For those of you experienced enough to put a knee down in a full lean - how long did you ride before you started taking your butt off the seat? Any advice for someone just starting to hang off a little?
Michael, I've been riding for 28 yrs now and still haven't dragged my knees! Guess I'm a slow learner. I have scraped my toe a couple times since getting the vfr, but I'm only riding on the street. I probably would drag on the track or something.
Go ahead, you'll like it when you try it. Getting off of the seat has enabled me to take turns at speeds I never would have before. It also allows more confidence when the turn begins to decrease in radius. There have been a couple of times when I am relaxed, just sitting upright around the turn, it gets tighter, and I got nervous. When I'm concentrating on the turn and hanging off and the turn gets tighter, I'm able to just lean more and suprise myself as to how tightly I was able to get to the inside of the curve. Lots of practice is necessary, just like braking, etc. Make sure you can see around the bend! Don't take any unecessary chances. Just have some fun.
I started out of necessisty when the peg feeler on my RC51 started scraping. Knee dragging is a track thing and too many riders get overly focused on how much they can hang off. Do a little at a time as needed but don't become obsessed with getting a knee down just be smooth and consistent and you'll be a better rider staying focused on that rather then how far you can get your ass off the seat.
Do some track days and work up to it slowly. The track is the place to learn to hang of the bike in my opinion.
Knee Dragging Yeah - Hang on! (Just kidding) I cant think of how long and experience before I started to hang off (I'm an addict) - I have been riding a good 30yrs. It just seemed that the better and faster I got the more natural it became and it just looked fun! If you think about the effect of hanging off does for cornering-- for the same corning speed, upright on the bike vs hanging low, the result is how far the lean angle of the bike is. Upright position - steaper lean angle. Hanging off, less lean angle. And guess what you can do at a lesser lean angle? You can feed in the throttle in harder/faster because there is more grip. Get it? Just starting out - I would find some ez medium sweepers. Coming up to your corner, brake, find your line(look where you want to go like an arrow at a bullseye! Most important!), set-up by sliding your butt off the seat - however far you dare. Then stick your knee out into the wind while getting your inside shoulder down and somewhat pointed into the turn. Hit your apex, roll the throttle on till you are back upright. Repeat ad infinitum! Wasnt that fun? Dont worry about getting the knee all the way to the pavement for some time, worry about mechanics of getting there. With more practice and momentum, It will begin to feel more normal and you can experiment with how low you can go and feel right. Everybodys style is a tick different so you have to find your own. ---I would agree with the guys above, the track is the best place to learn.
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