Quick transition and body position.

[Worldtraveller]

Going through some of the photos from my last session, I thought I was ridiculously crossed up, even though I had been really focussing on improving my body position and mostly getting my upper body further off the bike instead of just sliding my butt over.

It occurred to me eventually, that I was looking at the pics just past the apex of turn 6 (right hander) , and coming back onto the bike for 7 (left hander), and I thought I would put the question out there for you guys. (I need to see if I can find some good WSBK/MotoGP video too.)

When you have to do a quick transition, or even just going from a turn to straight up, do you pull your upper body up first, scoot your butt first, or try to slide up with your whole body at the same time?

[alex.s]

going into a straight, body stays low and bike picks up until its most of the way up then i bring my body back up... once i'm up i'll adjust my butt again for the next turn if i need to (or if its a longer straight i'll tuck)

going into a chicane, first i will fix my inside foot position, then my outside foot position, then i will start to bring the bike up maybe 10% and then move my butt over but keep my body down, then as the bike starts to get up right, i bring my upper body around, then dive into the next turn

[csmith12]

Originally Posted by Worldtraveller

When you have to do a quick transition, or even just going from a turn to straight up, do you pull your upper body up first, scoot your butt first, or try to slide up with your whole body at the same time?

Bumm off first while still on the gas, head still over tank and knees still locked on while in the braking zone. Upper body and knee doesn't come over until tip in.

Chicanes? Google up knee to knee and hip flick. Knee to knee feels weird at first but once a good grasp is obtained, a crazy fast flick/turn rate can be achieved in a chicane.

[Sirref]

^ agreed, knee to knee feels really freaking weird at first but you'll notice as you start to get the physical movement down how much smoother the transition is due to not having input on the bars. It was one of the problems I was experiencing at my last track day and I felt so much smoother at higher speeds when I got the bike properly settled through the quick transition corners. It's one of those things that should never be an issue on the streets but you run into on the track as you start hanging off more and more.

As for crossed up, I saw the biggest improvement myself when I had a control rider coach me individually and point to his head before every corner then putting his head as close to the ground as possible to prove his point. You lead with your eyes and those happen to be on your head. Therefore you lead with your head. If you focus on putting your head to the ground then the rest of your body will naturally follow.