So you want to get your knee down, eh?

ninjaY2K said:
Ive been riding for about a year now and am trying to improve my body positioning. I ride a 2010 ninja 250 and am hoping to max out the limits of my bike so i can get a bigger bike and not have to park it in the corners of a track :)

attached is a pic of me hanging off my bike as i enter a turn, was wondering what i could improve body position-wise. I noticed my foot position is beyond horrible, and definitely needs improvement. Other than that I was wondering what i could work on!
Click to expand...

I'll let tuf give you his pointers, but you are plenty far enough off your bike, I wish I could do that! When you actually LEAN your bike over, I'd move that toe up are you are sure to catch it.
 
racerV said:
Good info, thanks for sharing. Can you see what I am doing wrong here?
Click to expand...

First of all you are taking the wrong line, go to the outside of the corner and then back to the inside, (delayed apex) do not worry about getting your knee down, with the proper body position and the correct head turn and speed, you will touch your knee down and it will surprise you.....you will have touched it down because you needed that lean angle to get through the corner at that speed........just trying to touch your knee down is really not a smart thing to do.........:lol:
 
Kieth said:
First of all you are taking the wrong line, go to the outside of the corner and then back to the inside, (delayed apex) do not worry about getting your knee down, with the proper body position and the correct head turn and speed, you will touch your knee down and it will surprise you.....you will have touched it down because you needed that lean angle to get through the corner at that speed........just trying to touch your knee down is really not a smart thing to do.........:lol:
Click to expand...
Thanks Keith, I think this thread is like 10 years old tho.
 
2790301650102950911S600x600Q85.jpg


:laugh::laugh::laugh:

cheers
ken
 
Funny guy....I have improved since that photo and notice Macon454 is BEHIND me:laugh:

TribalRed.jpg
 
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ninjaY2K said:
Ive been riding for about a year now and am trying to improve my body positioning. I ride a 2010 ninja 250 and am hoping to max out the limits of my bike so i can get a bigger bike and not have to park it in the corners of a track :)

attached is a pic of me hanging off my bike as i enter a turn, was wondering what i could improve body position-wise. I noticed my foot position is beyond horrible, and definitely needs improvement. Other than that I was wondering what i could work on!
Click to expand...

It's hard to say from the camera angle, but it looks like you need to hug the tank a bit more as well as the other suggestions you've been given. You're head will line up better with your mirror when you tuck into the tank more rather than hanging out beyond the way it is now. Some trainers teach you to replace the mirror with your head - basically place your head where the mirror is. It will be just above the mirror rather than sticking out.

When you get the balls of your feet up on the pegs like they need to be you'll be able to rotate your hips open more allowing your knee to extend out more naturally. Having your heel on the peg like it is now creates a very "forced" position - it should feel very natural and once you try it with the balls of your feet on the peg you'll immediately feel a difference in the way your hips and leg rotate. I had the same problem when I started doing track days - now it's much less work and at the end of the day my legs and hips aren't sore like they were before from forcing the position.

Without seeing the whole picture, I'm just guessing that you're not "looking through the turn". If this pic is of you entering a left turn then your head should be looking left much more. Don't look at road immediately in front of you, but rather where you want to be exiting the turn at. Takes a lot of trust but the old add-age of where the head goes the body follows works here....where your head looks the bike follows. :thumbsup:

One last thing (not position related) - close your visor! :laugh: Nothing can ruin your day quicker than getting whacked in the eye with a bug.

td3.jpg
 
Tuf, I'd like you to comment on this pic, this IMHO is one of the best examples of good toe/knee placement I've seen; I clipped this out of a youtube video. If this is correct, then I'm still doing it all wrong....

kneedown.jpg
 
Here's the video; if this won't get you hyped, I don't know what will :cheerleader::bowdown:

 
^^^ It's all your fault.. Now I have to find a towel to wipe all the drool off my desk and keyboard. Makes me want to go out and ride RIGHT NOW!:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:
 
Skydivr, that photo is of a well advanced rider. He has his foot farther back on the peg than us mear mortals need. His pegs are high and he scoots his inside foot back as far as he can to allow a tad more lean before his boot touches its skid plate down.

For you and I we only need to place the peg in the middle of the ball of the foot. Once you get so much lean that the toe is touching you can consider moving the foot rearward to gain that extra lean angle. Good body position is the key to using less lean but there can come a point where every bit of lean is needed no matter how small or what may seem insufficient!

Good find Keith, you are paying attention! :bowdown:
 
I never knew of this post! A good one! Thanks Tuff.... and Macon for the link! :thumbsup:Another great read and sharing of info on dragging knee!:beerchug:
 
WarBirdII said:
I never knew of this post! A good one! Thanks Tuff.... and Macon for the link! :thumbsup:Another great read and sharing of info on dragging knee!:beerchug:
Click to expand...

This is the tread that started it all for me Tim, I started reading it a couple weeks before I went to my first bash, And then went and practiced once in a parking lot and then came to the bash and started doing it in 2 days. Thanks Tuf for the new found addiction:laugh:
 
You sure have come a long way Macon - I think it's got mostly to do with your utterly total lack of fear :poke:
 
skydivr said:
You sure have come a long way Macon - I think it's got mostly to do with your utterly total lack of fear :poke:
Click to expand...

Thanks Keith, I guess i will take that as a compliment:laugh::laugh:
 
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