Pushin' the pegs...

[BulletTrain]

I know you guys 'r gonna get tired of teachin' me how to ride, but at the moment yer the best resource I got. (How's that fer butterin' ya'll up? )

I got some awesome info in response to my leaning the bike and countersteer threads. Thought I'd push my luck and get you all to expand on another aspect of real riding.

This installment of throw the rookie a bone deals with weighting the pegs during cornering. Given a moderate to hard left corner, walk me through peg pushin' as you see it, upon entry, apex, and exit. Which peg to push and when?

My riding skills have already increased big time by following yer tips in the other threads. I just want to keep learning. I am still trying to find another source for the TOTW I & II books. No luck yet. Amazon won't freakin' ship an order in a timely fashion and Barnes & Noble are about 5 bucks a book higher than Amazon. Seems the only place I can get anything str8 is here...

Any and all replies will be absorbed and greatly apreciated!

 

[Revlis]

In a moderate left hand corner, assuming you are transfering some weight off the seat and moving around a little, you will want to weight the outside peg. Sounds bassackwords but you basically want to form a countersteering X over on the bike. Turning left you push left and leverage yourself from the outside peg. Sorta gets your whole body into the corner.

But Seriously Bullet, leave it alone for now...Focus on countersteering and getting that ride from upright to over in a hurry. Use a little weight transfer, get your butt off the inside just a few inches, and countersteer. Forget about everything else for now, you know everything you need to, to be able to ride the crap outta that thing. You do not need anything else to think about.

Accept maybe Use the crap outta that front brake, and have all your braking done before or just before you start your corner entry. It's all about the front brakes... You want to keep up with your little buddies on their ZX9Rs? The key is late braking, slow in FAST out, then roll right by when things open up a little. My .02...FWIW

 

[CorrodedAlien]

Game On Rev....

Bullet - Spend the next month paying attention to the basics and the rest kind of comes along. Pretty soon you'll be hanging off the bike to keep the pegs off the ground. Oh Yeah.... a steady accel thru the corner will keep you tight in the corner and the "press left, go left"

 

[BulletTrain]

Cool. Thanks fer the replies. I'll stick to what I'm doing and just let things happen then.

 

[gararnett]

The thing for you to do with the pegs right now is just use your heels to squeeze tightly to the bike - right where those metal guards are above and behind the peg itself. Also helps to keep your knees in on the tank. This will help in that you will naturally transition into weighting the pegs as you progress and anytime you are not just stittng there like a cold steak, but holding on, you will be in more control. Just don't do the death grip kind of squeeze that tenses you up and makes you tired. Squeezing the tank and footpeg area will also make transitions for side to side quicker, even though you are not really doing it to initiate the lean. I hope you understand what I am talking about.

 

[BulletTrain]

Yeah, gararnet, it makes sense. Thanks.

 

[SierraFlyer]

Try turning the bike with no hands - by peg weighting and body weight shifts only. It is a great way to learn what input your bike is looking for before you get into the habit and apply too much counter steer. I used to lock my outside leg into the tank by pressing on the outside peg. It really didn't fix my problem because my weight was still on the seat instead of the pegs. It did help to stablize the mid-turn wobbles a little because I wasn't sliding around in the seat. A better trick is to ride on the balls of your feet and not the arch. This is a position that helps move your body weight around quickly before going into the turn. Your full weight on both pegs is most stable especially when you bend your elbows and let the bike do its own thing. Standing on the balls of your feet also forces you to set up for a turn way in advance and that helps stablize the whole bike. I know it takes a measure of trust, but you will not be disappointed.

The theory for this is that the motorcycle will only do what it is told to do. Cross inputs like bad weight position (too high/upright a CG) and counter steer will cause the suspension to try and combat the inputs rather than work with them. This is from cornering school - not me. Reg Pridmore was the instructor. I think he is right.

 

[CorrodedAlien]

nudge nudge, wink wink... It's had to do the hands free w/ out a cruise control toy....

Was doing that yesterday, went 5 miles down a 35mph road (at 40mph) w/ no hands. around curves and such. I usually put my hands on the tank when I do this.

 

[busabuddy]

The other great thing about being on the balls of your feet is that it allows you to get "up" on your bike quickly in case of any unexpected bumps/holes/debris in the road -- especially in a turn.

 

[BulletTrain]

Thanks for all the replies. As always, I'm soakin' it in.

 

[Revlis]

Balls of your feet...I dunno My feet are not where I keep em'... OK that was lame...

The Balls of your feet is the only way to go, I found myself doing this about 12 years ago and just went with it because I thought the guys riding around with thier little feeties hanging down just looked goofy... Then I discovered that when I put my feet flat on the pegs I felt all messed up going into corners, so feet up it is.

Also Bullet, Someone mentioned holding on with your ankles...good idea...But I also really squeeze that Tank with my thighs especially when braking hard. Keep messing with what's being tossed out here, I know I am.

Also, now this sounds odd. But, If you tend to get tired on the bike, Especially legs, Abs, and back, exercise them. When you start getting close to home, squeeze and release the bike with your ankles, Thighs, knees, do reps until tired. Back and Abs, practice placing NO weight on your arms at all, and tense and release. Then Racer Tuck, Full Upright..repeat, and moving yourself around on the pegs, left right etc...Sounds messed up I know (and make sure no one sees you) but it is helping my seat time quicker than just riding a lot. Besides, when you get home you REALLY feel like you been for a ride...

 

[BulletTrain]

Makes good sense, Rev. I'll give that a shot. Thanks...

 

[RaiderDm]

Balls of the feet... good tip! I've seen riders crash from catching their feet under the bike in a corner. Plus it lets you add your ankle as part of your personal suspension, along with your knees. Also aids transfering your weight from side to side in the twisties. When you get more advanced helps toss your butt across the seat when hanging off.
When turning one side or the other of your bike will be *up* or scrapping sky. This is also known as the outside peg. If you weight (push down) on this peg It will aid you in holding on to your tank with your knee. This allows you too keep your arms loose while turning. Thuse making your turns smoother.


Ride hard - Ride fast - Ride Safe

 

[BulletTrain]

I already found that I actually prefer usin' my balls, errrrr, the balls of my feet when in the curves. I just naturally went to that foot position as I got used to riding the busa. Unless I'm shiftin' or brakin' my balls are on the pegs. Can't say why I prefer that, it just worked out that way. Guess it's a good thing according to the replies here.

What I haven't been paying attention to is whether or not I'm keepin' my ankles against the bike, or lettin' 'em fall where they may. I'm gonna ride this afternoon a bit so I'll pay close attention to the things suggested in this thread and see what is happenin'.

Thanks again for all the tips 'n tricks, folks.

 

[BulletTrain]

The thing for you to do with the pegs right now is just use your heels to squeeze tightly to the bike - right where those metal guards are above and behind the peg itself. Also helps to keep your knees in on the tank. This will help in that you will naturally transition into weighting the pegs as you progress and anytime you are not just stittng there like a cold steak, but holding on, you will be in more control. Just don't do the death grip kind of squeeze that tenses you up and makes you tired. Squeezing the tank and footpeg area will also make transitions for side to side quicker, even though you are not really doing it to initiate the lean. I hope you understand what I am talking about.

Alright gararnett, I finally got a little seat time last night and payed closer attention to my ankle and knee position. I found that I wasn't naturally keepin' my ankles against the bike. Nor was I particularly keepin' my knees in very tight. Not out like sittin' on a Hardley, but not really tucked tight either.

So, after a little "natural" riding to see what I had been doing I put the balls of my feet on the peg as usual, but then moved my feet inboard until my ankles/heels were against the bike. Doin' this caused my legs/knees to naturally tuck in tighter as well.

I'll put it like this... night & day. It was like I had been ridin' "unplugged" and suddenly plugged in. It really seemed like I could "feel" the bike better. It was like I've been floatin' along on top of the bike and then suddenly I'm actually ridin' 'er.

It honestly surprised me how much more tuned in and in control I feel by making this simple change. Everything from slow maneuvering and balance to full throttle 1st/2nd gear blasts seems more controlled and more stable. Heck, even hard braking felt more controlled.

I must say that this tip has made the most difference in how I "feel" my bike yet. I finally "connected" with the busa. I've seen all you guys talk about how the busa "talks to you" (Revlis in particular ) but I didn't fully understand what you were talkin' about until now. It's simply incredible that a simple thing like this could make as much difference as it did for me!

Thanks fer throwin' me this bone, gararnett! It may have already been mentioned somewhere amongst the volumes of great advice I've gotten in response to all my ridin' questions but yer post just put it in my head and caused me to think specifically about ankle/leg position as an independent component of my ridin' style.

Now that I've experienced this connection with the busa I'm even more addicted than ever. It honestly feels like a whole different bike now. I still can't believe how much difference this made. Now I *REALLY* can't wait to ride again!!!  

 

[RaiderDm]

Well BT, now that you feel more confident you might find yourself going faster than *ahem* 55.  

So make sure you find an interstate or something with a high speed limit.  

Looks like another Busaholic has felt the force.

 

[BulletTrain]

Actually, I have found a better place for my higher speed runs than an interstate. Not even a roadway so no speed limits. No worries about anything except crashin'

 

[SS2001]

BulletTrain,
I'm in the same boat as you as far as the Busa being my first pure sportbike. Had plenty of power standards, but the Busa was a whole new world! Anyway I've had mine about a year and a half now and I regularly cruise the backroads in S. Fulton , Douglas and Carroll ( live in Lithia Springs). Sounds like you've found some decent places to ride, can you hook a brutha up? We could even hook up and ride if you're into it. Let me know.

 

[boney1]

good god how i love hayabusa.org

 

[boney1]

awesome thread guys thanks to all, too many years on the harley floor boards. i can hang real low in the turns already but i have to get out and try riddin on my balls with the ankles tight in sounds too good. god how i love hayabusa.org