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I've been riding for about 3 and a half to 4 years on a few different bikes and have become pretty comfortable in the corners. So today i decieded to see how low I could go around a turn on my Kat. I come up to a clover leaf intersection at 40mph and go into the turn. Midway through, i get low enough to hit the foot peg. Scared the sh%t out of my because I wasn't expecting that to happen. So is their a limit to a Kats lean,or did I just do something wrong? Would dragging a knee prevent this? Whenever I see races, I see guys taking turns, dragging their knee and not having a problem with hitting their foot pegs.. But I guess kats wern't designed to take turn like that like a SS bike can. Maybe I just answered my question
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Is that your bike outside? I ride.... competitively. -
Every inch you get you self over the side of the bike.
(the inside side)
Lowers the center of gravity and thus allows the
bike to turn at the same speed in the same corner
with less lean. You can take a corner with
little lean by "hanging off"..
(same corner that would lean you over.)
So dragging knee is the "solution"
to lack of ground clearance and tire edge..
By the same token leaning out of the turn or not leaning at all increases the lean needed for the bike. -
Did you hit the pegs or the peg feelers? I suspect you hit the peg feelers. Nothing wrong with that - I've done it more on the Kat than on any other bike I've ever owned. However, once you hit the peg feelers you don't wanna lean too much further. You're pretty much reaching the limit and if you get lower there's a greater risk of catching the toe of your boot on the ground. Also, if you're leaning right you might start scraping your exhaust which is more startling than scraping a peg to me at least.
You didn't do anything wrong IMO, you just had a pretty nice lean going. Just know that you're pushing it once you hit the peg feelers.
Dragging a knee would shift your weight and require less lean of the bike, so that would probably have prevented the peg scrape. However, I've never owned pants with pucks and therefore have never attempted to drag a knee. I tend to keep my butt in the seat.
Ride safe!****** WAS...Ma Ma Ma My Katana ******
Si hoc signum legere potes, operis boni in rebus Latinus alacribus et fructuosis potiri potes.Comment
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As Peter said, getting your butt off the inside of the seat will reduce your lean angle and keep you from dragging hard parts. I HOPE that when you were executing this maneuver, you were leaning WITH the bike and not to the outside of the turn effectively pushing the bike down -- aka motorcrossing it.
In the hands of a capable rider, Katanas can take turns as well as any supersport bike that is in the hands of an incapable rider. Because of its weight, however, it will never corner as well as a lighter bike.
This article gives pretty good detail on the matter of speedy cornering:
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IMO...
Scraping pegs or any other parts is a bad way to test the leaning capabilities of any bike, including the Kat.
Proper seating position, aka "hanging off", is done by experienced riders and racers for a reason. It allows the bike to remain more upright, thus allowing for a larger tire contact patch which will provide more traction in a corner.
If you are scraping pegs you should be reading some material on proper riding positions or taking a FAST school. AND you should be buying some leathers with knee pucks.Comment
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I don't know Jr...Originally posted by Junior
I hung off the seat in my first few weeks railing because it allowed
less lean. I was more comfortable hanging off than leaning.
Course the 120/90 rear tire didn't inspire lots of lean.
Later on I was able to keep my butt planted.
On the Kat the extent of my hanging off is above the waist.
I think there is a some time between scraping pegs and
buying knee pucks..
Pre 98 Kats BTW dont have "feelers"..Comment
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It's EASIER to drag a knee than it is to scrape a peg. If you have you bike leaned over so far that your pegs are gouging the pavement then you can easily shift your butt 3 inches over and drag a knee.Originally posted by Black_peter
If you upper body is hanging off and your butt is firmly planted on the seat, I'm sorry BP, but that's just bad body position.
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Might I point out...Junior scraped his knee WHILE dragging a peg on his Katana....he then realized that he need to "upgrade" to a Daytona.
(where is that Daytona NOW hotshot?)
I like to drag my entire body AND bike through a corner
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i turned sharp enough on the kat one time to get the rear tire to skip a bit, scared the jeebus outta me
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Originally posted by Range
Retired....temporarily?Comment
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i must ride with my feet on the pegs funny beacuse i would scrap my toes well before the pegComment
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No..Originally posted by JuniorIf you upper body is hanging off and your butt is firmly planted on the seat, I'm sorry BP, but that's just bad body position.
Like this:
Butt on the seat but body over..
I just mean I don't "get off the seat..Comment
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+1Originally posted by Black_peterNo..Originally posted by JuniorIf you upper body is hanging off and your butt is firmly planted on the seat, I'm sorry BP, but that's just bad body position.
Like this:
Butt on the seat but body over..
I just mean I don't "get off the seat..
That's exactly what I was saying. A picture is worth 1000 words. Guy still has knee pucks though
****** WAS...Ma Ma Ma My Katana ******
Si hoc signum legere potes, operis boni in rebus Latinus alacribus et fructuosis potiri potes.Comment
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Ah yes, I understand what you mean now BP.
To me, "hanging" from the bike only consists of HALF my ass off the seat. For some it means your ENTIRE ass off the seat.
But, it all depends on how big your ass is I suppose.
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Um....sorry guys, those guys are off the seat.
Maybe not completely off...your butt crack should be on the edge...or the corner of the seat in your crack...
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