Canyon Riding - Leaning Off the Bike

[WE_GOT_THAT_TOO]

Still pretty new at this and looking for some pointers on how to get my body off the bike and what I should do to be able to handle corners better and at higher speeds. I understand this would be easier to explain in person and on an actual bike, but this is what I got for now. Thanks for all the input ahead of time!

[cbrSHAMU]

Find someone who is familiar with the canyon roads of choice and follow. Go at your own pace. People crash because they overextend themselves. I would say start off slow through a turn, then slowly accelerate through the turn while throwing more and more of your body off the side of the bike.

[DakotaCBR]

Photos and video of myself riding help me critique what I'm doing. I used to go on the track thinking I had great form, then saw pics/vids and realized I wasn't off the bike nearly as much as I thought. My form has come a long way but I'm still not happy with it and I work on it every time I go out.

[WE_GOT_THAT_TOO]

Thanks! I am familiar with the road, I used to take my car out there all the time before I got a Bike. I can lean with the bike very well and take most of the turns at double the speed limit. What I want to perfect is to throw my body on the side of the bike while taking the turns. I have pics where I am off the bike a good amount, my calf is what is keeping on the bike, but everytime I am so far off the bike, I find out I am not leaning the bike as much, perhaps I feel so close to the ground and that self consciously prevents me from leaning, I don't know. I guess practice is all that is left to do.

[DakotaCBR]

The whole point of getting off the bike is so that you don't lean the bike as much, providing more surface contact between the tires and road, and therefore, more traction. If you want to lean the bike more, then don't hang off. Of course, that might lead to dragging hard parts and then a lowside...

[Jason748]

Buy Kieth Codes book: Twist of the Wrist 2  and start going through it...

[cbrSHAMU]

Buy Kieth Codes book: Twist of the Wrist 2  and start gogin through it...

that would have been a better suggestion..I have the videos laying around somewhere that I can upload if need be.

[WE_GOT_THAT_TOO]

Never heard of it...I should chech that out. Can I find it on you tube and stuff?

[cbrSHAMU]

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=keith+code+twist+of+the+wrist

[WE_GOT_THAT_TOO]

Thanks!

[Jason748]

I prefer the book over the vid (but I heard Keith recently released an updated Video...)... it's really dry reading, but it will change the way you ride if you apply it.  EVERY Sportbike rider should TOTW2 on their shelf.

Keith's other books, TOTW 1 & The Soft Science of Road Racing Motorcycles are OK as well, but start with TOTW "2" first.

Other really good books for riding technique are:
Nick Ienatsch - Sport Riding Techniques
Lee Parks - Total Control

[Wrench87]

EVERY Sportbike rider should have TOTW2 on their shelf.

It's that usefull of a read eh?  I'll have to go look for it

[Jason748]

YES!

[cbrSHAMU]

I find that watching the video prior to reading the book makes it a bit easier to comprehend. Some of the text gets a bit technical..

[Wrench87]

I find that watching the video prior to reading the book makes it a bit easier to comprehend. Some of the text gets a bit technical..

Hmm, yeah my brain would appreciate me being able to understand the technical bits, for sure