Hey You's, yeah you's that rides track, gots a question for you's

[LNasty]

Sorry, not sure why I did the title in a new yorker accent. Just wanted some input from those that ride track, about this guys video. Just seems like he is purposely hanging off the side in order to scrape knee, not because he is leaning far enought to have knee touch. Kind of looks poserish to me, I could be very wrong though.

Link to original page on YouTube.

[csmith12]

Well, Lance... not that I agree with the location. Seems that he does have the skill, lean and bp to enable draggin' a knee. There are some subtle things that give it away. We could focus on the negative about this video but we have been there and done that. Bla, bla, bla. No knee draggin' on the street.

But... what are the things that this guy is doing that allows him to ride with so much confidence on the street? I feel that is a better use of our time.

[LNasty]

Yeah I know the public street is not the best place for this, however since I am not experienced enough for this kind of riding just wanted some input from thos that are. I have seen other videos of guy's hanging halfway off the bike just to try and touch their knee, seems a bit ridiculous to me. Hard to tell how fast he is going thru those corners since video is slowed down, but fast enough to have to lean that far I guess

[fishdip]

Looking at this he don't look that far off the bike.

[csmith12]

^^^ fish has a point here. Far enough off, but not too far. Fingers draggin' also tell something as well.

[adouglas]

Ability to drag knee on demand - not poser.

Grinding the knee puck away + sparky pucks = definite poser.

Look at video of the Isle of Man TT... Those guys are insanely fast and almost never actually touch their knee down. This is clearly for show, not because he has to. But as csmith12 said, he definitely has the skills.

I see:
- Back on the seat, with inside of knee/lower thigh against the back corner of the tank
- Spine parallel with bike
- Leading with the chin - watching where he wants to go
- Light on the bars (actually has a hand off and touching the ground in one shot)
- Screwdriver grip
- Head down
- Very dynamic on the bike - loose and flowing

Okay, so skilled poser. But consider this: Most of us get to ride on the track just a few times a year. There is ZERO opportunity to practice the body position if you don't ever hang off the bike on the street. So yeah... I try to assume the position when I can, but I'm never going anywhere near fast enough to actually touch the ground.

[LNasty]

Looks like peg it's about to touch, i think that is what i have been afraid of.

[adouglas]

You know that pegs touching does not mean crash, right? That's why they fold, and why they have feelers.

It's also why you hang off the bike... so the bike itself does not lean as far.

[LNasty]

Originally Posted by adouglas

You know that pegs touching does not mean crash, right? That's why they fold, and why they have feelers.

It's also why you hang off the bike... so the bike itself does not lean as far.

Ah....well you learn something new everyday. This is why I need to get out for at least one noob track day. I know I will be hooked after first lap. It's sad when the one S-bend in my daily commute is what I look forward to everyday. they are the only corners I get to actually do a little more lean than normal and get that small thrill from it.

[Sirref]

Originally Posted by LNasty

Looks like peg it's about to touch, i think that is what i have been afraid of.

I've scraped the **** out of my peg at the track, just let your inside foot come up with the peg so you don't force it into the ground to unsettle the bike. If you're dragging pegs on the streets you're going way, way too hard

[Sirref]

Originally Posted by csmith12

But... what are the things that this guy is doing that allows him to ride with so much confidence on the street? I feel that is a better use of our time.

This is what I don't understand, I can only drag in corners that I've taken many times and can't bring myself to even try on the streets

[akima]

Really enjoyed that video. Impressive riding. He looks very zen on the bike!

I did wonder what he'd do if something appeared in his path (deer, tree branch, vehicle) mid corner.

@adouglas - what do you mean by "Screwdriver grip"? Never heard of that before.

[csmith12]

Originally Posted by Sirref

This is what I don't understand, I can only drag in corners that I've taken many times and can't bring myself to even try on the streets

That is because experience has taught you well. Your next level of experience is how to read and feel available traction. When you feel comfortable, you will lean it even more. Vision alone is NOT the 100% answer. You got to feel it, to give you guys some clues. Look at the following;

When does he look?
How is his throttle control?
When does he get off the seat? Yea, he is late sometimes, but aren't we all? from time to time.
Watch his knees. Why does he always have a lock?

And so on...

[sharky nrk]

Originally Posted by akima

Really enjoyed that video. Impressive riding. He looks very zen on the bike!

I did wonder what he'd do if something appeared in his path (deer, tree branch, vehicle) mid corner.

@adouglas - what do you mean by "Screwdriver grip"? Never heard of that before.

https://www.ninjette.org/forums/show...ht=screwdriver

[sharky nrk]

Originally Posted by csmith12

That is because experience has taught you well. Your next level of experience is how to read and feel available traction. When you feel comfortable, you will lean it even more. Vision alone is NOT the 100% answer. You got to feel it, to give you guys some clues. Look at the following;

When does he look?
How is his throttle control?
When does he get off the seat? Yea, he is late sometimes, but aren't we all? from time to time.
Watch his knees. Why does he always have a lock?

And so on...

Meh, you left out the first most important section of the mental process - desire and decision.

The thing is comfort comes from the result matching the expectancy - and the more times this happens, the more the brain "predicts" that what you are doing is ok. But the desire to step outside that comfort zone and feed the brain the information that is needed and the decision to continuously feel those inputs in a particular environment is paramount.

That is the thing you can not get away from in this type of post, and people like me will continue to be sticks in the mud. Its a little bit Niki Lauda mentality of what is the accepted risk.

He is capable of doing those things in that video because his brain tells him that the risk is low, because his brain can "predict" what is going to happen based on his previous experiences. However you do not have control over all of the variables on a public street.

[sharky nrk]

Originally Posted by Sirref

This is what I don't understand, I can only drag in corners that I've taken many times and can't bring myself to even try on the streets

This statement actually highlights my point pretty well - the reality is you likely CAN drag your knee in corners that you may or may not have taken many times. You lack the DESIRE to do so at a great enough level to push you into DECIDING to do it.

And rightfully so, as a lot of time the RISK is too great. But each person has their own personal acceptance of risk. Mine is quite low on the street and significantly higher on the track.

The variables are greatly reduced on the track, and the early sessions can allow my mind to become comfortable with the fact that the result around the next corner is going to be just what I expected, cause I just saw it a lap before, and a lap before that, and so on

[sharky nrk]

Man, I am going to stop after this one, cause a three post in a row semi-rant is a bit excessive. The thing is also that just because my preference and my acceptable risk levels are different from yours does not make me right and you wrong or visa versa. Up to the point at which it infringes on someone else's rights and or safety. But that could spiral into a mess conversation and is not needed here.

The guy in the video, do I agree with that level of riding on the street......for me no - not personally - but obviously he does, and the way at which he controls the bike and his body leads me to believe he has the skill set to pull it off as long as the variables do not change excessively and the results are as expected.

[akima]

Originally Posted by sharky nrk

https://www.ninjette.org/forums/show...ht=screwdriver

Thanks. I get it now.

But now I'm confused by something @csmith12 said:
"Watch his knees. Why does he always have a lock?"

A lock?

(watch as Akima turns pro-thread into noob-thread)

[csmith12]

Lol, we are in violent agreement Neil. Experience and "predicted results" go hand and hand.

[csmith12]

Originally Posted by akima

"Watch his knees. Why does he always have a lock?"

A lock?

I will give you the answer, this rider always has a knee against the tank. It' goes a long way toward his stability on the bike. ie, he is always locked on and doesn't have to support his body weight with his arms.

[fishdip]

Originally Posted by LNasty

Looks like peg it's about to touch, i think that is what i have been afraid of.

Link to original page on YouTube.