S1rst

Ok who can get their knee down on here then and how long did it take you to get it down for the first time? I was thinking today and id love to be able to do it, but even after reading up about how to do it, tips and stuff, im still bottling it. I often feel like im getting right down but my chicken strips are still there when i get off and check.

Are there any decent training places that anyone can reccommend.

I dont really want to learn how to do it to get it down all the time, but id just like to do it to gain more confidence in myself and the bike when conering. I also think it might be good from a saftey point of view too, as id know i could get out of a mess if i needed too.

One other important bit of info i thought i better mention, ive only been riding about 4 months now , so am i thinking too far ahead of myself here?

foreigneRS

why do you want to get your kneedown stu?

proffessional racers do it because their bikes have more ground clearance and they use their knee to feel when they are at the limit of losing the front end.

on a road bike, you have so called 'hero blobs' on the bottom of the footpegs that tell you when you have leaned it far enough - they ground out before anything more expensive (like an exhaust can or fairing) does. if you put your knee out, you can make that hit the road first, but what's the point? you will be able to corner faster if you stay on it properly.

but it's a bit of fun, and makes you feel like a hero i suppose. just make sure that you are wearing sliders

to practice you want a constant radius corner that you can ride over and over again - a round roundabout with no traffic is ideal. when going around, crank your neck around to look at the centre of the roundabout and just go slightly faster each time you circulate. you'll soon crack it then.

but yes, i think that you are expecting too much too soon

Lambchop

iTrader: (1)

there are too many hero's thinking they are like Rossi, hanging off a bike just to stick their knees on the floor

I have a friend who has been riding forever and can destroy most things/people point to point on his bike and does he knee down on the road? No

I honestly dunno how people could lean that far on the road. Im 6ft 4 and have long legs and still when im cranked over my knee seem miles from the ground

S1rst

I think the main reason why i want to get it down is just to know the limits really as i think it would give me more confidence through the corners, and as i said it may help me to get out of trouble if need be.

Ive heard of a few people going to proper places to learn how to do it, and after an hour or so, they can do it, and thats after a few years of riding and tryong themselves with no joy.

Im sure theres only a limited amount of places you could do it on the road anyway do to our craps road surfaces, and i certainly wouldnt want to get right down on roads i dont know anyway.

Out of interest, can either of you get yours down and do you use all of your tyre?

I always thought that it was something that 99% of bikers aim to acheive at some point though.

S1rst

I wonder if its actually an offence to do it on the road then? I cant see why though, if their in control of the bike.

foreigneRS

i don't see how it will get you out of trouble? knowing how far that you can lean is useful, as long as you then don't go to that extreme in gerneral riding. if you enter a corner at some point at what you think is too fast, it's good to have the confidence to push that little bit more and make the turn (or at worst low side) rather than run wide

personally, i have never got my knee down - because i don't wear a power ranger suit with knee sliders. but i have scraped the pegs on all of my bikes (cbf600, 2 x VTR1000, VF750) which admittedly are not the sportiest bikes on the planet. scrape the pegs and you will be using all of the tyre.

most importantly, don't think that you have to use the whole tyre or other bikers will be ridiculing you because of your 'chicken strips'. ride to have fun, not die early

S1rst

Well thats the thing mate, i dont go crazy on the bike at all really but it would be nice to know i can lean right down if a corner tightens up on me.

I think ill just carry on how i am for now then, and try and get down a bit more each time i take it out, on some corners that i know of course.

foreigneRS

sounds good

i'm hoping to do a trackday at some point and improve my cornering - maybe you should do the same? i reckon that without the threat of oncoming traffic and wide open corners with a good view through them, it should be easier to concentrate on technique

Lambchop

iTrader: (1)

what he said


s1rst
nope im nowhere near knee down and i also have "chicken strips". Sometimes i cant comprehend how far over you need to be on a public road to get to the edge of your tyre! amazes me sometimes

S1rst

foreigneRS, id love to go on a track day mate, but i just dont want to be put under pressure by more experienced and quicker riders.

Lambchop, me too, i often have nutters overtaking me and how they mange to get down so low i dont know.

PewteRS

iTrader: (2)

I got my knee down on the way to the south of france with all my luggage on

Oh yeah i was on a 1200 Bandit too

foreigneRS

me either - that is why i am looking at something like this, a novice day:

http://www.motorsportvision.co.uk/br...ProductID=3596

S1rst

PewteRS

foreigneRS, that sounds ideal mate.Thanks for that. Ill definatly try and get to one of these novice days.

graham c

iTrader: (5)

i,ve no chicken strips and am no were near getting my knee dowm its findin good corners i dont seen 2 like tryin it on round abouts

bungy

Without causing offence most people who ridicule getting your knee down are those that can't. Wheelies, stoppies and knee down are all about advanced control and aren't really for the road, and why then do racers do it at all if it's to be rubbished. That said there is no reason not to want to learn new skills in the right environment. Learning to corner properly with position and counter steering should be mastered first along with entry, apex and vanishing point. Exagerated head position looking through a corner assists in counter steer naturally. Gear selection and body posture will dictate knee down before reaching your tyre limit. Possible to get your knee down sweeping the width of a motorway and not far from upright.

foreigneRS

exactly, so what is the point of doing it like that?

i can see why racers are doing it, but not on the road when you could be cornering faster without it

bungy

For some people it's down to peer pressure and for some it's trying to emulate their heroes. For some of us it's down to need when you start getting towards the limits. With rearsets you will not get the pre-warning and on some race reps the clearance is more than you'll ever need, ie it is possible to get your elbow down. Safe riding with the occasional track day has to be the way ahead or even combining training and track like the Ron Haslam School at Donnington. This is an absolute hoot and highly recommended.

Rs Gus

iTrader: (2)

i use all the 190 rear on my bike and most of the front but cant get my knee down and dont want to the only thing im interested in is opening the throttle WIDE but i can do big wheelies to about 130mph now

Lee Reynolds

Put it this way, i almost took a bikers head off the other day as he was almost knee down and his fooking head was in my lane. I only just pulled over

Ride safe FFS

arch

I've been riding for a couple of years and do get my knee down, for no other reason than I want to and I can.

It makes me no faster than my pals who can't, but, it puts a smile on my face. When you pull into the cafe and look at virgin sliders, then look at your mashed ones then all is well with the world.

I just wish I had the bottle to wheelie?

Also had the pegs down on the works bike last week, shook me up for a moment!

Lambchop

iTrader: (1)

so its not just me?
i feel like a right poof sometimes as i cant bring myself not to lean over the front when accelerating hard

mrjenrst

its easyer than you think.
depending on the bike 600+ you can lift the front wheel on the throttle in first with no great difficulty. hard on the throttle till it breaks then you will start getting a feel for it. then keep it up longer then a bit longer
till your happy with the feeling then move onto clutching the bike ie,

on my bike clutch in while doing 10 mph rev to about 3500-3750 rpm and let out the clutch reduce revs than sit back an relax

cant get my head round the stand up variety though

Lambchop

iTrader: (1)

i was chatting about this yest with 2 mates. 1 can wheelie for scotland and the other is getting far too good for my liking

i've got a 750 but gonna use mates gixxer thou to try getting front up in 1st as there is no effort needed, just throttle
slowly working to clutching it up.

Mate who's learning has a 750 also but just changed sprocket up 2 teeth at rear so bike wants to lift more. He's in 2nd at 50mph, slowly accelerating towards 55 and lightly ping the clutch and up it comes.

Sounds sooo fucking easy looks the bomb too.

How safe is it clutching up from 10mph? doesnt it come up really fast? what bike?

mrjenrst

Mate on a gixer thou it's gonna be a mare for you.
Stick with the 750 mate trust me. It'll be learning to drift a car in an f1.

A bit misleading what i said cos i'm trying to get the slow one's down.
I want to pull a good one but at low speed.
As a mate has done 1.6miles at 45mph

Bit shitting it with bike's at mo on a zxr
So it's hard work.

Need a mille

16vzetec

mate its easier than what you think!
the secret is to not worry about leaning the bike too far over, first concerntrate on getting in a good comfortable position where your bum is off to one side.
then open your leg as far as you can push it out.
have your head hanging towards the floor and not the other side towards the sky like alot of people ride.
then in 3rd gear just poodle around a round about (a dry non oiled one) and just gradually increase speed and lean angle.
you will be suprised how far a bike will lean over before it slides out!
my front end slipped the other day but i was trying to see if it was possible to get my elbow down!! lol.
here is my second attemp at knee donws and it feels great, starting to get the bike over further now too, sliders wearing fast!

16vzetec

racers get their knees down as a guage as to how far over thy are leant.
moto gp for instance lean over at some rediculus angle that knee down is impossible to avoid, road bikes will not lean over anywhere near as far as that but you can lean over far enough to get your knee down no worries on most good road bikes from the last 20 years.
when i did a track day i was faster than many in my group and i never got my knee down!
all the other guys were getting their knees down so it goes to show its not what makes you a fast rider.
wheelies just take practise, just hover your foot over rear brake incase it goes up too high.
start off by accelrating hard so you wheelie under power, then gradually you will be able to hold it up without increasing speed.
im not brill at them yet on my r1, need more practise but to be honest rather practise knee downs!
stoppies take lots of practise, i used to do long ones on my r6 but i must admit im not as good on my r1, i think its because the bikes a tad heavier and different riding position, it will come.
racers get their knees down as a guage as to how far over thy are leant.
moto gp for instance lean over at some rediculus angle that knee down is impossible to avoid, road bikes will not lean over anywhere near as far as that but you can lean over far enough to get your knee down no worries on most good road bikes from the last 20 years.
when i did a track day i was faster than many in my group and i never got my knee down!
all the other guys were getting their knees down so it goes to show its not what makes you a fast rider.
wheelies just take practise, just hover your foot over rear brake incase it goes up too high.
start off by accelrating hard so you wheelie under power, then gradually you will be able to hold it up without increasing speed.
im not brill at them yet on my r1, need more practise but to be honest rather practise knee downs!
stoppies take lots of practise, i used to do long ones on my r6 but i must admit im not as good on my r1, i think its because the bikes a tad heavier and different riding position, it will come.

16vzetec

todays effort!

Remko GT

Getting the front wheel of the ground is scary the 100 times. You also think the 1st times your wheel is up a big way while it's not.

Several ways of making a wheelie.
Easiest (imo) is 1st gear and just open the throttle. Disadventage: revlimiter.
Another way is with the clutch. 2nd gear,accelerate (so the nose tends to rise up) pop the clutch and then fully open up the throttle.
The last wheelies I made I did by putting it in 2nd gear, accelarate hard and then give a small pull on the clips on and keep the throttle fully open.

16vzetec

yeah i can do better wheelies in second, i did a huge one today but i just cant do stand up wheelies yet.
need more practise

rob-rs

jameswrx

I used to love the wednesday evening ride outs entertaining the group with full titanium sliders at dusk

Once I'd cracked the knee down stuff I was at it everywhere and I'm sure I've amused a few other road users over the years with sparks (and prob angered a few, especially overtaking on sweeping slip roads knee down sparks blazing)

I wish I was better a wheelies though, I was starting to get properly into them on my last bike but I always end up selling before I total theml.