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before & after [pics]

869 Views 16 Replies 7 Participants Last post by  Mostrobelle
Shots from CSS at Infineon last week. I was just beginning to fix my steering and body position in the first picture. I got better in the second. Future pics should show bigger improvement.

I have to say that the outfit goes better with the red bike [cheeky]

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;D

Much better hip action on the green bike, Ducky....oh, and I like the re-entry brain cage on you !
[thumbsup]
Lookin' good, girl! [thumbsup] You're gonna get a knee down before me. :mad: Your body position is terrific. I'm still trying to get my upper body right. ::) (....and no boob jokes, guys. :p)
Look at you Ducky! Kick ASS!!! and I love the White suit. Hope to ride again soon. This rain is killing me.
I still have a lot to sort out...some pics show the front is more compressed than I like...and my helmet face is not open enough thus obstructing my view at some corners...

Gettin' there...can't wait to ride again :)
Ducky --

What do you mean by front being more compressed?

Green bike picture looks good for overall riding position -- getting off a bit, and keeping your torso low and toward the front.
!

Lookin' good. [thumbsup]

You're really gonna like Turn 2 at T-Hill. It gives you a long, even radius turn to work on your body position. As you go through it with more and more speed, you'll be off the bike more with your head more of centerline and through the turn. When you get it right, it feels just great!
Tigre said:
Ducky --

What do you mean by front being more compressed?

Green bike picture looks good for overall riding position -- getting off a bit, and keeping your torso low and toward the front.
I need to ask my shop about this -- because of the custom suspension, springs were switched for my weight and travel taken out -- I don't know if the forks look more compressed because of that or if I'm sitting too tall and pushing down on the bike. Red bike photo shows this, green looks fine but that bike's suspension isn't fitted for me.
Mid-turn cornering should leave the forks somewhat compressed... I wouldn't be too worried about what it looks like in the photo.

If the forks are too soft, you'll bottom out and the front end will dive.
If the forks are too stiff, the bike won't turn in easily.

BTW: here's what it looks like when it comes together in turn 2 at Thill. :)

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Goddamn, Steve, your body position has gotten sooooo much more fluid this year.
Tigre said:
Mid-turn cornering should leave the forks somewhat compressed... I wouldn't be too worried about what it looks like in the photo.

If the forks are too soft, you'll bottom out and the front end will dive.
If the forks are too stiff, the bike won't turn in easily.

BTW: here's what it looks like when it comes together in turn 2 at Thill. :)
My bike does turn easier (that's even before fixing my/rider steering problem) than the school's bike so I'll attribute that to custom suspension.

Tiggy, in your photo, you're in mid turn (and max lean?), so you aren't putting any pressure on the bars and just the throttle is holding your line and keeping traction, correct?
There's some weight on the bars, but not much -- and I'm not "applying" it. It's more a function that when I try to hang off that much I end up putting a bit of weight on the bars. Most of my weight there is on the pegs / seat / right-thigh-on-the-tank.

I became a believer in "don't weight the bars" when I did Freddie Spencer. They took us around a few laps showing us how brakes + body weight can steer the bike -- to the point they would take their left hand off the bar going into left-hand turns to demonstrate that no pressure was needed. I tried it a couple times and it was an eye-opening experience. That's not the right technique for every turn, but knowing that's how the bike works helps build the "racer's toolkit" for figuring out more complex turns, etc.

Ducky said:
Tiggy, in your photo, you're in mid turn (and max lean?), so you aren't putting any pressure on the bars and just the throttle is holding your line and keeping traction, correct?
It's been a couple days since I've shined myself in this thread, so I thought I'd "contribute" another photo.

Cheers,
Tigs

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Impressive Tiggy [thumbsup] what a showoff you are ::)

I want to grow up just like Tiggy -- to park my rear against a bike like that ;D
My self-critique is that my head is a little askew... but there are differing opinions on head position.
Tigre said:
My self-critique is that my head is a little askew...
Yes, I think we all would agree that something is wrong with/in your head. [cheeky] :-*
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