Stumped on why racers hang feet off??

[ridngsxrs]

I've been seeing a riding technique where racers "dangle,hang....whatever" their inside foot and leg off the bike right before their turn-in. Can any one elaborate why they do this? I've been thinking...but came to no conclusion. :banghead:

I heard a commentator say this practice is used to "straighten" up the bike???

 

[riddler]

I think it is cause of the reversed GP Shift pattern. When going into a corner, they are downshifting with upward pulls on the lever and need to get their foot back on the peg... and some times when they get in too deep they dangle their foot rather than move around too much while they are scrubbing off speed on the front....

That is my 2 cents... or some good b.s. anyway...

 

[dean]

Tpoic has been brought up a few times. These are the reasons that I remember individuals putting out there.

1) Hard Braking. The G-Force is so intense that it takes the shifting foot (left foot) off the peg. The reason the right foot does not come off is because there is more of a concious effort to keep it there because at that level, they use the rear brake.

2) Quicker Turn In. Approaching a turn at their pace, some riders can put more of their weight off the side of the bike and forward by shifting their weight with the leg and foot forward. Again, you will only see this on left turns because of the right foot still apllying the rear brake.

3) Stretching. Once their shifting is complete, this is the only time they really have to stretch the foot since it is constantly going through the gear box.

Those are three I consistently hear. My guess... #2. So with that, there is four cents worth of opinion and I have been told plenty of times I am full of b.s. so I attribute this post to my increasing post count to get out of junior status.

 

[Wink]

Some riders also do it as a mental reset to start the turn in pattern.
It allows them to APPLY serious weight to the inside peg when the foot comes back in.
(at least that what Freddie Spencer told me when I asked him the same question)

 

[dean]

However... if you see that same motion during a trackday at Blackhawk Farms, it could mean two other things as well.

First, I am coming off the pace so do not hit me. Or second, watch out for the snapping turtle on your left side crossing the track up ahead

 

[Prix]

dean;18436 wrote: However... if you see that same motion during a trackday at Blackhawk Farms, it could mean two other things as well.

First, I am coming off the pace so do not hit me. Or second, watch out for the snapping turtle on your left side crossing the track up ahead

Or a Deer or groundhog at Road America which is very common, though I have not seen a deer yet I was follwoing a CR up to turn 6 and just before the toyota bridge I saw something in the track, well he was looking back at me and was going to hit it, like they do alot making sure your body position is good, and I thought it was a piece off of someones bike and also of a sudden it swung around and I said shit and through a hand up but did not shut the throttle as I didnt want to get rear ended and didnt want anyone else hurt. He saw me do that and looked forward and grabbed a hand full of brake and just missed it as it ran off the track, I know where not supposed to put our hand up unless were exiting or a red flag but I feel I saved him from a certain crash and I still dont know what CR it was but he missed it by a few inches, so if your out there Im glad your ok and I accept donations for trackdays for saving your life, hahahaha just kidding, just glad I could help you as you guys are priceless for me.

 

[ridngsxrs]

Dean, :agree:True to that....I've hung my legs off to....but only to get airflow to "you know what" part of my body.

I was just curious. I will be doing the Schwantz school next spring so I'll ask Kevin Schwantz his opinion too. :notsure:

 

[moto-ufo]

Dang! What luck! After watching a WSBK race online I searched for this topic last night! ....with no success. I remembered seeing this topic come up before.

 

[greeny]

from the r6 forum...

I was hanging out with Randy de Puniet right after they originally delayed the 250 race at Indy as we were waiting to see what they were going to do with the premier class. According to him, it's to reposition the foot after downshifting (due to reverse shift pattern). He said in some cases, he is downshifting so fast that his foot slips out from underneath the shifter.

that's all i figured it was, and i'm assuming that de puniet is a legit source :rtfm:

 

[ridngsxrs]

snowbizx;18593 wrote: from the r6 forum...



that's all i figured it was, and i'm assuming that de puniet is a legit source :rtfm:

I run GP shift also, and I do shift the front of my foot back onto the tip of the peg right before my turn-in, but dang...some of those pro's make it look obvious. When I reposition my foot I just move a few inches. I saw Rossi hang it off like a good 12" off his bike and hold it there for a second or two.
Hopefully I can learn a thing or two with Kevin Schwantz and use it to help me on the track.

 

[Hardrvin]

Interesting the responses here. Caught it for first time on TV the other day and thought otherwise of it. Rider was doing it extremely deliberate to me, but interesting note was that it was a rain race. I was under the impression he was doing it to catch the bike if it started to go down on him, and indeed he did on more than one occassion....

 

[mlmoore]

IMHO

I suspect even though it looks very obvious on TV it is just that they are repositioning the foot for shifting due to GP shift. I run GP shifting and find my self doing it as well, but not thinking about it. You want to make sure you don't leave the foot under the shifter after downshifts are done or you may get it caught once you commit to the turn (did that once and only once). I suspect it hangs there for what seems to us a long time, but at that point in the turn it isn't important where the foot is (other than not under the shifter) and there are so many other thing they are concentrating on.

 

[gkotlin]

I've done it before, it really helps me initiate the turn in. When I'm hanging off the big, I don't have the leverage on the bars that I like. Being a big guy, if I reset my foot and weight that peg and initiate my turn in, it really helps. Espeically in fast turns.