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Originally Posted by Urban_Nomad PPS - Oye Man of steel: I am looking at your avatar pic brother. If you dont respond; you will have a very angry rider tailing you wherever you go. You will know its me coz the rider would be all twisty and awkward in corners; fighting for dear life |
Always welcome for a ride bro! But I must disclaim that I am not a knee dragger! Yes, I am an absolute cornering junkie who derives orgasm from corners than from straights. But I am not a knee dragger. Infact, I have limited track experience and that is the only place in this whole earth that I found the need to drag a knee. But Ive never done that even there.
So I wont be the best person to reply to your query! However, I am jotting down my thoughts since you asked.
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I have now ridden this bike for around 300kms and have a few queries wrt cornering. I took the bike out on a very well lit; open road with very sparse traffic and lots of lighting and a couple of delicious long sweeping corners.
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If you have spent a fair amount of time in the twisties in this 300kms, you can ignore the rest of the paragraph. Else, I think you should be progressive in the lean angle you achieve on your bike. Give it a little more time. Understand how the bike behaves in the corner. Mind you, the Duke's turn in into the corner is so quick that it can scare the hell out of you. Even before you know the bike will be doing insane lean angles. Also the chassis and suspension is so stiff that it will be unforgiving in bumpy corners and can be scary for an unprepared soul. It will take some time to get a hang of all those! And also, complete the run in so that you can gun the hell out of the apex!
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I was trying body positions and for a left hander; I tried sliding my bum towards the inside (left) of the corner and scared the bajesus out of me.
I was unable to get a lock with my outside leg and had to hold on for dear life with my inside knee gripping the tank (as opposed to pointed outward) and me riding all twisted (must have looked real stupid). Obviously; the bike did not feel planted at all and I was struggling to maintain a line.
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I think a number of things should have gone wrong there.
- You tried to hang off after the bike was into the lean - Should have been done before leaning into the corner. While you progressively brake or just after you finished braking
OR
- Unnecessary inputs(Tight grips) to the handlebar while trying to hang off. The grip should be loose and the elbows should not be stiff. A tight grip will send unnecessary inputs to the handle and make the bike unsettled in corners
OR
- Choppy throttle. You were uneven with the throttle which made the bike unsettled. Quoting Keith Code “
Once the throttle is cracked on, it is rolled on evenly, smoothly, and consistently throughout the remainder of the turn.”
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- You have hung off too much than your mind could comprehend
. The rule of thump now is half cheek out. But still, getting a half cheek out for the first time will be scary. Be progressive on that, try sliding your bum out a bit to start with. Go over the same corner again and again getting your bottom out more and more until the half cheek happens
Me too!
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- My jewels are usually around 1 - 1.5 inches away from the base of the tank
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That's the right way to do it. You should not be sitting flush against the tank. Lock your tail bone part to the rear seat's hump.
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- Back was slighlty arched; I was not in a tuck
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Lean over the tank so that you lower the overall center of gravity. Complete tuck in is not required but lean over and soon you will notice the difference.
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- I tried locking my knee just below the tank's "flared up" area; but it just slid upwards
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This suggests that you were sliding from the seat into the curve. Like I said. Be progressive about it. Even while riding straight you can try sliding your bum out and gripping the tank with the inner thigh of the outside leg. Do this and you will not be taken by surprise mid corner.
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- Where / what part on the tank do you lock your outside knee with
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There is not hard and fast rule. Grip it at a place where it is comfortable for you. Grip the tank always with both thighs while you ride. It should help you find a custom sweet spot.
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- Do you first stick your knee out or move across the seat
- To slide across the seat; do you lift up your bum or go rubbing against the seat
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Use your thigh muscles to lift the bum off the seat just enough so that you can slide across. Stick your knee out after hanging off. Remember to keep the handlebar grip loose so that the bike wont shake and bellydance. And
do not use the handle bar to get up and hang off.
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- Maybe I am losing grip because of the knee guards owing to reduced friction (plastic agianst plastic). Thoughts? Should I try this with my knee guards inside my jeans?
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Will not be a problem if you are hanging off just right. Although a grippier knee guards/stomp grip definitely helps!
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- Any other info / tips / techniques you would like to share
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I will just summarize.
- Approach the corner and make sure that the corner is clear of water, dust, dog, pedestrians and cows.
Look Where you want to go
- Always keep the outside line before turn in. If a left hander, take the extreme right side possible to turn into the corner.
Look Where you want to go
- Finish the braking and shift down before you lean the bike in. Get the half cheek out. Keep the thigh of outer leg in contact with the the tank and lock it into a grip after hanging off. Remember to keep the handle bar grip loose, balls on the peg and weight on the outer peg
- Decide on the line you want to take.
Look Where you want to go (In this phase the apex)
- Lean into the corner.
Look Where you want to go(Apex)
. Your head should be where the inside rear view mirror is. This will ensure that you are not riding crossed up. Stick the inside knee out
- Slice the apex like you have visualized.
Look Where you want to go. Get on the gas and roll on the gas evenly and smoothly. In case of a tight corner, maintain the throttle till you can charge ahead to the outside of the end of the corner and, never coast through a corner. Chopping off the throttle mid corner can lead to a tank slapper or worse a high side
All these are easier said than done. Be progressive. Be comfortable with each step at a time. Never attempt to do all at once.
This is my Avatar pic shot at MMSC Race track, Chennai
Here You can find that my knee is nowhere close to the tarmac. So many mistakes I have done is evident from the pic.
I am sitting a bit crossed up
I am carrying too much of lean through the corner(Turned into the corner too early)
I am not fully half cheek out which is making me to lean the bike more. and still my knee is nowhere close to the ground
Nevertheless I am happy about the things I didnt do right that day due to which I gave those points some thought and learned better on it
Now, Having said all this. I repeat again and again. In public roads or even the ghats there is absolutely no need for doing a knee down or even hanging off to an extend and it is dangerous too. If you can find an empty stretch, good. But please ride safe bro! Have a blast!!