Why do the racers flap the left leg around?
Discussion
My take on it is that given the amount of input used through the footpegs to help steer the bike that it results is needing to move their foot further than you may on the road. It's a case of moving it I suppose.
Some riders never seem to do it, others much more regularly.
Mcguinness runs much longer pegs at the TT for a number of reasons, this being one of them I understand - steering input & comfort.
Bare in mind though this me who doesn't ride, but just reads/watches a lot
Some riders never seem to do it, others much more regularly.
Mcguinness runs much longer pegs at the TT for a number of reasons, this being one of them I understand - steering input & comfort.
Bare in mind though this me who doesn't ride, but just reads/watches a lot
Liam_uk said:
Its for balance
Is it? I'd have thought they would be able to balance the bike better without their feet waggling all over the place.When going into a fast bend you push hard down on the peg. maybe the flapping is to move their ankle about before getting 'comfortable' on the peg
It definitely appears to be for balance/stability/catching it (supermoto-stylee 
) but it's true that you only ever see them doing it with the left leg 
They only seem to do it where they're going into a left-hander a bit hot. Maybe going right they have more control via the rear brake (and need the foot for the brake anyway)?
Bayliss was at it during the first WSB race at the weekend.
) but it's true that you only ever see them doing it with the left leg They only seem to do it where they're going into a left-hander a bit hot. Maybe going right they have more control via the rear brake (and need the foot for the brake anyway)?Bayliss was at it during the first WSB race at the weekend.
Once the bike is on the commited line and cranking over you take the weight off the inside peg and push more weight onto the other peg. This helps to push the tyre into the tarmac where you want it. If you weigh onto the inside peg your simply asking the tyre, which is already working overtime, to take a little more punishment. So it gets you around with a little less wear to that rear tyre. Hope that makes sense.
Oh yeah, it helps balance also
Oh yeah, it helps balance also
Edited by crankedup on Thursday 7th August 12:36
trumpet600 said:
Liam_uk said:
Its for balance
Is it? I'd have thought they would be able to balance the bike better without their feet waggling all over the place.When going into a fast bend you push hard down on the peg. maybe the flapping is to move their ankle about before getting 'comfortable' on the peg
It's none of those things, I can talk from experience.
When you're braking hard for a turn, you're also changing down gears. This necessitates having your foot further forward on the peg, with the peg just in front of your heel. When you're done changing down, you lift your foot to put it back up the peg so that the peg is now under your toes. This is obviously so that, when you go into a left turn, your foot doesn't scrape on the track and get jammed under the peg, obviously.
What happens is that when you lift your foot up off the peg, the G force of the braking swings your leg forward. It's a heavy limb with a heavy boot and it gets pulled forward quite easily with about 1g of braking.
So, what used to happen with me anyway, you lift your leg, it gets swung forward, so you kind of swing it back in a small arc out in the breeze to get it back onto the peg. I guess it does kinda look like you're waving it about a bit!
When you're braking hard for a turn, you're also changing down gears. This necessitates having your foot further forward on the peg, with the peg just in front of your heel. When you're done changing down, you lift your foot to put it back up the peg so that the peg is now under your toes. This is obviously so that, when you go into a left turn, your foot doesn't scrape on the track and get jammed under the peg, obviously.
What happens is that when you lift your foot up off the peg, the G force of the braking swings your leg forward. It's a heavy limb with a heavy boot and it gets pulled forward quite easily with about 1g of braking.
So, what used to happen with me anyway, you lift your leg, it gets swung forward, so you kind of swing it back in a small arc out in the breeze to get it back onto the peg. I guess it does kinda look like you're waving it about a bit!
Ray Luxury-Yacht said:
It's none of those things, I can talk from experience.
When you're braking hard for a turn, you're also changing down gears. This necessitates having your foot further forward on the peg, with the peg just in front of your heel. When you're done changing down, you lift your foot to put it back up the peg so that the peg is now under your toes. This is obviously so that, when you go into a left turn, your foot doesn't scrape on the track and get jammed under the peg, obviously.
What happens is that when you lift your foot up off the peg, the G force of the braking swings your leg forward. It's a heavy limb with a heavy boot and it gets pulled forward quite easily with about 1g of braking.
So, what used to happen with me anyway, you lift your leg, it gets swung forward, so you kind of swing it back in a small arc out in the breeze to get it back onto the peg. I guess it does kinda look like you're waving it about a bit!
Am I being thick and missing something here? 'cause whilst i'm no Valentino Rossi I ride my bikes bloody hard and regularly top the R1 out, and haven't the feintest recollection of the braking forces from any speed making my feet go flying forward, closest I've come is a bit of a wince when I've slipped forward in my seat when I've not gripped the tank well enough with my knees ( a mistake I shall only make the once..)When you're braking hard for a turn, you're also changing down gears. This necessitates having your foot further forward on the peg, with the peg just in front of your heel. When you're done changing down, you lift your foot to put it back up the peg so that the peg is now under your toes. This is obviously so that, when you go into a left turn, your foot doesn't scrape on the track and get jammed under the peg, obviously.
What happens is that when you lift your foot up off the peg, the G force of the braking swings your leg forward. It's a heavy limb with a heavy boot and it gets pulled forward quite easily with about 1g of braking.
So, what used to happen with me anyway, you lift your leg, it gets swung forward, so you kind of swing it back in a small arc out in the breeze to get it back onto the peg. I guess it does kinda look like you're waving it about a bit!
Also, most if not all GP bikes are reverse / inverse geared aren't they?
Interview with Casey Stoner said:
Q Can you talk a little bit about your dirt-track background? You raced dirt-track in Australia, right?
A There's not a lot to say. I raced dirt-track from when I was four til when I was 14, pretty much. Thirteen. That's about it. We always had the intention of going roadracing. There was never a time that we thought we're going to go to motocross or any other direction. We just used dirt-track because it was the only thing we could ride, at the time, for my age. There was no mini-motos, things like this, going round. So it was the best solution we could do. I suppose it's a very good breeding ground to come to the MotoGP class.
Q I ask because I noticed last year when you were running it in really hard on left-handers, your left foot would go light on the peg once in a while.
A Yeah, but Valentino does the same thing, and so does Dani, and they've got almost no dirt-track background or experience.
Q Is it a comfort thing?
A No, all it is is leverage, really. As you go on the brakes, before - you go back your gears, and then just before you put your foot back on the footpeg, it's sort of a leverage, to sort of help it tip in, I suppose. But there's nothing you can really explain of why we do it. It's just it's a natural thing, the way we ride. But it's not any particular reason. It's definitely not coming from dirt- track.
http://www.superbikeplanet.com/2008/Jul/080731a.htmA There's not a lot to say. I raced dirt-track from when I was four til when I was 14, pretty much. Thirteen. That's about it. We always had the intention of going roadracing. There was never a time that we thought we're going to go to motocross or any other direction. We just used dirt-track because it was the only thing we could ride, at the time, for my age. There was no mini-motos, things like this, going round. So it was the best solution we could do. I suppose it's a very good breeding ground to come to the MotoGP class.
Q I ask because I noticed last year when you were running it in really hard on left-handers, your left foot would go light on the peg once in a while.
A Yeah, but Valentino does the same thing, and so does Dani, and they've got almost no dirt-track background or experience.
Q Is it a comfort thing?
A No, all it is is leverage, really. As you go on the brakes, before - you go back your gears, and then just before you put your foot back on the footpeg, it's sort of a leverage, to sort of help it tip in, I suppose. But there's nothing you can really explain of why we do it. It's just it's a natural thing, the way we ride. But it's not any particular reason. It's definitely not coming from dirt- track.
Stu R said:
Ray Luxury-Yacht said:
It's none of those things, I can talk from experience.
When you're braking hard for a turn, you're also changing down gears. This necessitates having your foot further forward on the peg, with the peg just in front of your heel. When you're done changing down, you lift your foot to put it back up the peg so that the peg is now under your toes. This is obviously so that, when you go into a left turn, your foot doesn't scrape on the track and get jammed under the peg, obviously.
What happens is that when you lift your foot up off the peg, the G force of the braking swings your leg forward. It's a heavy limb with a heavy boot and it gets pulled forward quite easily with about 1g of braking.
So, what used to happen with me anyway, you lift your leg, it gets swung forward, so you kind of swing it back in a small arc out in the breeze to get it back onto the peg. I guess it does kinda look like you're waving it about a bit!
Am I being thick and missing something here? 'cause whilst i'm no Valentino Rossi I ride my bikes bloody hard and regularly top the R1 out, and haven't the feintest recollection of the braking forces from any speed making my feet go flying forward, closest I've come is a bit of a wince when I've slipped forward in my seat when I've not gripped the tank well enough with my knees ( a mistake I shall only make the once..)When you're braking hard for a turn, you're also changing down gears. This necessitates having your foot further forward on the peg, with the peg just in front of your heel. When you're done changing down, you lift your foot to put it back up the peg so that the peg is now under your toes. This is obviously so that, when you go into a left turn, your foot doesn't scrape on the track and get jammed under the peg, obviously.
What happens is that when you lift your foot up off the peg, the G force of the braking swings your leg forward. It's a heavy limb with a heavy boot and it gets pulled forward quite easily with about 1g of braking.
So, what used to happen with me anyway, you lift your leg, it gets swung forward, so you kind of swing it back in a small arc out in the breeze to get it back onto the peg. I guess it does kinda look like you're waving it about a bit!
Also, most if not all GP bikes are reverse / inverse geared aren't they?
uriel said:
Interview with Casey Stoner said:
Q Can you talk a little bit about your dirt-track background? You raced dirt-track in Australia, right?
A There's not a lot to say. I raced dirt-track from when I was four til when I was 14, pretty much. Thirteen. That's about it. We always had the intention of going roadracing. There was never a time that we thought we're going to go to motocross or any other direction. We just used dirt-track because it was the only thing we could ride, at the time, for my age. There was no mini-motos, things like this, going round. So it was the best solution we could do. I suppose it's a very good breeding ground to come to the MotoGP class.
Q I ask because I noticed last year when you were running it in really hard on left-handers, your left foot would go light on the peg once in a while.
A Yeah, but Valentino does the same thing, and so does Dani, and they've got almost no dirt-track background or experience.
Q Is it a comfort thing?
A No, all it is is leverage, really. As you go on the brakes, before - you go back your gears, and then just before you put your foot back on the footpeg, it's sort of a leverage, to sort of help it tip in, I suppose. But there's nothing you can really explain of why we do it. It's just it's a natural thing, the way we ride. But it's not any particular reason. It's definitely not coming from dirt- track.
http://www.superbikeplanet.com/2008/Jul/080731a.htmA There's not a lot to say. I raced dirt-track from when I was four til when I was 14, pretty much. Thirteen. That's about it. We always had the intention of going roadracing. There was never a time that we thought we're going to go to motocross or any other direction. We just used dirt-track because it was the only thing we could ride, at the time, for my age. There was no mini-motos, things like this, going round. So it was the best solution we could do. I suppose it's a very good breeding ground to come to the MotoGP class.
Q I ask because I noticed last year when you were running it in really hard on left-handers, your left foot would go light on the peg once in a while.
A Yeah, but Valentino does the same thing, and so does Dani, and they've got almost no dirt-track background or experience.
Q Is it a comfort thing?
A No, all it is is leverage, really. As you go on the brakes, before - you go back your gears, and then just before you put your foot back on the footpeg, it's sort of a leverage, to sort of help it tip in, I suppose. But there's nothing you can really explain of why we do it. It's just it's a natural thing, the way we ride. But it's not any particular reason. It's definitely not coming from dirt- track.
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