knee down on a tourer?

[Hyperion]

Having watched these two vids for some tips...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjXZC2B4y8g 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8itnyhwUBI 

I decided to give it a go on my Yamaha 900 Diversion!, so off to the roundabout I went.
I must have gone round the roundabout 30 or so times, and although I think my body positioning was ok, and I definently scraped off the chicken strips - the ground was just too far away to get my knee down. So is this activity reserved for sports bikes only?

...You're all laughing at me aren't you

[Hooli]

ive seen vids of it done on a goldwing! involves getting a long way off the side though

[davegsxr]

I can't even do it on a bloody sportsbike!

[black-k1]

Hyperion said:

Having watched these two vids for some tips...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjXZC2B4y8g 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8itnyhwUBI 

I decided to give it a go on my Yamaha 900 Diversion!, so off to the roundabout I went.
I must have gone round the roundabout 30 or so times, and although I think my body positioning was ok, and I definently scraped off the chicken strips - the ground was just too far away to get my knee down. So is this activity reserved for sports bikes only?

...You're all laughing at me aren't you

Are you getting the 'hero blobs' on the ground at any point? If this has not yet happened then, even on a sports tourer, you'll have to hang a long way off the bike to get your knee down.

[AndyDRZ]

Make sure you hang off an aweful lot. I've got pegs down before knee on a number of occassions and sometimes the peg tries to pivot you off.

So, get your ar$e right off the seat, get your knee down... Then gradually bring your ar$e back to the seat until you work out when your machine is at the end of its ground clearance.

Then enjoy!

[Hyperion]

I haven't actually got my knee down yet...but hanging off the bike is turning into a bit of a revelation for me!
I usually sit bolt upright and counter steer round corners...but moving your body, especially looking round the screen and 'through' the corner makes a hell of a difference to your speed through the bends.
As the bloke on Bikesafe said, riding is one big learning curve.

[B(Route)]

I could get my knee down easy as anything on my SV650S (sport tourer? I dont know what it classed as)

No where near as easy on my 600RR yet

[fergus]

it's possible to get your knee down when going in a straight line if you hang off enough!

[jon-]

fergus said:

it's possible to get your knee down when going in a straight line if you hang off enough!

That's called crashing.

[fergus]

jon- said:

fergus said:

it's possible to get your knee down when going in a straight line if you hang off enough!

That's called crashing.

It can be done. Look at most of the guys in the novice group on a t/day. OK they're not going in a straight line, but the bike has hardly moved from upright and they're on the deck!!!

[lawrence567]

I hav'nt done it yet but it's all about getting off the side of the bike!

[AndyDRZ]

You can get your knee down without leaning off the bike at all - but it's not as safe as metal bits touch down first...

Knee down can often = slower and less safe lines through the corner... so don't worry about doing it.

[Muffles]

[quote=B(Route)]I could get my knee down easy as anything on my SV650S (sport tourer? I dont know what it classed as)

No where near as easy on my 600RR yet
[/quote]

Tsk tsk Mr Paterson!

[Hooli]

i dont honestly see the point of getting my knee down. im 3mm off getting rid of the chicken strips & once they are gone its far enough over for me. plus that'll be pegs down too from what i hear.
infact the first thing i did when i got my leathers was pick the stitches till the slider velcro came off.

[RizzoTheRat]

I've pretty much run out of chicken strip and still not even got my pegs down let alone my knees. Taller bikes (TDM) might be more comfy but they just don't look as cool through the corners

[NAS]

TDM 900 & FJR1300A, no problem

[Hyperion]

Am I right in thinking knee down is all about getting the bike round the corner faster, but with less lean angle?
Can someone explain the science behind it

[dern]

Hyperion said:

Am I right in thinking knee down is all about getting the bike round the corner faster, but with less lean angle?
Can someone explain the science behind it

I thought it was a tool that the racers used to judge their lean angles by and just a bit of fun for road riders. Is there more to it than that?

[fergus]

Hyperion said:

Am I right in thinking knee down is all about getting the bike round the corner faster, but with less lean angle?
Can someone explain the science behind it

1) get more of the mass towards the centre of the corner, hence less centrifugal forces acting on the tyres
2) keep the bike more upright, hence on a larger contact patch of the tyre
3) yes, it does allow you to judge how far over you are
4) in extremis, if the bike slips, and you are well positioned, you can hold it up on your knee (although this only really applies on the track in the wet)....

[dern]

fergus said:

1) get more of the mass towards the centre of the corner, hence less centrifugal forces acting on the tyres
2) keep the bike more upright, hence on a larger contact patch of the tyre

Surely that's body position and not getting your knee down?