How to put your knee on the floor
Content
Driving: trajectory, speed, position and… contact! All our tips for serving a slider on a track
There's a before and after on the track: putting your knee on won't make you the same biker!
If the act is completely natural for the pilot, in the eyes of the general public, putting the knee on the floor is something magical, even esoteric. The general public thinks that you must be crazy, that it must be painful. In short, a knee on the floor makes you shiver in cottages.
But by the way, why put your knee on the ground?
An excellent question that requires an answer similar to another question that goes back to the good old days: “How are you, Fonzie? Fonzie, he's cool. " Putting your knee on the floor is cool, it's a bit of a personal treat that doesn't owe anyone anything, and which, according to lay people, definitely falls into the category of road knights.
Apart from the contribution it makes to the ego (and which is not insignificant), the knee on the ground allows two things: to move the center of gravity of the car (in a curve taken at the same speed by two cars, the one whose hip driver would have to mathematically have less angle. which gives more safety ... or gives the potential to pass even faster); knee motorcycle). Obviously this measure doesn't make sense on a road where the knee is rarely placed spontaneously, except perhaps in a regular curve of the average radius, but on the track this indication also provides information on the holding rate.
Recipe
Now here's a secret that you shouldn't reveal to others: in fact, putting your knee on the floor is not difficult. Just follow the recipe: trajectory, speed, position ...
Before we go any further, let's remember one thing: some bikers have fun on their hips while in jeans, no slider. And some end up wearing the famous knee: bad idea, knee material was not originally designed for this use. It makes holes in it, with the complications of a synovial effusion style: the knee only lands in a safe environment. Therefore, preferably on the track.
The Holy Trinity of the slider: trajectory, speed, position ...
Good use of the knee follows a few specific rules, but above all requires a good understanding of the philosophy behind the subject. Indeed, and repeat this sentence well until you fully understand and integrate his, you must let the ground come to your knee and not insist on rubbing it to the ground... The knee placement is not the result of brutal movement and radical change in driving position, but the culmination of a calculated and consistent gait where all sets are one: a gentle caress with a worn plastic noise. Here's a winning charade:
My first, trajectory
On the way, you float in a corridor only 2,5 meters wide. However, the width of the runway is often between 8 and 12 meters. So, by using more path width, your trajectory will naturally be more rounded, which will lead you first to be able to go faster and then, very naturally, take more angle.
My second, speed
Unless you literally throw yourself off the bike, you won't land on the slider, taking turns at very low speed (or, gravity, but that's a different story). However, you will find that you also don't need to have supersonic speed or do a GP driver chronos to touch the ground.
If it’s not about getting started, it’s because you’re not going fast enough. You have to gradually increase your speed, and the best way to do this is to break down steps clearly: work well and analyze braking points, trigger pivots, rope points, and curve exits, and toss the bike into a dynamic counter turn. By simply following these rules, you no longer have to be very far from your goal. By applying and repeating the exercise, you will gain both confidence and precision in your trajectories.
My third position
Attention, here's the Veronique et Davina sequence: Fitting the knee requires a little flexibility, and if you stay as stiff as a lace pass, not only can you not touch the famous slider, but you can get to the ground by taking too much of a corner.
So let's take a look at what your body must do to achieve this state of grace from the bottom up:
- Legs: absolutely forbidden position of the "duck" (especially since, in addition, it is ugly and ridiculous). On both sides, the chick lies on tiptoe. Internally, this will give you a lever (should they say "left leg"?) To tilt the bike; from the outside this will allow you to position your foot slightly higher, so both to the wedge on the tank with a knee and on the frame with the heel.
- Hip and Pelvis: The thighs are flexible and the pelvis is not glued to the reservoir. Otherwise, your body won't be able to rotate around the bike and you end up in a completely grotesque and ineffective toad riding position (except for this theory: Australian GP 500 racer Mick Doohan and his non-academic style). Therefore, it is necessary to leave a few centimeters between the pool and the tank to make it easier to rotate around the bike.
- Hips: They remain perpendicular to the motorcycle, they do not rotate. When the turn comes, slide the body from half of the buttocks inward.
- Knee: flexible, open ...
- Bust: do not stick too much to the tank, because otherwise it will block the flexibility of the upper body, which you imagine also plays a role ...
- Head: It accompanies the general movement in great fluidity. In addition to knee placement, the goal of surgery is to go fast. As the bearer of the eyes (!), The pilot's head shows that he is already being projected onto the rest of the mission: to get out of the curve, accelerate again. Therefore, the head is not frozen, rigid, above the body, but accompanies the movement, being a continuation of the motorcycle posture
- Elbows: The outer elbow is the new fulcrum on the tank; the inner elbow is curved and pointed towards the ground because it helps lower the center of gravity, thereby gaining speed and stability.
All mine, impulse
And this is how a mountain gives birth to a mouse: what seemed insurmountable actually becomes very natural. Good trajectory, reasonably suitable speed, dynamic pivot entry, flexible and fluid posture, and respect from your fellow religionists thanks to your lattice sliders.
Now, if you are proud to spend a few seconds with a slider that rubs at every step, we have double bad news for you: first, it will cost you dearly in sliders, and two, if you look closely at the drivers GP and WSBK, you will find that they are finally a little
Moral of the story: If you rub for a very long time, it means that your trajectories are too rounded, and you can save time by narrowing the neutral phases, causing the turn later and accelerating earlier. In fact, you will find that you can walk even faster and that the step behind the knee is the tip of the boot and the footrest, which rub. As for the elbow, even the shoulder, that's a different story ...
