how do you put your knee down??

[ducatilover]

can someone give me some advice on how to corner better? i just recently got my arse kicked by a 'busa in some hairpins and now crave for the art of real cornering. what i do curently is put my arse on the inside corner side of my seat[ well its actualy not 'on' the seat but balanced beside it] and put me inside knee out and pull the bike through the apex, usually on the pegs whilst modulating the throtle[on a gn that means almost always full throttle] is there any thing i'm doing wrong because i certainly cant go any faster than i am using my current tecnique......please help....

[Toast]

If you want 'faster'...there's plenty of other things you can do without bother about getting your knee down (but if you really must: stick one cheek off the seat and point your knee out, simple...jus' do it on a racetrack first time, makes it easier).

For one thing, just make your 'flick' in to the corner quicker. This Keith Code book I read reckons that your 'steering rate' determines how quick you can go throught the corner (a faster flick means a smaller lean angle for a given speed). Practice getting your arms in the right position (perpendicular to the angle of your forks), and sticking the bastard on it's ear as quickly as you can...do it gradually though. The more violent you are in the steering movement, the more likely the bike is to get unsettled.

I'm sure you'll get plenty of other such advice which you really don't want, but there you go...

[ducatilover]

cheers man, i pretty much do the cheek of the seat thing but i keep scraping my boot how exactly do i 'flick' my bike??

[bugjuice]

putting your knee down is going into the 'wank' factor apparently. I'm still trying to do it, just to say I can, not so I can blast around everywhere. I've ridden with bikers who have slammed their knee down hard into corners, and I've had to back off from running into the back. You can be just as quick not on the ground as you can with your knee down. It's all in the bike, the tyres, the setup and the rider..

Racers put their knee on the ground round corners mainly to know how close they're leaning over, which lets them judge how much is left. The other 'trick' is, if the racer is lucky, if the grip slips, you can bang your knee do and get the grip back.. but you have to have rather large balls and luck to do that.

Just trust your tyres a little more and ride a smidge harder each ride, and you might just pick up the pace yourself.
As for 'flicking' the bike, try standing on the pegs a little more too, then when you have to flick the bike from one way to the other, you can almost jump from one side to the other and bang it over for the next corner.. Watch the racers more closely with their riding style

As for being arse whipped by a busa, that's nothing to be ashamed of, on a 650.. it's double your capacity for a start! let alone the rider

[Korea]

If you want 'faster'...there's plenty of other things you can do without bother about getting your knee down (but if you really must: stick one cheek off the seat and point your knee out, simple...jus' do it on a racetrack first time, makes it easier).

Hey Toast, you're half-way there, and I agree with you - but don't just stick your butt out, move your whole upper body to the inside of the bike's centreline.

http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/sh...101#post378101

[N4CR]

Yeah I find I can actually go faster without the knee down at the moment :| so it is sorta pointless for now (but looks cool ). I do agree with the stability thing, but I use my toesliders to sort of 'feel' when shit is getting ugly and correct it.

It's a cool feeling getting it down for the first time. Also just make sure you actually have knee sliders and they are positioned properly. :spudwave:

[Toast]

cheers man, i pretty much do the cheek of the seat thing but i keep scraping my boot how exactly do i 'flick' my bike??

Like Buggy said, weight on the pegs is a great place to start.

By 'flick'...I just mean the initial turn in, where you go from bike upright to a position where the bike is 'on it's side'...after which you will be getting the gas on.

Making that 'flick' in more purposeful and eventually quicker...but still smooth (as opposed to smooth and easy does it which is natural at first), you should start to notice that you no longer have to lean as far...which is shit hot 'cos the bike will be more stable too.

How's that 650 you brought by the way? I've always liked the look of them. Might buy one for a second bike one day.

[Kornholio]

As for being arse whipped by a busa, that's nothing to be ashamed of, on a 650.. it's double your capacity for a start! let alone the rider

I think he rides a GN250 which is nearer to 5 times capacity :/

[bugjuice]

I think he rides a GN250 which is nearer to 5 times capacity :/

k, so l may be I miss read the post - in which case, why are you even trying to keep up?!?!

[Toast]

Hey Toast, you're half-way there, and I agree with you - but don't just stick your butt out, move your whole upper body to the inside of the bike's centreline.

http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/sh...101#post378101

Good call...I should be more careful in spouting such things...

point #3:
"#3 …Grip the tank and outer footpeg with your outer leg. Some say it’s pointless but I find that if I’ve got weight on the outside peg, I am more stable when something unexpected happens; ripples, head shake, rear slide…"

...is a personal fave...makes a world of difference to stability, especially over bumps 'n stuff gas-on through a corner. Theory is that your leg acts like a shock absorber and takes some of the momentum transferred to the bike from the tyre as it's hit by bumps...I think...is that right Korea? It definitely has good effect anyway.

[ducatilover]

putting your knee down is going into the 'wank' factor apparently. I'm still trying to do it, just to say I can, not so I can blast around everywhere. I've ridden with bikers who have slammed their knee down hard into corners, and I've had to back off from running into the back. You can be just as quick not on the ground as you can with your knee down. It's all in the bike, the tyres, the setup and the rider..

Racers put their knee on the ground round corners mainly to know how close they're leaning over, which lets them judge how much is left. The other 'trick' is, if the racer is lucky, if the grip slips, you can bang your knee do and get the grip back.. but you have to have rather large balls and luck to do that.

Just trust your tyres a little more and ride a smidge harder each ride, and you might just pick up the pace yourself.
As for 'flicking' the bike, try standing on the pegs a little more too, then when you have to flick the bike from one way to the other, you can almost jump from one side to the other and bang it over for the next corner.. Watch the racers more closely with their riding style

As for being arse whipped by a busa, that's nothing to be ashamed of, on a 650.. it's double your capacity for a start! let alone the rider

actually i havent got the 650 yet[i'm on the gn till i can sell it to get the 650, please some one buy it i want my 650....a good gn with two carefull owners, never been thrashed.......today] if i had this wouldn't of hapened quite so bad. i just find that i am more cofortable putting my knee sorta in the general ground direction and moving my arse off than just plain sitting on the bike. i trust my tyres more than the bike. only cos i forked out on beaut soft pirrellis the gns original tyres were shit and they were nearly new! it kept drifting the front....

[Korea]

point #3:
"#3 …Grip the tank and outer footpeg with your outer leg. Some say it’s pointless but I find that if I’ve got weight on the outside peg, I am more stable when something unexpected happens; ripples, head shake, rear slide…"

...is a personal fave...makes a world of difference to stability, especially over bumps 'n stuff gas-on through a corner. Theory is that your leg acts like a shock absorber and takes some of the momentum transferred to the bike from the tyre as it's hit by bumps...I think...is that right Korea? It definitely has good effect anyway.

Yeah, I agree that it's a big help for all of the above, but just conciously gripping the outside so you're hanging on when things go awry will help you stay on the bike, not panic and 'ride it out' better. I may have mentioned earlier that I freaked-out and my legs went flailing during my first real slide.

Also I'm always going on about a loose grip on the bars - the leg grip compensates for the lack of grip up front.

As always, try what works for you.

[ducatilover]

I think he rides a GN250 which is nearer to 5 times capacity :/

i'll be riding the gn till someone kindly buys it or i go nuts and get a mate to do an insurance job on it. when i sell the gn i will get this 650 i wasn't chasing the busa. he chased me and me being me wanted to see if a busa could lean as far as a gn and yes they can, and then some. lets just say i'm suprised. but yes it is five or so times the capacity but i think the gn weighs 'bout 100kg less so i thought i could use that as an advantage. you have to see my pegs they began to fold cos i was going so low and my foot was caught in them......they really are scraped quite bad. when i got home i hoped off stood beside the bike and lowered it towards the ground to see how far i was leaning and fuck i must be fucken mental i'm suprised at how close i was to scraping my arse. oh, i found putting lower on it bars has helped majorly

[bugjuice]

you cannot seriously believe that you'd stand a fraction of a chance on your GN against a busa.. sorry, but that's just funny as hell.. Don't worry about it until you get your 650. Learn the bike and get to know it, then in a year after you've got the bike, try it again and then see the results.. Until then, I think you're starting to 'peak' on your GN.. Don't worry about it, just upgrade it, take it easy, and don't rush yourself. It'll all come in time!
Do you have your full yet?

[ducatilover]

no, i dont have my full yet. but i am upgrading because i found a good cheap bike that will actaully do 110k into the fucken wind. and i found all the other 250s inadequate to be honest. the gsx was too gutless/ heavy, the srv was too gutless but it was sooooosexy sounding, the vtr250 was too gutless but handled quite nicely[fucken great too be honest] but had no tach. i travel 140km atleast every day and its all in 100k areas and being in the country i want a good sporty bike with some good power. i was thinking on a zzr600 but i dont trust myself enough.....