I must ride with Penguin Feet

snerkler

snerkler

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On the way home tonight I banked the bike over a touch further than usual and my left foot started scraping on the floor. The bike was completely unflustered but I must admit it unnerved me at first until I realised what was going on. So is this a common occurance when you start leaning the bike over more, am I reaching the limit of lean (there was no hint of the bike being flustered though), or am I just riding with penguin feet?

I know 'they' say you should ride with the balls of your feet on the pegs but I've always found this too uncomfortable as it bends my knees too much so I have the middle of my foot on the pegs. Plus I think the people that say this are sportsbike riders anyway.

(Now awaiting the ridicule :blast)
 
With size 9 feet, I'd regularly drag my toes on the road, if I didn't shift my feet back so that the balls of my feet are on the pegs in the twisty bits. If you're not dragging the sidestand, the panniers and possibly the rocker covers and still have chicken strips on the front, you're not at the limit of lean.

I found myself chamfering the pegs for the first time ever, in the Californian, Sierra Nevada, mountain passes last year and at that point, I could feel that I was riding off the edge of the tread on the rear Tourance. However, I suspect that with more road-biased rubber, there was more to come.
 
snerkler said:
I know 'they' say you should ride with the balls of your feet on the pegs but I've always found this too uncomfortable as it bends my knees too much so I have the middle of my foot on the pegs. Plus I think the people that say this are sportsbike riders anyway.
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You can MOVE your foot you know? Its not stuck to the peg with araldite.
Why not sit as you do now when on the straights and slide your toes back onto the peg for the twisties (just the inside peg for each corner if you get familiar with the concept of moving your feet on the pegs, or both feet for the duration of the twisties if you are struggling)?
Certainly beats buying new boots every couple of months, even if you dont find it aids in bike control being subject to different laws of physics than sports bike riders....
 
penquin feet !! what size ?

hi snerkler do you wear a revolving dicky bow, and a top hat crash helmet with custard shooting out,:JB
jokeing aside give it some , its fun:blast
 
AdamA said:
You can MOVE your foot you know? Its not stuck to the peg with araldite.
....
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Haha, obviously yes I can move them. However, this was a new experience for me so caught me off guard. I will move my feet around in future if this becomes a regular occurance :thumb2
 
tr6 trophy said:
hi snerkler do you wear a revolving dicky bow, and a top hat crash helmet with custard shooting out,:JB
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You've seen me around then :thumb
jokeing aside give it some , its fun:blast
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It takes me a while to build up confidence, and to trust machinery, I'm the ultimate 'what if' person I'm afraid :rolleyes:

Slowly getting there though :thumb2
 
Jeysus christ. That's it. ........
I used to think it was a bit unfair the way folk took the piss out of the 1200 forum..........
Now......I understand.
 
DavidJames said:
.............the truth??????????
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Haha, unfortunately no as I'm well aware that a lot of folk take their bikes further to the limit than me :thumb2 And tone honest, I don't feel the need to 'compare lengths' etc as I don't ride the bike to see how far I can lean it over or how high I can pull a wheelie etc, I just enjoy getting out on the bike :thumb2 It is nice to get an idea where the limit is though so I know not to push past it. Fortunately by the sounds of it I'm not that close yet :thumb2
 
FWIW

I usually ride with my instep on the pegs. But, when I get to the twisties and I'm 'on it' I get much more feel / confidence with the balls of my feet on the pegs. So I move them around a bit!

Same approach for my GS and Fireblade.

What I'd REALLY like to know is; Has anyone got their knee down on a GS? :eek:

And can they show me how!:thumb. And a photo!:cool:
 
Wegby said:
I usually ride with my instep on the pegs. But, when I get to the twisties and I'm 'on it' I get much more feel / confidence with the balls of my feet on the pegs. So I move them around a bit!

Same approach for my GS and Fireblade.

What I'd REALLY like to know is; Has anyone got their knee down on a GS? :eek:

And can they show me how!:thumb. And a photo!:cool:
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ff8cdff0.jpg

02dde112.jpg
 
I have a biking friend with a "wooden" leg

snerkler said:
On the way home tonight I banked the bike over a touch further than usual and my left foot started scraping on the floor. The bike was completely unflustered but I must admit it unnerved me at first until I realised what was going on. So is this a common occurance when you start leaning the bike over more, am I reaching the limit of lean (there was no hint of the bike being flustered though), or am I just riding with penguin feet?
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A friend who lost his left leg in a car accident many years ago, was out on his bike a couple of years ago, riding kind of hard.
He got home to discover a large part of the front of the left boot missing!

Myke
 
I have to say that when I ride, I know when my toes are touching down that's far enough as I'm on the edge of the tyre by then and jut about on the limit. Thank god for the metal bits on my Datyona's:thumb

I reckon if the pegs are touching on an ADV it's going to be closely followed by the rest of the bike:augie

If you have the strength, lean your bike over at a standstill to see the angle of lean when the pegs touchdown. Just makes you wonder how all the physics stuff works:D
 
Sgt Bilco said:
I have to say that when I ride, I know when my toes are touching down that's far enough as I'm on the edge of the tyre by then and jut about on the limit. Thank god for the metal bits on my Datyona's:thumb

I reckon if the pegs are touching on an ADV it's going to be closely followed by the rest of the bike:augie

If you have the strength, lean your bike over at a standstill to see the angle of lean when the pegs touchdown. Just makes you wonder how all the physics stuff works:D
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Might work, but you need to take into consideration the weight of yer average Tosser, suspension compression, etc...

I managed to deck the pegs on my '07 GS-A whilst in the Pyrenees a while back, and the 'bike still felt fine, Tourances BTW, and panniers etc., back at the camp-site.

:aidan
 
Had a huge scrape of the pegs on a recent run. Fair put the shits up me as I wasn't expecting it. I wasn't leant over any further than usual, but I think here was a hump in the road which I didn't see at speed. Front wheel missed it but the peg caught it. I'm so glad they're flexible, it nearly sent me off but I was impressed with the way the bike handled it, less impressed with my own skills though :blast We live and learn :rob
 
For those who ride close to the limit do you get a sense that you're riding on the edge of the tyre, eg does it make the bike feel different?
 
Nippy Normans supply Touratech, Wunderlich, Desert Fox and many other makes of accessories.
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