how do you put your knee down??

[Biff]

putting your knee down is going into the 'wank' factor apparently.

So true. Getting you knee down has very little to do with cornering faster. As BJ says, getting your knee down is primarily a guide that racers use to judge the bikes lean angle.

My advice - forget about getting you knee down if all you want to do is corner faster. Stick to upper body lean, getting your shoulder into the corner first off. Hanging a butt cheek off the seat will help keep the bike more upright, so useful in the tighter coreners, as you'll have more left in reserve should the corenr tighten etc. And put pressure on the inside peg when cornering, as BJ says, almost stand up in the seat, pushing down. Every little helps.

As for getting you knee down - I've done it, but only when trying to purposly get my knee down around a roundabout. I haven't done it since. So twice in 20 (ish)years of riding doesnt count I guess.

[justsomeguy]

Bloody hell - this thread is too provocative......

Just come back from bout 800ks in total of weekend riding and now I have to go out again ----- thank God for Cheenic Dwive.

Cheers for the info and tips buggy, biff, Korea and others.

[ducatilover]

My advice to Ducatilover, don't be trying to put your knee down!
Instead concerntrate on your lines, looking through the corner and accelerating out of the apex. If you just get used to shifting off the seat and leaning out the knee then as you develop riding through the corners better (& over time), you'll find your knee will just start hitting the road surface.
My concern to you is, A GN250 tyre is probably not designed to be placed on this angle, you may end up getting yourself into alot of trouble.
I doubt a GN250 tyre has the rubber compound needed for sticking with such forces and the shape is probably very wrong for the angle. You shouldn't try these techniques on a GN250!!You need a sportbike!

As for the busa, he should cane you because his bike tyres will be alot more suitable to higher corner speeds.

hey, i dont have 'gn' tyres. i have pirelli sport demons. these tyres offer heeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaps of grip, even compared to the ninja's [yes i have one but it dont go any more, ] the ninja uses a medium softish type dunlop while my gn has very soft pirrelli sportdemons. went for a quick ride just before and tried some of the given advice and i honestly think that i have found the bike limits i tried 'flicking', great fun, also tried different weighting per footpeg sorta thing. i now conclude the lower i get the more stable i feel. i out cornered a cheeky fucker in a falcon xr6 while practiseing

[dss3]

If ya want proof that getting your knee down doesn't mean your going fast look at my avatar.

It is at taupo and was put on for show to get a nice sparky photo, was definitly not the quickest way for me to get around that corner, and you can see the bike has bugger all lean angle on it either.

[ducatilover]

maybe i should wait till i get a real bike, but i'm telling ya i nearly did it today i geel more stable if i take nearly my whole arse off the seat. [my arse is about the same most peoples left hand side cheek] i am concentrating real hard on my lines, i have to learn to look at the vanishing point and not the surface as mentioned.

[Two Smoker]

If ya want proof that getting your knee down doesn't mean your going fast look at my avatar.

It is at taupo and was put on for show to get a nice sparky photo, was definitly not the quickest way for me to get around that corner, and you can see the bike has bugger all lean angle on it either.

Thats because your a homo... and a woss to top it off

[nudemetalz]

hmm,...so friendly....

[dss3]

hmm,...so friendly....

Yeah, smartass little punk. We'll see who's laughing after 1st round of Taupo PMCC in a few weekends time aye TS!

Well... yeah, probably you again... dammit ... umm challenge ya to a drinking race instead!

[nudemetalz]

Yeah, smartass little punk. We'll see who's laughing after 1st round of Taupo PMCC in a few weekends time aye TS!

Well... yeah, probably you again... dammit ... umm challenge ya to a drinking race instead!

umm,...was trying to be nice,...and the avatar pic is quite neat actually !!

[Dafe]

Obviously that's from Rainey's mouth - but it's pretty well accepted that it was Kenny Roberts who started knee down style,and he's says he copied it from others.But it was Kenny Roberts who brought in a new style than the universal ''classic'' line of the time - he developed a flattrack method in cornering a roadracer....a late entry,quick turn in with a throttle steered exit,the knee down is a version of the flattracker and speedway riders left foot out and steel shoe.

Dig out some real old photos of late 60s and early 70s roadracers,and you will see them with a cheek off the seat and the inside knee out,but it was Kenny Roberts who put it all together....just an extention of what was happening at the time,even he doesn't say he ''invented'' it.

It wasn't Rainey saying he did it first at all!

It was Schwantz saying Rainey did it first!

Rainey was simply explaining how he would use adhesive tape around his knee to stop his leathers gripping the concrete, he was then integral in the design of the kneepad!

Perhaps Schwantz was talking shit on the DVD then. Especially since you say it was Roberts!

[Dafe]

So that middle picture is on a two laned, one way road with you leaning the bike over on some tiny stand and then some sparks photoshopped in eh? ... you wouldn't be doing anything illegal right!? y-y-yy you wouldn't be that naughty r-rr right?

Looks nice man.

I agree with you there! The roads bend looks so gentle, why would you even need to knee down there, It just doesn't look right to me either.

[k14]

I agree with the small bike/big bike thing.

On the race tack, you can hold so much more cornering speed on an RS-125 next to a F3 400 bike, while only losing little if any speed down the straight. Basically power to weight ratio is what counts, not whether you get your knee down everytime.

Yep exactly, even on the race track getting your knee down isn't necessary. I hardly ever get it down and that doesn't stop me from passing all the guys that do it at every corner. I occasionally get it down,but seldomly is intentional. All about looks, nothing to do with speed, but can be a product of going fast.