Knee down?

Originally Posted by need2ride

Am I missing something? I genuinely dont understand the obsession with "getting your knee down"

we're all different - I don't necessarilly understand some of the other facets of motorcycling, or other people's aspirations within them, but that doesn't make them invalid

knee-down is an essential tool for track riding. I would say its usefulness for road riding is minimal, but if that's what people want to do, & can do it safely without harming anyone else, then where's the problem?

I've never had a knee-down on a public road - I've never really found a road corner, other than a roundabout, that is sufficiently smooth, grippy & that I can safely see through, that would make it appropriate for requisite knee-down speed (without gibbon-style hang-off)

Good point, was watching some of the TT footage last night; not 100% sure but I could have sworn I saw knee down angles mid-way through a 5th gear corner, having just gone past a 30mph sign!

[Balky001]

Originally Posted by Toypop

In my opinion a lot of people getting their knee down on the road are doing it for the sake of it and could take the turns at the same speed without getting their knee down.

If they are going genuinely fast enough to warrant it then in my opinion they are riding in a silly manner. ...

That's it, people do it because they can (and enjoy doing it) not because they have to. If they had too then you are right, they would be going far too close to the edge for road riding. Bit like any sport/interest when you get better/confident you can get pleasure from non-purist actions. I can't ever see the point of pulling a wheelie or stoppie but I know several people on this site like pulling a mono every now and then.

I always used to think the GP riders were using knee down as a means of judging lean angle, so as to not lean too far and slide off. Are there any true racing guys here who can answer that, I don't mean the odd track day.

I'm sure I could get my knee down if I was brave enough to stick it out far enough but I don't see the point, my p!ssing contest days are over, I blame my prostate gland

[northwind]

I say the same thing every time this post comes around- the number of people whose riding style is based around getting their knee down amuses me. Generally they're slower, and they're putting huge amounts of effort and attention into getting their knee that bit further out.

I remember seeing a video on here that someone was very proud of, where they got their knee down on a roundabout- convinced they were a riding god. But they were hanging completely off the bike, it was leaned less than I do getting out of the garage, and they were just tiptoeing round that roundabout. Just ridiculous... He could have probably done it in a straight line. Every time I go to a trackday it almost goes without saying that I'll pass someone up the inside of a corner while sat almost upright, while they perform gymnastics and get their knee down.

But when it comes naturally, that's very different IMO. When you're riding fast and moving your body weight around to help that, you can find that all you have to do is stick your leg out a little and sssccccccccccccccchhhh, there it goes. The only reason I didn't get mine down for ages was that it never occurred to me to try, literally first time I did down it went. So all the above only really applies when it's an end in itself, not a means to an end, which is what it should be IMO.

Course, it's fun, so there's nothing actually wrong with riding with a horrible riding position just to do it, but keep it in perspective

Originally Posted by Toypop

I had a DVD that came with my last bike in which James Toseland said he had never had his knee down on the road and didn't think there was any reason why you should.
....
Even in the TT the riders are not scraping their knees along the floor in every corner like a MotoGP rider so if Joe Public is doing it on open roads...

Mike Hailwood never used to get his knee down, and I'm willing to bet that he was a faster rider than anyone on this forum will ever be.

Originally Posted by oldjack

I always used to think the GP riders were using knee down as a means of judging lean angle, so as to not lean too far and slide off. Are there any true racing guys here who can answer that, I don't mean the odd track day.

Couple of seasons MZ racing, by no means does that make me a racer (although it does answer all the "can I do it on stock rubber / on an SV etc - if it's possible on an MZ then it's possible on a BMX - BMX would be faster too).

Nah, personally speaking was nothing to do with judging lean angle, eyes and brain seem far better suited for that task. To be honest, it just happened when racing, I suspect you can gain a little more "feel", ie. if front is close to letting go you may feel a little more weight - but any of that, with me at least was purely at a sub-concious level. That said, I wasn't particularly good

I do it because I can and I enjoy it, provided it's not done on mini roundabouts in rush hour I don't see the problem tbh. I dont really care what anyone else makes of it. Some people just don't see the point as they can't do it, others don't see the point as they don't want to do it. Fair play, I say. In some corners, I can carry a lot more speed than if I were bolt upright, but then you could argue that why do you need to go around a corner that quick on the road......so we could be here all day. It's basically just showing off but then sometimes so is just owning a bike.

I think I've got my knee down maybe once. Ever. And it wasn't intentional.

I've said countless times, I ride like a copper (ie, sit still in the seat). It's probably because of that, that I've had pegs down a fair amount. It's not something I consciously went out to do, it's just something that happens when you're riding twisties quickly. As anyone that came to the North Wales ride the other week will tell you, I have plenty of twisties to practice in.

Granted when I'm getting a shift on, and I know the road well, I'll sometimes climb around a bit, but my knees are always tucked in.

Anyway, knee down, scraping along the tarmac isn't that fun when you're wearing textiles & therefore no knee sliders. Fair kecked myself when my knee hit tarmac at speed.

We seem to have gone from the psychology of why people want to do it, to 'is it safe to do so' ... I don't see the latter is overly relevant

I went to sleep when you started talking about the ins and outs of dressage ... if you excuse my ignorance of the detail, I still think my analogy holds true ... if you competed, even more-so

Oh and moving about the bike when mastered doesn't 'unbalance' the bike at all, just to opposite in fact!!

So back to where we came in, its safe to say there is little 'need' for KD on the road, but its the sort of thing one might like to try and do ... to either emulate the big boys, or for bragging rights!!