if riding a proper enduro bike i would agree with the above but certainly not on a 1200 gs,xl 1000 or v-storm.those backends do not dance they just sit it out(speaking for myself of course)
check out the new posts as they explain where i am coming from.

Afraid I totally disagree, when I had a large 'adventure bike' I stood up regularly for a variety of reasons and it never compromised my safety, in fact it felt easier to control, I wasn't getting kicked in the arse every time I hit something big and had better visibility.

I was what you would call a 'novice' - I had done about 500 miles on a motorbike before I set off on my first big trip, I'd never heard of Simon Pavey and no-one taught me to stand up off-road, it just felt easier, safer and instinctive.

I also spent a fair amount of time standing up on tarmac but that was more due to a very sore arse than improving handling.

On my last trip I never stood up because the bikewas too short and it pitched the weight too far forward (it was a 125 step-through though).

I'd say whether or not to stand up should depend on what you're riding, the surface and how you feel about it - not whether someone has told you to stand up or to sit down, you'd be just as likely to have a problem from sitting down when you shouldn't be (especially if you need to jump clear).

There is one exception though - whatever you do try and keep your feet on the pegs unless you actually need to put them down - it's much much harder to break your ankle that way!

Generally I ride offroad sitting down maybe 80-90% of the time. The one overwhelming good reason for standing up is to improve your forward vision. Compression of the spine comes to mind on bumpy sections, so I tend to stand there as well (or at least brace my legs and lift the bum slightly). And if I'm getting hot through a combination of hot weather, slow speed and hard work then I'll stand to get some air flow. Stretching your legs is another reason to stand.

Rough (as opposed to bumpy) sections are best taken standing up allowing the bike to squirm underneath you but it's a matter of confidence. If you feel happier sitting down, do so.

Offroad schools teach using weight transfer through the pegs (whilst standing) as a means of increasing turn rates. This works well on a relatively top-heavy Tenere but has little effect on something like the R1200GS where the weight is low down. Standing on the pegs doesn't actually lower the centre of gravity, if anything it raises it, which is why the bike reacts faster, see discussion here.

Many people I've watched don't stand correctly. They are in what skiers call the 'English toilet seat position' with a bent back and hesitant attitude, whereas the correct way is to be upright with your weight well forward towards or over the front wheel. However many tank bags prevent riders from adopting this well-forward position.

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"For sheer delight there is nothing like altitude; it gives one the thrill of adventure
and enlarges the world in which you live," Irving Mather (1892-1966)

Having recently completed a trip (with a good deal of gravel/dirt involved) on the first bike I've ever had that lent itself to standing up, I find the whole topic confusing.

My long ago high school physics tells me that, as Tim Cullis points out, standing does not lower the centre of gravity but raises it. Or maybe that's centre of mass. Are those different concepts?

Standing did seem to instantly offer more control. The same high school physics tells me (I think) that this phenomenon is not about centre of gravity but about levers. When you stand you become a longer lever and, therefore, you can lean the bike more easily. Turning is really about leaning so easier leaning means easier turning which means more control.

Imagine trying to rock (lean) a deep keeled sailboat by pushing on the side of the cabin. Tough. Now imagine trying to rock it by pushing on the top of the mast. Easier. The mast is a longer lever than the cabin. A standing rider is a longer lever than a sitting rider. Is this the answer?

Perhaps there's an actual physicist or mechanical engineer out there who can definitively explain all of this?

Norm

I'm pretty sure that the OP is not saying that standing is wrong, just that some are doing it wrong.

On my last jaunt in Europe I was lucky enough to spend a day at the BMW Off Road course at Hechlingen in Germany. Here we (all on the course) were taught the Hows, Whys, Wheres and Whens to stand up.

Of the 8 hours I spent on the bike (R1200GS) at this facility, about 80% was spent standing. Now this of course is a different situation to normal everyday riding. This was a specific course designed to (try to) give you some more skills. Skills that you would be able to adapt and use in the right situation later.

During the course we were instructed to do the same execise both sitting and standing in the correct position. Depending on the exercise, sometimes standing was better, sometimes sitting was better. This was done to show that given the situation, each style has its merits.

I'm sure that we have all stood up occassionally, whether to stretch the legs, to see over traffic, or for balance and stability. Given the right situation, on a correctly set up machine, employing the correct technique, standing will help. If you dont have all the "rights" together then it cold be dangerous.

Best thing is to get instruction on the Whys and Hows. Everyone can learn something new, even the most experienced riders.

Marty

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I sit down as much as possible but notice that most modern trail/enduro bikes are set up a lot firmer meaning on some rough trails it is much more comfortable to stand up. I've increased the height of the bars by 80mm to avoid the lower back problems I've had before but it's still important to ride with your knees bent and therefore acting as suspension. Standing up for long distances with your knees bent is tiring. If you ride with your knees locked out you are achieving nothing - on rough trails the bike will yaw under you as the front end hits the bump and then the rear end and any shock will be transmitted through the footrests up through your body and you will need a very tight grip on the bars just to stay on the bike.

The main purpose of standing up is to allow the rider to transfer weight rapidly from front to back and side to side so any tricky section - ruts etc. you should stand up and get your weight forward for better steering move your weight back if you need to lift the front wheel.

I would say that on a modern softly sprung 'adventure' bike on gravel roads standing up is completely unnecessary.

I am not a very experienced "off-roader" but ocasionaly I ride some dirtroads on my bikes. I am lazy so I try to sit as much as possible but I have two reasons for standing, one is to improve my view on the road ahead and the other is to let my knees absorb the bumps instead of my back.

The bike has to be set up right for it. On my F650GS, I had the bars five centimer raised (Touratech risers worked fine for me) so I could stand right but I guess that is different for longer or shorter riders.
On my R1100GS I am still experimenting with the sitting/standing position.

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Jan Krijtenburg

My bikes are a Honda GoldWing GL1200 and a Harley-Davidson FXD Dyna Super Glide

My personal homepage with trip reports: https://www.krijtenburg.nl/
YouTube channel (that I do together with one of my sons): motormobilist.nl

Interesting. I stand up in technical stuff but sit down when its fairly straightforward. This is not based on training or motorcycle specific knowledge, but simply because that's what I'd always done on a mountain bike.

It just somehow feels more natural to stand up when on technical trails, for three reasons - 1) because I feel more in control and balanced; 2) because it allows the bike to bounce around without taking me with it and 3) it makes it easier to jump off if it all goes pear shaped!

Matt

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*Disclaimer* - I am not saying my bike is better than your bike. I am not saying my way is better than your way. I am not mocking your religion/politics/other belief system. When reading my post imagine me sitting behind a frothing pint of ale, smiling and offering you a bag of peanuts. This is the sentiment in which my post is made. Please accept it as such!

O.K. I've consulted my esteemed brother in law who has a Ph.D in theoretical physics and here's the word.

Standing up on a motorcycle absolutely raises the centre of gravity (which for the purposes of this discussion is the same as the centre of mass). This is a good thing with respect to control on unstable surfaces.

To get an intuitive understanding of this get yourself a hammer and a broom which have roughly the same weights. Try balancing the hammer by the end of the handle on your fingertip. Now try balancing the broom the same way. The broom is easier to balance. Because the broom is longer, when balanced, it is more resistant to displacement. Or, put another way, if its base is displaced it tends to fall over more slowly than the hammer.

When standing up on a motorcycle the rider becomes "longer". Displacement lower down (caused by bumps and other imperfections in the road surface) causes the bike to fall over more slowly than if the rider were "shorter" and sitting down. Slower falling over means that the effect of the displacement is easier to correct, i.e. there is more control.

There it is...I think.

Norm

Makes sense to me.

Another thing would be that standing up creates a flexible joint between the two masses of rider and bike. The mass of the rider can stay relatively still, while the mass of the bike can follow the contours of the ground more easily. Same principle as sprung and unsprung weight, I suppose, but including sideways movement as well as vertical.

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2006 XT660R daily ride, 1994 XT600E about to be reborn, Blog: http://goingfastgettingnowhere.blogspot.com/

The key word here, in my opinion, is 'unstable'.

You don't need to stand up on gravel roads unless you are racing where the surface should be considered unstable for the speed at which you are riding.