Body Posture & Positioning

When I was still riding my ZX150KRR, I found it almost impossible to get into a comfortable body posture. I'm standing at a hefty 177cm tall and the bike was just too small for me. Either I was doing it all wrong or I just could not get into a comfortable body posture on that bike when negotiating corners or on the straights. Definitely one of the reasons I was dying to get my hands on a real sports bike.

The standard riding posture of the R6 is very aggressive, probably the most aggressive and back-breaking of all the Japanese Supersport Bikes. However, because you're always in an aggressive posture, it is very easy to go from full tuck in the straights to sliding your butt out in preparation for a corner.

I leave 1 butt cheek off the seat as I find that to be the most comfortable. With 1 butt cheek off the seat, it becomes almost natural to open up your inside legs, just like how the MotoGP guys do it. Over the years, I've picked up valuable body posture advice from friends, forums, videos and whatever I could lay my hands on. I'm going to summarise and share the important bits with you.

1. Ride with your toes on the foot pegs. In a full tuck, it is more comfortable to rest your toes on the foot pegs than resting the balls of your feet or worst, your heels on the foot pegs. You can see Valentino Rossi resting his toes on the foot pegs in this photo.

2. In a full tuck, rest your chest on your fuel tank, it is slanted from your crotch up to the fuel cap for that reason. Here's a pretty good example.

3. Rest your chin on the fuel tank, somewhere in front of the fuel cap. Depending on your bike and your height, you might have to sit further back or in front to achieve this. See the above photo again for an example.

4. While negotiating a corner, your inside toes should be on the foot pegs and the heels of your feet locked onto your heel guard. By doing this, you naturally angle your knees out like a professional racer. Notice Casey Stoner's inside heel in this photo.

5. Lock your outside thigh to the fuel tank and your outside heel to the heel guard. Combine this with locking your inside heels to the heel guard, you form a steady leaning posture.

All of the above is a general guide, it is a my personal preference. You may adjust your posture until you feel comfortable with it. That is the most important, a comfortable rider would definitely go faster than a rider who feels awkwardly out of place. With the proper amount of practice, you would start riding like Ben Spies in no time!

Before ending this post, take a look at this YouTube video that gives a good explanation on cornering posture. I can't get it to play in full screen, if you encounter the same problem, just right-click on the video and select 'Watch on YouTube'.

That's all for this evening. Ride safe!