Balls or Arches?

[Bad Gixxer]

Balls of feet most of the time for me. I consciously changed after watching others and can't unchange. I find it far more comfortable now.

Balls of feet stem from racing (I think) for:
* cornering clearance
* it's easier and more stable to be on your 'toes' when keeping weight off the seat and on the pegs
* you have to make a conscious effort to hit the rear brake so you're less likely to whack it on before thinking "best not hit the rear brake"

Sometimes I will ride left foot 'arches' to be closer to the gear lever and right leg 'ball' so I don't hit the brake.

I agree totally, plus using the balls helps to grip the tank when you're braking, thus keeping the weight transfer down low through your knees rather than through the arms to the bars/clipons.

I always use balls on my gixxer on the road and the track, but find if I'm riding a more upright machine with the pegs not as far back (i.e. not head down, arse up, feet back) then I tend to go for the arch. Important to make sure the lever angles are set up for the way you ride though - nothing worse than having to lift or tilt your foot too much, especially for the gears. I tried turning my gearlever upside down once, as in MotoGP style - disastrous!! I dunno how anybody can go from the track to the road and manage to change from up to down and not cock it up.

[NordieBoy]

Same here

Inadvertently caught the edge of a pothole once, as I came over a slight rise. Made the bike do a tank slapper. Rode it out.
Didn't throw me off ços I had my feet firmly on the pegs (arches) and my hands on the bars(relaxed).
These things come out of the blue and it was all over before I had time to react.

Yep. I've had my feet ripped off the pegs when riding on my arches as my toes are lower than the pegs...

Going along at 30kph and all of a sudden you left foot is doing 0kph. A shock to the system to be sure...

[SPP]

...Important to make sure the lever angles are set up for the way you ride though - nothing worse than having to lift or tilt your foot too much, especially for the gears...

Good idea. My lever is a little hard to get at without a reach 'round. I'll have a play and tease it up a tickle.

[Swoop]

Balls.
10Chars.

[Crisis management]

Arches, with the sole exception of the inside foot when cornering hard on the road (as against off road, for you track day nazis).
There seems to be support for both arguements amongst good riders so, as usual , whatever works for you, my feelings are that I change gear and brake during cornering so want my feet where they can do their work.



At the risk of sounding a bit grumpy (not aimed at MsKABC, more at the level of analysis we seem to get into at times).....riding is essentially a symathetic connection with the machine, almost a symbiotic relationship (except for the trail bike which, I'm sure, is trying to kill me) so it is a matter of relaxing and finding the bits that work best for you and that bike, don't over analyse it or you take all the fun out of it and yes, I know some of you like overanalysing it but it gets up my nose, ok?

[CookMySock]

I ride mostly using arches, but find I instinctively move them back onto the balls through the twisties. Keeping my balls on the footpegs (ohhhh, I'm asking for it there, aren't I? ) all the time gets uncomfortable in my gixxer's crouched position.

Same.

Steve

[R-Soul]

Same here

Inadvertently caught the edge of a pothole once, as I came over a slight rise. Made the bike do a tank slapper. Rode it out.
Didn't throw me off ços I had my feet firmly on the pegs (arches) and my hands on the bars(relaxed).
These things come out of the blue and it was all over before I had time to react.

I was hooning down a gravel road on a dirt bike once at about 70kph with arches on. There was loop of cable/root coming out of ground an going back into ground. It was just the right height to catch over my toes. Luckily I saw it at the last moment, and started moving my foot sideways off the pegs. It caught my toes and ripped my foot backwards as I passed over it. Luckily my foot was enough off the peg to JUST have a massive tankslapper (without having every tendon in my foot and leg wrenched!).

The seat had bitemarks from where my ass chewed it though...

[skinman]

that must have been one hell of a tree root cause arnt the footpegs on those dirt bikes like about a mile off the ground.
I ride a virago so just drag my feet along the road everywhere, pegs are low and the riding position drops the heel so really easy to touch it on the ground. Forward controls you know.

[R-Soul]

that must have been one hell of a tree root cause arnt the footpegs on those dirt bikes like about a mile off the ground.
I ride a virago so just drag my feet along the road everywhere, pegs are low and the riding position drops the heel so really easy to touch it on the ground. Forward controls you know.

Yeah it was probably not a tree root- probably an electrical cable or waste piece of cable sticking up out of the ground (I never went back to check) - because it was a new residential development suburb/area with lots of house building and infrastructure laying going on.