There is too much emphasis on looking the part than the real reason we teach body positioning.  I have seen it all too often, the frequent track enthusiast who tries to nail this technique, but refuses to take a class where we can work one on one with you to help you feel what the proper technique should be.  The truth is what you think you are doing is no where close to what you are imagining in your mind, it requires having someone follow you, meet you in the pits and put you on one of our bikes (which are on stands) and physically adjust your feet, torso, arms and head to really understand.  If you can film yourself by placing a camera on the tail section of your bike this can help you visually understand what it is you need to do to get yourself in the position you’d actually like to be in.  What you feel and what you are actually doing are two very different things and this will help you work on it productively to improve.

Now for the reason we actually stress body positioning…Safety.  Less lean angle, quicker you can get the bike up, quicker you can add throttle safely.  I know it looks cool, but it has another purpose, less lean angle means less hard parts scraping (foot pegs that are stationary are not things you really want to scrape since they may catch and launch you).  The more you get off your bike, the more contact you have with the pavement, the more traction you have…you get the picture.  We want to get people off their bikes to allow more traction because more traction is safety.  Have you noticed people who get wicked lean angle?  How long are they in that position? Do you notice that people who have better lines and less lean time are actually quicker?  Hmmmm…starting to make sense?  Once you start that lean angle you can only maintain that speed with tiny and I mean tiny changes, it is only when you start to stand the bike up that you can actually start to add throttle safely.

Then there’s the knee dragger…don’t be in such a hurry.  Get the technique, lines and confidence up because then you can really add speed into the equation and guess what?  Dragging that knee will come naturally.  We are aiming for smooth here, since smooth is what your bike likes and if you aren’t smooth don’t even think about throwing that knee out there to try to get proof.  All you may end up with is the need for new leathers or repairing your bike all for the sake of getting some street cred.  I am not trying to discourage anyone, I just want to stress the importance of getting everything down before taking the next step.  It is a bit like learning to walk, we had to crawl first then walk, it was in steps…so it is with riding and in riding it is about smoothness, technique, body positioning and speed.  They all need to work in perfect harmony.  Riding is like a beautifully technical dance and there is no feeling in the world when everything is perfect, that is the feeling we try to achieve every lap we take.  It doesn’t happen all the time, but when it does there is no feeling like it.  The season is over, but we have a new year to set new goals for ourselves, let’s aim on being safer and faster.  Be safe and as always…Vixens Ride!