Getting your knee down

[UK Bike Forum Member]

question boys,,,,,,

does getting your knee down make you any faster on the road,,,, serious question,,

don`t turn it into a scrap, just a sensible thread,

[Pope]

question boys,,,,,,

does getting your knee down make you any faster on the road,,,, serious question,,

don`t turn it into a scrap, just a sensible thread,

Only when you're tanking along at over 90% do you really need to do it, and it varies according to riding style.

Some people use the IAM/ROSPA way of riding, i.e - keep your arse firmly in the middle of the seat.
Personally I find it easier to turn the bike when I put as much weight off as possible, so exxagerated head and body position feel more comfortable and natural to me.

Whether it makes me faster?  Not really sure

Does it look cool as fuck?

Undoubtedly!

 

[UK Bike Forum Member]

A mixed bag really

Does it make you faster - maybe once your a pro at it - if you think about it when you learn anything new your always slower until you get a feel for it
As Pope stated it does look cool & there must be something it it as all the racers do it but maybe not such a good idea on our roads due to the conditions

[felix]

I agree with both STIG & Pope here....you have to be going at a fair rate to get your knee down and it does look good, but with the state of our roads at the momentit's probably not the best idea in the world...

I tend to hang off the bike going around roundabouts, sliding my arse right off the seat, but on normal bits of road I tend to stay fairly upright......

Pope hangs off like a baboon on Crack.....but that's his way of riding, I think it's all down to the individual to find a position that's good for them and that works for them..we are all different...

As to wether or not it makes you faster.......I don't know...maybe on a track yes, on normal roads with tractors and diesel and all the other shite that's on them at the moment......I don't think so TBH!

[UK Bike Forum Member]

My first knee down was last march with pope filming it, since then i have found i've gotten a lot faster on the road.

Perhaps it's because i know how far the bike will lean now, but im still not as fast as some on here

[UK Bike Forum Member]

All the police riders I’ve seen sit dead-still on the bike and are pretty bloody fast.

In my opinion, riding position on the road is not as critical as on the track. Comfort is the key to smoothness which in turn is the key to sustaining quicker progress through the bends. For me, body position is about comfort and how I feel on the bike. When I am comfortable I can corner better which may not mean higher speed but I’m sure it enhances bike control.

I’ve been experimenting a bit lately as I always was an ‘arse out of the seat’ rider but I thought that at my age I ought to be a bit more dignified. I have tried going the other way and pushing the bike down in the bend. Surprisingly, this works quite well and I found bike placement was more accurate. It’s good for decking the pegs as well but when pushing on a bit, other more solid parts start to drag which is not ideal.

If it’s wet I definitely get my arse off the bike to keep it more upright and when in the company of other idiots getting a real move-on I revert to old habits and start hanging off baboon-like. However, my old knees are not going to make contact with the floor any time soon.

[UK Bike Forum Member]

well iv never really tried, i dont think im up to the standard for knee down, and i believe if i learn to do so, it will no doubt cause me to fly off the bikein a ball of fire, towards the nearest static object.

perhaps when iv done a couple of track days ill see if im capable of doing such things.

[UK Bike Forum Member]

question boys,,,,,,

does getting your knee down make you any faster on the road,,,, serious question,,

don`t turn it into a scrap, just a sensible thread,

I have no idea getting your knee down makes you faster or not, as I am unable to get me knee down.
I do try and lean the bike over, but I don't think it's near enough to get my knee down.

Pity the guy's don't go down LG roundabout any more, as I would of liked to have a look at how it's done.

Spoke to RandellUK the other day, he said he was up Terry's( I Think) when Pope was getting his Knee down, said it was "pretty impressive" as well.

[UK Bike Forum Member]

Pity the guy's don't go down LG roundabout any more, as I would of liked to have a look at how it's done.

We should organise one for the summer again
Either down LG's or find another one

[UK Bike Forum Member]

I think the answer to this is definately yes.

To quantify, lets say your hammering trough the mountains long twisties, leading in to long straights, if you are hanging off the bike enough to get your knee down, the chances are that you can take the corner tighter and faster.

Simple way to look at is, next time you watch the pros racing look to see how many of them going round the track dont put a knee down. All of the ones who dont will be in a position to do so just wont want to.


There are of course riders who are very fast that dont put a knee down, but they are usually far enough over to put it down if they want to.

Personally I have always found that hanging off the bike allows me to take corners faster and tighter so for that reason I think Yes.

[UK Bike Forum Member]

Mixed reviews

After all that is it legal?

What's the Police view on getting your knee down

[Pope]

Mixed reviews

After all that is it legal?

What's the Police view on getting your knee down

This came up on the performance bikes forum a couple of years ago
they have a resident bike cop on there (called Porkscratchin......geddit?)

He said sparkies would be frowned upon, but if done safely and in control would not be a problem

On the subject of knee down, I've got to agree with Tank that it helps gauge the level of lean.
I've saved the bike once on my knee after a front end slide (on track) so it at least helped once anyway.

Althought it was more luck than anything

But if it's fun, helps you corner and makes you enjoy your biking then why not?

It's not the be all and end all, but it's another tool in the armoury so to speak

[UK Bike Forum Member]

All the police riders I’ve seen sit dead-still on the bike and are pretty bloody fast.

In my opinion, riding position on the road is not as critical as on the track. Comfort is the key to smoothness which in turn is the key to sustaining quicker progress through the bends. For me, body position is about comfort and how I feel on the bike. When I am comfortable I can corner better which may not mean higher speed but I’m sure it enhances bike control.

I’ve been experimenting a bit lately as I always was an ‘arse out of the seat’ rider but I thought that at my age I ought to be a bit more dignified. I have tried going the other way and pushing the bike down in the bend. Surprisingly, this works quite well and I found bike placement was more accurate. It’s good for decking the pegs as well but when pushing on a bit, other more solid parts start to drag which is not ideal.

If it’s wet I definitely get my arse off the bike to keep it more upright and when in the company of other idiots getting a real move-on I revert to old habits and start hanging off baboon-like. However, my old knees are not going to make contact with the floor any time soon.

I think Bendy has hit the nail on the head here........ he stated that he is now stayin more in the seat and pushing the bike down into the corner. Alas, the pegs and other bits of the bike have started to deck out.... Not a really big issue on the track (to some extent), but personally that wold be something I wouldnt want to be doing on our rutted, and pot holed roads...... Also cats eyes can give a nasty jolt to some scraping metal work aswell......

Its not an absolute necessity to get your knee down on the road, although I go like to do it for the grin factor... The necessity on the road is getting into some leaning off posiion on he bike whilst cornering. This is not for style points, for pose value, or really for comfort. It is done to alter the weight didtribution and centre of gravity.... Leaning off means you can turn the bike in a sharper arc whilst keeping more of the contact patch of the tyre on the road.

Not leaning, and pushing the bike down tends to make the bike run on the extreme edges of the tyres, whilst also reducing the ground clearance........

Whether you want to or can get your knee down is personal preference...... But some sort of movement off the bike into a corner, whether trying to get knee down or not,  will greatly increase ground clearance, and also keep the bike on the fatter part of the tyre..... And with our shitty roads, the more tyre on it, the more grip you get. Innit.

[Pope]

 

Yep what Fuzz said about weight distribution and fat part of the tyre etc

Makes you less likely to crash than just sticking it on its ear

[UK Bike Forum Member]

If you lean off the bike to the inside it lowers the centre of gravity, keeps the bike more upright, gives a larger footprint on the road, therefore more grip, so you can go faster, so there.