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Knee dragging question

3.8K views 75 replies 24 participants last post by  r6gr8t1  
#1 ·
Wheres your weight ment to be mainly? On the inside peg, or your leg against the tank?

Just always feels uncomfortable to me!
 
#5 ·
I agree. You really shouldn't ever have much weight on the pegs, they should simply be used to help support your body in whatever position you are in. I think it's pretty common for people to really load up their inside peg when beginning to carve corners. Fatigue will set in really fast if you do this.
 
#9 ·
I have heard so many people say that pressing on the outside pegs gives a rear-grip bias and pressing on the inside pegs gives a front-grip bias. I'd like to hear why people think this is. I have a couple ideas as to why people may believe this. However, I think it is more of a percieved change in grip bias rather than an actual change. For instance, how could you possibly effect total rear grip by pushing off the tank with your knee to add force to the outside peg?
 
#12 ·
I have heard so many people say that pressing on the outside pegs gives a rear-grip bias and pressing on the inside pegs gives a front-grip bias. I'd like to hear why people think this is. I have a couple ideas as to why people may believe this. However, I think it is more of a percieved change in grip bias rather than an actual change. For instance, how could you possibly effect total rear grip by pushing off the tank with your knee to add force to the outside peg?
Think about it for a minute. If you apply pressure on the inside peg what do you think can happen to the rear tire? Your knee will hit the ground with a lot more pressure which results in your rear tire lifting. Thus you lose rear tire traction which results in a lowside....unless at the point you lose traction you chop the throttle which then can result in a high side. Believe me....it gets ugly.
 
#11 ·
I know, a lot of people keep that book like a bible. Are you saying you don't really know why you keep weight on the outside peg? You just do it because you were instructed to? Sorry, I am not good and simply taking what someone says, it needs to be proven or explained.
 
#17 ·
:lol @Paytheon...

If you're uncomfortable leaning or the position you're in while leaning. 2 different things.
 
#21 ·
IMO, the best thing to do is "What works best for you". I've tried it both ways with the peg. I tend to put just a bit more pressure on the inside peg, but this is just me. Once my puck makes ground contact I do not apply any more pressure. It's just a indicator by feel as to where my knee is in relation to the track and the bike. I'm not applying near enough pressure to the inside peg to upset the rear tire by any means. I'd say maybe 60% inside and 40% to the outside peg. All I can say is it works for me and I'm comfortable with it.
 
#25 ·
Hey, Im clearly the newbie here with all of this and Im lost! lol.

If your hanging off, as in leaning your weight of the side of the bike, I dont understand how you can possibly have more weight on the outside peg, doesnt make any sense. Your weights natural moving to the inside surely? I understand how you could have it against the inside of your leg against the tank but thats it.

If you took your weight off the inside peg and tank and tried to press down on the outside peg I swear you'd just fall off. The physics just arnt right in my opinion.

EXPLAIN PLEASE! :D:D
 
#29 · (Edited)
If you do any mountain biking or motocrossing, you'd understand the leverage that is going into this process. Your ouside arm is pulling on the bar backwards and upwards while the inside is pushing forward and downwards, read countersteer. If you weigh the inside foot, your pushing your back tire down and away from the tire's traction plane. IF you weigh the outside of the foot, pushing down, then you are pushing the tire into the ground and perpendicular to the plane. Think of a shovel lying on the ground with the face up and stepping on the blade face. The stick handle comes up and the pivot point is forced into the ground.
 
#30 ·
If you do any mountain biking or motocrossing, you'd understand the leverage that is going into this process. Your ouside arm is pulling on the bar backwards and upwards while the inside is pushing forward and downwards, read countersteer. If you weigh the inside foot, your pushing your back tire down and away from the tire's traction plane. IF you weigh the outside of the foot, pushing down, then you are pushing the tire into the ground and perpendicular.
Well now this is what I mean by percieved traction. I don't totally believe that what you are describing increases traction at all. However, if you do load up the inside peg and do end up losing traction, I can see the loss of traction being far more dramatic than if you were to load up the outside peg. The attachment point of your body doesn't have any real effect as far as i'm concerned. The overall position of your body decides where the weight is applied with respect to the motorcycle. For instance, take a car engine. If you were to keep the engine in the exact same spot but move it's mounting points forward, you didn't change the weight distribution at all (aside from the weight of the mounts being moved of course).
 
#31 ·
Well you can put your theory to the test. Go and enter a corner with the inside leg off the peg vs. outside leg off the peg. :crash
 
#33 ·
Or........
You can apply pressure to the inside peg if you want to slide? :scoots:
 
#35 ·
Take it from someone who's taken years of physics, calculus, etc...knowing everything on paper isn't the main solution. People can go years with trying to figure out how and why something works, but until you actually make some real life tests, it isn't really valid. So in relation, go out and ride your bike, and perform several tests until it makes sense. We could sit here all day talking about this, making assumptions. Just go figure it out for yourself, with our advice...unless you're purposely trying to be a troll :fact

p.s. I could throw some wicked physics terms in here, but I don't get paid for that :sneaky
 
#36 ·
One track day will open your eyes more than 5+ years on the street will. It's so much easier to learn when you're pretty confident you're not gonna hit a car, tree, or whatever.
 
#37 ·
You always weight the inside peg! You use the pegs to help turn the bike along with counter steering! For my first few years of racing I would load the outside peg! Years later I went to Freddie Spencer's advance school and he taught us to relax the outside leg but hook it under the tank and wt the inside peg. I was amazed at how much more energy I had was not exhausted after all day of track riding. Also your bike will turn much quicker!
 
#39 ·
I think alot of you are confusing pivot steering with weighting the pegs, on turn in I weight the outer peg it gives me more leverage for my steering inputs (put weight on your right foot push with your left hand, feels natural) but mid corner all of the steering input has been accomplished and basically I am just along for the ride until it is time to come back up. You hang off in order to get your weight low and inside, how are you going to transfer any serious weight mid corner to the outside peg, you can push all day long but in reality your body weight is still low and to the inside. Mid corner I am just bracing my outer leg between the tank and the peg to help me keep in contact with the bike.

Just my thoughts an opinions. I firmly believe there is more than one way to skin a cat.
 
#40 ·
many different riding styles many different techniques.
There is NO definitive answer, that is one of the things that makes ua all unique.

Yes yes you may have had lessons from A, B, or C but that was their opinion passed onto you.
many riders over the years have adopted new techniques and laughed of the racetrack, until they realize it works.
Different techniques promote different riding styles for various types of motorcycles.

The main point is find out what works for you and is safe.

A classic example is the GOAT never looks right through the corner but he looks down at the Apex, a techniques he developed early in his racing career and has worked for him.
Remember when racers started putting their knee on the ground and everyone was like WTF.

Find your own style and accept others for what they are, develop it or change it as you find necessary, eventually you will find what works for you.
 
#47 ·
it depends on the turn and what the bike is doing
 
#53 ·
I do push on the inside peg on the corner exit while picking the bike up. Again most people do this without knowing it. Fatigue comes from many things while riding as it is a very violent physical activity.
 
#54 ·
Im not racing anybody, im too brittle right now....

Kangaroo has asked me to post this picture of me sliding the rear in a turn, Im doing about 125mph thru here, I really started pushing down on the outside peg here, I didnt crash and I didnt chop the throttle either
Image