So who's got their knee down?

[Big Dog]

If I underdstood it it makes sense.... but the most significant centrifugal force in relation to a knee down event is the one that holds your tyre down and your rear suspension compressed as you take said corner. Imagine you are a yo-yo, not a big stretch for most bikers, being swung around in circles.

To maintain sufficient compression to acheive grip you need to exert X G's (where x is a variable quantified by the grip of your tyres, the quality of your suspension, and the weight of your machine). these g forces can be increased in one of two ways you can accelerate, or you can turn in even tighter (going back to the model above you can shorten the string or you can speed up). As you don't want to change your line uneccessarily the obvious choice is to accelerate.

Knee down or not aside, it is the same skill fast or slow.

There are various techniques to avoid knee down style lean angles that are very useful in the wet or other poor grip conditions, but ultimately the fastest way through a corner involves the shortest possible line, coupled with the latest braking and the earliest acceleration.

In the dry, knee down is the fastest and safest way through a sharp or long turn.

This is of course why knee down is so popular.

IMHO To be considered a good rider you need to have several availible options for every corner. To blow off upskilling because a particular tactic seems a bit blow hard is a bit like cutting your C*&* off to get more girls. Having the confidence to throw my bike on it's ear has saved my life many times.

I'm not a fast rider anymore but I reckon you need all the skills you can muster out there.

[FROSTY:Me]

That said its been a bloody long time since I've tried and Pukie is a bloody hard circuit to get your knee down on. My race/riding style involved a heap of body english-- I literally used to hang on by the underside of my leg and knee on the ground then kinda pull the bike down onto myself. No logic to it it was just what I felt comfortable with.
Now the guys I just cannot believe are those GP 125 racers--
Correct me if Im wrong but I swear theyre dragging their elbows on the ground -amazing angles of dangle

[scroter]

na never had my knee down. tryed heaps. not hanging off the bike enough i suspect. Took my TL1000s on Track time twice had a lower fairing on it hit that on the road even without hitting bumps. Only had chicken strips on the front tyre not the back one. I agree with CK i feel much more comfatable at higher speed than low speed. well find the knee one day when I get some decent tyres not these crappy D207s they suck

[Motoracer]

Well find the knee one day when I get some decent tyres not these crappy D207s they suck

Try Rennsport or Perelli Supercorsa man. If you are into going a bit fast, you'll never go back. The first time I tried it, I said it was almost like cheating cause they are that good.

[Two Smoker]

na never had my knee down. tryed heaps. not hanging off the bike enough i suspect. Took my TL1000s on Track time twice had a lower fairing on it hit that on the road even without hitting bumps. Only had chicken strips on the front tyre not the back one. I agree with CK i feel much more comfatable at higher speed than low speed. well find the knee one day when I get some decent tyres not these crappy D207s they suck

If your getting your left knee down, you right inside knee should be hugging the tank (near where the man spuds set ) , your arse shouldnt really even be on the seat, but it might be a little because the TL is a wide bike..... Then its the bottle factor of going into the corner at a speed that feels too fast.... Hope that gives you an idea on how much to hang off the bike

[FROSTY:Me]

Hey I hate to argue here but look if ya whole and sole purpose is to get ya knee on the deck then hey Id find a series of corners and go back over em again and again till ya got the knee on the deck.
Thats the way the magazines do it for the pose shots
If ya just wanna go fast then dont worry about if you have or havent got the knee down -It really aint a biggie

[wkid_one]

and Pukie is a bloody hard circuit to get your knee down on.

I actually find it quite easy - the only corners I didn't touch down on was the left before the two rights than make Castrol (the VTR hated the sudden changes in direction)......and the other left after the hairpin due to the great big fecken bump that is in the middle of it that I didn't see eye to eye with.

I found - that once I got used to it - I felt strange not to go around corners with the knee down. I suppose it is what you get used to. I found I focused more on my body position and weight movement with dragging my knee - whereas when I didn't do it - I got lazy going around corners.

[wkid_one]

That said its been a bloody long time since I've tried and Pukie is a bloody hard circuit to get your knee down on. My race/riding style involved a heap of body english-- I literally used to hang on by the underside of my leg and knee on the ground then kinda pull the bike down onto myself. No logic to it it was just what I felt comfortable with.
Now the guys I just cannot believe are those GP 125 racers--
Correct me if Im wrong but I swear theyre dragging their elbows on the ground -amazing angles of dangle

Like these pics SPMAN posted before

[FROSTY:Me]

I actually find it quite easy - the only corners I didn't touch down on was the left before the two rights than make Castrol (the VTR hated the sudden changes in direction)......and the other left after the hairpin due to the great big fecken bump that is in the middle of it that I didn't see eye to eye with.

I found - that once I got used to it - I felt strange not to go around corners with the knee down. I suppose it is what you get used to. I found I focused more on my body position and weight movement with dragging my knee - whereas when I didn't do it - I got lazy going around corners.

Hey good onya -did ya try a different line through that left?--
I was at a slower pace throgh there but I tried a few different lines to see if I could avoid that lil gutwrencher

Oh and yea -That's the kind of dangle angle that boggles the mind

[Motoracer]

I don't scrape the left hander after the hairpin but I don't think I have to for that anyway. My fav one is Castrol and the one previous to that (its a nice big semi circle with the two combined). I also love scraping on turn one.

[FROSTY:Me]

If ya love that --wait till ya get to taupo or manfeild --woohoo scraper wear is huuge

[Kwaka-Kid]

Quit Knockin' the D207's They are on my racebike at the moment and now that im used to them they are not so bad, i think they are a little too triangulated for my liking however - they tip in very fast ya' know.
Next lined up are some GPR70SPP's then back to some BT090's then the brand new BT014's.

[Coldkiwi]

[QUOTE=Kwaka-Kid]Quit Knockin' the D207's QUOTE]

errr no! Unless they're the RR or GP version (I have never used them but never will for fear of the entire overpriced Dunlop brand), the standard D207's are the crappiest tyre I have ever had the misfortune to use. The suzuki marketer that decided to put 207u's on the 03 G6's (cruisers maybe but track bikes!?) should be beaten with a spade...repeatedly...till it really hurts... and they repent and put Pirellis on!

weee... I love ranting

[wkid_one]

D208's are no better in their standard form - the GP's are better but take some brutal riding to keep enough heat in them.

[wkid_one]

Hey good onya -did ya try a different line through that left?--
I was at a slower pace throgh there but I tried a few different lines to see if I could avoid that lil gutwrencher

Oh and yea -That's the kind of dangle angle that boggles the mind

yeah - played with line quite a bit....been around puke more times than I care to think about - and found that one of the better lines to allow a good set up for the hill necessitates you going over the bump....however by turning in to it late you can largely go over it full throttle without to much lean.