How often to hang off?

[RiderOnTheStorm]

Hey everyone,

I am curious how often everyone hangs off? Are there certain speed "guidelines" or what do you use as a basis to decide when to hang off?

My thoughts are that we want the least amount of lean angle/maximum traction in a turn. So as long as you are setting up correctly and maintaining good control going through the turn, wouldn't you want to hang off as much as possible?

[alex.s]

for me, habbit forces it on every turn

[Nemesis]

Originally Posted by alex.s

for me, habbit forces it on every turn

See his avatar...that's how bad his habit is.

[EsrTek]

Speed is a factor for me.. it feels weird to try to hang off during normal commuting speeds.

[Lychee]

Predicted lean angle from knowledge of road.

[csmith12]

Originally Posted by Nemesis

See his avatar...that's how bad his habit is.

Zing! hahahahah

Speed, familiarity with road, surface and weather conditions all factor in. But normal easy riding, trips to the store and 2up I don't hang off.

[austexjg]

All depends on the turn and speed. Draggin' a knee when not needed is a sure sign of squidom.

My knee does go out on most sharp turns without even thinking about it - I feel like an amateur when I stick a knee out on a turn that does not even remotely need it.

[RiderOnTheStorm]

Originally Posted by austexjg

All depends on the turn and speed. Draggin' a knee when not needed is a sure sign of squidom.

But that's my question... When is hanging off "not needed"? I think a sweeping, increasing radius turn would not benefit as greatly as a sharp, fast turn, but the less lean angle the better.

But I feel like there is no one speed, and that makes me believe when you are comfortable and confident with entering and making turns, one could begin to practice properly hanging off.

[choneofakind]

If I know the road well and am a little hot coming into a turn, I hang off.

If I'm just around town or out for a lazy cruise, I will just duck the inside shoulder down and in a little without moving my butt.

It's all up to your riding habits and what you want to do.

[bdavison]

Ill only hang off if I know I'm about to late brake or early apex a corner and want to minimize the risk of losing traction from asking the bike to brake and turn at the same time. By hanging off a bit, I can keep the bike more upright with a larger contact patch, and the knee gives me good indicator if I'm exceeding lean angle. The only other time, is in a corner with a hard/sharp bump in the middle. Ill hang off to keep the bike more upright and get more ground clearance for the bump.

Other than that, there's no reason to stick a knee down, a simple shift of torso with good body positioning is usually sufficient even for hitting the twisties hard.

[austexjg]

It is both the type of turn - how sharp - and the speed you trying to achieve through the turn. Unless it is a blind turn, or one I know is "sharp", I don't even think about hangin' off. If it a mild turn that I want to take faster, I make a slight adjustment to the side.

The best way to determine the feel of a turn and lean angle with speed is to take it to the track - any other way of describing it won't make sense unless you can see a faster guy taking different turns at different speeds - then make like a monkey and do as you see. Just hangin' off to keep the bike more upright is not the point of draggin' a knee unless speed is involved. Just do yourself a favor and get to a track, then prepare to have empty pockets most of the time afterward - more addictive than crack (or so I hear - not a crackhead, but a definate track junkie).

[ARc]

I feel like you don't need it if the turn is a lazy one. I do it for fun when making left turns, or going into a turn faster than I should be

[toua70]

I hang off majority of my turns. I guess its just a habit and I ride pretty aggressively when I'm riding alone.

[Old Lemon]

exit ramps that go like 3/4ths of a circle, can definitely drag a knee

[Motofool]

Originally Posted by RiderOnTheStorm

But that's my question... When is hanging off "not needed"?.....

During any street riding at legal speeds.

If you are riding at the limit on the streets, you are going way too fast for traffic and road conditions.

Hanging off reduces the lean angle of the bike a few degrees, allowing the suspension to work a little better; however, it doesn't reduce the lateral load on the tires.

On the track, sure, hang-off all the way.
Over there you want to ride at the limits of your machine and your skills.

[adouglas]

Originally Posted by csmith12

But normal easy riding, trips to the store and 2up I don't not hang off.

Don't you dare not report that to your Department of Double Negativity!


adouglas
Uncertainty Secretary (or not)
Heisenberg Institute
Ministry of Brownian Motion

[csmith12]

lol, hey growed up from KY you knowed it was comein'. lol

[gfloyd2002]

I practice good body positioning on every turn. Inside shoulder forward and down, torso shifted, butt moved toward the edge of the seat, knee out a bit. To what extent varies on the turn - it may just be a bit and not super noticeable. I'm not dragging a knee around town or really "hanging off" most of the time.

But I will more dramatically hang off when I really need to: a harder corner, questionable road conditions, rain. In rain and when there is gravel, you may see me hang off more than it seems is needed for the speed I'm travelling. Keeping the bike more upright offers more grip and less change of the contact patch and shocks that could let the conditions cause you to loose grip. But even on a slow speed corner on a good road in clear weather, I'm going to get my body prepped for a fast corner and go through the motions of good body positioning to some degree. Good practice and I figure I may as well minimize lean angle when I can.

By the way, this is part of why it is silly to measure the skill of the rider by the size of his/her chicken strips. No chicken strips on a bike that doesn't get to the track = a rider who is may be riding like an asshat or may not understand body positioning.

[Motofool]

Originally Posted by gfloyd2002

.........By the way, this is part of why it is silly to measure the skill of the rider by the size of his/her chicken strips. No chicken strips on a bike that doesn't get to the track = a rider who is may be riding like an asshat or may not understand body positioning.

I would like to add:

Priority in street riding: Survival in traffic (hanging-off may become the safety factor as the last option to save a bad situation (into which you should not have gone in first place)).

Priority in track riding: Quickest laps (hanging-off may shave that extra tenth of a second that you want).

Copied from
http://forums.superbikeschool.com/in...showtopic=1362

"We have five choices now in how we can look and relate to our bikes. If you keep your eye on the style’s function and do some limbering exercises all the benefits of phase five will become apparent as you become comfortable with it. Is it easy? My experience says it is not a natural style at all and riders are hard pressed to assume the new form. If it is your desire to do it I suggest taking your time and step by step, experimenting with each of the stages through which it has evolved. Good luck." - Keith Code

[psych0hans]

I try hanging off every now and then to, well, get a hang of it... Lol

[JA-Moo]

Obviously, hanging off moves the center of gravity to the inside, thus less lean angle is needed. Actually hanging off is only necessary when you start dragging hard parts. So to answer your question, if your peg feelers are all ground down, then you need to start hanging off.

[choneofakind]

I just like how the bike feels like it's on rails when you hang off at the track and you're completely locked on the bike and your head is flying through the turn down low and you just feel like superman such a high.

I don't do that crazy shtuffff on the road though. It has its place.

[RiderOnTheStorm]

Thanks for all the replies - this has been a phenomenal help!

[sharky nrk]

For me it is pretty simple. I don't on the street, I do on the track. If I need to reduce the lean angle on the road enough that I am that far off the bike, I am probably going too fast. Now I do adjust my body to the inside and point my head as habit, just not to the extent I am really moving my butt far off the inside of the seat.

[lgk]

40% of the time, it happens all the time.

[NevadaWolf]

I'm so new to hanging off, or moving at all on the bike, that when I'm on mountain roads with any hint of a corner I move and hang partially off just to help develop muscle memory and get the feel for it. Not trying to drag knee or anything, just want to practice so when I do get out on the track, it's more natural for me.

[Cazper]

I haven't done any track riding... yet... I actually prefer not hanging off when I am doing "spirited canyon riding". I like to see how far over I can lean the bike and still feel in control. If I feel as if I'm no longer at that point I'll either slow down... or hang off. I too practice the lean my upper body into the turn, but tend to keep my knee tucked into the bike.

I still have chicken strips... but thats because it is impossible to get to the edge of a 150 on the factory rim of a 250