Don't Try This at Home

Anyone who has watched a motorcycle road race, whether it be MotoGP or Superbike, can't help but notice how far those racers get those sportbikes over on their side. They wear pucks on the knees of their riding suits so they can get their lean angle over as far as possible without damaging or catching their knee on the asphalt.

Here is a video on Youtube that shows two of the best; Valentino Rossi (#46) and Jorge Lorenzo (#99)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emR8x1WPtSg.

Here is another vidoe in slow motion for a better look. This time its Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) and the new guy Marc Marquez (Honda) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6Wh8sZQlGE I hear that Marquez also wears a puck on his elbows. From the picture below, I can see why.

 Lee Parks, author of Total Control: High Performance Street Riding Techniques and owner of the Lee Parks Advanced Riding Clinic gave a demonstration at Americade and at the International Motorcycle Show at the Jacob Javits Center in NYC. The demo utilizes one stationary sportbike and five people. One (preferably the lightest) to act as the rider and the other four to lean the bike. Lee Parks showed how you can stabilize the contact patch on the tires by moving your body weight to the inside of the curve. The point I remember is that you should shift your butt cheek off the seat of the bike to ensure that you are moving your weight to the inside of the curve.

Here is promo for his course where you can see an example of what I described above: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amaIWvH3dG0

Here is a link to his website: http://totalcontroltraining.net/

I have followed his advice ever since and it definitely helps to stabilize the bike in the curve; allowing me to take curves slightly faster with the same confidence. But I know that I will never "get my knee down" like the professionals do. Certainly not on the road and I doubt I could come close on the track either. But I could improve. I recently found this video from Motorcycle Consumer News (MCN) that offers some more advice on how to get that knee down. I was surprised to find them trying this at a traffic circle (roundabout) in what I think is Australia (by the accents). Here it is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0v4greHKuI – MCN's Guide to How to Get Your Knee Down.

Another good one is MCN's Guide To Wheelies. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3_Z96lxyUo – But I'll be in the dog house with my wife if she finds out I've tried this one. So Mum's the word, right guys!

I don't think we'll see Craig doing this anytime soon!