good stuff. I found myself with my *** off the seat just like you're NOT supposed to do. Now I'm learning the proper technique. Can't wait till spring so I can start practicing.

 

i want to get back out there... i never dragged knee but i came pretty close once..

 

Wow. My toe will scrape from time to time. Picking up boots this winter. But holy cow. I had no idea about the seat positioning. I was doing it completely wrong. I'm always learning something new.

 

Kinda squidly, but when I had a new rear put on the bike, I was determining my lean by looking at the unused portion of the tire (chicken strips). I'd push it over more until they disappeared, lol. Then I noticed on the front, where there were still 1/4" strips, but when I leaned more to get rid of those, I started scrapping pegs. But that was using bad posturing. I was leaning the bike over, while maintaining my body upright. Having started to use my weight into the turn, results in the bike staying more upright.
Santa Claus is supposed to bring me A Twist of the Wrist book & video which will hopefully be educational.

Yeah, you got that right. When you get that burning on the upper legs. Although I haven't been to the track (long term goal), there's been days when practicing, that after getting home, I can barely walk, lol.

 

Despite what watching too much MotoGP might suggest to you, people used to ride really fast without all that insane knee-down/hanging off the bike styles... and there are probably a bunch of people who still do.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrE6ng9UERg

This guy supposedly had 8 TT titles and could probably outpace a good many of us. When I first starting digging deep into sharp corners I found myself overly concerned with how I hang off the bike and all, but then realized (also with the help of Twist of the Wrist 2's guidance) that what's even more important than trying to look like Pedrosa around a corner is to learn proper weight biasing front/rear with throttle/brake and finding the proper lines.

 

if you dont have leathers n riding boots stopped b4 you get hurt. The boots will help you out by scrubbing the toe sliders b4 hard parts like your pegs. Draggin hard parts on our bikes is bad, about split second from low siding it . The leathers hopfully wont ever be needed, but in case they are they will protect you, better than wishing you had em afterwards trust me.

About the books n videos +1, try n find a competent, n responsible rider to learn from if possible too

and last but not least.... PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE!!!!

 

Like others have said, get a good instructor at a trackday! You'll just end up learning bad habits and/or hurting yourself if you try it on the street.

By the way, in the two videos, those are from a RideSmart event at Texas World Speedway. I teach for RideSmart in Levels 1 and 2; the guy in the second video is Ty Howard, AMA Pro Series racer, multi-time CMRA Champion and two-time Moto-ST Co-champion. The instructors take classes from him (he also teaches the Race school). Really nice guy, too. He'll video you, then critique you. How many times I've heard, "Where you going, Randy???" whenever I missed the line (even by a foot).

Search RideSmart on Youtube, you can find a wealth of information about track riding techniques (which will help you on the street) and just some great videos, too. But before you try some of those techniques...get gear, get an instructor, and get in the right place.

And...to answer the original question, "How far is too far?"...it depends. Definately when you and the bike are sliding down the pavement is too far. Just before that, though, depends on body position, tire type and size, tire pressure, pavement makeup, temperature, speed, brakes and braking, throttle, etc. All the things an instructor would be able to see and evaluate.

 

I seem to touch the toe of my foot down a lot on the street, is that bad? Does that mean when my leg/knee is out, my toe should not be pointing out? Is that leaning the bike too far? Maybe I should get those rearset things that move the pegs back/up?

Thanks guys, I'm fairly new to aggressive riding.

 

It is probably foot position on the peg; most street riders ride with the peg in the arch (easy to reach brake/shifter). The ball of the foot should be on the peg, and then in a turn, the foot rotated with the heel up (but not totally vertical). There are some variations to that depending on bike setup, height, boot size, etc. Rearsets will definately help (I have Woodcraft on this bike). I tend to scrape toes now only in a pretty extreme lean.

 

Ah! very very interesting! Thank you for that reply, that makes a LOT of sense.