You have probably seen MotoGP riders do this. Or this. And definitely this.But what are they actually
doing? And why? Here are 10 things MotoGP racers do to go
faster. Nr 1. Use their upper body as a parachute to brake
harder When braking hard on any motorcycle going
at low speeds, the maximum decleration possible is about 1G. This is because the motorcycle wants to tip,
or pitch, forward around the front tires contact patch. The force keeping the bike down is gravity,
which is 1G. Makes sense right? And that is how we can do stoppies on our
motorcycles. Well did you know that MotoGP riders can decelerate
at 1.8Gs? So how is this possible? This is because they are using their upper
body as a parachute, by sitting straight up on the bike when getting on the brakes. This creates an aerodynamic drag force which
generates a torque that counter acts the torque trying to pitch the motorcycle forward. Nature and machine in perfect unison. Nr 2. Let the bike wobble Have you ever seen this or maybe even experienced
yourself? Some riders call this the death wobble. But for MotoGP riders letting the bike wobble
is very important, because the bike is stabilizing itself. You see, our motorcycles always wants to go
in a straight line primarily because of the trail of the front wheel, as well as the pneumatic
trail created by the tires. When the bike wobbles, it is trying to stabilize
itself. If we would start wrestling with the bike
when it is doing this, it will wobble even more. MotoGP bikes have a very aggressive trail,
so that the motorcycle turns in fast. But this also makes the bike more prone to
wobbling. This is why we have steering dampers, which
to a large degree prohibits wobble. Never the less, when riding a motorcycle at
its absolute limits, it is going to wobble, and the rider must let it do its thing or
be prepared to take the consequences. Nr 3. Secure their knee against tank by twisting
their outer foot When hanging off the bike it is very important
that the rider is securely connected to the bike. As we learnt in point nr 2, we should not
be hanging on the handlebars, because this de-stabilizes the bike. Well how can we be stable on the bike while
hanging off then? By using our legs. To be firmly connected to their bikes, MotoGP
riders squeeze their outer knee into the tank. Because of the body position the rider is
in, it is very hard to push hard into the tank by just pulling the knee. But riders have found a way to gain more leverage. By twisting their foot into the bracket on
the rear sets, they gain a big amount of leverage and can push their knee firmly into the tank. If you don’t believe me, go out into your
garage, put the bike on a paddock stand, and try to hang off. Not so far that you fall off now, hah. Try to squeeze your outer knee into the tank. Ok, now try to squeeze your knee into tank
while twisting the foot? You’ll go from Spongebob to the hulk. Nr 4. Drift to turn bike around quicker Ever seen the riders drift around the corners? It is really cool, but why are they doing
this? Well first of all maximum grip for racing
slicks is found at small degrees of slip, or sliding. So a tire that slips a little bit when trying
to accelerate the motorcycle forward will provide more grip than a tire that is not
slipping. So this is one reason to drift. Another reason is that it helps to change
the trajectory of the motorcycle, altering its line. This way of turning is usually referred to
as U to a V. Where the rider goes into the corner in a U shape, but then tightens up
their line by drifting and thus their line more resembles a V when exiting. This way the rider can trail brake far into
the corner, but still accelerate out fast. Nr 5. Let the bike stand up while staying down
Have you ever seen riders continuing to hang off the bike when the bike is almost straight? Why are they doing this? They are letting the bike stand up while staying
down, to minimize the lean angle of the motorcycle and to get maximum traction out of the corner. As I showed in my video about the science
of hanging off, hanging off only gives a few degrees of lean angle advantage. The amount of degrees that a rider can lessen
the motorcycles lean angle are increased with smaller lean angles. So at 60 degrees of lean angle, a MotoGP rider
hanging off really far can lessen their motorcycles lean angle by about 4 degrees. But at 10 degrees of motorcycle lean angle,
the rider can reduce the motorcycle lean angle by almost 8 degrees. This is huge. That means that the bike can be almost upright. This is why MotoGP riders hang off so far
on the exit. Nr 6. Foot position, foot position, foot position Have you ever seen the riders move their feet
around? No? Well have a look at how much they move their
feet around when changing body position. The riders foot position on the pegs is very
important, as we discussed earlier, the rider uses their legs to stay in contact with the
bikes. To do this they are pushing against the pegs. When moving around on the bike, to get maximum
pushing power, the rider stands at or around the balls of their feet. The riders also need to move their inside
foot when cornering, so that their toes do not hit the ground at big lean angles. This is also to be able to move their leg
and upper body further to the inside of the corner. The outside foot position when cornering is
equally important, to be able to push the knee into the tank, just as we talked about
earlier. Some riders more their feet around like they
are tap dancing, while you see others not moving them around as much. Everyone has their personal style, but no
one ignores their foot position, because they know how important it is. Nr 7. Short shift into corners When we enter a corner on a motorcycle the
RPMs go up, because the circumference of the tire is smaller on the outside of the tires. So the more lean angle we add, the more the
RPMs go up. When riding on the street this is just a cool
effect that most riders probably don’t even think about. But for a MotoGP rider this is crucial, because
they want to be in the correct gear for accelerating out of the corner, with maximum power and
traction. So in for instance long sweeping corners,
MotoGP riders short shift going into the corner, the bike sounds like it is almost about to
die, but when the bike is leaned over the RPMs go back up to just the right spot. Then the rider can accelerate out of the corner
without having to shift while being turned over. Which de stabilizes the bike. Another place you see rider do this is in
chicanes, where they turn right in a low gear, and then shift up before entering the left
turn. Nr 8. Use braking forces to move in saddle When sitting at home looking at a MotoGP race,
it looks so easy doesn’t it? Like anyone could do it if they just had the
talent that the riders have. Well this is far from the truth. MotoGP riders train as hard as any other pro
athlete Think about it, every time the rider moves
around on the bike, they have to push their weight around in various straining body positions. The rider is tap dancing with the feet, dangling
their legs, tucking on the straight, hanging off and resisting massive G forces when braking. To retain as much energy as possible throughout
the races, riders want to minimize how much they have to move around. Before turning in to a corner, riders want
to pre position their lower bodies to hang into the corner. Well another thing riders do before turning
in is applying the brakes. So a clever trick you see pretty much all
MotoGP riders use, is to move their lower body with the help of the G forces generated
by braking hard. So instead of moving into position and then
starting to brake. They start to brake and then just slide in
the saddle using the G forces. Very clever. Nr 9. Stand up to reduce wheelies Remember we talked about how motorcycles going
at low speeds can only decelerate at roughly 1G, well motorcycles can only accelerate at
roughly 1G, for exactly the reasons. The motorcycle wants to wheelie and gravity
can not keep the front wheel down. This is why the manufacturers started adding
wings to their motorcycles. The wings provide downforce, which enables
higher acceleration than 1G. But wings are not enough, so another trick
that you see many rider use is that on acceleration, they stand on their feet, lifting their butt
off the saddle, and moving forward. This creates a torque countering the torque
trying to make the bike wheelie. Nr 10. Leg dangle Rider do this maneuver when braking for corners. I talked about this in detail over 2 years
ago, and boy did you guys like that video. Over 1.5 million views. Since I made that video I started incorporating
it into my own riding and I really like it. When braking really hard on any race bike,
and especially a MotoGP bike, as we already know the G forces on the rider are huge. Not only that, the rider is being pushed around
at a crucial moment, just when they are going to initiate the turn. For me, dangling the leg into corners helps
me get more leverage to overpower the G forces, and thus can use my core strength more efficiently,
which means I use up less energy when braking. I also feel like I can control the rear wheel
slide a lot better which in turn increases my confidence on the brakes. An actual MotoGP test rider, Sylvain Guintoli,
sorry if I’m saying your name wrong, did his own YouTube video about why he does it. It turns out our analysis is very similar. He dangles his leg when being on the brakes
to get more leverage, increased core strength, to stabilize the bike and for the aerodynamic
advantage, since the leg is sticking out even more. Remember to subscribe to my channel for more
content like this. There is always something new to learn.
