Getting your knee down

[born green]

At least with a tracky, no rego to worry about, but serious tho, u can pick up a good track ready bike cheap, as i said formula extreme has a lot of bikes for all budgets,
Im lucky, no wife, no kids. so i can do what i like

[born green]

love this thread. share the same sentiment. I haven't touched the hallowed ground with my knees either. Yet to reach that milestone in my journey.

Track work is where u will do this, i do it on the road, but thats not really a good place to do it for a lot of reasons!!! but it is addictive tho, and adds another cost, knee sliders

[JPaddo]

I've not seen a lot of track time, but I find the same roads I used to find challenging, and a blast, are now a bit... well.. the correct word is probably "slow". I can't hope to retain my license, long term, and enjoy myself as much as I used to. Riding "the pace" helps, but really... nothing compares to the track. Part of me wishes I'd never discovered it.

[Nelso]

Missus is on her L's, she'll do her P's soon. She's already alluded to being a bit meh about it all, we had dreams and aspirations of touring the country together on bikes.

Anyway she says "why don't you sell my bike and buy a tracky?" Of course I'd love to but it's more complicated than that. So what do I do? Work harder, more hours.... 3 bikes is doable right? Where does it end... Soon I'll have Jonno's garage... ARGH!

Get two more bikes. You need a trackie for her as well as yourself, then she will gain the confidence she needs to be comfortable riding on the road. We followed in Dave and Cath's foot steps and now have five (but we have to get rid of one old track bike) and want to add dirt bikes to the mix next year, so you can never have too many.


As for the OP re getting your knee down, the faster you get the more you lean and if your body is in the right position with your knee out it will just happen. You will probably find when you get your body position right you will use less of your tyre than you are now as well, which will let you go even faster.

[born green]

I keep it for the track now, do miss hunting in the mountains tho, but its not worth the grief.
Road mainly just cruising now, most times!!!
with track work, u can just concentrate on improving urself.
Tho i do see a lot of people get caught up in lap times, they become obsessed with it. for me, i dont worry to much about times these days, it just about fun, and been as fast and as smooth as u can, with that comes quicker lap times anyway. i dont even run a lap timer anymore.
Having said that, when i go back to Q/R i will time myself, because last time their i was using a timer, so im interested in how i go.

[JPaddo]

and want to add dirt bikes to the mix next year, so you can never have too many.

Hear ya!

[Jonno]

Great advice everyone

love this thread. share the same sentiment. I haven't touched the hallowed ground with my knees either. Yet to reach that milestone in my journey.

I have on a very few occasions but I could lean the farker no worries, my knees like most of my body was smashed up in a bad acco years ago and i refused to put them down and the odd occasion I would touch and pull them up like a snail does going back into its shell in fear of pain.
That was until Muralin KSRC trackday, last turn into the straight I was digging them in and as everyone had told me it doesn't hurt just drop them... and I did and much rejoicing was echoing in my helmet

I'm becoming more and more conscious of my body position when I'm riding and I know I've still got a lot to learn here.

I do look at all the avitars on here and how their bodies are when cornering....I guess I need a "pop" moment when I say, ah, that's how it happens....

Here ya go another avitar ....I couldn't do it for ages and then it just happend one ride day at PI....And now I try to do it every corner cause it makes for good photo's ....

On your suspension I have my rear (same bike 07 zx6r) set to 25mm sag which is pretty hard but my tyres look a lot better than that after a session are you using warmers?...

My sig pic was taken in Qld near Rathdowney early 2005, I could touch the pegs down but no way would I move from the seat and that was as mentioned because of long term chronic pain and resulting lack of fitness.

However after doing a few track ride days around the place and a bit of mentoring from our resident racers also paid tuition ( many photos/videos), lots of dirtbike work I am now fit enough to move off the side of the bike and TRY put a knee down whenever it presents itself on the track, not interested in doing it on the road. So this is totally new concept to me as well, but I no longer fear it.

A few things that is helping me besides getting a bum cheek off the seat is to put the ball of my foot on the peg and point your foot into the corner raising my heal up into the rearsets and THAT was key for me dropping the knee on the deck as it naturally hangs out, also pointed elbow into the turn and the outside elbow into the tank. Not always easy for me to do or remember but that is working for me atm.

All these new techniques to remember when on the track takes while to get ya head around, but bit by bit I am getting there. Need more tracktime but I have been on the chookie alot the last few months.

[Blurr]

As Jonnymac said it is just a Guage.

Sure it looks cool but once you get faster you will touch then lift back up and lean a bit more. This way you know where the deck is. If I have my knee down the whole corner I am going slow.easily a couple of seconds quicker by just using it as a guage.

[StuMiller]

I'm becoming more and more conscious of my body position when I'm riding and I know I've still got a lot to learn here.

I do look at all the avitars on here and how their bodies are when cornering....I guess I need a "pop" moment when I say, ah, that's how it happens....

Here ya go another avitar ....I couldn't do it for ages and then it just happend one ride day at PI....And now I try to do it every corner cause it makes for good photo's ....

On your suspension I have my rear (same bike 07 zx6r) set to 25mm sag which is pretty hard but my tyres look a lot better than that after a session are you using warmers?...

No tyre warmers, I'm not that advanced.....

[gixxerdave]

warmers? shouldnt need them to avoid the tyres balling up like stu's does, it looks to me that the bike is being leant over but being held in the same spot and at the same speed through corners, and that generates an awful lot of heat in the one part of the tyre's tread.

as some people have said, get your bum off the seat and stick that knee out. in addition i'd probably add a little more throttle as you go through the corner, slightly more speed will help with you leaning the bike a bit more.. its just gauging where and how touch down happens thats the issue - the "pop" as you say.

[UncleChopChop]

Knee down action is fairly common amongst zrx riders

[aardvark]

warmers? shouldnt need them.

Wow!!! Where the f%#k did you come from???

[born green]

warmers? shouldnt need them.

Wow!!! Where the f%#k did you come from???

Yer, aardvark i thort he meant, should need them!!!!
But then i read the rest of what he said, sorry mate, but i disagree, thats either cold tear, or to soft a setup in the rear!!! but thats just my thorts, without seeing the tyre in the flesh.
One of the 1st things i pack in the car!!! tyre warmers

[Wattie]

warmers? shouldnt need them.

Wow!!! Where the f%#k did you come from???

Yer, aardvark i thort he meant, should need them!!!!
But then i read the rest of what he said, sorry mate, but i disagree, thats either cold tear, or to soft a setup in the rear!!! but thats just my thorts, without seeing the tyre in the flesh.
One of the 1st things i pack in the car!!! tyre warmers

Dude, I think ardy was commenting on the fact that gixxerdave hasn't posted on the site for a long time

[born green]

AH, i thort he was talking about the dont need tyre warmers bit!!