Ideal position on seat?

[Monsterbishi]

On a YZF750R...

So, for cornering, what's better in your opinion, having your two best friends up close to the tank, of giving them plenty of room and sitting at the back of it?

[FZRDude]

Snugly nestled on either side of the tank thank you. I like a lot of weight the front....

[KontoBoy]

I'm no racer but I agree with getting forward in the seat going into the turn. I've got long legs are rearsets so it's where I end up most of the time anyway and it helps me relax my grip on the bars if they are close.

The only time I find myself pushing back in the seat into a turn is for chicanes. I need to get my legs under me so I can quickly move side to side on the bike.

Kontoboy

[djalbin]

The ideal seat position?
The answer depends on your arm length and legs (inseam), your riding style, the bike's suspension setup, and the corner. Like Kontoboy said, position yourself to keep from locking your elbows. Like FZRDude said, sit close to the tank if you need to weight the front.
Your position should be adjusted based on the corner (down hill, up hill, wide sweeper, sharp right-angle, etc ...) and how you fit the bike. Move into different positions in order to be loose and comfortable on the bike while you're weighting the bike to carve the turn (weight the front, rear, inside, or outside as needed). It's different for an off camber decreasing radius turn than it is for a banked constant radius turn. It also makes a difference based on whether you're trail braking into the turn or open throttle into the turn. What you do for the current corner also depends on the next corner. Chicanes or S-turns require a different approach than a single corner between two long straights. Unless there is a long enough straight between the two corners, your exit out of the current corner will set you up for success or failure on your entry into the next corner.
Your seat position should change too based on road conditions. If you're riding through loose rock/dirt you will need to weight the foot pegs and lift your butt off the seat. If you're making a slow speed sharp U-turn you will need to hang-off the outside of the bike rather than the inside.
So I guess the answer to the question of ideal seat position is ...
it's the position you should currently be in to provide the best control of the bike at that moment in time. The wrong answer is to have a fixed position that is not adjusted to fit the situation (i.e. do not glue your butt into a single fixed position). You need to be flexible and move around on the bike.

[dragracer1951]

Very good point Don. My R1 is even more sensitive to position. I can run into corners trail braking to teh apex, and move a little forward and it will make the front get loose because I've just overwhelmed the tire. Dosn't take much...

[aidybest]

I just watch the pros and see what they get up to (not the street corner types)

They seem to be sprawled all over the tank - well I could be talking about both - depending on how ur mind is working)

Forward is best for me so weight at the front

[djalbin]

I just watch the pros and see what they get up to (not the street corner types)
They seem to be sprawled all over the tank

The setup for the track is usually different than the setup for the street (canyon, etc ...). The track is typically smoother and the speed/braking faster (i.e. they typically brake deep into a corner on the track to overtake another rider). Typically the street setup is softer than the track setup (street pavement is rougher than track pavement). With the stiffer setup you can put more weight on the front. Plus with trail braking deep into the corner you want as much front feedback as possible. A lot of racers prefer to lay out over the front to get this front feel and feedback. This is OK as long as your front suspension is setup for this style of riding. Don't forget these race bikes can adjust the offset for the trail and rake of the front, plus they are running racing slicks with sticky tire compounds. Setup and style for fast street/canyon riding is not necessarily the same as the setup for a particular track.

[dragracer1951]

Werd!!

Don makes a good point.
You need to either know what the changes you are making will do and feel like or better yet...talk to one of the suspension guys like GP suspension when you do a track day. Most of those guys will dial you in for about $40

[ozzyfzr]

I remember Jamie Whitham, I don't think he actually sat on a bike, just sprawled from side to side, front to back. He was awesome to watch, climbed all over em!

Whatever works for you I suppose is my answer, since changing the tail/seat section on mine, I feel the whole bike has changed for the better, sit on, rather than in the bike. Having a mate follow you thru the twisties, who knows how to ride has benefitted me heaps.

Constructive criticism is well worth it, totally different riding experience now.

my 2 cents anyway

[stan]

I tend to sit foward, with my boys nicley settled onto the tank, nothing brutal, just a comfy nudge.

One important thing to remember is when you get to a corner, stop moving your body weigt foward or back, as it can really unsettle your bikes susspension as it is hard at work trying to cope with it all.

stan

[RiceRocket1]

When cornering all your wait should be on the pegs and your but should not be on the seat. This lowers the center of gravity of the bike / rider combo and also reduces the leveraging affect on the suspension which allows it to work less because your legs also act as suspension for your body.

[kiwi60]

Gidday,

Next time your out riding, try out some of the suggestions that have been posted here, after a while you'll begin to find what works for you.

I have spent a lot of time reading up on riding techniques, and there are definate must do's, plus a few really good moves:

1. When braking, keep your arms relaxed and grip the tank with your knees. Doing this will transfer the center of gravity from your upper body(where it would be if you locked your arms), toward the centre of the bike. The result of doing this is that the back wheel is far less likely to become light, of airborne under hard braking. I've put some 'STOMP' on either side of the tank, which really helps the gripping with the knees.

2. When flicking into the corner, weight the outside peg and counter steer the 'bars. At the same time move your torso off the seat (I only side over until one cheek is off) towards the inside of the corner. I use this technique on the road as well with no problems.

There is, as mentioned above, different ways of riding for different situations, and if you can, enroll in a track day with professionals teaching - like the California Superbike School (which will even be in New Zealand in the next 12 months).

This way you can get to know how to handle your bike in a safe enviroment, plus the skills learnt will transfer over to the road.

WARNING: be aware - track riding is highly adictive

Cheers

[M Novak]

You should sit where you feel the most comfortable in your ability to control the bike on the brakes and through the turn. What is best for me may not be best for you...there is no "right" way.

My .02

[djalbin]

One important thing to remember is when you get to a corner, stop moving your body weigt foward or back, as it can really unsettle your bikes susspension

Yes, good point ... do your body positioning before the turn ... not in the turn. You can make minor adjustments in the turn, like squeezing your outside knee/thigh into the tank more, etc ... but these should be pressure adjustments (fine tuning) rather than repositioning your body.