page_title: Motorcycle
section_title: Motorcycle rider postures
hierarchical_section_title: Motorcycle / Motorcycle rider postures
context_page_description: A motorcycle, often called a motorbike, bike, or cycle, is a two-wheeled, or less commonly three-wheeled, motor vehicle. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruising, sport including racing, and off-road riding. Motorcycling is riding a motorcycle and related social activity such as joining a motorcycle club and attending motorcycle rallies.
  The 1885 Daimler Reitwagen made by Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach in Germany was the first internal combustion, petroleum fueled motorcycle. In 1894, Hildebrand & Wolfmüller became the first series production motorcycle.
  In 2014, the three top motorcycle producers globally by volume were Honda, Yamaha, and Hero MotoCorp. In developing countries, motorcycles are considered utilitarian due to lower prices and greater fuel economy. Of all the motorcycles in the world, 58% are in the Asia-Pacific and Southern and Eastern Asia regions, excluding car-centric Japan.
  According to the US Department of Transportation, the number of fatalities per vehicle mile traveled was 37 times higher for motorcycles than for cars.
context_section_description: The motorcyclist's riding position depends on rider body-geometry (anthropometry) combined with the geometry of the motorcycle itself. These factors create a set of three basic postures.
  Sport –  the rider leans forward into the wind and the weight of the upper torso is supported by the rider's core at low speed and air pressure at high speed. The footpegs are below the rider or to the rear. The reduced frontal area cuts wind resistance and allows higher speeds. At low-speed in this position the rider's arms may bear some of the weight of the rider's torso, which can be problematic.
  Standard –  the rider sits upright or leans forward slightly. The feet are below the rider. These are motorcycles that are not specialised to one task, so they do not excel in any particular area. The standard posture is used with touring and commuting as well as dirt and dual-sport bikes, and may offer advantages for beginners.
  Cruiser –  the rider sits at a lower seat height with the upper torso upright or leaning slightly rearward. Legs are extended forwards, sometimes out of reach of the regular controls on cruiser pegs. The low seat height can be a consideration for new or short riders. Handlebars tend to be high and wide.  The emphasis is on comfort while compromising cornering ability because of low ground clearance and the greater likelihood of scraping foot pegs, floor boards, or other parts if turns are taken at the speeds other motorcycles can more readily accomplish.
  Factors of a motorcycle's ergonomic geometry that determine the seating posture include the height, angle and location of footpegs, seat and handlebars. Factors in a rider's physical geometry that contribute to seating posture include torso, arm, thigh and leg length, and overall rider height.
caption: BMW C1, with a more upright seating position
exif: {"Image Make": "Panasonic", "Image Model": "DMC-FZ20", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Ver1.0", "Image DateTime": "2005:11:09 09:59:30", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "Image ExifOffset": "418", "Image PrintIM": "[80, 114, 105, 110, 116, 73, 77, 0, 48, 50, 53, 48, 0, 0, 14, 0, 1, 0, 22, 0, ... ]", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "6804", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "7345", "Thumbnail YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/125", "EXIF FNumber": "4", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Program Normal", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "80", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0220", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2005:11:09 09:59:30", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2005:11:09 09:59:30", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF CompressedBitsPerPixel": "4", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "3", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF LightSource": "Unknown", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "213/10", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "1600", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "1200", "Interoperability InteroperabilityIndex": "R98", "Interoperability InteroperabilityVersion": "[48, 49, 48, 48]", "EXIF InteroperabilityOffset": "6652", "EXIF SensingMethod": "One-chip color area", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF SceneType": "Directly Photographed", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF DigitalZoomRatio": "0", "EXIF FocalLengthIn35mmFilm": "128", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF GainControl": "None", "EXIF Contrast": "Normal", "EXIF Saturation": "Normal", "EXIF Sharpness": "Normal"}