Knee down?

Originally Posted by need2ride

...

next thing you'll be telling us is that you've never had a kneedown on a horse either

Originally Posted by need2ride

Can you really do it safely though I dont see how it can be

knee-down really isn't the at-the-edge-of-control/adhesion/skill manoeuver it may look like, it's really very controlled if you know what you're doing. if you have a nice, smooth, open corner on a road that you know, then I think it's more than possible to get a safe kneedown on a public road. I'm sure many such roads exist, but I live in London, so they don't seem to exist around me very much

Originally Posted by need2ride

Oh I didnt know that - I was taught to stay relaxed and as one with the bike

Now we are getting to the bottom of it - youre racing wannabees and Im an old fogey

If it wasn't the best way of doing things then Mr Rossi wouldn't do it

Go and make yourself a nice cup of coco and leave the silly stuff to us little boyz!!

[Balky001]

Originally Posted by need2ride

No - I enjoy it just fine as it is



No - I and I dont intend to - there was never such an abundance of racing obessed road riding up until quite recently - we (me and hubby) have always had bikes because we enjoy them as a social life, a hobby and a form of transport

I suppose its a case of horses for courses (especially for you being a big equestrian fan! ).

[northwind]

Originally Posted by Blue_SV650S

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

That's kind of my point though, about half the folk I've seen getting their knee down on track or road haven't mastered it at all, they're just reaching for the tarmac and everything else, road positioning, weight distribution, is totally out the window.

I don't think it's unsafe at all, done right... You don't have to be going crazily fast, and if you do it right you should be gaining grip, and not distracting yourself. But I reckon most of the people who're obsessed with it just aren't doing it right, and most of the people who do it right are doing it quite naturally.

Can't we just accept that us 'younsgters' like doing it and that old codgers who can't do it frown on it...............?

There, job done!

I think knowing how to do it properly is important; if done properly, you also learn about weight distrubution and how to keep the bike mroe upright; this is VERY useful when riding in the wet (i was hanging off a little when I rode home last week in the rain, just to keep the bike upright, although I admit I wasnt sure if I was doing it correctly i.e. in a way that was benefiting the bike. Made me feel better though)

Matt

Originally Posted by northwind

That's kind of my point though, about half the folk I've seen getting their knee down on track or road haven't mastered it at all, they're just reaching for the tarmac and everything else, road positioning, weight distribution, is totally out the window.

Hey, you gotta start somewhere

I started out hanging off like a gibbon attacking a roundabout too ... I wanted to look like Rossi (well Haga at the time actually ) I can't see how you can't start off like this ...

Originally Posted by 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.

Sounds like Mr kneedown - this gsxr rider weazlez and I saw at lydden the other day. He would come up to a corner, park it while shifting his entire @rse off the seat, creep round the corner with his knee scraping, back up into the seat, get the bike upright and only then would get on the throttle!

Originally Posted by Blue_SV650S

Hey, you gotta start somewhere

I started out hanging off like a gibbon attacking a roundabout too ... I wanted to look like Rossi (well Haga at the time actually ) I can't see how you can't start off like this ...

Ride faster & climb around on the bike on roads you know well. That's exactly what I did, then came the "oh sh*t what was that?... oh crap, that was my textile trousers scraping along the tarmac, best pull over to check for damage."

Worked for me anyhow. I wasn't climbing around to get KD, just climbing around partly for the sheer hell of it, and partly in an attempt to keep the bike more upright whilst carrying more speed.

So Not everyone starts on roundabouts