Getting the knee down advice?

[ChrisCurvyS]

I've only just had my knee down on a handful of occasions, however I scrape my toe sliders on roundabouts all the time and have scrubbed in the back tyre right to its edge. Probably need to hang off more? (longer legs would help too....)

Aside from bragging rights, I want to get comfortable doing it as to me it's another aspect of bike control and makes you an overall better, more experienced rider with more understanding of the physics involved in riding.

I've practiced stoppies and wheelies (on deserted private car parks) for the same reason.

Have someone learn you the right body position(yes yes the big ******* on the to small bike in the picture does not have the 100% right position, I look better on the gixer ), get used to the speeds involved, and practice, practice, practice, like any sport, some take it really quick, others need hard work and practice.
I read someone say you needed better tyres, for just getting your knee down that's bs in 9 out of 10 times, 99% of the people here ride with tyres they don't have the skills to use to the maximum, and to many "pub-experts" to top that. You need good tyres if you want to push hard, like riding on the edge with small/mini-slides when you just go a touch to hard. For just a knee down moment you can do that on just about any touring tyre, if you know what your doing. But for confidence and psychological effect buy the best tyres you can find, book not just one trackday, it takes more than one to get "there".


Think this is a bit more than .05 pence, maybe 0.2pence?

Good luck, and good hunting.

0.2pence?

We'll need five more then to pay you a penny.

[Fallout]

Originally Posted by Runako

I did 200+ miles on Sunday led by a Triumph Tiger rider and there is no way he gets his knee down. Yet I regularly watched him waltz of into the distance just through great road positioning.

You can't get your knee down on a Tiger. The seat is too high and the pegs are too low. I've been getting over to the last 5mm to 1cm of my chicken strips, toes and pegs scraping in Wales. To get my knee anywhere near the ground I'd have to be so far off the bike with the pegs grinding away and even my lanky limbs would struggle.

As you said, knee down is a lean gauge and on a tiger the pegs making contact is the limit. On a few corners I was getting two wheel loss of traction and slipping across the road without peg contact, so the pegs are definitely the limit on normal roads!

As a side note, the suspension on the Tiger is incredible and so confidence inspiring when cornering. I could never get an SV over like the Tiger, nor hustle through the tight twisties as fast. As such, I don't think an SV is really an easy bike to learn knee down on, so fair play to those of you who find it easy to do.

[Bibio]

ever wondered why different bikes have different sized 'hero blobs' on the pegs, well they are there as an indicator that on a standard road bike you are running out of tyre profile. to get further over you will need proper race profiled tyres.

as for the subject of getting your knee down on the road well i find it quite funny when i come across people like this as i'm usually trying to get past them. i have seen very very few riders on the road capable of doing it properly. it's a skill that is handy to have in certain situations if implemented right but in most cases it's just not necessary on public roads.

'knee down' learn on the track, use it when needed on the roads.

Originally Posted by Spank86

0.2pence?

We'll need five more then to pay you a penny.

There should be more than 5 others around here somewhere..
But nothing wrong with being cheap, never had problems with girls being cheap in my pre-married years

Bilbo: heroblobs touch down far to early on most bikes, the sv is no exemption, they are far of the limit of any sport tyre. You right on the money with the: on the road you don't need to be kneesliding to be fast.

Mike Hailwood was stupid fast without knee sliding.

Originally Posted by Fallout

You can't get your knee down on a Tiger. The seat is too high and the pegs are too low.

Mmmm, the point being he never tried to get his knee down and was faster because, as you mentioned, the bike is so good in the corners.

I read someone say you needed better tyres, for just getting your knee down that's bs in 9 out of 10 times, 99% of the people here ride with tyres they don't have the skills to use ...

And those that stick with the D220 are using a tyre that isn't capable. Good tyres are simply tyres that offer good grip. Touring tyres offer good grip. The point being don't go out to practice knee down on worn or rubbish tyres.

Everyone wants to be right, but "right" is what's ok for you. Just pay attention to the comments and work it out. If you see anyone riding on road constantly doing knee downs through twisties in this country then they're either amazing or rubbish.

To further divide opinions, nothing feels better than passing a guy kneedown on a sportsbike with your leg out on a supermoto