Knee Down??

[geckert]

First off im a newb at motorcycling in general and complete newbie to the track.

This might sound stupid but why do you knee drag when cornering? I think it owuld be to help you judge your lean angle so you dont go too far. Is it neccessary to put a knee down when cornering and is it possible to get maximum lean w/o putting your knee down? I still have not been able to put my knee down after my first TD but i think that is because my body positioning. From the pics my bro took it looks like I didnt even have me knee out although my but was off the seat and my body was moved to the inside, I didnt have pucks on so i wouldnt have been doing it anyway.

 

[TripleThreat]

The knee down serves as a lean angle indicator and can help you recover from a front tire slide or push in some cases, but that is typically accomplished by more experienced riders who are comfortable putting pressure on the knee to push the bike back to less lean angle in hopes of regaining front traction.

Don't spend time focusing on getting your knee down. That will come with time and increased speed, which requires more lean angle to negotiate the same turn.

Seek the advice of a control rider and focus on proper foot position, butt position on the seat and especially upper body position. Weight should not be transferred to your arms if you are controlling your body position with your core muscle groups of your legs, back and abs.

Many riders who are new to the track focus too much attention on trying to drag their knee and, as a result, put their body in really poor position.

Focus on running the proper line and getting the rest f your body in the right position and the knee will eventually touch the ground as your speed increases.

Have fun out there!

Jeff

 

[Twiztedjester55]

It's definately possible to get max lean without touching knee, but not recommended. This is NOT the right way to do it.

 

[Dug2]

wow! ^ shoulders show "left" bike shows right. crossed up body
positioning looks to be dangerous. gixxers are so sweet lookin though,
dont you think

 

[Revvin' Evan]

Twiztedjester55;55719 wrote:

It's definately possible to get max lean without touching knee, but not recommended. This is NOT the right way to do it.

Bwaaaaahahahaha! Sorry, that pic gets me every timeoorguy:

 

[snikwad]

Damn that pic looks scary.
Who is that, does that person look the same?

What dude said is so true tho, I got my knee down on the streets a while back, did my 1st td and was dragging it around summit JC all day. But because my position was all messed up, it was actually slowing me down, as I couldn't lean the bike over enough, and I knee I could carry more corner speed, but was scared to with the angle I was at. Consulted with a CR, and found out I was waaaaayy wrong in my position, got to work right after lunch, immediately I was faster thru said corner I felt the hinderance through, and I wasn't dragging my pucks thru the entire turn anymore, just the apex. By 3 sessions later I had shaved 3 seconds. Just from fixing my position, and I def wasn't dragging knee half as much anymore.

Now I use it as a reference point, as I know once its down, I can bring the leg in just a tad more before I start dragging hard parts. Fortunately for me, my toe sliders are usually the 1st to touch after the knee pucks.

 

[geckert]

I guess I am just not going fast enough to need to have the knee down. Im not focused on getting my knee down either Im more focused on better positioning. About the toe sliders dragging.. I had this happen to me a couple times at NJMP I thought it was due to improper foot placment on the pegs but I tried to reposition the next lap and I did it again slowed down after that. I have read in some Motorcycle reviews that the F4i 's footpegs touchdown earlier than one would expect so im not sure if Its my foot position, the bike or the lean. Ill have to ask a CR to check my feet out next TD.

 

[fclark00]

geckert;55843 wrote: I guess I am just not going fast enough to need to have the knee down. Im not focused on getting my knee down either Im more focused on better positioning. About the toe sliders dragging.. I had this happen to me a couple times at NJMP I thought it was due to improper foot placment on the pegs but I tried to reposition the next lap and I did it again slowed down after that. I have read in some Motorcycle reviews that the F4i 's footpegs touchdown earlier than one would expect so im not sure if Its my foot position, the bike or the lean. Ill have to ask a CR to check my feet out next TD.

You don't really have to be going that fast to drag a knee. Your body position just has to be correct. Have a CR follow you and check your body position.

 

[Bubba Zanetti]

Revvin' Evan;55829 wrote: Bwaaaaahahahaha! Sorry, that pic gets me every timeoorguy:

LOL! I love it too Reevin'

First time Twisted posted that up I thought it was great. I've seriously considered screenprinting that photo, but I'm not sure people would get it.

BZ

 

[rk97]

geckert;55843 wrote: About the toe sliders dragging.. I had this happen to me a couple times at NJMP I thought it was due to improper foot placment on the pegs but I tried to reposition the next lap and I did it again slowed down after that. I have read in some Motorcycle reviews that the F4i 's footpegs touchdown earlier than one would expect so im not sure if Its my foot position, the bike or the lean. Ill have to ask a CR to check my feet out next TD.

Definitely have a CR take a look at your foot positioning. Also take a look at the CRs' boots. make note of where the end of hte peg is wearing through the sole. As much as everyone hated how fast their Sidi vertigos(?) wore through, it's a great illustration of where you should be on the pegs.

with regards to your bike, i'm sure the F4i's stock rearsets aren't nearly as aggressive as a vortex set would be. Probably significantly lower than even a stock 600RR - but don't let that slow you down. an F4i is still a VERY capable bike. it should keep the pegs off the ground as long or longer than an SV650, and many other non-supersport rides.

if you are dragging pegs (with good body position), youv'e got a couple options at taht point - new rearsets that are higher up, and/or new suspension parts. chances are that the stock suspension is softer than ideal, and you're literally compressing the springs so far during cornering that your pegs are lower than ideal.

i'll have to dig up the pic from the EX500 board i'm on... someone was claiming he was dragging pegs, and there's a different picture of a guy dragging the exhaust header, with the peg still off the ground :moon:

 

[twin ty]

Dragging hard parts + toes=bad.

 

[jcurtis]

geckert;55843 wrote: I guess I am just not going fast enough to need to have the knee down. Im not focused on getting my knee down either Im more focused on better positioning. About the toe sliders dragging.. I had this happen to me a couple times at NJMP I thought it was due to improper foot placment on the pegs but I tried to reposition the next lap and I did it again slowed down after that. I have read in some Motorcycle reviews that the F4i 's footpegs touchdown earlier than one would expect so im not sure if Its my foot position, the bike or the lean. Ill have to ask a CR to check my feet out next TD.

Had the same problem with my F4i. Bottom line is that you should get some aftermarket pegs. Well worth the money on that bike. Not sure how your position is on the bike but it helped me to get the right foot position and to get off the bike CORRECTLY.

RK97 is correct, the F4i is a very capable bike. The only think I had issue with is the suspension. On my 06 the rear was just OK, but the front was way TOO soft and did not allow for a lot of adjustment. I was bottoming out the front forks when hard on the brakes. It was so soft that the tracks I went to felt smooth except for Pocono . When I upgraded to a bike with aftermarket suspension, it was a different world. I could actually feel the suspension working to accommodate changes in elevation and imperfections on the track. When I rode BeaveRun for the first time with the new bike I could feel the suspension working underneath me. Kind of freaked me out at first until I realized that it was just the suspension working and there were ripples in a bunch of places that I was feeling for the first time. It took a little bit to get accustomed to it but I like the feedback now because it lets me know when something is happening with the bike so I can think and adjust accordingly if necessary.

 

[Todd Stinson]

Twiztedjester55;55719 wrote:

It's definately possible to get max lean without touching knee, but not recommended. This is NOT the right way to do it.

I can't stop staring at that pic JJ.............................


Look at how SMOOTH Summit Point was that day

 

[Twiztedjester55]

that was beginning of year last year

this is end of last year, i have some from beave this year that look even better, needless to say i've definately worked on my body postioning.

 

[snikwad]

wow, huge improvement JJ, looks great

 

[Revvin' Evan]

Twiztedjester55;56002 wrote: that was beginning of year last year

this is end of last year, i have some from beave this year that look even better, needless to say i've definately worked on my body postioning.

You have definitely come a long way since that first pic. Your pics from Beav this month were croooosh!

 

[Bluenvy]

i drag knees because chicks dig it

 

[Revvin' Evan]

Bluenvy;56015 wrote: i drag knees because chicks dig it

:idea::agree: