DRAGGING A KNEE ????'S

[ITS_NOT_A_KNIFE]

ok ive seen pics of peeps dragging the knee on the kat. i cant seem to do it, unless im not hanging over far enough. ive leaned the bike far enough over to where theres no chicken strip to be seen. do tires have anything to do with it. i currently have a stock size rear tire (140), but i picked up a 160 dunlop qualifer waiting to be put on (if my 49t 520 conversion kit would ever get here) my front tire is a metzler 120 (120 i believe). any ideas or tips

thx

[87vert]

probably not hanging off enough.

[crazymofo]

tyres have a lot to do with it, profile is the main difference in tyres...

the taller rounder profiles, dont find the edge of tyres as fast as flatter or more triangular profiles.

but also, do you hang off the inside of the bike on a corner.. theres 2 ways to get the knee down.. the slow speed, and the high speed.. but either way is squidly if your a n00b


i prefer the hi-speed method myself, the bike is more stable.

low speed, hang your arse right off the inside of the bike (so much that you feel detached from the bike), stick the knee out, knee wont be to far off the deck then..
theres the fast method....

this method is safer dispite the higher speed, get your arse crack on the inside edge of the seat, stick the knee out, put your upper body also off the bike, head looking over the mirror, where you want to go..

find a nice smooth 90* bend thats a low/mid speed, keep riding it back and forth till the speed builds, as the speed builds, higher lean angles are needed to make the corner. eventually the knee comes down.

tho i must say.. DONT ACTIVILY TRY to get the knee down, dont focus on making it touch the deck,,, it takes your mind of what you should be doing.

just focus on correct line for corners, looking ahead, proper body position, being smooth, and tidy, speed builds with this, and with speed, lean angles come, and with lean angles, comes knee down.. as a natural by product of being a fast smooth rider.

people you see with knee downs on the road are usually expereinced riders.

cheers.joe.

[Nero]

The object is not to see how far you can get your knee down or even to see if you can reduce your contact patch to the size of a dime on the outside wall of the tires. The object is to round a corner with the lowest speed-loss possible. Obviously, this means that you need to get it over, but I wouldn't do it soley for the sake of getting a knee to the pavement or you're producing unnecessary risk for the sake of 'looking cool'. I've seen guys with their bikes leaned out nearly to the sidewalls but still firmly planted on the seat. I presume they think this is less risky, but the opposite is true, because they may eventually reach the limits of traction and the rults can be disastrous.

Practice turns getting off the seat (at fairly low speeds, not 150mph) while keeping the bike fairly verticle. We're not talking about your azz taking up residence in another zip code from the bike or anything...just getting your body's correct lean angle before the bike's. Later, as you've become comfortable, you can add the two together (leaning the bike and the body at the same time). That's when your knees will find the ground. At that time, try to get close enough that you could touch the ground if you wanted to, but do not. Remember: It's not about simply dragging your knees, but about keeping your speed up through the turns.

Oh, and as always, continue to practice looking through the turn while you're doing this. -Head up, like they beat into you in during the MSF course.

[eb770]

well is any of this possible with the 98 katana's stock tire?

[Junior]

well is any of this possible with the 98 katana's stock tire?

Yes.

If your machine is an actual 1998 and STILL has the stock tire....then I wouldn't recommend it since that tire is past it normal life cycle, but to answer your question...yes it can be done on the Macadams. Mind you it is more difficult on the Macs vs something like the Diablos or Z6's, but it can be done.

[Dee Dub]

http://youtube.com/watch?v=QCg3BMGe52M

[mharrison]

Dennis, that was a SWEET video. Thanks! It confirmed some things I knew and corrected some other misconceptions.

[eb770]

well then let me get a new tire and i'll start practicing. i'll repost my experience if im still alive to talk about it

[ChattKat]

Getting a knee down is a goal of mine as well, just gotta get the balls to start practicing.

[md86]

Re: DRAGGING A KNEE ????'S

ve leaned the bike far enough over to where theres no chicken strip to be seen.

Odd . Here's some random thoughts ......
I USUALLY hang off . Let's me keep the bike more upright for a given corner , which makes me feel safer as I have a little extra to give if need be . Hanging off ALSO tendsto keep your strips a bit wider , as you';re keeping the bike more upright . Mine are about 1/2" I believe . But , last time I went out to "play" , I wasn't hanging off . And for the first time a peg touched down when I started getting rowdy . When I stopped to feel/look at my ties , I still had about the same 1/2" showing . So if YOUR strips are non-existent anymore , and I still have about 1/2" after grinding pegs , I gotta think your for needs some work ....

[SKNL2]

well is any of this possible with the 98 katana's stock tire?

Would I try it on a CrapAdams? No. Have I tried it on worse tires? Yes. Didn't succeed though. Pegs dragged first. I wasn't hanging off enough.

It's possible on virtually anything. It's not a function of tire alone. It's not a function of bike alone. It's not a function of rider alone. It's a function of all things coming together in a moment of synchronization. Road, interia, gravity, centrifugal forces, traction, body position, on and on.

The video is a great start. A couple of other links...

Coming Unglued by David Hough

BikeGirl.com write-up

YouTube Video (different than the one above)

Good luck and I hope you have good gear. Once you get your head past the Holy Grail of knee dragging, you will be able to concentrate on more important things like carrying corner speed and picking better lines.