Foot Positioning & Knee Dragging

[4erramses]

I am interested at how much lean angle ° you start to drag knee on the streets.

 

Think I am having some Trouble with the positioning of my inside leg positioning on the foot pegs. At the Moment I start knee dragging at about 48-50° Lean Angle on my S1000RR.

 

My Questions:

 

How much ° Lean angle do you have when start dragging knee?

How do you Position your inside leg on the inside foot peg?

How do you adjust your foot on the inside foot peg when starting knee draging?

Do you have some weight on the inside foot peg or is your weight on the tank from the hang off?

 

 

[khp]

First off, I don't drag my knees on public roads. When I was younger, I tried to do that (a few of my friends would do it), but I found that there were just too many unknowns on the road for riding that fast. I do, however, drag my knees on a consistent basis when riding on track - to the point of the first corner on the outlap.

 

I've found that the lean angle depends on several things, including the bike and the riding position.

 

As for the bike, well, there's not much you can do there. Try dragging you knee on a softchopper. Ain't gonna happen.

 

Riding position: originally in 1998, I was told to rotate around the tank when moving to the inside of the turn (no, this wasn't CSS). This made it hard for the knee to touch down, as the knee would be 'close' to the front wheel. Keeping the pelvis perpendicular to the bike (even when hanging off) makes your knee touch down more 'mid-bike', which appears to be easier. Don't ask me why, though

 

I can't give you an exact lean angle for when I start dragging my knee, but I'd guess at around 45 degrees. I have very long legs, and this may work for me or against me.

 

I generally put the ball of the foot on the inside peg. I move the left foot back and forth for changing gears. The right foot stays 'up' (I very rarely use the rear brake).

 

My weight is generally on the seat, not on the footpegs. I've grown old and comfy, so I've changed to only weight the pegs / lift my butt out of the seat if I *really* have to. Saves me from so much leg pain

[YellowDuck]

There are soooooo many things that affect this. Probably the two most important are body position on the bike and hip flexibility (some people just don't / can't stick their leg out very far). But also footpeg position, your height....if you posted a pic of yourself on the bike it might be useful. Most folks would be knee down before 50°.

 

But yeah, I have to say to too...knee down on the street? I have a hard time imagining the scenario where that is a good idea.

[rchase]

It's really a matter or riding style more than lean angle and speeds. You could have two riders of similar speed and one could grind knee pucks to bits while the other rarely touches. I have seen riders at track days knee down and looking great for the cameras being passed mid corner by someone who's not even touching or even using aggressive body position. I agree totally with the points both YellowDuck and khp have made about this.

 

I also agree with the general sentiment of how bad an idea it is to make that kind of cornering commitment on public roads. Leaned over that far with a lot of speed there aren't any options available to you if something unexpected happens. Debris, oil and leaked coolant on roads also makes traction questionable at best even with the best tires. Then there's the questions of tire temperature, tire pressure and the changing asphalt composition. Lots and lots of variables. It's impossible to take them all into account.

 

I know riders who are very lucky going fast in the North Georgia Mountains on street tire pressures not realizing that as they go faster their tires grow in pressure even more. Some of them have not been so lucky.