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Thread: Improving your hand position on the grips.

  1. #1
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    Improving your hand position on the grips.

    I read this article in the October, 2012 edition of SportBikes Inc Magazine found here: http://sportbikesincmag.com/SBI/SBI-1012.html, Pages 94-97.

    HOLDING THE KEYS IN YOUR HANDS
    WORDS: ERIC WOOD
    IMAGES: ERIC WOOD/ALLAN LANE

    When looking at what makes athletes successful in a given sport, it always amazes me how much some of the smallest details matter. It doesn't matter if you look at golf, baseball, motocross or any other sport, there are basic fundamental skills that every successful participant has in common. These fundamental skills are not always obvious to the casual observer, as they are so natural to the professional athlete that he or she utilizes them with virtually no conscious thought. However, when a casual player attempts to play like a pro (like a golfer trying to hit the ball 300 yards), the missing components of fundamentally sound mechanics become obvious.

    Many riders come to the track after spending considerable time on the street. Since street riding rightfully involves spending very little time near the threshold of traction, habits that decrease sensitivity or reduce traction and control rarely cause any problems. When a bike is being ridden down the street at 40 mph, riders could sit side-saddle and hold on with one hand and still stay in control much of the time (barring any interaction with drivers, of course). As a result, street riders often need to break habits that are harmless on the street, but critical on the track.

    This article will discuss how making a small adjustment to how the handlebars are held can make a major difference in your riding. Like the amateur trying to out-drive Tiger Woods, using an improper grip makes it nearly impossible to get the most out of even the best equipment.



    As we approach the limit of traction, it is critical that riders do all they can to maximize grip, control, and feel. Since we get a large portion of our feedback through our hands, proper grip is key to making it all happen. Many riders have the habit of gripping the handlebars across the knuckles so that their hand is perpendicular to the bars. This grip causes several problems that affect a rider's ability to ride to their potential on the racetrack. Riders should instead grip the bars so that the grip is situated diagonally across the palm as shown below. In using this grip, riders will better be able to relax their grip on the bars, they will have better feel and feedback for traction, and they will be in a greater position of control. In short, having the proper grip on the bars becomes one of the keys to proper riding form.



    In order to have sensitivity in your hands, it only makes sense that you need to have the ability to relax. In each class that I teach at the Penguin School, there are always a few riders that have issues with forearm pump. Changing grip can go a long way to eliminating this problem. Since all handlebars are angled backwards towards the rider, gripping the bars so that your arm is roughly perpendicular to the bar naturally pulls your elbows into your ribs. Unfortunately, holding your hands at the angle of the bars and pulling your elbows into your ribs places your major forearm muscles in a position of flexion, not unlike someone who is "making a muscle" with their bicep. As a self test, without doing any squeezing of the grips at all, try holding the angle of your hands constant while moving your elbows from as wide as they can be to as narrow as they can be. You will notice that as your elbows come out, the belly of your forearm muscle relaxes almost completely. As a result, riders who ride with elbows out tend to hold the grips with less force and are then much more sensitive to the feedback coming through the bars.

    The natural benefit to this position is that it also gives you more leverage on the bars. Think about watching an AMA Supercross rider through a set of stadium whoops... Elbows in or out? If you were trying to wrestle a broomstick out of the hands of a bouncer, would you have your elbows in or out? Since riding with your elbows out, of course, there are limits to how far you go, gives us more leverage on the bars, it only makes sense that it requires less effort from us to ride. If we exert less effort, we tend to be more relaxed and have more control over the motorcycle. We also have the benefit of extra power when we need to make big efforts with the bars. This increase in control and the ability to exert more leverage over the bars when needed are additional reasons why riding with your "elbows out" and relaxed is a good idea... Maybe Ben Spies is on to something.

    A key benefit to proper grip is evidenced during acceleration. When riders use a grip perpendicular to the bars, they tend to bend the wrist when they roll on the gas. Sometimes when they near full throttle they can no longer bend their wrist and have to drop their elbow and shoulder to get wide open. This unwanted body motion not only is a distraction, but it has the potential to cause unintended weighting of the front end and a subsequent reduction in traction. When riders grip the bars diagonally across the palm, the action of going from throttle closed to throttle wide open does not involve bending the wrist at all. Instead, the actions is more like turning a doorknob and the elbow stays still while the wrist bones roll from side to side. This strategy tends to avoid the "re grip" action and, more importantly, allows the elbows and shoulders to stay nearly motionless, relaxed, and in control throughout the entire exit of the corner.





    Riding with the proper grip is a key to putting together fast laps on the track. Although the angle of the grip across the hands will vary from rider to rider, a few important fundamentals remain. The elbows of a rider should be out wide enough that the forearm can completely relax. Elbows should be positioned so that there is a reserve of strength available at all times so that in those moments when additional force is needed, it is available. Riders should be able to go through the entire corner with very little force on the hands with the only exceptions being during heavy braking and during the initiation of bar input. Finally, riders should be able to fully accelerate without requiring any movement of the elbow or shoulder. Once you are able to accomplish these basic tasks, riding fast becomes a whole lot easier.

    Until next time, ride fast, ride safe!

    Wood, Eric. "Holding the Keys in Your Hands." SportBikes Inc. October 2012.
    Last edited by Drano; Thu Mar 13th, 2014 at 09:03 PM.

  2. #2
    Gold Member madvlad's Avatar
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    Re: Improving your hand position on the grips.

    Going to try this out for sure.
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  3. #3
    Senior Member j0ker's Avatar
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    Re: Improving your hand position on the grips.

    This is the same sort of grip you would use for golf and kendo/sword. Interesting.

  4. #4

    Re: Improving your hand position on the grips.

    it's really the most natural grip, I was a bit baffled at first until I went out and tried to force the other grip, very awkward


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