How much does Height help Knee Down?

[Kwaka-Kid]

Thats right.. yet another thead about the godlike "knee downing"

Just wondering what opinions were out there on the subject... AFAIK we have 2 gods of knee down on these forums, TS + MR... lets face it, they do it, they do it often, and they do it all night long baby!.. whoops getting carried away, all day long.

Anyway, they are both rather tall fellows, so my question is how much harder really is it to be 5foot4 not 6 foot when it comes to touching the turf?... From what i see it honestly seems to be like a LOT harder.

This is just something thats come to mind a) on night shift where ive just come home from being up scince god knows when yesterday and only had about 3 hours sleep prior to that, and b) after getting my new leathers and being able to move off the bike and actually stick the knee out - because its like it grew another 6 inches, (honestly, i didnt believe it was possible either!:shifty: )
*snap* back to reality.. its always cold:cold: thats why! :crybaby:

Anyway where are out short knee downers on the site? i wonder if we can find someone short to match the consistant style of TS & MR but represent the more vertically challanged?..

Hey FF - hows about you man? You got skill, speed, smoothness...

[Racey Rider]

Yes, when I looked at TS's profile once I thought, " No wonder you get your knee down chap, Be hard not to when your knees stick out that far!". ;)

[riffer]

I guess it also has a bit to do with how fat and lazy you are too and how tight your gear fits you (in my experience)

[svs]

it all depends on style baby!

I'm over 6ft, and the only place I've got my knee down is round coke at manfeild. I hang off the bike, but don't stick my knee out all that far, when my knee hits the ground I know I'm close to the edge of the tyres.

It also depends on where the rear pegs are for your bike and how much ground clearance you've got.

[750Y]

long legs would definitely help. bike for bike a long legged person would have their knee down at a lesser angle than a short legged person unless the shorter person was further off the bike so riding position plays a role also i think.

[Motu]

The top riders consistantly down the years have always been on the short side,even the american superheros like Kenny Roberts.Watching speedway for 35yrs the tall guys always look ungainly,never at home on the bike.This is coming from a shorty,maybe I could be a little biased,but short guys have the edge.

[Motoracer]

Your legs need to be of a certain length and there is no way around it.

If you can't get your knee down on a tall bike like a CBR600RR then you might have better luck with something with a low seat height like the CBR250RR though.

[Posh Tourer :P]

Watching speedway for 35yrs the tall guys always look ungainly,never at home on the bike.

But I bet they can get their knee down.....

[750Y]

The top riders consistantly down the years have always been on the short side,even the american superheros like Kenny Roberts.Watching speedway for 35yrs the tall guys always look ungainly,never at home on the bike.This is coming from a shorty,maybe I could be a little biased,but short guys have the edge.

I was going to mention this also but was afraid someone would throw it in my face by mentioning people like Andrew Stroud, & David Jeffries.

[SPman]

But I bet they can get their knee down..... Or in Reuben Xaus's case, everything down!

[k14]

Yeah I reckon height would help with the matter. I think my leathers are a little tight cause I can't stick me knee out that far when I am riding (even though I would have no chance of getting it down anyway). Might have a go at ruapuna in the next couple of weeks if the weather is good.

[Motu]

I was going to mention this also but was afraid someone would throw it in my face by mentioning people like Andrew Stroud, & David Jeffries.

There will always be exceptions,so there is no point getting into an argument.But if someone was anal enough they could plot rider height of world champs from the year dot,I think the line would be below average,with tall riders just being random blips.

[Firefight]

Anyway where are out short knee downers on the site? i wonder if we can find someone short to match the consistant style of TS & MR but represent the more vertically challanged?..

Hey FF - hows about you man? You got skill, speed, smoothness...


ah, okay, not sure why you ask me, I know Zed and Marmoot are far smoother than me, bwtf, I sort of lean a bit stick my knee out as I lean, have got the knee all the way down,was not that happy with the feeling on open road ,22, Raglin hill & corramandel hill, it sorta shit me a bit.Have also got it down at pukekohe, but that was just cause I was scared and wanted to get off the bike :crazy:

I feel happier with knee extended,(but not touching) and I guess that must make me faster in and out of a corner,but only cause I am happy with whats going on, would not have a clue if it would help others I know I am much happier in left hand corners than right ? Fuck Logan, why do you ask me these sort of questions? :confused: :confused: :confused:
Why can't you just ask me how many potholes there are on 22, and were they all are ? or how many wheels does my bike have?

F/F :confused:

[sAsLEX]

Well i am about 6ft and still haven't marked my sliders, I can follow shade while he is knee down, he is shorter and on the same bike as me, and I am still miles off

[Kwaka-Kid]

Logan, why do you ask me these sort of questions? :confused: :confused: :confused:
Why can't you just ask me how many potholes there are on 22, and were they all are ? or how many wheels does my bike have?

F/F :confused:
Bahaha! SEE!! PROOF! thats it, no longer is a South Aucklander alowed to mock a Westie! We might be ruff but damn those suckers are all hillbillys! not to mention if i had a dollar for everytime i saw a punchup in smart-south-auckland id have a crapload more money then anyone in south auckland! :stoogie: -bahaha!

Interesting - and Saslex i agree with shaede that in your case its technique your lacking atm - but dont worry when that comes your sorted!

still doesnt answer how much technique vs height comes into it - atm im only seeing a trend that height is what its all about.-some say otherwise?

So fine we bring up the short racers that knee down. But do we have any Average Joe KB'ers that are short and do it like TS+MR ? I reckon thats a title you could claim FF - just learn to like it. and look weather doesnt look too shabby, might go for a little ride soon.

[wkid_one]

Obviously - the longer your bits are, the more likely you are to touch them to the ground (double entendre?)

I must say that I found it easy to touch my knee down (easier on the R1 than the VTR). Like TS - I actually find it weird to NOT corner like this now.....as I don't feel I have the same balance/feel

[White trash]

I'm niether tall nor short.

I ride as fast as anyone I've ever ridden with and my knee only ever touches the deck if I'm posing. I hang off a bit but not to get the knee on the deck.

Jimbo750 is about the same height, rides a little slower than me and gets his down on most corners.

He doesn't hang off like a spastic either, it's just down to cornering path and style.

I now own a bike that drags it's undercarridge at the first sign of a corner so I'll have to hang of like a retarded chicken just to get close.

[Paul in NZ]

I try hard to keep all my anatomy OFF the road thanks.... :bye:

Paul N

Only gets off the bike at the end of the ride :killingme

[Firefight]

[QUOTE=Kwaka-Kid]Bahaha! SEE!! PROOF! thats it, no longer is a South Aucklander alowed to mock a Westie! We might be ruff but damn those suckers are all hillbillys! not to mention if i had a dollar for everytime i saw a punchup in smart-south-auckland id have a crapload more money then anyone in south auckland! :stoogie: -bahaha!

Interesting , I live in the north Waikato Logan, :wacko:


F/F

[Kwaka-Kid]

FF you can call it what you like mate - doesnt mean it aint south auckland to me! :P hahaha!

and WT yeh - guess it does come down to cornering path aswell, see if im going to touchdown on a corner i dont really know or something ill just run wide and then once i can see the exit really well and know the corner/am in it ill pull the bike down late and jst bring her all the way down (the whole 10degrees that i lean it) and poomf, usually just tap down.

Shit me! one comment id like to make is these knee sliders on the new GPstar leathers i have are SOFT as, is that what plastic sliders are like? silent, smooth, and burn away so fast! stuff that, im gunna bring out the chopping board again and attach some harder teflon.

[Shade]

I think for us shorter folk (well me anyway) I can touch my knee down fairly easily, but only on the right corner, where as I see TS can touch his on almost any corner (lucky bugger) So i think there is some advantage in being tall.

[Ghost Lemur]

One question.

When you guys are talking about 'knee down' are you talking about sticking your knee out at a right angle to the bike and hanging off so you only need to lean a slight bit over to be scraping tarmac? Or are you talking about when you knee/elbow/pegs/etc are all scrapping due to the bike practically laying down so it's unavoidable.

I have seen the former quite a bit, and rightly or wrongly it doesn't wuite register with what I "thought" knee down was all about. It's more hanging off the bike so as to not have to tip the bike over. Where as i thought true knee down skill was the later where you are have the bike laying over to it's limits taking the corner to the max and getting you knee down because that's how close you are to the ground.

The reason I ask is, besides personal clarification, I think if the former is "knee down" then of course being taller is going to help you stick you knee out further. But if it's the former then height shouldn't come into play.

[Posh Tourer :P]

If you lean off, you have the bike more upright while cornering. This allows you to corner faster as there is more good contact surface of rubber on the road. So it does help if you hang wayyy of the bike. Generally, if you are really pushing it, you get to the point where not only are you hanging off, but also the bike is very leant over too. However, that is almost unachieveable for some of us, especially me on the beemer with a bloody great sidestand in the way. Knee down can help you get better contact on the road, but only really comes into it's own when the bike would otherwise be leant over a very long way I think.

[Kwaka-Kid]

ghost is see what your saying man - but on the street on street tyres? I didnt think that sort of riding existed short of motogp? and even then they hang off like mofo's in the wet dont they- stretching out and touching knee at minor tilt(comparativly speaking to their dry riding of course).

PT you go tthe idea i think man, but the biggest benefit i guess is when your leaned fully.

And lastly ghost i guess your exactly right, racing and i mean racing properly (not what i do) would not make much diff as i see how, but just dangling off on the street etc a taller person has alot less effort/more advantage.

[Motoracer]

I got my boot down today! :p

[FROSTY]

I think it really comes down to the bike. On a bucket racer even a 5' rider will get his knee down. I could be wrong here but I think TS's little rg encourages knee down riding with its foot peg positioning

[wkid_one]

One question.

When you guys are talking about 'knee down' are you talking about sticking your knee out at a right angle to the bike and hanging off so you only need to lean a slight bit over to be scraping tarmac? Or are you talking about when you knee/elbow/pegs/etc are all scrapping due to the bike practically laying down so it's unavoidable.

I have seen the former quite a bit, and rightly or wrongly it doesn't wuite register with what I "thought" knee down was all about. It's more hanging off the bike so as to not have to tip the bike over. Where as i thought true knee down skill was the later where you are have the bike laying over to it's limits taking the corner to the max and getting you knee down because that's how close you are to the ground.

The reason I ask is, besides personal clarification, I think if the former is "knee down" then of course being taller is going to help you stick you knee out further. But if it's the former then height shouldn't come into play.
Gr8 point Ghost - I agree, anyone can knee down if they hang right off their bike. The trick is using the knee as a feeler as to how far you are leaning the bike - rather than just purely for the thrill of touching the knee down.

One of the scariest situations you can get in to is one where you are fully leant over, your knee is on the ground, your leg is practically against the fairing and you are drifting wide!!

The problem with cornering with your knee down is that if you get used to this style of cornering - it becomes habitual - however it also means you have little 'extra cornering' if you run in to trouble. Meaning if you are cornering with your knee down properly - and you start to run wide, you don't have many options up your sleeve to save the situation.

[DEATH_INC.]

Hmmmm,I'm as fast as most out there,but I've never got my knee down,despite hanging waaaay off the side.I've followed MR,TS and a few others with their sliders on the road,sometimes even closing on them,but have never managed to get my sliders on the road.
I'm a shortass,5'6 on a good clear day.....with short legs as well to make it worse.
Once hung My FZR from the roof with a chain(after getting really frustrated trying to get my knee down)and leaned it over 'till the peg touched down,jumped on,and there was no way I could reach the ground with my knee without lifting my foot from the upper peg and sliding the seat under my calf.Not really practical.
I guess it's just not possible sometimes....though it doesn't stop me trying....

[NordieBoy]

There will always be exceptions,so there is no point getting into an argument.But if someone was anal enough they could plot rider height of world champs from the year dot,I think the line would be below average,with tall riders just being random blips.

The main thing is that short riders are lighter than tall riders.
I'm talking the pro's here...

Power to weight - a shorter rider has a head-start on a taller rider.

[Two Smoker]

Well since i seem to be the main part of the convo, i will add my 2 cents..... I dont know whether it helps, due to me not having the knowledge of being short, i guess it does help a bit with being taller.....

For me it doesnt matter what bike im on, or how much i hang off the bike, i can get my knee down, and when going really hard, it comes up into the fairing whilst my knee is still on the ground

I hang of the RG like a monkey because if i dont, the pegs scrape :wacko: but when on MR's GSX-R600, i didnt hang off like a complete monkey, yet still got my knee down, although i know i could probably sandwich it against the fairing if i rode it a bit more (aye MR lol)

[andy1]

Im not really a knee down rider, but sometimes might get the elbow down in the waihi twisties. Normally i ride in jeans or rain pants so wasnt keen on scraping my knees away. After i sold my leathers to MR. I much prefer riding in jeans. im also about 173cm.
Hey MR remember back in the days when we both couldnt scrape nothin!? now look at you :ride:

So i dont think that being tall makes any difference. Just your style!

Kiotsu Kete
Sayonara

[Two Smoker]

Mate, andy i can't wait till you get back to NZ and blatting around with that supermotard :niceone: Your old leathers are looking pretty worn now LOL......

[Kwaka-Kid]

elbow down? on the street even?! shit now this i have to see, in F3 i still havnt seen anyone get an elbow, infact in all NZ racing i still havnt seen an elbow! Andy1 get back here and teach us how to ride a two fiddy bro! and what tyres did you run on?

[andy1]

Yea, only on some occasions when I was running GPR70`s. first i would ride the twisties with one hand on the handle bars, and after the elbow started touching. Not a big deal really.
Practise Practise Practise.

Laterz

[Kwaka-Kid]

it is a big deal dude! Nice one! I ran GPR70SP's (i take it yours had to b SP's?) but actually found the D207GP a better tyre except that it was very triangular and drops into corners far too easy/starts headshakes easier!
So your elbow was touching with both hands on bars right-
Andy1 get back here! mate i so wanna ride with you esp to follow around a racetrack like pukekohe. what times did your old 250 get around there?

[andy1]

A supermotard at puke?! :eek:

I think MR is the one to follow:msn-wink: That dude got serious speed :not:

Ill be coming back in Oct, maybe. First i gotta see Rossi tear up Motegi!!

Well first just with one hand, and then two. :confused: But only on the left side.

Oyasumi :sleep:

[Kwaka-Kid]

im confused! no no what were ur times @ pukekohe on ur old bike ?
And yeah MR has pace, and knee down - but i havnt seen an elbow *YET!* (you working on something there for us MR?)
this i must see.

[Motoracer]

im confused! no no what were ur times @ pukekohe on ur old bike ?
And yeah MR has pace, and knee down - but i havnt seen an elbow *YET!* (you working on something there for us MR?)
this i must see.

Now why would I want to damage my leathers. First I need to get elbow sliders don't I? :spudwhat:

Na, I am all fulla shit. :laugh: I don't think I can do it cause my riding style is completly different to A1s'. When he rides, he doesn't get off the bike much but the whole bike is on max lean. He'd have his knee tucked in but there would only be a short gap between his knee and the road. In other words, it looks as if he is lying down on the road with his bike through the corners. As for me, I hang off like a monkey swinging on a tree branch! :o This allows me to keep the bike more upright which then gives me more time to react to a certain situation (eg. pot hole, dead animal, water stream etc etc). Even if I was going at the same speed as A1 through a corner when he had his elbow down, I still wouldn't have enough lean angle to get my elbow down.

Hey Andrew bro: Yesterday, I just had a go on my Bro's XR600 for the first time and fuck, that was fun!! I am lovin the sideways action! I got rid of all the chicken strips on the knobblies. I reckon, Rennies on 17s and I might be getting my knee down on it. Can't wait to have a match with you on da CRF and me on the XR!! :msn-wink:

[Two Smoker]

Hey Andrew bro: Yesterday, I just had a go on my Bro's XR600 for the first time and fuck, that was fun!! I am lovin the sideways action! I got rid of all the chicken strips on the knobblies. I reckon, Rennies on 17s and I might be getting my knee down on it. Can't wait to have a match with you on da CRF and me on the XR!! :msn-wink:
Now that i want too see, but MR after seeing you ride, your knee has a hell of a long way to go down :wacko: I need a bike with better corner clearance...

[Motoracer]

Now that i want too see, but MR after seeing you ride, your knee has a hell of a long way to go down :wacko: I need a bike with better corner clearance...

On the 17 inch rims, the ride height will come down and with road racing tires, I could lean it a lot further.

The XR has good corner clearance :whistle:

[andy1]

kk, i think i was doing 1:21-22`s, it was so long ago... :spudwhat:
Normally i would ride a 954 round the track but never got timed! :mad:

sayonara! :spudwave:

[wkid_one]

New Zealand should start using this street sign for people like TS, MR, myself and others.....

[Motoracer]

New Zealand should start using this street sign for people like TS, MR, myself and others.....

LOL, is that for real??

[wkid_one]

LOL, is that for real??
Shit, TS was right - you are as stupid as you look.......j/k:blink:

[Motoracer]

Shit, TS was right - you are as stupid as you look.......j/k:blink:

I think gullible is the right word <_< Na, that was pretty dumb of me :stupid:

[Two Smoker]

Shit, TS was right - you are as stupid as you look.......j/k:blink:
LMAO, i never said that lol..... hhhhmmmmmmm i think titanium knee sliders are needed.... YAY they arrive in a weeks time :eek:

[jimbo600]

I'm niether tall nor short.

I ride as fast as anyone I've ever ridden with and my knee only ever touches the deck if I'm posing. I hang off a bit but not to get the knee on the deck.

Jimbo750 is about the same height, rides a little slower than me and gets his down on most corners.

He doesn't hang off like a spastic either, it's just down to cornering path and style.

I now own a bike that drags it's undercarridge at the first sign of a corner so I'll have to hang of like a retarded chicken just to get close.

I'm with Whitey on this one. Matter of style not size. Cycosis doesn't hang off like a spastic but bugger me he rides like one. No hint of knee down there and he's a bit smaller than me. He's damn well quicker than me too.

Mind you I'm about 6ft and the other day I got both knees down at the same time.

[wkid_one]

Mind you I'm about 6ft and the other day I got both knees down at the same time.
About 6'?? - is that the same ruler you use when telling the girls how long it is?

[jimbo600]

About 6'?? - is that the same ruler you use when telling the girls how long it is?

No way, that ruler is even more prone to hyperbole. :banana:

[Kwaka-Kid]

someone give the man a prize, at least hes honest!

[enigma51]

Kwaka I touch the non knee slider attached winter suit today and let just say it was may be not a good idea. Stop moaning about not being tall enough to slide the knee GO LOWER!!!!!!!!

But saying that I have seen you slide the knee even if it was with that piece of plastic bolted to a knee slider. YOUR NUTS

[enigma51]

Look at the duct tape on the knee

[Two Smoker]

Look at the duct tape on the knee


That reminds me of my leathers a couple of weeks ago :whistle:

[Kwaka-Kid]

HAHAHA wicked picture! And enigma dude you is teh crazy one! Shit i couldnt afford to put my wet weather gear on the deck even if i could!... Who needs sliders when u got mums chopping board attached..

[andy1]

:killingme :killingme thats some funny stuff KK!
:spudwave:

:killingme

[enigma51]

I aint intending to put a knee down again with the wet weather suit It was scary. And your mom is going to Fuck you up if you chop her cutting boards up