But let's get back to the future. Consider a contemporary bike leaned over
into a curve, with the rider seated exactly on the centerline. The bike has its
center of gravity ("CG"), the rider has his CG, and we can assume the two have a
combined CG. With the rider sitting balanced in the saddle, the combined
bike/rider CG is close to the centerline. Gravity is pulling the bike into a
lean towards the curve, balanced against centrifugal force pulling outward. The
rider controls balance and direction by slight adjustments in the position of
the contact ring.
Shifting weight towards the inside of the curve (hanging off) allows the bike
to hold the same line at less of a lean angle. The bike/rider combined CG is now
in a slightly different position, but the bike can follow the same curve at the
same speed at less of a lean angle. (Figure 4)
em>(above: Figure 4. Hanging off shifts the position of the combined CG,
which allows the bike to corner at less of a lean angle, adjusting how the bike
steers itself.)
It's obvious that the bike will have more leanover clearance with the rider
hanging off towards the inside. What's not so obvious, but just as important, is
that it moves the contact ring back towards the centerline of the tire, reducing
that off-center tire drag, and therefore reducing steering effort. If the rider
has to maintain a strong push on the low grip to keep the bike leaned over, that
really means the bike wants to countersteer itself upright. In other words, the
contact ring is too far from the centerline to allow the bike to stabilize
itself at that particular speed or road camber. Hanging off doesn't change the
traction equation very much, which means you don't increase the risks of a
slideout by leaning your body to a different angle than the motorcycle.
If your machine makes sparks too easily, or keeps bending the sidestand
lever, or requires a lot of steering effort to hold your intended line, hanging
off might give you better control. You may discover that hanging off a few
inches makes a big difference in steering effort, or allows you to follow a
smoother line. And regardless of the good or bad manners of your machine,
hanging off may be a smart idea for a severely off-camber surface, or a steady
crosswind. The point is, don't throw away better control of your bike just
because your habits have you glued to the saddle.
Get Some Exercise
The first step in learning to hang off is to get yourself unglued. Many of us
are paranoid about moving around in the saddle, because we've noticed that
wiggling around on the bike does strange things to the handling. Rather than
live in fear of things we don't understand, let's get a handle on what's
happening, so we can use our weight to advantage when it's appropriate.
Perhaps the first place to start would be to try some exercises with your
bike. As with any practice exercises, you'd be smart to wear your crash padding
and find some unused parking lot away from traffic.
Try riding the bike in a straight line while standing on the pegs. Get the
bike up to 25 mph or so, and then lift your butt off the saddle, placing your
weight equally on both footpegs. When that gets familiar, try loading more
weight on one peg, and then on the other peg. To keep the bike in a straight
line, you'll have to lean it bike away from the peg you're standing on.
Remember, you control lean angle by countersteering—to lean the bike left, push
on the left grip.
Once you're comfortable with standing on the pegs, try lifting your weight
slightly, and sliding your butt to one side of the saddle. Then shift your butt
to the other side. Try sliding over further and further, while holding the bike
in a straight line. Keep your "outside" knee against the saddle to help keep you
from sliding off. That is, when hanging off to the left, hook your right knee
over the right edge of the saddle and tank. See if you can relax that death grip
on the handlebars, and make small steering corrections by pushing on the grips
without pushing your body around. And see how smoothly you can shift your weight
around to avoid wiggling the bike.
While you're shifting your weight around on the bike and leaning it to
compensate for your different body positions, try to figure out what sort of
feedback you're getting through the grips. For example, as you lean the bike
left, do you have to push harder on the left grip, does steering stay very
light, or do you have to pull on the left grip to keep the bike from falling
over? Does the bike try to turn left or turn right when you place most of your
weight on the right footpeg?
Ergonomics
Of course, your ability to move around in the saddle depends on the
ergonomics of your bike. Ideally, you should be able to move your body around in
the saddle independently of the handlebar grips. That means that most of your
body weight should be balanced over the footpegs in your normal riding position,
and your arms should be slightly bent reaching for the handlebar grips. If you
have to brace yourself against the handlebars to move around or hold yourself on
the bike, you will be making steering inputs whether you intend to or not.
There are lots of bikes around with ergonomics that severely limit a rider's
ability to move around while riding. "Cruisers" tend to have forward-mounted
footpegs that prevent standing on the pegs at all. Some handlebars are so low,
or curve back so far, that it's impossible to stand on the pegs and still reach
the grips. The ergonomics of your machine may be so awkward that you can't move
out of your assigned spot and maintain a grip. Touring bikes are more likely to
have footpegs and handlebars in the right positions, but the trend has been
towards deep bucket saddles that pretty well lock the rider's butt into a single
position. This isn't just a comfort thing—if the ergonomics of your bike are
awkward, you can't expect good control in situations such as crosswinds or
off-camber turns. You'll have to decide for yourself whether style or long-haul
comfort is more important than better control.
On The Road
Assuming your bike has tolerable ergonomics that allow you to move around,
it's time to try sliding your weight in the saddle. First, try to feel what the
bike is telling you as you negotiate a few turns. Is steering light and
responsive while the bike is leaned over, or does it require a stronger and
stronger push on the low grip as you lean over more? Does the bike have lots of
leanover clearance, or does it make sparks frequently at the middle of the
corners? If steering is neutral, and you don't have a touchdown problem, hanging
off is probably a waste of time for you. But if you are riding a sportbike with
wide tires and quick steering, you'll probably discover that you can really
fine-tune your cornering control by shifting your weight.
I suppose even Mike the Bike would be hanging off his machines these days, if
he were still around.
David Hough is a long-time motorcyclist and journalist. His work has
appeared in numerous motorcycle publications, but he is best known for the
monthly skills series "Proficient Motorcycling" in Motorcycle Consumer News,
which has been honored by special awards from the Motorcycle Safety Foundation.
Selected columns were edited into a book "Proficient Motorcycling" published by
Bowtie Press. He is also the author of "Driving A Sidecar Outfit". A pocket
handbook, "Street Strategies" is also on the market now.
