Another Rossi leg dangle thread

I've done it several times at nelson going into 12 too hot... motocross instincts take over or something.. really not sure.

 

those guys have super high rearsets and their legs are put through tremendous force. they dangle their foot before the turn to give their leg a few seconds of relaxation to rejuvenate it before putting it through hell again. it helps them maintain good strength from their legs throughout the race.

 

LMFAO!!!!!!!!!

 

Schwantz does is at 1:53 here as well.

 

^^LOL

 

I've done it a few times under very hard braking..... it's not that I want to do it on purpose, but after I reach under to downshift and I try to reposition my foot back on the peg.... all that forward motion is wanting to throw anything forward which includes my foot. So instead of forcing my leg to go backwards back onto the peg under hard braking I let it dangle until I pitch it into the turn.

 

I'm starting to think the leg dangling is a blocking move. Rossi was really hanging it out there today. Looked like 18" or so out from the bike. If you think someone might be coming up the inside on braking for a corner, you stick your waving leg out there... might be a good way to get someone to back off a bit rather than hitting your leg. That, and none of the racers has really come out with a good explanation... they're never going to admit its actually for blocking, right?

 

looked lke dovi and rossi both were actually putting their foot on the ground at certain points of todays race.

 

could you imagine Schwantz on one of these little baby bike 800's ,the old 500's looked tiny when he was on one Simply put the guy was unreal on a junk bike compared to the other bikes on the grid:up:

 

i will personally ask a few of the gp riders at the laguna seca gp race. i'll be there racing and i just happen to have special credentials from phillip morris(marlboro ducati) for the weekend. my buddy marco does all the electronics for ducati. i'll be in the middle of stoner and haydens pits as much as i can. i will definitly get to the bottom of this. :up:

 

name dropper

 

they're all doing it... WTF

with like 2 or 3 laps, rossi dropped his foot & scrapped the ground enough to make the bike squirm

 

Just a thought...

It occurred to me while I was watching the Catalunya GP today, that perhaps Rossi, et al, are using the mass of their outside leg as counterweight to help stabilize themselves under heavy braking.

I noticed that the riders who were employing the technique were only using it consistently when braking for Turn 1 and Turn 10 (the two turns at the end of the two longest straights).

Perhaps the leg dangling technique is a less labor-intensive alternative to clamping onto the tank with one's knees?

The procedure I learned at the California Superbike School to prepare for heavy braking and corner entry is:

1) Move your body into position with your inside knee extended,

2) Roll off the throttle,

3) Bring your outside knee against the tank and press against it by doing a calf-raise,

4) Rotate your inside knee against the tank, and SQUEEZE,

5) Apply the brakes (modulate as necessary to achieve optimum corner entry speed) while downshifting simultaneously,

6) Relieve the pressure you were exerting with your inside knee on the tank and again extend your inside knee,

7) Countersteer the bike the appropriate amount into the turn.

I find the above method very effective (especially for handling Turn 1 at Summit Point Main and V.I.R. North), but it takes a LOT of energy. By the end of a school, or track day my legs are toast.

Perhaps the leg dangling technique is just a way for the MotoGP riders to brace themselves while expending less energy?

 

Since pretty much every MotoGP rider (including Rossi) who has been asked about it has said as much, perhaps you're correct.

-jim

 

Some of the 125 guys recently started doing it too.

 

Mladin said all the others are sheep just copying Rossi

 

Taking the race factor out of the equation and looking at this purely as a system, you quickly notice that it's an interesting way of turning about a pivot point...
Most, use the knee for an leaning gauge but also as a "moving pivot point". Obviously, to get your knee to touch, your leaning angle increases, less tire contact with the ground.
If you did this the Rossi's way, well, you don't lean as far, you have more tire contact with the ground...and that opens up room opportunities...

 

I'm gonna start doing it....in the Novice class.

 

my .02...
it's a cheetah's tail kinda thing.
when he pulls the leg back in, it's also helping to pull the bike down/initiate the turn...and what others said about lettin' the leg relax a bit from being cramped all the way down the straights, etc.

not to bust your balls, tj, today's tire profiles have way more contact patch healed over than upright.

 

I'm going to start doing it because it helps get low in the corners yo!