Kinda nervous about my toe...

[toastershakins]

i've had a few bikes in my day, but the kat i have now is my first sports bike. i've had it a couple of months now, my skills are getting better, i'm laying it over (not dropping...!) more, but here's the deal:

when i lean into a left hander, i find myself moving my foot above the shifter for fear of scraping something. like a toe. this means, of course, that its harder to upshift and accelerate out of the turn until my bike has uprighted a bit.

i tell myself (and my toe) thats its probably all in my mind, but at this point i either have to rig up some kind or rope and pulley system to lean the bike over and take some measurements, or ??? i mean, i can see myself dragging a knee around a corner because i'm in control of it and can move it in or out to meet the pavement. if i lean over and catch my boot under my shifter (which, again, may or may not be possible...) theres no place for it to go and i may freak out and crash.

i just need someone who knows to take pity on me and tell me the real deal. probably after they stop laughing hysterically.

[Newbie2it]

Lets just suffice it to say, to drag your toe, on a hard left or right turn, that you'd already be sliding. Unless you are riding with the foot under the footpeg somehow, you wont hit. I've lowsided on the freeway before. There was very little damage to the shoe LOL

[#1 Moses]

Toe

Dont ride bare foot wear riding boots!

[Randy G]

Buy a pair of sport boots, they have toe sliders attached in case you do drag your foot.

[Nero]

Dude, get a friend and lean the f'n bike way over; visualizing how far that actually is. You're probably not as close as you think you are to scraping a peg.

[md86]

First off , be in the right gear for the turn so when you accell , you don't run out of revs . Second , you shouldn't be shifting mid-corner anyway . Third , you want the balls of your feet on the pegs so your toes are as far away from the pavement as you can get them . If you have fat feet , you STILL may scrape them , but riding boots with sliders will help with that . Your feet won't catch , they'll slide . Fourth , BUY THE FREAKIN BOOK !!!!!!!

[Randy G]

Read the book, it will help with riding position (foot placement) setting up for a corner, looking through corners for your escape. Just about everything you need to know.

Like MD86 said the balls of your feet should be on the pegs so you can move freely on your seat.

[katman05]

Yeah, what md86 said.

[Phoenix_Rising]

if you're dragging toe then you're more than likely dragging peg as well which is a bad thing. Get your butt off the seat, oh and if you position the ball of your foot on the peg you're less likely to drag it. It's all about positioning

[ZukiFred]

Listen to md86, I got the same advice from him a few years back and have not had my toe sliders hit the pavement since.

Bad foot placement.



Better foot placement.

[monkimagic]

As everyone else has said, the only thing I would ad is stop thinking so much about it, relax, relax your arms and put the weight onto the peg, push down while you have the ball of your foot on the peg,

If you are needing to change gear mid corner then you are in the wrong gear.

Try Youtube for videos on how to do this.

[the wind]

I drop my foot for comfort sometimes but after scaping it a few times,you tend to remember to move your foot when your realy ralling.if you do scap it's more of a oh shiat than a problem.

[toastershakins]

thanks for all the replies...

so, i was kinda right to be worried. what i've been doing is downshifting into a turn, trying to pick the right gear so i could then move my foot above the shifter and get set on the peg for the turn. which is what you're saying to do.

it's just that there are times when i'm just past the apex, the rpms are starting to come up and it feels like i would want to upshift. i guess i just need to let the engine take the revs and maybe slow down out of the turn? or stop trying to be ricky racer and just enjoy the turn rather than straighten it out?

anyway, thanks for the advice. i know the way i explained it was kinda funny / stupid, and i'm sure that book (or several others, probably...) would explain it to me.

[the wind]

thanks for all the replies...

1.so, i was kinda right to be worried. what i've been doing is downshifting into a turn

2.stop trying to be ricky racer and just enjoy

yup stop 1 and do 2.

[tzortn]

...
i guess i just need to let the engine take the revs and maybe slow down out of the turn?
...

You should be accelerating out of a turn. The MSF course stresses that and it works. You should slow down enough before leaning the bike over so you can accelerate out of the turn.