Quote:
Originally Posted by jrshooter
i have some questions. how important was your body position change to reducing you lap times?
i ask because i ride slightly crossed up, when i have scooted back and opened my hips into the turn i feel very disconnected from the bike.
if you have seen simon crafor moto vudo vids i ride pretty much like him.
just trying to figure out if its worth pursuing. or look for time elsewhere.
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I hate it when people answer me with this, but: It depends.
The post you're quoting was when I was on a Ninja 300. At that time, the lower body position change was absolutely critical, but that is also a by-product of the bike.
At the time, my inside foot position was like Troy Corser and Ken Hill--roughly 45 degrees with the toes of my foot hanging slightly over the end of the peg and the heel on the guard. The low footpegs of the Ninja 300 meant that I was dragging toe nearly at the same time as I was dragging knee. This was really unsettling for me.
Some trackday rider coaches were suggesting that I hang off more to compensate. This was the wrong approach. Instead, Jon Groom and Dylan Code at California Superbike helped me realize that I was giving up lean angle due to the foot angle. By switching my lower body to hang off less and instead adopting the parallel foot position, I was giving myself extra clearance had an increased margin between knee down and dragging anything else. So in the case of the Ninja 300, the body position was critical.
On the R6, which has much higher footpegs, clearance is not an issue. Actually, I have been toying with switching my foot position back to angled from parallel because I have an easier time supporting with my legs when I move my upper body off the bike.
With that all being said, I do not think body position is "that" important, relative to everything else like vision and throttle control. Modern body position will theoretically increase your safety margin as your bike will be more upright for any given situation than a crossed up position. But Mick Doohan would still ride circles around nearly everyone with his crossed-up position.