Webmaster posted on September 03, 2009 10:37
This month we’ll cover the third point of being in the correct standing position and the benefits associated with this.
Our third point is to lean our upper body forward by bending at the hips, and also to arch our back. Bending forward allows us to lower our center of gravity somewhat (and decreases our chances of getting clothes lined by an overhanging tree branch!) but it also means that more of our body weight is positioned towards the front of the bike which will then allow us to accelerate more aggressively before the front wheel wants to start coming off the ground.
When we are in the central position we should be leaning far enough forward that our head is positioned over the handlebar mounts.
When we are accelerating we flex at the ankles and “roll” our body position forward so as to let the effect of gravity on our body weight (falling forward) work against the forces of acceleration.
This allows us to use less energy in holding onto the motorcycle and again it decreases the chances of the front wheel lofting into the air.
We do the opposite when decelerating and lean to the rear to again take effect of gravity, and also to decrease the chance of the rear wheel being kicked into the air.
With the size of the modern motorcycle smaller and medium sized riders should feel very comfortable in this position where as taller riders seem to benefit greatly from having handlebar risers and high bend handlebars as they aren’t then required to bend as much at the hips, alleviating a lot of lower back muscle pain.
With arching your back, or rolling the upper half of your back forward, this not only helps in getting your head over the handlebars but it also gets your elbows up and pointing outwards, where as if you are “straight chesting” it then it is natural for your elbows to drop down and be positioned down near your rib cage.
Next month we’ll talk about the benefits of having our elbows in the correct position.