Knee Dragging 101

[Chippertheripper]

6 or 2, I can't remember, to be truthful.
9 is still my favorite spot to put it down and rail it all the way around.

[The Snowman]

9 is still my favorite spot to put it down and rail it all the way around.

Agreed. You have to drop low on the bike to do it. If you drag there, you know you're doing it right. (or mostly right)

[GixxerJosh]

Why are track days so far away now :-( I want to go play and try for a knee :-D

[nhbubba]

Worst November thread ever. This should not be permitted until April or late March at the earliest.

[CBR929RE]

June 2007. I think it was the second of a 3 day event. my first track days. the bowl at Grattan. touched the knee, peg feeler and I think my toe. Came back in and my garagemate was watching and asked if it scared the shit out of me. Yup, guess it was pretty easy to tell even from a distance. this pic is next day I think. even today touching the yellow curbing in t2 at NHMS still gets me but I'm getting more used to it. I don't even care anymore if it touches. if it does it does.

[JettaJayGLS]

Honestly. I put knee down like crazy on all my track days when I had my street bike. This was because I was trying to drag knee, not trying to have correct body position. When I started road racing, I did the same thing. So much to the point I would have it down in 8 under the tree house (we motard guys brake late). Just look at my avatar. I'm knee down but super crossed up. The little bit I got on the track this year I was hitting footpeg before knee.

As I got faster, I hit it less and less and less as I focused on picking the bike up and weighting the outside peg and stopped focusing on putting my knee down. Weighting the outside peg makes it nearly impossible to ride crossed up as you can only hang your ass off so much and keep on weighting the outside. Now when I hit it, I'm really really railing around there.

Look at slow-mo motogp and you can see Marquez hit elbow with his knee off the ground.

[FirstDuc-1098]

Why are track days so far away now :-( I want to go play and try for a knee :-D

Yea, Ken's trying to make our winter even longer with these threads of his

Loving them, keep them coming Ken

[Ken C]

Yea, Ken's trying to make our winter even longer with these threads of his

Loving them, keep them coming Ken

OK. Getting used to a new track bike.

[nhbubba]

So, you picked that up ON YOUR WAY to the track for that event? And you had no seat time in it before that was taken? Wow.

I'm pretty much in awe of how quickly you experienced guys can get that comfortable on a machine like that. I bought a track toy in June, have done 5 track days on it, and am still not entirely comfortable with it. I went the opposite route; a lifetime of riding upright nakeds and adv monstrosities to a sport bike with rearsets and clipons. Everything feels so right in all the wrong ways. I continue to struggle with keeping my weight off the bars, my shoulders and upper body loose, and avoiding putting extra bar input in. And I am nowhere near putting my knee down. I simply haven't a clue how far I can push the machine over.

I think I was actually closer to putting my knee down on my overwight, over-tall, sit-on ergonomics adv street ride than I am on the track toy.

One more observation. I took the ARC class at the recommendation of TTD and several members here. I took it on my 'strom. I left feeling pretty confident getting the bike over. I wish I had the opportunity or environment to do those drills on my new track toy as I think lacking that comfort is holding me back.


Anyway. Nice moves. Damned nice moves!

[maxim_X]

First trackday. I think the first touchdown was in 2, then 1, 6 and 11.

[Chippertheripper]

So, you picked that up ON YOUR WAY to the track for that event? And you had no seat time in it before that was taken? Wow.

I did the same thing when I picked up my motard. Picked it up on the way. I chucked it in 1a on lap7, I think, front end pogo'd like a mofo, and after that, a couple clicks of rebound, it was game on.

[nhbubba]

I sort of did that with my first Penguin day on the SV. I bought the bike Friday night and was on-track at 10-something AM the following Thursday. But that was not an exceptional experience. I was NOT comfortable on the bike. I sure as hell wasn't planting my knee that day!

[Stoneman]

T3 for me. And exit 15E...

[Tricky Mike]

T3 for me. And exit 15E...

Ha! You know you spend a lot of time at the track when you have reference points for 15E

[jasnmar]

I've been curious about this.

Is it 15Ea, 15Eb, and 15Ec, or 15E1, 15E2, and 15E3?

[CBR929RE]

I've been curious about this.

Is it 15Ea, 15Eb, and 15Ec, or 15E1, 15E2, and 15E3?

lol they really need to label that exit better. its a fantastic exit though.