i have had my Fzr250 3Ln 1990 (thought id just give you the specs) for about 3 months, and have been trying my luck at getting my knee down, unsucessfully hense this post. i am finding that my toe and foot peg hit the ground before my knee does, it is really frustrating and i know that this shouldnt be happening, i mean im pretty sidways for the toe to be scrapping. i think i am doing every thing right but it seems not. i shift my but to the side and pretend asif im lookking around the corner of the front fairing of the bike. i know im getting close becasue i have got a knee donwn once( at the same time as my toe). i tried again and i subsiquently lost the bike from underneith me. any thoughts?
How big / heavy / tall are you? How fast are you going, through what radius corner? How is your suspension set up? Is your ass planted, or hanging off? Is your heel on the peg, or the ball of your foot? There are many things that affect the angle of lean, and many things that affect how close your knee is to the ground. A teeny little mosquito could almost ride Mike Hailwood style, while a fat bastard needs to get his ass off. Bear in mind - the whole point to hanging off is to REDUCE your lean angle! Are you on the track, or on the street? If the latter, stop being a f'n squid and ride safely. If the former, watch some of the fast guys, ask them for tips. Ask a friend to follow you through the corners, see what you're doing wrong.
Personally I find that shifting the weight to the inside when cornering makes the bike feel more stable and want to turn through the corner without much steering input. Occasionally the knee plops out when the corner tightens unexpectedly as it is too late to make other radical body movements (other than a bit of puckering). Riding at 10/10ths on public roads is a recipe for disaster!
Then you're doing something wrong - in too fast, turning too soon, bad body position, suspension not set up right. Dragging your pegs unloads your tires, and sets you up for an unscheduled redistribution of gravity.
Hahahahaha! Man, you 'old men' crack me up. Whats wrong with getting a knee down on the street? If you get your knee down and dont crash (thats the important thing to remember coz otherwise what i say next doesnt count) you're cornering technique is safer than those that dont. If you want to get your knee down, find a quiet round-about somewhere and go round and round (but give it a rest every few spins so you dont get dizzy and cars dont get angry). Things to remember - - Getting your butt off the seat towards the ground is important, but more important is moving your head and shoulders off the side of the bike too. As Dontz sed, the idea is to REDUCE your lean angle. Many people dont realise they need to move their center of gravity OFF the bike and a good way to know you're getting it right is if your head is off the side of the bike. Your head weighs about 1/3 of your body weight remember <!-- s --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_smile.gif" alt="" title="Smile" /><!-- s --> - Start off by going round at a comfortable speed with your butt still on the seat, and then begin to move your weight off the bike, maintaining that speed. Getting your knee down is about cornering efficiency. Thats where the speed comes from. It doesnt mean you have to go fast to do it. Before you go, look on youtube for some videos. I know there are plenty on there which are very helpful. Watch a couple of "how to knee down" vids and you'll be much better prepared. Remember to keep the speed limit. There are plenty of corners (like a roundabout) that you can take at a speed sufficient for knee-down antics, whilst not exceeding the speed limit. DONT BE AN IDIOT. Ride cautiously and progressively. Dont go out and throw your bike over hoping to get it right. Progress gradually and you'll stay safe.
I was going to just straight up disagree with you, but i thought a more tactful approach would be to ask you why you feel it is dangerous? Im sure i have an idea, but i wont make any assumptions and just hear what you have to say. Also im fairly certain its NOT illegal to knee down (in QLD at least) and i even did a quick scan through the Road Rules for NSW and didnt see anything. I dont profess to know every law regarding motorcycles in Australia, but from what i do understand of the law (i did 2 first year uni papers on law so its not what id call a comprehensive understanding <!-- s:wink: --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_wink.gif" alt=":wink:" title="Wink" /><!-- s:wink: --> ), it seems highly unlikely there is a law specifically prohibiting a type of cornering technique. I really dont want to be argumentative. I just want to make sure those that read these forums get fair and concise information. They can then go and make up their own mind. The kid wants to learn to knee down, so tell him how to do it safely and tell him to be careful and leave him to it.
Is cornering with your knee down dangerous in and of itself? I don't believe it is. Are you in greater control of the machine, thus better able to corner safely? In isolation, yes you are. The problem comes in when you are NOT riding in isolation, but on a busy street with various morons. The approach, set-up, and execution of a properly done knee-down corner at speed with correct braking, body positioning, and downshifting is a skilled maneuver that is immensely satisfying when achieved, and impressive to watch. It also take a LOT of focus and concentration. The risk and hazard is that you are so focused that you miss the little old lady in the Volvo, or the suit in his Beemer on the phone, or the idiot mother dashing into traffic pushing her baby stroller ahead of her (this last is my personal favourite). Also, you are moving faster than you might otherwise would, possibly throwing off timing for yourself and other drivers. You want to learn to get your knee down? Fill your boots - it's great! Get your ass to a track, or at the very least a large empty parking lot.
Was told that it is illegal by my Q-ride instructor, I have not looked as rules based upon this. While I agree that you can corner better, putting your knee down normally requires it as close to touching the road as possible and we all should know what roads are like, what do you think would happen if your knee struck a pot hole or obstruction in the road?
Thats the bit thats wrong. Its not a closed race circuit with controlled road conditions, people still die at race tracks there is just very little chance of them taking someone with them. Public roads are a scary thing. Its not the other morons in tin tops or even on bikes that worry me, its the fact that the road conditions can go from fantastic to crap to contaminated in a blink of an eye. Dont care how well you know a strip of road, there can be an oil down or a dropped ice cream cone, or an off cut of wood rubbish or junk anywhere, absolutely anywhere. Im not saying that I'm Mr law abiding citizen, im just saying theres no way you can make the argument that its safe to push it hard on the street. Sure you can do it, go hard or go home, hell ive done it, but thats a judgement call and one the individual has to live with the concequences of, good or bad. Bob.
If its just for wank factor so you can scuff up the knee pads on your leathers, find some kid with a billy cart give him $20 to drag you around and you can get on the billy cart and scuff em up one at a time. Bob.
/\/\/\ Hahaha awesome advice Bob. I agree with most riders here, riding a motorcycle on the road is dangerous enough without pushing your limits of lean angle and grip on a public road <!-- s:???: --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_confused.gif" alt=":???:" title="Confused" /><!-- s:???: -->
I guess the point im getting from virtually all of you is that you basically feel the road is too dangerous a place to practice/learn/engage in such antics due to its ever changing environment. I agree. In hindsight i must confess my comments were founded more in a defence of riders with abilities to do so safely on the roads and a desire not to have others being blindly discouraged from learning to do so. It would be fair to say however that my endorsement of knee-sliding on the roads was only given under the premise that riders doing so would take all possible care to ensure their own, and others, safety when doing so. Conclusion? - Learning to knee-down is best done OFF public roads to begin with, or at least in an area so isolated it can hardly be described as "public." - Cornering with a knee-down is NOT inherently dangerous when done with correct body positioning and accurate corner speed. Road contaminants and potholes are going to wreck your ass even if you ARENT getting a knee down. True story. Those trying to knee down without proper instruction will be discribed exactly as you say. Those with correct instruction will in fact be going slower and with less lean angle than i think virtually all of you think. The reason most people fail to slide their knees is because they dont ever move their head and shoulders off the bike. So instead they go faster and faster and try and get their bum further and further off the seat until BANG! Tarmac kiss on the ass.
What a crock. If your knee is down, you're pretty much at maximum turning. That also means no braking. The more you're turning, the less you can brake and vice versa. What do you have left in reserve? Nothing. Nothing for an oncoming car. Nothing for an adhesion problem. Nothing for debris on the road. Nothing. You cannot turn that bike tighter. This is a silly discussion. If you want to go and be a hero on the roads, go ahead. Don't encourage others or mock them when they don't have a death wish. Which, in all probability, won't kill you. But you will potentially lose a limb or two. Maybe a spleen. If you really need to get a bike to perform like that, get a race bike. Join PCRA. Then go hell at it. You'll probably also find you're confusing your ability with ambition as you get your knee down and have crotchety old blokes blast past you on older machines...with their knees up. Not even Californian Superbike School instructors ride like you're talking. Pretty sure they're better than you.
me too. a straight shooter. Remember its nothing personal people, its just the ******* internet. If we were all in a real room we would be drinking beer and making jokes. (probably Kiwi jokes because sheep rooters are funny) Cheers, Bob.
haha. agree. dont listen to most things on the internet.. but the fizzer isnt often overtaken on a corner... infact the only things that get round corners faster are the 125s..
