I think with "pivot-steering" (a la Keith Code), the idea is to push off of the outside peg as an anchor point for your countersteer so you can apply more pressure to the bar.

But even if you're applying force to the outside peg to assist your steering strength, if your weight is to the inside of the bike, your weight is going to be over the inside peg. As you lean over, your outside leg is probably going to take up a lot of the weight (up against the tank/seat).

At least that's what makes sense if you think about it physically.

 

Weight the outside peg to create more rear tire grip.

 

I read this thread of few days ago and tried putting weight onto the outside peg. Now I'm wondering, how much of a difference does it make? is it noticeable or not?

 

outside peg.

locking your leg in on the outside of the bike leaves your hands free for inputs rather than bracing weight, and your inside leg to guage lean and lift as appropriate. also feels much less stressful - hanging off rather than kneeling

i believe the theory also is that if you're pushing on the outside peg, you're helping to keep the bike relatively more upright, whilst you lower your weight towards the inside.

 

ok...cheers...thanks for the replies...will put it into practice!

 

To add another question to this, also after talking to alot of people. When I lean I weight the inside peg to push the bike over, and brace/ pull with my other leg to assist the lean. Arms are relaxed almost completely. (Someone told me the countersteering was dangerous on the street due to imperfect roads, gravel, sand etc. that might come up.)

My question is, should I change my technique? BTW, you can tell me to go read a book about it, I'll forget everything, I'm a "ask a question and remember the answer" kind of guy.

 

To add another question to this, also after talking to alot of people. When I lean I weight the inside peg to push the bike over, and brace/ pull with my other leg to assist the lean. Arms are relaxed almost completely. (Someone told me the countersteering was dangerous on the street due to imperfect roads, gravel, sand etc. that might come up.)

My question is, should I change my technique? BTW, you can tell me to go read a book about it, I'll forget everything, I'm a "ask a question and remember the answer" kind of guy.

above 20mph you're always countersteering mate. using max lean angle on the road could get you into trouble tho, cos you've got no 'reserve' left if you run into trouble

you dont actually steer with your pegs - check out the 2nd one of these

http://www.superbikeschool.co.uk/multimedia.php

 

Sweet thanks.

 

definitely agree on the countersteering!

 

Gary McCoy was great at shifting his weight around to square off a corner. I can't find the link, but I read an interview with him saying that to slide the rear he would place his weight on the inside peg. Once he wanted to get the rear to hook up, he would shift his weight to the outside peg and really stomp on it.

Check out this video (you can see him shift he weight to the outside to regain traction.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gELHaZIDJqM

 

In the book “Sport Riding Techniques” by. Nick Ienatsch, Ienatsch definately recommends weighting the inside peg.

In practice, I think that weighting the inside peg makes the bike easier to turn, but will also reduce traction and cause the rear tire to slide easier than weighting the outside peg.

Conversely, weighting the outside peg will make the bike a little harder to turn, but will improve traction.

Am i wrong about this?

 

i also read that book by Nick Ienatsch and use weight on inside peg for some corners...

Keith Codes power pivot uses weight on the outside peg which adds a small upward moment in the bikes axis RELATIVE to the riders axis which is what you want for your hang off ie: it pushes the bike away from you and more upright.

i think that KC method doesnt allow as aggressive a hangoff ie: the more you are hanging off the less leverage you can exercise on the outside peg. However if you are on a track with hot sticky tyres running aggressive lean angles then its the way to go ie: you arent hanging off as much.

For slower street riding with less sticky tyres and suspect road surface i personally find the Ienatsch method allows more hang off for a given lean angle and is more comfortable and suitable.. for me

imho there are many different riding positions for different types of corners.. high speed, low speed, tightening, opening, downhill, uphill, good surface, bad/suspect surface

edit: power pivot is by far the best for laying rear tyre *******.. ie: when it starts to break loose you already have weight on the outside peg. If you are weighting the inside peg and it breaks loose... ugh!

 

I think I follow what Bill A is describing.
My question is; does anyone slide forwards or backward in the seat? I found myself sliding backwards through some of the corners at Jennings.

 

The reason I was asking if weighing the outside peg made that much of a difference is because when started doing it, I would weight the outside peg midway through of corner jsut to see if I coudl tell a difference. I wouldn't change my body position, I would just stop pushing down with inside leg, and push down hard with the outside. To me it felt like the bike was more sure through the corner, no play at all. Once I felt that I felt more confident to gas out of the corner a little harder.

I asked the question because I wasn't sure if it was my imagination or it was real. I'm going to continue to use this technique.

 

From my understanding pushing on the outter peg would actually stand the bike up a bit and push the bike wide through a corner (drifting it out wider) and applying weight to the inner will actually allow a tighter corner but be somewhat unstable which could cause the rear wheel to wash easily if not careful?

 

this is great info..keep up the good work!!! :corn

 

Hi There, Your are correct in your advice around pivot steering. ie: when counter steering push on the opposite peg. This enables more effective steering. As for weight on the pegs I would suggest you consider holding on with the inside of your legs/thighs. Weight distribution AFTER the initial push when counter steering should be minimal. You can test your ability on this technique by putting your bike up on stands. Whilst hanging off, you should be able to lift your foot off the peg (you are holding on with) and steer without putting any weight on the bars. It does take some time to master this technique and initially your legs should be quite soar!! As for moving around, you should initially move back before hanging off ie; setting up for the corner. Good Luck

 

Just to clarify the point on Pivot Steering.

The outside leg is using the peg as its push off point, its pivot point. That is all you are trying to do, it has nothing to do with the weight on the peg at all.

On peg weighting in general you have to realize that Newton's laws on the subject are still in operation in this universe. That means that the peg is pushing back as hard as you are pushing on it. A hard concept to grasp perhaps but that is what is happening. That is the equal and opposite reaction.

As someone on this forum correctly put it: Pushing on the footpegs or pulling on the tank with your knee is as effective as trying to push your car down the road by pressing on the dashboard while sitting inside the car.

I'm not sure of the whole answer on why riders get the feeling that peg weighting is doing something beside making their legs sore. It could easily be because they are steering unconsciously at the same time. Since that is the intention, it might very well be the reason they do.

This looks a lot like the BS vs CS thread that is on this forum as a sticky.
If you are willing to look over 35 pages of stuff there are a lot of questions and answers brought up on that thread.

Keith

 

Just to clarify the point on Pivot Steering.

Keith

thanks for that clarification. i was confused about the pivot steering method after reading TOW and was trying to maintain pressure on the outside peg during the corner.. and getting sore legs!

 

It's OK to stay up on the pegs through a corner if it is bumpy or if there is some other kind of surface problem like a dip or quick elevation change in the road, that will keep you suspended and reduce the work your suspension has to do.

Keith

 

right, that would explain why the bike feels much more stable when i am conciously weighting the pegs during cornering as i spend most of my time on bumpy country roads. When i discovered that, is when i re-read TOW and started experimenting with power pivot.

Cheers for that book! Pretty special to have the author online to clear up mis-interpretation too!

Dave