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Old November 24th, 2022, 06:47 PM   #43
Bob KellyIII
Retired motorcycle Mc.
 
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Name: Robert
Location: Weed, California.
Join Date: Jul 2021

Motorcycle(s): 2012 Kawasaki Ninja 250R, 2021 CSC TT250, 1977 Triumph Bonneville 750cc,2001 Honda XR650L.

Posts: A lot.
Well there are 2 sides to this argument being relaxed while in an emergency situation means you will have a slower response time than if your all keyed up and tense like getting your hands up intime to protect your face when slamming to the ground. it's all relative really.... and in the land of IF if this were to happen I would do this.... but that is not how life plays out 90% of the time.... you don't think about it till after the fact and it's too late...
when your operating a machine and pushing it hard you are not relaxed like sitting in the chair watching TV that is silly you cannot be ! but staying loose
and not tensing up IS extremally important so maybe My idea of being relaxed is different than every one else's... but I never totally relax on a motorcycle or when I drive a car.... you can't RELAX and still be aware ....
the many techniques of riding come into play that have nothing to do with being relaxed or not "you need to be relaxed when crashing" like Yah ! there is no way in hell you can be ! but you can loosen up and not stiffen up.... we all have a tendency to stiffen up like a board and this is what get's bones broken
... being looser is better but you will never totally relax ! it's a crash for gods sake you are not going to relax through hitting the ground at 60 mph and heading into a bank and trees any one of which can easily kill you
.....
to that I say Truly relaxing on a motorcycle just ain't happening folks !
yah it is alot better if you crash the bike and stay as relaxed or Loose as possible as you are more than likely just able to get up dust your self off and go pick up the bike....
Holding on to the bike with your legs really helps.....some times.... not always ! on a dirt bike tearing up a rough rocky dirt road you better not hug the bike as it will deflect from a rock and throw off your balance, if you let the bike float below you you can take that hill with ease hug the bike with your legs and you probably won't make it and be fighting it the whole way....
the same is true for street riding but there is very seldom anything to deflect your balance so hugging the bike with your legs is an acceptable practice
....
I use both styles of riding, keeping the bike solidly under me and trying to become part of the bike...managing the entire package in balance
and I also use the "let the bike do it's thing beneath me" idea keeping my balance in check and just hanging on to the bike....
this latter technique is what the CHP of California motorcycle cops use
and it works .... I swap on the fly at will, sometimes I will corner as a entire package locked to the seat and other times I will let the bike lean underneath me..... both work ...
the latter technique is the one also used by Racers except they move their mass into the inside of the corner keeping the bike a bit more vertical
for tractions sake. it can be argued that it's all the same but it does not feel like it on the bike ! on a cruiser most just lock in to the bikes mass and become part of it.... hence the low Harleys scraping and throwing sparks
and going wide in corners... that is the time to change styles and still make that corner.... it's not the bike it's the rider !
....
Bob......
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