ASK AN EXPERT
All the CSS coaches have spent years honing their riding, and are perfectly placed to answer your riding questions. So don’t be shy, ask Andy ‘Spidey’ Peck!
Q Can you help, I’m struggling with my new bike which is my first sports bike. After about an hour of riding I’m hurting across my shoulders which never happened on my previous bike which was a Street Triple. I’m sure it’s not the bike’s fault so what do I need to change.
A You’re not alone in aching after riding a sports bike, the seat position and low handlebars seem to encourage a rider to support themselves on their hands which often causes pain in hands/wrists/arms/shoulders. Try this: get a couple of people to support your bike as you sit on it. Put the balls of your feet on the footrests and stand straight up on the pegs. Now, without leaning forward to grab the bars and without pinching the tank with your knees, lower yourself on to the saddle. Once there, you can clamp the tank with your knees. You have now put yourself in a position where your centre of mass is directly over the balls of your feet, a naturally balanced position. Take note of how far away from the tank you are. You should be able to slump very slightly forward to reach the bars with very minimal weight on them, weight which should go away with the wind blast of riding supporting you leaving your hands free to work the controls, pain free!
Q My friends have just started doing a few track days and are pushing me to do my first. I ride a lot but mostly commuting into London during the summer months. They say it will improve my riding which I’m unsure about. Is there a benefit to doing a track day that I will notice with my daily riding?
A Just riding around a race track will not necessarily improve your riding; you could easily ride all day riding exactly as you do on the road! You may gain more confidence in your bike’s capabilities and gain a new level of confidence in your tyres but a clean race track generally offers more grip than a UK road. You may find that getting your speed ‘fix’ on a track makes you more sensible on the road if you are the sort of rider who thinks they are in competition with other road users?! For real improvement, book a trackday with an instructor or better still, get yourself along to a riding school and learn some real techniques that will transfer to your riding on road or track.