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AMA Pro Superbike
AMA SBK: Style Points, Pt. 2 - Schwantz Says…
1993 Motorcycle Grand Prix World Champion Kevin Schwantz weighs in on the new school vs. the old school in regards to riding technique...
1993 World Champion Kevin Schwantz (Photo: Evan Williams)
The bikes have changed considerably since Kevin Schwantz rode his way to glory, but the Texan has stayed on top of the developments as he teaches at his riding school and has mentored riders like Ben Spies and Blake Young.
SPEED.com asked 1993 World Champion and riding instructor Kevin Schwantz about the extreme lean angle style trend.
Can you hang off too much?
“Absolutely, you can hang off the bike too far,” Schwantz said. “When you hang off too far, you jeopardize your ability to control the bike in situations where it might slide or push or something might happen.”
Schwantz said getting his lean angle dialed was a big deal in his GP career.
He explained, “For me, I didn’t like to hang off so far that I felt like I was hanging on. If my butt was far enough off the seat that I had some tension with my arm holding on on… I want to be able to keep my arms light and relaxed.
“My style varied a little year to year with what the bike was allowing me to do. When I first started riding a Grand Prix bike, I didn’t lean off much. I stuck my knees out to get my knee on the ground. I also started realizing as ’88 and ’89 progressed that not hanging off meant I was carrying a lot of lean angle. Watching videos of me and hearing Rob Mac talk about the first race with Gardner at Suzuka and it looks like the handlebars are gonna drag the ground from so much lean angle. As the season progressed, I started to realize that everything was having to be so close to perfect just to ride the bike, I needed to compensate so I started moving my butt of the seat. It varied to off a bunch to off a little bit.”
Schwantz said after a while he stopped hanging off so much, in part due to the massive power of bikes with a fickle nature that could toss you to the sky in an instant.
“By the time the ‘90s started, I came up with a plan,” he said. “I didn’t want my butt too far off the seat. If I’m halfway off, at least I am halfway on in case any thing happens. If it snaps and you’re hanging off more than that, you’re gone right off the inside of the bike.”
SPEED.com asked 1993 World Champion and riding instructor Kevin Schwantz about the extreme lean angle style trend.
Can you hang off too much?
“Absolutely, you can hang off the bike too far,” Schwantz said. “When you hang off too far, you jeopardize your ability to control the bike in situations where it might slide or push or something might happen.”
Schwantz said getting his lean angle dialed was a big deal in his GP career.
He explained, “For me, I didn’t like to hang off so far that I felt like I was hanging on. If my butt was far enough off the seat that I had some tension with my arm holding on on… I want to be able to keep my arms light and relaxed.
“My style varied a little year to year with what the bike was allowing me to do. When I first started riding a Grand Prix bike, I didn’t lean off much. I stuck my knees out to get my knee on the ground. I also started realizing as ’88 and ’89 progressed that not hanging off meant I was carrying a lot of lean angle. Watching videos of me and hearing Rob Mac talk about the first race with Gardner at Suzuka and it looks like the handlebars are gonna drag the ground from so much lean angle. As the season progressed, I started to realize that everything was having to be so close to perfect just to ride the bike, I needed to compensate so I started moving my butt of the seat. It varied to off a bunch to off a little bit.”
Schwantz said after a while he stopped hanging off so much, in part due to the massive power of bikes with a fickle nature that could toss you to the sky in an instant.
“By the time the ‘90s started, I came up with a plan,” he said. “I didn’t want my butt too far off the seat. If I’m halfway off, at least I am halfway on in case any thing happens. If it snaps and you’re hanging off more than that, you’re gone right off the inside of the bike.”
AMA SBK Homestead-Miami
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