Please read the "lean it over" again. It was meant to get get a basic look, not exact,at how low he'll actually BE before he goes over. Just seeing how low that actually is will give him more trust in the lean, as he'll never get it that low on road/track without scraping peg first.

 

Well, anything's possible. I've scraped the toe of my foot before, which was weird, but no peg scrape,and still have a 1/2-3/4 inch strip on the rear.

 

Nobody said anything about leaning off the bike like Rossi, or a monkey.

As far as what I said, don't start learning bad habits is the jest of it. If you feel comfortable leaning your hiney to the side, by all means, do so. It's whatever you feel most comfortable with. Then if you decide to get into track days or whatever you'll have a headstart. It's surprising how many people don't feel comfortable moving their butt around. If you can do that comfortably, you're that much farther ahead of the game.

And no, it isn't necessary to hang off on the street at or above speed limits - but if it makes you all warm and fuzzy inside, go for it. You'll obviously look like a weirdo if you're doing 25mph and trying to drag knee but hey, it's all you man! When I see people getting so low on their bike and they're not even moving their butt, I get nervous for them. I just wanna make sure that if they do go down, I don't get caught staring at them or their bike!

 

if you would like to become better i agree with taking the track school, but before that i would take the MSF safety course. I know you can ride but i was amazed at the little stuff they show you that can help boost your confidence level. and i hear you talking alot about leaning on the bike but are you using the push method with the handle bars. If you don't know what that is it is when you push the direction you are turning to go that direction. Pushing on the handle bars makes the bike lean over. I cann't think of a lot of roads around my town where i would want to go fast enough to drag a knee. Roads are to ****ty.

 

Yeah, I am very familiar with countersteering, thats about all you can do on the cruiser I rode for a few years.

let me ask this,-I could be very wrong, but on a sport bike youdont use countersteer as much as on a cruiser.
example: when I rode the cruiser out in the twisties, and Iran into a corner hard or a little two fast,I wouldjust really push out on the bar, but not locking your arm, and
the harder you push, the harder the bike leans. you do not really lean your torso at all, much less turn your legs, shoulder, hips,ect.
but, when I ride that same road on the sport bike, I obviously countersteer to get into the curve and correct lean angle, then use my legs and torso to hold that lean angle. I dont really need to apply strong pressure to the bar, as for the most part the bike will now stay in that arc until I change an input. If I need to tighten my arc, I just use my upper leg/knee and pull the bike over into the curve tighter. plus, you want as little pressure on the bars to allow them to soak up bumps and stuff. just enough to hold on, and gently roll on throttle. not saying there is no countersteer input, but very minimal.

 

i use counter steering mainly. I may do it wrong but on the street if you hits some pea gravel or an oil spot i don't want to be hanging of the side of my bike. Thats just my opionion. Another thing i learn is to always keep your head looking at the exit of the curve. If you are following these guys and they are good. make sure you note their lines going into the curve. The Instructor i had told us you go where you look and i have found that to be true. If i spend my time looking directly in front of the bike i loose sight of the big picture my line. To be honest i tend to ride alone all the time. If i was you i would find a curvy road on a sunday midday or when it's not busy and just start going through it over and over and over till you are comfortable to go faster through the curves. I don't like riding in big groups. I don't trust people to be that close to me if i wreck i want to be the reason.

 

HURRICANE- yeah i live in pennsylvania and we have some of the worst roads anywhere. debris, potholes galore! especially now it was like 70 friggin degrees the last 2 days and now it is snowing!! so i am sure they will dump more salt, sand, ash, whatever on the roads. i feel like i am running flattrack when i ride here, *** end is always getting loose. like i said just do what you are comfortable with and do a track day or something to get a better idea of what the others are talking about.

 

I have the most incredibley fun stretch of twistyness that I ride numerous times a week. It is nice to be able to really know the road, and see my abilities increase (and confidence). I don't find myself moving off the bike. I am mostly relying on a good line, not going in too hot, and keeping loosey goosey. I find if I am all stiff in the arms, then I really struggle. And, like Abad alluded to, your mental state plays a huge part in your success. Great thread.

 

ya'll have bigger ***** than me, the chicken strips on my RR are at least 1" maybe more
I trust my tires just fine, its the road/people on the road I will never trust enough to go that fast on the street

I've had a few morons call me out on my chicken strips before, its kinda hard not to laugh really when some random idiot comes up to me and says something stupid about how I must not know how to ride.

IMO trying to learn body positioning, proper lines, how to lean way over, how to brake hard, trail brake, etc on the street is like trying to study calculus at a heavy metal concert, yeah you'll pick up a few things but you won't really "learn" anything because its not the right environment.