Here is a picture from my first track day at Willow Springs. Can you please give me tips on how to better my form? Thanks!!

 

Not from one picture

 

But from what I can appreciate in that particular picture, you need to loosen up a bit...also do the so called trick of "kissing the mirrors".

 

I had the same problem, lots of lean angle, but my head was almost on the other side of the bike. Kiss your mirrors, try to work on it when your street riding.

 

yeah, you're sort of counter-leaning. kiss the mirrors, relax your arms, and get a buttcheek off the seat.

here's my friend christian, in a looooong lefthander at pahrump:


now he takes hanging off to an extreme, and really gets his head and upper body off the bike and low to the ground. this works for him, but may not work for you--what you should take away from his form is where his head is positioned and where his butt is in relation.

I don't hang off as much as he does as it starts to get really taxing


and in this pic it doesn't appear that my head is too far from the centerline of the bike, but i'm making a concious effort to get my head and shoulders off the center of the bike AND my butt.

what you'll run into is a desire to get your butt way off, but your upper body still centered over the bike. We call this riding "Crossed Up" and really negates the effectiveness of hanging off.

in a final picture (without bodywork so you can see a little better)


this is in a long right hander (turn 2 @ big willow) that's pretty high speed. my head is lower and a little more offset than it was in the previous pic, and what I could be doing better is opening my shoulders up a little more to the center of the turn.

 

What mirrors? These are track bikes. :p

 

Remember though, even though there are the so called "textbook" forms, you should experiment and find what works out best for you. If you are faster all twitched up, then it works and you should stick to it.

Here's some pics to help, pro riders of the Venezuelan Championship

 

There should be a sticky with proper riding form addressed in it...but anyways

Things change when you take your bike to the track. You learn a lot more about what works (form and technique) and your mistakes are exaggerated by the higher speeds. Your form looks fine for your first track day, probably as good or better than mine was my first time out. My advice is for you to hook up with a control rider or instructor and have them follow you around and show you what things you can try doing differently. Once your form starts to come through, reading the track and getting good lines down will come along as well.

Form is important, but not everything. A good friend of mine has very good form for the most part but he's barely at B group pace. Take a peek...same corner as BM posted a pic of (T2@WS).



And then you have another good friend who has what some would argue "not great form" and this guy is solid B group, one of the faster trackday guys I know. He's the 2nd guy in the pic (behind me )



There are tips people can give you about form, but hardly any of it will be of use until you go try things out on the track. Go read Keith Code's Twist of the Wrist and you will learn a lot about riding in general. I know it sounds dumb starting with the basics, but a solid foundation will help you improve your overall riding (and form) in the best way.

I'm still working on my own form (although I won't be able to for a while) and have a ways to go...

 

less leaning of the bike, and more hanging off the bike about an ***-cheek or so off the seat. try to keep your chest as close as possible to the tank and your head down, but still looking as far as possible through the corner.

i still till this day mess with my BP, so just take your time with it. just go for whatever feels comfy and gets you through the corners smoothly. smooth is fast.

 

wow, thanks for all your help guys. Great info. I gotta do another track day soon!! I'll do one in July if there is something available.

 

Is pulling fuses not a requirement over there? Haha.