Hanging Off

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Rhino
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Hanging Off

Post by Rhino » Mon Jul 01, 2013 10:42 am

So for all my track days before yesterday, when I would "hang off" I was mostly supporting my weight on my inside foot and could never quite figure out how people were getting their knees to stick way out sideways like that.

Yesterday I starting mostly supporting my weight with my outside leg, i.e. locking into the bike with that leg and letting my body and inside leg basically dangle below the bike. Suddenly, knee hits the deck instead of a peg or boot scraping. Today my quads are way less sore than normal, but my hip adductors are way more sore.

Is this how you guys do it? Have I just been screwing up my body position by not knowing where my weight was supposed to be supported?

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Re: Hanging Off

Post by fixxervi6 » Mon Jul 01, 2013 11:05 am

My ever evolving method:

Outside leg: "Hooked" onto the bike with my heel locked onto the peg (I don't push my knee into the tank), femur biceps squeeze the bike. Stomp grip works great for this, I was having trouble on Telomere's gsxr cause the tank is slick.

Inside leg: foot completely flat against the rear set (I don't point my toes into the turn anymore), knee just hangs out, I do weight my inside peg quite a bit but not all of my weight is on it, I try to hold as much onto the bike with my outside leg as possible. That toe pointing shit is bogus, I call it "ridesmart foot" and it's a good way to drag the shit out of your boot.

outside arm: across the top of the gas tank, I used to hook my elbow on the tank but that kept me from getting my head further off

Inside arm: doesn't matter what you do with it so long as your not locking it up.

How I test lower body lock:
Can i let go with my inside hand and touch the ground - yes means my body is locked on right and my arms are relaxed, no, I need to lock on better and relax my arms. If you can't that means the bike is not floating under you and any kind of bumps or anything is going to cause steering input, I almost fell off at TWS because I was too stiff on the bars, hit a bump and my ass slid off the bike, I got knee down and it wasn't on the puck.

I've been working on shedding the "ridesmart foot" problem, I still have to think about it, but at least now it feels natural.
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Re: Hanging Off

Post by Rhino » Mon Jul 01, 2013 11:29 am

Yeah, I kept trying to turn my toe out for a long time too, I quit doing that. I was way more focused on just getting my foot tucked into the bike. I know I was doing it right, because for once my peg hit before my boot did at one point when I wasn't hanging off enough.

I didn't think about the loose arm thing, but I'm going to try that next time. I'm pretty sure I could let go and touch the ground. On the Versys, my outside arm is nowhere near the tank, so my lock-in was more with my legs and then using my obliques to hold my body up.

I need to work on right handers--my body doesn't feel as comfortable hanging off the right-hand side.

Also, if you tell co-workers you finally got your knee down at the track they look at you funny. When you explain what that means, they look at you like you're nuts.

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Re: Hanging Off

Post by milesmiles » Mon Jul 01, 2013 11:35 am

I was taught to point toe as well. Still do somewhat. Just feels right to me. I don't foresee any issues with it
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Re: Hanging Off

Post by fixxervi6 » Mon Jul 01, 2013 11:52 am

milesmiles wrote:I was taught to point toe as well. Still do somewhat. Just feels right to me. I don't foresee any issues with it
Show us pictures of your scraped up boots
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Re: Hanging Off

Post by milesmiles » Mon Jul 01, 2013 12:28 pm

Nah fool that is a problem that was hasn't happened anymore. That was just due to me having my feet off more than I should.
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Re: Hanging Off

Post by DarcShadow » Mon Jul 01, 2013 2:26 pm

Keith Code's school taught the point your foot thing as well. It's a good technique, if you are taught it correctly. Your toes shouldn't be off the peg any more than if you were not pointing them. I think the problem most people have is they turn their foot too much and it forces them to stick their toes out past their foot pet. To me it's a little like the door knob trick with your wrist. It's more a way of thinking than a large physical movement.
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Re: Hanging Off

Post by milesmiles » Mon Jul 01, 2013 2:41 pm

That's a good way of explaining/viewing how I do
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Re: Hanging Off

Post by Dragonfly » Mon Jul 01, 2013 5:52 pm

Think loose elbows, if you lock your elbows you usually lock you back. That gets you all tense, and that translates into unwanted handle bar inputs. Harsh and chopy- throttle, brake and clutch inputs in mid corner are the last things you want. The pointing toe thing is just to help you open up you hip to get your knee to stick out. Unfortunately it can easily become a bad habit. Most people will tell you to place the ball of your foot on the peg. I suggest putting the crease between you toes and your foot on the peg. With your foot that far back on the peg it won't interfere should you accidentally point your toes.

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Re: Hanging Off

Post by Rhino » Tue Jul 02, 2013 7:33 am

That's pretty much has been working for me with my feet (putting the crease between my foot and my toes on the peg).

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Re: Hanging Off

Post by Firewa11 » Tue Jul 02, 2013 11:58 am

I put most of my weight on the inside peg, my other leg is there to support a bit but not so much to hang on, but I wouldn't say it's so much locked. Hell maybe it is, but I've hit some baubles on a corner before while leaned over and had my outside leg bounce up and off the bike (think OH SHIT!). When taking left-handers, I'm relaxed and calm. I've waved to cameras and drug my fingers on the ground while having a knee on the ground. I haven't tried that on right-handers with the left arm, but right-handers don't feel as natural for me so I'm not as relaxed (I think this is a normal thing for most since it's the throttle side).

As far as the muscles being sore, my quads are the absolutely most sore thing for me after a track day, to the point that I usually have a hell of a time climbing a flight of stairs for the next couple of days. You're basically doing one-legged squats constantly in 20 minute sessions for 8+ hours straight. I've never had soreness with my hip abductors, not that I've noticed anyways.

That being said, every person's physique is different, and every bike is different. Not everyone uses the exact same technique and you have to work with what's best for you. Everyone has a different style of riding, including how they hang off. I personally have to adjust my own technique now that I've lost a Telomere in weight. I noticed on the last ride I took that what normally worked for me works a bit differently. It's not so easy to weight the peg as it was before.

If your quads are sore, then you're definitely doing that part right. I'd say if your hip abductors are sore, I'd say that's a good thing as well as it means you're using muscles in a new way to achieve your results... getting your knee down, getting off the bike, and not putting the peg / boot down.
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Re: Hanging Off

Post by Firewa11 » Tue Jul 02, 2013 12:02 pm

Dragonfly wrote:I suggest putting the crease between you toes and your foot on the peg. With your foot that far back on the peg it won't interfere should you accidentally point your toes.
I've always used the balls of my feet, as that's where I have the most stability. A good exercise someone once told me to do, in order to find the best placement for your feet, is to lay a broom or shovel handle on the ground, then step on it with both feet. Find the place that in a half squat / ready position, you find the best balance and comfortability. For some that's behind the balls of your feet, for some it's forward of it, for me it's pretty much right on it.
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Re: Hanging Off

Post by U-Turn » Wed Jul 03, 2013 8:53 pm

Watching the MotoGP riders, they point with their inside-the-turn foot seeming to put their weight on the outside/top foot. Can't quite get my head around having your body weight higher-up on the mass than down low, but hat's what it looks like.
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Re: Hanging Off

Post by shilka99 » Wed Jul 03, 2013 9:57 pm

Quoted from Kevin Schwantz, (lots of other good tips here) http://www.motorcyclistonline.com/howto ... rack_tips/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

"12. Weight the inside peg entering corners.
13. Weight the outside peg at the apex and exiting corners."

This is self-evident on a dirt bike. Just watch MX or SX riders - they all have their foot off the inside peg in every corner so their weight is either on the seat or the outside peg.

This diagram might help explain the mechanics of footpeg weighting.
The blue line is the path taken by the weight a rider places on the peg. Red line is the weight of the bike.
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Would you rather have your weight pushing the tire into the asphalt, or acting sideways, trying to push the tire out from under you? One option will increase traction and stability, giving the rider increased confidence. The other will make the bike feel skittish and less stable.
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