New found respect

[Old Lemon]

So i got my pants that zip together with my jacket to make a 2 piece suit today. And instantly went on my favorite roads to drag some knees.

I would always brag to my friends who are interested in my bike but dont have one that i think i COULD drag a knee, but i have only been wearing jeans since today.

Well i took a 270 degree exit ramp just about the fastest ive taken it, knee hit nothing but air. I went to my favorite turn, i did it as fast as i ever did and yet, nothing but air.

I thought i was a good cornerer, i thought i could easily drag some knees. I was wrong and I still have much to learn (and lean) since the one year I have had this ninjette.

So today i have new found respect for knee draggers, it is harder than it looks.

[bfpower]

Careful sir, that kind of truthful humility in a forum post just might cause the internet to implode.

[csmith12]

[userjh160]

I can't imagine dragging my knee, I am just getting the hang of curves and feeling comfortable with them

Anyone that can do that or make an attempt at doing it has my respect

[alex.s]

Originally Posted by csmith12

hahahahahaha!!! perfect.

[Aufitt]

1/ Check insurance policy (I think you will find your excess will be more than the price of a ride day at the track)
2/ Make sure your tyre pressures and suspension settings are correct for the corner you are using (there is much more information available for this if you are at a ride day at the track)
3/ Make sure any traffic will be travelling the same way as you (this is easy at a ride day at the track)
4/ Check that there is sufficient run off on the corner (this is fairly common at the track)
5/ Make sure there is medical assistance available close by (Ambulance and Paramedics are at every ride day at the track)
6/ Read through points 1 to 5 and make a note of any common themes.
7/ Book track day and learn to ride your bike rather than get your knee down and it will happen.

[Old Lemon]

I do plan on going to the track, probably in the spring. And i upped my insurance after the tragedy of what happened to alex. I am not going to push my self any harder on the street then i did today just for the sake of my knee hitting the ground, im just gonna ride like i normally do and poke it out and see what happens

[ninjaone]

It's actually harder to drag knees on a 250 compared to bigger bikes. Being light weight the effect of hanging off is a bit exaggerated, and since the whole point of hanging off is to keep the bike more upright through the turn, things work a little too well.

Definitely take that kind of riding to the track, there is no safe place on any public road to drag a knee and you better be wearing a fully armored full leather suit with back and chest protectors.

[alex.s]

Originally Posted by ninjaone

It's actually harder to drag knees on a 250 compared to bigger bikes. Being light weight the effect of hanging off is a bit exaggerated, and since the whole point of hanging off is to keep the bike more upright through the turn, things work a little too well.

Definitely take that kind of riding to the track, there is no safe place on any public road to drag a knee and you better be wearing a fully armored full leather suit with back and chest protectors.

you know, i can drag knee all day on my 600... but i hardly ever touch on the 250... and when i do, i bring it in for some reason... not sure why it is, my 600 is almost lighter than my 250.

[csmith12]

I am afraid of the low ground clearance of the 250 vs cbr's and r6's. Maybe that is what's up alex. Dunno for sure but I feel you guys.

[Sailariel]

The street is not the place to try to determine the limits of your bike and your limits, for that matter. If you want to find out how fast the bike will do a quarter mile, the dragstrip is where it is at. For handling, track time is always good. I took my Honda 700 to Loring to see how fast it will go. Mind you, this is a full dress touring bike with shaft drive. 122.62 was quite respectable in my view.

I am not particularly impressed with the front end--tends to act like a pogo stick. Tried out a bike like mine with a Race Tech fork conversion, and it was a whole different bike. I bought the kit and will install it this winter when I can take my time and do it right. I do need to get a special tool to seat the seals. Park Tools can oblige.

[choneofakind]

Ha, I found out how hard it is to drag on my bike.

My buddy on the purple CBR was al "oh all it takes is determination and that knee will touch". Bah. I wasn't riding super duper aggressive at my track day; there is a LOT I need to do with my BP. My knee was close without dragging, but my shoulders were square and my spine was in line with the bike, not twisted. My buddy was riding twisted, with a dragging knee I think I'll get the knee down next time. I know what I need to work on, and I have been working on working on relaxing and flowing all summer. At the track, I'll pick up the speed and get the lower body hanging off also.

It probably doesn't help that my tail is raised like 2.5 inches and I have mad ground clearance? idk, no excuses. I simply wasn't aggressive and relaxed enough with my BP.

[Miles_Prower]

I took my bike to a big, empty, open parking lot and tried to get a feel for leaning that far over...I got really really really low but I ended up scraping peg feelers and getting scared before ever getting a knee down. I think it was bad body positioning among other things. Now I don't really care about it, but I do know that even if I think I'm far over, I have a lot further to go!

[toua70]

Originally Posted by Old Lemon

So i got my pants that zip together with my jacket to make a 2 piece suit today. And instantly went on my favorite roads to drag some knees.

I would always brag to my friends who are interested in my bike but dont have one that i think i COULD drag a knee, but i have only been wearing jeans since today.

Well i took a 270 degree exit ramp just about the fastest ive taken it, knee hit nothing but air. I went to my favorite turn, i did it as fast as i ever did and yet, nothing but air.

I thought i was a good cornerer, i thought i could easily drag some knees. I was wrong and I still have much to learn (and lean) since the one year I have had this ninjette.

So today i have new found respect for knee draggers, it is harder than it looks.

You'll get there soon enough. It's all about body positioning. I had trouble getting my knee down for awhile thinking it was harder for me since I'm a whopping 5'4" but that wasn't the case. Can easily knee drag now... Once you get it down, it's just a matter of time before you start to knee drag. At first my knee just touched the ground for a second.. Now I can Drag it all the way through corners. Learned a lot from Kevin and reading blogs and YouTube good luck