BP Critique

A couple of quick observations.....
1. Upper body/head need to come down more.
2. If you hands are tired by the end of the session, you are probably gripping the bars to tight.
3. Get your upper body (shoulders) turned more towards the direction that you want to go. Imagine a line from your right shoulder to your left shoulder. Then, a perpendicular line (90 degrees) coming away from that. The perpendicular line is pointing to the center (the nose of the cowling). Now imagine that same shoulder to shoulder line with the perpendicular line coming from it but that line pointing towards the back of Dan's bike! In other words, open up your shoulders towards the direction that you are going/want to go. It's almost like you are trying to keep your right arm in close to your body so that you have better throttle control. Use the screwdriver grip on your throttle. That will allow you to have very good (read smooth) throttle control and at the same time allow you to bring your upper body down more AND get your shoulders pointed in the correct direction.
4. Once you get all the above worked out, most likely it will also bring your hips "around" a little more towards the direction that you are going, which will result in your knee being out a bit further and not be pointing down, but more "out".

 

Nice work... You have already said it all.
I think MAYBE your trying to get a knee down instead of working on the rest.
Looking at the coach, not seeing his left arm on the tank guessing it's not that sharp a corner that the body position warrants it.

I've been working on upper body positioning also.
Solved my arm pump by using my legs more, now trying to deal with leg pump.

You know what's up, Pick one and next day work on that and nothing else.
Get another picture, REPEAT..

IMO, time, laps and YOUR realizing what's up and what you need to do will get you there.

Think about it, when you started the coach would have to point out what your doing wrong. Now you can tell by your self SO you know what you need to do.
The really hard part is getting your head then your body to agree.

What do I know, other than I'm trying to get it together like you are.
But my pictures show the progress I'm making and pretty sure yours are doing the same.

SO that's my 2 cents.

Far from a newbie novice, not yet Advanced. Have fun in the progression. Cheers.

 

Hello Jackson!

Remember you are a bit shorter than Dan, you will not ride exactly like him!

Have you noticed improvements in your BP since reviewing it?

 

Coming in early during the session, or sitting out a session is always the smart thing to do when you start getting very tired. That is when you start making mistakes, as you realized. Glad to hear that the "opening up your shoulders" helped you out. I did three days over the Labor Day weekend...two at Barber and one at the Southern Ladies only day and I was just spent by the end of the weekend. Being almost 61 years old doesn't help either, but it was plenty hot down south that weekend.

 

Would like to join the discuss as well

One of my goal this year was to improve my BP but I think I need more work. Looking forward to your comments and advice.

 

Jacksondee, you have way more butt off the seat than him. Disalvo told me to put my butt back on the seat more and it will let me get my upper body off more. He was right...

 

I think first and foremost, you're ambition is commendable. Someone that always wants to improve and grow is awesome! I look at that picture. I see a N sticker. I think to myself, "that is good solid foundational body position." For the pace and N skill level you're riding at, I don't see any real issues. Could it be better? Sure! But baby steps. A large portion of BP is comfort. On the bike, different perspective as you're looking around the bike now, not over it etc. Feeling in control and maintaining control.

The other problem with BP critique is using photos. There is SOOOO much we don't know or take into account looking at a photo. What part of the corner is this? What line are you on (Passing, race, etc)? What track and corner is this? Are you off line and compensating as such? Did you rush the entrance and this is not typical for your normal position in this corner? Are you tired? etc. It looks as though this is a long corner and you're in the first 3rd of the corner. To me, I'm less concerned with body position at this point. From just before apex to the exit of this corner is where I'd be looking for body position perfection.

You're also comparing your body position to someone else and on a different bike and a much different skill level. The coach you're following is a big dude! That will affect how they look. Their riding style may be different. I guarantee, unless I'm demonstrating BP for someone, my coaching BP is different then my race BP!

Body position also changes with pace. I think for a N rider. You're doing well. Butt is off the seat, head and shoulders off the center line of the bike. Foot position looks good, so you have some ground clearance left to grow into more pace. Well done! Open up the shoulders more to the inside of the corner as you can. Turn that knee out towards the apex to support you weight better. Because this is a long corner, you may not have moved the knee back yet?

Keep up the good work!
One thing I will mention is that too many people want to look like Marquez on the bike. You can't. You shouldn't. Different bikes. Different pace, different tires and electronics. Stick with the fundamentals. Grow and change as your pace / experience dictates.

I got the chance to work with Nolan Lamkin a bit this year. First thing I wanted to suggest to him was to NOT get off the bike so far! Turns out, he needs to be off that far or more! The KTM's he's riding can't sustain a ton of lean angle. They roll off the edge of the tire if they carry to much lean angle and low side. We've got to keep the lean angle to a minimum. But as you increase speed, you need more lean angle to take a turn at the same radius! What to do! Focus on line, using the whole track and doing the things that help us not need that lean angle or that help reduce the turn radius.

Again different bike, different person, different pace.

Continue to grow and strive to achieve more. Be happy with the progress you've made. HAVE FUN!!

 

One time I had someone tell me I was hanging off too much, a month later he told me I wasn't hanging off enough. There's days where people tell me I look awesome, and an hour later someone else will tell me I'm trying too hard and look uncomfortable. I've basically realized that everyone's got an opinion that they're more than happy to share.

For me it sums up to am I comfortable and enjoying myself. Because I don't know who to listen to anymore.

 

Perfect example. You have people who say the marq marquez style isn't for us based on the reasons listed. But you have other people who argue that the only reason he rides like that is because it's faster and safer.

I guess you gotta pick your camp of logic to believe in haha.

 

100% agree with greg.... my coaching BP is less aggressive than my go fast BP... sometimes lazy... until we are demonstrating BP to you all that is.. then we tighten things up..
Jackson we've talked about this in depth.. and a pic is worth 1000 words.. most of those are questions that wont give us a full explanation of whats going on... so keep it up your willingness to learn.. and take the small steps that we were working on...your a tall dude.. you wont look like I do on a bike or anyone else for that matter.
little things at a time and it will come to you!

 

Don't get caught up in all the Body Position hype and exaggeration. Good body position is important, and you should definitely listen to coaches and the fast guys, but it's not always the fastest way around a race track. Unless someone is on the exact same bike as you, with the exact same rearsets, clipons, height, weight, etc, they will look different and ride different as the weight being thrown around goes to different places and needs more or less "umph" to get it there.

I'm 6'5, 250lbs, and ride an F4i with attack rearsets, so I'm going to look WAY different than a 120lb, 5'2 woman on a 1000. Stamina, confidence, and concentration also play a huge role. If you're tiring yourself out and smoking your quads on the first 3 laps, how can you expect to make good decisions and smooth lines if all you can think about is looking cool and how much your legs hurt?

Again, take what I say, and what everyone else says with a large grain of salt. Your style is much different than anyone else's.

With that being said, I love you Eric Swahn if you're reading this :cheers:

https://youtu.be/GxPkDdi_l9M


Also, I'm pretty sure Mark Miller is faster than anyone who will posting on this forum, and this is what he looks like.....