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Old 07-26-2009, 02:22 PM   #146
Homeslice
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Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: SF Bay Area
Moto: Gix 750
Posts: 11,351
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Quote:
Originally Posted by zortness View Post
Here's an image for some visual references relating to my earlier post. This is me coming up behind Danny in turn 7 at LVMS. Danny's not slow, he's running 1:28's at LVMS, which is pretty quick for a non-racer.

Here's what's going on in the picture: I'm coming up behind Danny. I actually passed him coming out of this corner. It's a double-apex corner decreasing radius corner, I'm just past the point where I use the most lean, so this is the exit half of the corner (I'm already off the brakes and on the gas). Danny's on a good line, but I'm carrying about 5mph more than him.

Here's what I see: Danny's hunting for the track with his knee, so instead of rotating around the tank, he's moving directly off to the left. This is forcing his upper body to stay more over the tank. It's also pushing his toes out further on his inside foot, which takes away some of his usable lean angle. His arms also look tense in this picture, to me anyway. Also, Danny's looking at the curbing, I'm looking at the next corner (a right hander that's not more than 200ft past this curb). My form is not perfect either, my head should be lower as I exit the corner.
On the other hand, his chest being lower provides a lower center of gravity, and it also allows him to take his outside forearm & elbow and contact the tank with it, providing feedback & stability. So I don't think body position alone explains why you happened to be faster than him in this particular corner.

I think the bottom line is that everyone has a different comfort zone, and how they ride depends on their body size & shape, the shape of the bike, and their strength/fitness.

Last edited by Homeslice; 07-26-2009 at 02:56 PM..
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