Knee down

Thought so.

Heard some tall riders complain about the angle at which their legs/knees stick out make it harder, but I couldnt see how!

When i ride my knees are quite high. when i put my feet behind the footrest my knees go lower. I'm not that tall at 6 ft. I guess i just need more practice. Ill try pushing my knee down rather than out. I didn't realise people rotated on the seat. I'm sitting as far as i can forwards and then slide sideways off the seat.

If you have sports handlebars, put your head down and around the side of the bike, like you are trying to look around it. Get your bum right off the seat and get your bum in line with your head. Stick your lowest foot on the end of the peg. Try it on a roundabout where you have good visibility of the junctions and select a smooth gear not first which can be jerky on an SV. Try that. The longer legs you have, the better.

You want to sit back, not forward

Originally Posted by specialone

Nice one mike, can get on now with getting faster instead of getting your knee down

Originally Posted by hongman

It's allllllll about the body positioning.

It is indeed, and it's not about very much else

Originally Posted by AndyBrad

Yep, you've pretty much got the right look there mate

Originally Posted by carelesschucca

I ain't had my knee down in about 6 or 7 years... I've only done it on the SV, Gixer or the triumph I haven't been near... I'll be like a little kid again if I do it...

And this is the fastest road rider I know.

Originally Posted by L3nny

Yer decided against the teardrop ones, I wont be able to swap them over and everyone will know I cant get the left knee down.

Busted!

Originally Posted by mister c

Just to show that you can be fast without getting your knee down

Most folk can be a lot faster without their knee down. I wear textiles, so no knee sliding for me (though I do have one knee sown up, but that was an accident), and I can't count how many riders I've followed on rideouts, where they are climbing over the bike and hanging off like a monkey (they look just like Andybrad does in that playpark actually), knee down on corners, and I'm sitting behind them swearing at them to stop rrsssing around and get a frikkin move on.

Knee down on the road is purely for fun or novelty, do it once or twice to give you a grin, but please don't do it every frikkin corner, it's really annoying for the guy stuck behind you. The number of riders hanging off and you think "Yeah, well done! Now what about the next corner which goes the other way? You've got to climb right over the other side that bike again, and your going slower than me, 'cos you need to give yourself the time to get into position for the other knee down. Your holding me up and I'll I did was countersteer and shift one butt cheek". If your not hanging way off one side of the bike, you can change direction as quick as you can think, you don't need to move that far.

Keep it for the track where you do the same corners over and over and have plenty time to set up your body position before each corner, and don't need to change direction quickly. That's where knee down will make you quicker. On the road climbing over the bike like a monkey slows you down. It's smooth riding and the ability to adjust to changing conditions makes you quick on the road, not fancy riding.

[Dave20046]

Originally Posted by nik_nunez

taller is much easier, i go out riding with a guy who is quite tall 6'3 ish, and he can get his knee down by barley leaning off the bike as his knees stick out so far/

I don't know, I'm 6,2 get my toes down every so often ,front and back tyres used right to the edge and I hang off a bit and I've only ever scraped a knee twice.
I figured if your taller your knees are higher up making it a bit harder ,but I accept I probablyonly think that because I can't really do it!

Originally Posted by -Ralph-

Most folk can be a lot faster without their knee down.

This.

I'm one of them, on and off the track!

Tis purely fun for me

[mister c]

I still tend to move around on the bike as it feels more stable (to me anyway) in the bends, but its very rare my knee comes out, like people say, it's novelty value more than anything else

Originally Posted by mister c

I still tend to move around on the bike as it feels more stable (to me anyway) in the bends

That's because the suspension works better if the bike is a bit more upright and allowed to move, whereas if you sit bolt upright and lean the bike right over, your asking the bike to do all the work and you just have to go with it, you have no flexibility. Less important on tourers and stuff where the suspension has been set up that way.

Shoulders & head (happens anyway if you're counter steering correctly) in normal A to B riding, and if I'm cracking on a bit or worried about the lean angle I'll shift one butt cheek off the saddle (much like the guy in that picture I suppose), and keep my knee in so my textiles don't risk touching the ground (that's only happened once anyway). None of this inside of the feckin' knee hooked over the saddle nonsense.

I used to ride with the instep on the pegs most of the time unless I was going into a corner where I would wreck my boots, so your toes give you plenty of warning on lean angle anyway. Don't do that anymore due to back problems and instructions from the physio.

i go much faster without my knee down, sometimes you spend so much time trying to get it down you lose alot of speed, saying that the last few track days I went KD crazy when ever a camera was close