leave it to the experts.

[Felix]

You might want to give "Twist of the wrist" a read. It's most of the theory behind CSS. It'll give you plenty of pointers and stuff to work on for your next trackday.

Don't take it the wrong way, but I did think you looked far too upright in those pics you recently posted. Stick your head forward and down towards the apex. Are you like really tall?

Originally posted by weeksy
You can't simply change body position in a matter of minutes, it's about comfort and happiness on the machine. your mate DJ Tera has excellent body position on a bike, better than 99% of other DSC riders i've seen actually.

You're automatically at a disadvantage on the little bike by your size, but shouldn't hinder you too greatly

true.
Id think a good option is to get an Instructor to follow me as i go round.
Was going to ask Yorick off of VD but being a shy fool i didn't.

Damnit i need a 600.

[Edited on 24-6-2004 by Jewell]

not showing off to myself mate.

just the way i ride.

[psychlist]

You wanna just try RELAXING Ed :P
Like Weeksy says, practise makes perfect and you've got time on your side sonny just get out and ride but DONT try to be Valentino overnight! It aint gonna 'appen!
The more relaxed you get on a bike the more you can feel it moving around under you and the more control you'll find. It's amazing when you eventually realise how fast you can go when you dont try so hard!
Take your time

[David Cook]

Originally posted by weeksy
i disagree with all of the above. It's quite simply a matter of time and practice on the bike...........

That's always assuming that you are practising the right things, otherwise you are just building muscle memory for bad habits.

Unfortunately, there aren't many people who are truly "naturals" and don't require expert instruction but then there's the 99% of the rest of us

[baylissboy]

You've only got to look at any race to see a massive difference in riding styles/body positions,so who says what's the "correct" body position?

Look at Bayliss,Doohan & Whitam,all had odd body positions on the bike,but all very fast anyway!! Surely one of the main things is to be comfortable,you always ride with more confidance if you feel good on the bike!! It's no good forcing yourself into a postion that feels awkward,just to look "correct"!! You'll end up going slower!!

[Desmondo]

If I look at some of my older trackday photo's I looked similar to you. It's only in the last year or so that I've been making a gradual move in to a more "hanging off" style. It felt odd to me at first and will probably feel the same for you. This is where Weeksy is right in saying that it should be a gradual change. Get comfortable again and then move on to changing a bit more. First step is to get your butt across that seat, eventually the rest will follow.