I dont consider myself an overlly tall person (just shy of 6') but I seem to have unproportionally long legs. I feel like when im standing in the air I cant grip the seat with my knees, since they are above the seat and I have a terrible posture. I will be racing beginner class next season so I'm still learning the ropes. Here are some pics showing my dilema.

An ugly posture:



Sometimes my posture doesnt look so bad, like this one:



Any tall riders out there who can give me some pointers for an improved posture in the air, any advice and/or pics would be greatly appreciated!

Im 6'4" i have extremely long everything...well, not everything...my hair is short. anyways...i felt like i had the same problem as you, i couldnt grip the seat with my knees. But you dont have to grip the seat, you can grip any part of the bike with your legs...for me its pretty much my shins...lol also...and this next one isnt gonna be as easy for you. but, i ride a 10' kawi for a reason. its a big bike..i spent my first year on an 08' yz250f. when i got my kawi it felt like a world of difference...i got back on the 08' and it felt like a pit bike to me.

Same situation here, I'm 6' 5" and I have trouble with jumps in that I'm not standing up enough since my legs are the longest part of me, I would agree though gripping with inside of the shins seems to work since the knees are above the seat.

I find I always feel quite when I ride but when I see pics or videos of my riding I'm not the biggest fan of the look of my jumping posture, I have found if you try to bend at the hips helps a bit but you seem pretty good in that you are over the front.

I'll focus more on gripping with the shins once the snow melts up here!
Yeah I heard Kawis were a bigger bike and suited tall people better, but I'm probably sticking with honda, something to think about in the future though!

So I guess tall riders in general will probably not have the best looking posture in the air lol... I'll try bending more at the hips too since it looks like im hunching my back forward.

What kind of bar bends are you guys using? I'm sure this can help too

Yours is a common problem (I suffer from the same)

DV12 is not exactly known for the most textbook style, and there's a reason for his "Cobra" name.





Look at the pics, and you'll see he's tall too, and suffers from the same.
One thing I do see in your pictures (and Vuillemin's) is that your elbows are dropped. I think you'd find your posture "looks" more aggressive if you got your elbows up.

Also agree with the poster's above, it doesn't matter what part of your legs you use, just make sure you are gripping with them.

At 6-3 I found when I started wearing knee braces I could grip the tank area of the bike far better and I felt like I had more control. David Pingree taught a clinic here last year and that is who suggested this...

As I am 6'4", I can also relate to your issues. I have tried to grip bike with any part of my legs and it never feels right. I also ride RED and made a couple of changes that helped significantly. I added Fastway adjustable pegs and mounted them in their lowest and farthest back position. Also went to 1 1/8" bars with adapter mounts. Bars are a RC bend and with the adapters it really opened up the bike. These 2 changes were the best mods I made to the bike and everyone that has riden the bike loves these mods. Consider these mods, I really think you would benefit from them.

I am waiting for our local dealer to get in a '12 Kaw 450. The Kaw now offers the ability for factory adjustments that I did to the Honda with adjustable bars and pegs. I don't know if I can switch brands, but will take a look at the Kaw when it comes in.

yep, you gotta grip with the inside of your boots/calfs. I'm 6'4" and i really like the pro taper windham bend bars, less sweep is more important then height in my opinion. Bar risers mess up the front end geometry so try to avoid them. It takes a lot of energy, but if you bend at the knees more, get your butt out and your head lower and more forward, the bike will push you more then pull you. Like the last picture in the sequence
You do have an advantage of really being able to move around on the bike for adjustment.






also from the photographers stand point, angles make a big difference, and so does whipping.

Wow that last pic of DV12 is identical to mine, I see what you mean with the elbows being in, i'll concentrate on keeping them out more. I have a pair of 661 knee guards which I noticed helped with gripping, but I would assume a knee brace is probably even better (grip and protection).

SDJayH, i'll definitely keep your mods in mind, thank for the ideas! I am loyal to the big RED but I've been considering suzuki, tried one and couldnt believe the handling. And kawi is the 2012 shootout winner so you cant go wrong with that either.

Die_trying: I heard the Windham bars are good too, i'll look into the RC and the Windham bends to see which one feels better, thanks for the pics, it gives me a better idea of a good posture! I did notice it takes more energy in that stance but I guess over time my legs will get stronger and be able to hold that position better. Most mx pics are guys who are in a whip and theyre usually sitting/leaning so a straight jump picture is helpful!

Die_trying said:

Wow. You have great technique man. Listen to this guy:thumbsup:

Eric,
One thing I see is something I deal with(6'4"). Your knees are rather bent and your upper body is too vertical.
I do what i call "butt back". When standing up, make it feel like you are throwing your rear to the rear. This not only puts you more in an attack position,but takes a lot of stress off your knees/legs

These are all really good tips so far, thanks alot fellow giants!

6'4" here too. I have a SDG tall seat and RC bend Fatbars on my RM250. They help me keep my elbows up and an easier transition from sitting to standing. I'm only in year 2 of riding MX at 47 and feel like 25 on the track. My problem is with the pictures/video of me riding! I look like I have a stick up my butt and am tense as heck. :bonk:
I now focus on an attack position, elbows up, bending at the waist, and using my legs(they are long enough).
Lets face it fellas, MX was made for guys less than 20 years old, 5'08" and 150lbs. for those not fitting the ideal photographic standard, PHOTOSHOP! :lol:

I'm not the tallest guy of this bunch but I also suffer from this.

A few things that have helped me are wider bars. Put your arms up right now in the attack position and elbows up to where you feel comfortable and flexible, then bring your fist together about two inches. You automatically feel your posture change for the worst, you just feel weaker and vulnerable a that more cramped position. Now sit on your bike and see where your handle bars position you with this test. Try and find bars that best fit your natural position.

I also ride with Aseribis (sp) knee braces, won't ride without them, I enjoy walking for a living :thumbsup:. They have helped with the gripping and confidence. Takes some getting used to, but you feel like your undestructable once you allow your body to absorb them like second nature.

Gary: I have to give you two :thumbsup::thumbsup: up with your videos. Back in 02' when I got back into it, I bought about 6 of your videos and me and a buddy (who introduced me to them) watched them and practiced from them. Funny because just last night I was watching one with my 3 year old and I was narrating while he watched :) These are OLD though. I have to say mid-90's. I want to get your latest versions. I have to plug it in for Gary, any level riders will benefit from his videos so go out and get them. Thank you for your dedication Gary :thumbsup:.

What I do today is ill go and practice one section of the track over and over and over. Helps me concentrate on that specific technique im working on without "forgetting" my objective. In 30 minutes I can practice a section and technique 30 times, when doing the full track all day I might not hit that section 30 times. But most importantly I can focus on my objective and not just do laps in vein. As the saying goes "practice practice practice".

Oh I forgot to add. I just bought a BMX bike off Craigslist for about $100. A 2001 GT pro-performer, its probably the heaviest BMX bike I have even owned but wow is it good exercise. I go around my block trice a day, takes 5 minutes and up the hills my legs are BURNING. Way more then I ever feel on my MX bike. So this should benefit in us taller riders since we need to bend more and put more strain on our legs. I'm 37 years old by the way.

watch this... Jeff Loop is 6'8" same as I.... and as stated before butt back head way forward... feels weird at first but you will get used to it and get fast... Kinda like a weird forward squat position.

Gary, your DVDs are on my x-mas list, so i'll take the winter to learn these techniques!

Thanx for the video post force245, Jeff Loop is reallly tall and he's got the technique down perfectly. This gives me hope lol, great video example of the proper form.

I think you hit it on the head in your original post: It is a posture issue, not a height issue.
A lot of pics that look good is because the rider looks well balanced. Like for example when the upper body is at the same angle as the shins.
I'm 6'3" and my 300 looks like a pit bike:







Now maybe posture is overrated. This guy looks like a toad about to take a dump, but he was faster than me.
But I don't really care, I'd rather look pretty than be fast (says the guy who got beat) :smirk:

mjskier said:

your hitting that jump smooth and relaxed, it looks good. if you were riding more aggressively your body position would show it. Your neutral on the bike probably because the bike was neutral on take off. The other guy was probably coming in faster, chopping throttle on the face and having to lean back to keep the front end up. His body position is exaggerated tho.