Moto Gymkhana Techniques Level 2: #3 Self Steering and Lower Body
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- Опубліковано 5 сер 2024
- Let's continue on our Self Steering journey by talking about how to use our lower body in an efficient way. Should we be sitting on the bike like a sack of potatoes or is there a better body position? Let's get to the bottom of this :)
DISCLAIMER:
Motorcycle riding is inherently dangerous. This video was filmed in a controlled environment with riders who have years of riding and teaching experience. Lexco Moto Gymkhana and all related personnel are not to be held responsible for any injury resulting from attempting these techniques.
Please wear safety gear, know your limits, know your motorcycle's limits, have fun, and always practice in a safe and controlled environment. - Спорт
This is a gold mine! Thank you for revealing that technique!
Thanks. I’m just finishing my modifications series. I hope you have time to watch those too. They’re very helpful if you’re brand new to the activity.
Dude thanks for getting us into the world of Kintaro-san. So much to think about, so I appreciate the step-by-step process also that you are continuing to adapt to more material. You won't get much response out in the youtube world but who cares. There is a bunch of us out here really eating this stuff up ready to practice and share it with others. This is beyond many riders who just wanna noob it up. Keep em' comin' brah!!
Thanks, Brotha! I got way more to come. This information is a little esoteric but I’m glad you’re here and willing to learn. Fun times ahead :)
These level two vids are gold man. Thanks so much for putting these on.
You’re very welcome. I’m glad you like the videos. Thank you for comment and for watching.
I am so thankful to you for producing this series. Would you consider doing an episode regarding how many of these techniques can be applied to real world road riding? In this vid I think you mention that self steering isn’t as effective at higher speeds, although I’ve tried it on my R3 and it seems to help, likely due to its light weight. But even the 600 lb cruiser I ride responds to weighting the seat towards the inside of the turn along with rotating my shoulders and centerline.
Thanks for the comment. I would definitely be willing to make a video in the future on that topic. I agree with you about using Self Steering at higher speeds. My primary way of steering at faster speeds is Counter Steering but I definitely supplement Counter Steering with Self Steering. I think of it as "Whole Body Steering" when I use all of the inputs in conjunction: Handlebar, foot peg, seat and knee inputs along with shifting upper body weight. All of these inputs used smoothly together makes for really relaxed, energy efficient and accurate steering. Thanks for the video suggestion; hopefully I can make that happen soon :)
Loving this whole series! Thanks for making them!
You're very welcome! I happy to hear you are enjoying the videos. Thanks for watching :)
Thanks, it's pissing rain here today, but i couldn't wait to try it out so i braved the elements and had a go. Very nice, thanks. I will need lots and lots more practice but there's promise. Looking forward to a dry day to really be able to have a go with confidence.
I'm the same way when I learn something new; I want to try it out right away! I'm always happy to hear from dedicated riders like you who always push their limits rain or shine. Thanks for watching and keep up the great work :)
Great information here. Thanks for making the effort.
You’re welcome! Thanks for watching :)
Wow, you look super smooth! Thanks for the info! I found a pretty good channel from a Japanese rider. MySimasima
Thanks! And yes, I know that channel. I actually went to his website a few years ago and started translating the articles with Google Translate. Good information there! Thanks for the support! :)
Good vid. Gonna try these later at my circuit revision.
Let me know how it goes!
@@LexcoMotoGymkhana Worked absolutely great! Was able to grip the tank more easily with the feet placement . Made my lesson more fun and easy. Thanks alot!
Beautiful! I’m glad to hear it. Thanks for watching and for your comments :)
I came back for this video because I wanted to know how you place your right foot. Especially in combination with the rear brake.
How often do you drag your foot? I often find myself draging it, but only because my bike is so much leaned over. When this happens, can I still keep on leaning further or should I hold it there? I'm a bit scared to go further, because I don't want to hurt my foot you know :(
Great question!
I think of the toe slide the same way a track racer uses their knee slider: as a gauge to know how much they are leaned over. I noticed last year that Takayoshi Sakuta consistently drags his toe slider as a way to gauge and feel where the lean limits are. So to answer the last part of your question: Once you start to drag the toe slider, you have reached the limits of lean. I wouldn’t lean any farther because if you do, you can end up having the toe pushed off of the peg and this can result in injury. It sounds like you are really leaning the bike, which is great! Thanks for watching.
Hey man, glad to have come across your channel. In terms of protection, do you find that sliders are good enough when protecting the handle bars as well, or is a cage the best way to go for a beginner?
I currently have only lever guards on my new supermoto but I feel comfortable with that because I am experienced and falling less than I used to and also, that's the only thing available for my bike. I always recommend Sakuta Sport Bumpers (SSB) from Japan. Check out their website to see if they make something for your bike. They're a bit pricey but amazing quality and they're very lightweight. I had those on my Ninja 300 and loved them. I used sliders for the first 3 years on the Ninja but if I fell, they would get pretty bent and had to use a small sledge hammer to pound it back into alignment, so they definitely don't hold up as well as the SSB bars. It's a tough question to answer because some frame sliders are very minimalist and wont protect much. The sliders I had on my Ninja 300 at first were almost like a semi-cage and sturdier than most sliders. Hope that helps and thanks for the question :)
@@LexcoMotoGymkhana thanks brotha!
yo alex, would those rubber things (stickers or w/e) on sides of the tank help for holding bike with your knees doing this stuff, or is regular tank surface ok? awesome content, keep it up! btw this self steering stuff is really eye opening, a missing link :D
You’re right. Self steering is a completely different way to think about riding and counter to a lot of what we learn here in the US. Thanks for watching; I’ve got way more good stuff planned for March :)
P.S. Yes, some tanks pads for grip would be useful for squeezing the tank. However, if you ride with jeans a lot, you might start to damage them in the knee area with tank pads. If you only ride with leather or tough textile riding pants, you should be fine.
Question about squeezing the tank. I am watching the Kintaro playlist and they say to keep your knees soft against the tank to better let the bike move how it needs. Is that just a difference between day to day riding and gymkhana? Or is there something else?
Otherwise, thanks so much for this. I'm really getting better through your videos! Do you incorporate the 'rear wheel steering' method when you teach a new rider or do you stick with the 'western approach'?
Greetings and thanks for the question. I'd first like to say that I'm glad that you are watching the Kintaro Videos. Well done! I learned a ton from those videos.
When I teach a new rider, I teach them to squeeze the tank to really get them to loosen up the upper body. As a rider progresses over time, they learn to achieve higher levels of relaxation in the upper body and they learn to anticipate the movements of the motorcycle. This allows us to begin to relax a little more with the lower body, especially during acceleration. I still like to squeeze the tank during braking to make sure I am keeping the weight off of the bars as the weight shifts forward. With time and practice, knowing when to squeeze the tank or relax starts to become engrained in your muscle memory and it becomes automatic. But as I said, when I teach a beginner, I just tell them to keep squeezing the tank the whole time so that they don't overthink it and get cognitive overload.
And yes, I do start to teach Self Steering to beginners right away but after I have taught them Counter Steering first. I think it's important to teach Self Steering because I want them to learn to use the whole body to steer the motorcycle right off the bat.
Thanks for watching and for your support. I'm glad that my lessons have been helpful. Reach out anytime if you have questions. I hope to make some new videos by the end of the fall. Take care :)
Hello again Alex,
I've just watched the whole Kintaro Safety series. I wanted to ask about tightening our legs against the bike. Kintaro commented on just resting our legs and feet against the tank to feel the bike, not sort of pressing them against it, as you and many other riders suggest. Could you share your thoughts on this? Thanks!
Hello and thanks for the question. It’s a great question that I’m actually going to be addressing someday in my Level 3 series. But for now, I will give you the short, quick answer.
I like to teach beginner students to keep weight on their feet and to squeeze the tank in order to get them used to engaging the leg and core muscles and KEEP THE WEIGHT OFF THE HANDS. This is a crucial skill that is very important for new riders to learn. However, as a rider improves and begins to engage the lower body muscles habitually, I teach them to start relaxing the legs a little. I teach a more advanced rider to keep weight on their feet but only squeeze the tank during braking. This way, a rider can begin to use their energy more efficiently and not waste so much energy squeezing the tank all of the time. But for beginner riders who still have trouble keeping their hands and arms loose, I teach them to just squeeze the tank the whole time so that they don’t overthink it and just get used to using the legs.
As a rider progresses in ability, it is then possible to teach them more advanced versions of the same techniques. I present techniques for beginners in my Level 1-2 series but in Level 3 I will begin to modify the techniques for a more advanced rider. I hope this answers your question. Thank you for watching :)
@@LexcoMotoGymkhanait certainly did. Thanks a lot as always. Great work
Wow that Mr. Kintaro playlist is a treasure trove of information! Are there any english books on this style of riding that you can recommend?
I know, right! Kintaro-San is like the Japanese motorcycle Yoda. Lol. But unfortunately, there are no English books available for Moto Gymkhana. This is why I started this channel in the first place: to get some information out to you guys in English about these techniques. I’m strongly considering making a book in the future so stay tuned for that announcement someday :)
@@LexcoMotoGymkhana Hi Alex -- great job with this channel! Just a small clarification -- the instructor in the videos is Mr. Yoshida. Kintaro is Mr. Yoshida's student. She uploads all the videos and responds to comments. She does appear in some of the videos.
Thanks for the clarification! I am going to make a video next week so that I can clarify the mistake. Thanks again!
@@LexcoMotoGymkhana Great! By the way, this information is in the comments for the following video: ua-cam.com/video/RQ5EqGXUlhI/v-deo.html
How far are the cones on those exercises? 12m for figure of 8? and 6m for slalom?
I don’t really remember the exact distances I used that day but I’d say you’re close. Looks like I’m doing 12-14m for figure 8 and about 8m for the slalom. Sorry I don’t have the exact measurements but thanks for watching :)
@@LexcoMotoGymkhana Thanks for posting, I am using those videos in my training and it's helps