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Thread: Right hand corners- knee drag?

  1. #1
    Junior Member CowboyZX6R's Avatar
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    Right hand corners- knee drag?

    Hey everyone- anyone care to share any tips/advice on how to go into a right hand corner and drag knee? I've found that I can easily do left handed corners/drag puck- but right handed ones I feel awkward. Not sure if being right handed/or if the throttle being on the right side plays into this- but any hints/advise would be appreciated.

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    Senior Member UglyDogRacing's Avatar
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    Re: Right hand corners- knee drag?

    How you are gripping the throttle may be effecting your body position and how far you are hanging off the bike.
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    Senior Member tecknojoe's Avatar
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    Re: Right hand corners- knee drag?

    "kiss your mirrors" - a lot of people forget to move the upper half of their body

    hang one ass cheek off the seat, that's all you need

    Hold the bike with your legs. you should be able to flap your arms and wiggle your fingers on the levers in the middle of a turn

    You need to make sure you have good throttle control above anything else

    The whole point of hanging off is to get your weight down. focus on getting down and planted, and one day you'll notice your puck will start to touch. Focusing on making a good turn will produce better results than having some goofy style while trying to simply "drag knee"
    #703

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    Senior Member tecknojoe's Avatar
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    Re: Right hand corners- knee drag?

    Oh yea, also


    Do it at the track. Even a cheap day at IMI is better than trying in the canyons
    #703

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    Gold Member Bueller's Avatar
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    Re: Right hand corners- knee drag?

    This is a video I shot last year. It picks up (10m 20s) right as I was coming up on a rider who is a text book case of how not to corner, ..drag knee. Sometimes knowing what not to do is valuable.

    http://youtu.be/jl94NmR_2Ys?t=10m20s


  6. #6
    Junior Member CowboyZX6R's Avatar
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    Re: Right hand corners- knee drag?

    Thanks guys - stuff to think about. Wasn't sure if others found it easier to do one side verses the other.

  7. #7

    Re: Right hand corners- knee drag?

    Quote Originally Posted by Bueller View Post
    This is a video I shot last year. It picks up (10m 20s) right as I was coming up on a rider who is a text book case of how not to corner, ..drag knee. Sometimes knowing what not to do is valuable.

    http://youtu.be/jl94NmR_2Ys?t=10m20s
    I was wondering if he was going to be able to get back on the bike!

  8. #8
    Chief Viffer Lifetime Supporter dirkterrell's Avatar
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    Re: Right hand corners- knee drag?

    Quote Originally Posted by Bueller View Post
    This is a video I shot last year. It picks up (10m 20s) right as I was coming up on a rider who is a text book case of how not to corner
    Yikes. Also probably a textbook case of horsepower misleading someone into thinking they are fast.
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    Senior Member Yearly Supporter Generic's Avatar
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    Re: Right hand corners- knee drag?

    It seemed to me he was shifting too far off the seat in that video and really pushing it out. Am I correct in identifying what he was doing wrong?

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    Senior Member UglyDogRacing's Avatar
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    Re: Right hand corners- knee drag?

    he is crossed up. He is trying to hang his leg and torso off but his upper body is still over the top of the bike.

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    Senior Member Yearly Supporter Generic's Avatar
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    Re: Right hand corners- knee drag?

    Quote Originally Posted by UglyDogRacing View Post
    he is crossed up. He is trying to hang his leg and torso off but his upper body is still over the top of the bike.
    He's not out kissing the mirror, got it, thanks!

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    Senior Member Wrider's Avatar
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    Re: Right hand corners- knee drag?

    I could be wrong, but isn't it more important to have your upper body leaning off than your lower body? Granted both are definitely important, but I've noticed that just getting my upper body closer to the ground makes my cornering a whole lot smoother.
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  13. #13
    Senior Member UglyDogRacing's Avatar
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    Re: Right hand corners- knee drag?

    Read chapter 4 of Nick Ienatsch's book Sport Riding Techniques. Some good pics on page 41 that illustrate this.

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    Senior Member tecknojoe's Avatar
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    Re: Right hand corners- knee drag?

    I'm sorry, I forgot to address the original question

    If I took time to think about it, I'm slightly less comfortable in lefts than rights. My best guess is because I'm leaning away from my throttle hand so it feels like it's "way over there" on the other side of the bike vs being right next to my face. The difference though isn't noticable as I'm riding, right handers are a small fraction more comfortable. Come to think of it, all the tracks I've ridden are all right handers, so I've had much more practice on that side.

    I actually got my left knee down first. But at the end of that track day, I was touching both knees in a few different corners. I guess that goes to show that it was more important for me to get all other factors correct rather than wanting to just touch the ground in the easiest corner.
    #703

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    Board Newbie limespeed's Avatar
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    Re: Right hand corners- knee drag?

    I have the same issue. I was always told to kiss my wrists, a technique that works well for me on left hand corners. Going around right handers, I get the feeling that my throttle hand is too cramped to rotate the throttle smoothy. Additionally, as I lean off the right side of the bike my forearm is almost perpendicular to the bike while my wrist is at a 90 degree angle so that my hand can hold the grip.

    I had this problem for my first couple of track days on my lil' Ninja 250. When I finally convinced my sister to let me take her SV-650s to the track, I felt much better in the right handers because of the more track-oriented ergonomics. With lower and more forward bars, I felt I had more room for my throttle and my elbow was not bent at such a sharp angle.

    I assume that you ride a pretty racey ZX6R so my experience may not be too helpful but maybe you could try adjusting your handlebars or something. Even adjusting the angle of your clip-ons can make a big difference
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    Re: Right hand corners- knee drag?

    There are certainly many reasons one may have a hard time with a particular corner, body position being a big one but keep in mind the tightest line on a corner is the inside line and being that we drive on the right hand side of the road a corner that goes right will be tighter than a left hand corner of the same radius. This obviously doesn't apply for the track seeing as you can use the whole track to make the line as wide as possible.

  17. #17
    Senior Member FZRguy's Avatar
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    Re: Right hand corners- knee drag?

    Quote Originally Posted by UglyDogRacing View Post
    Read chapter 4 of Nick Ienatsch's book Sport Riding Techniques. Some good pics on page 41 that illustrate this.
    I use body position C everywhere. Never have dragged knee, nor do I care to.
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    Junior Member CowboyZX6R's Avatar
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    Re: Right hand corners- knee drag?

    Again, thanks to everyone who have replied on this thread. I think this season will just be a focus on the right hand corners. I watched the YouTube clip and can definitely see how that positioning is wrong... I know since I'm by no means an expert when on the left hand corners I go and it just doesn't feel right, I know not to push it to do so. When it happens, it happens- I just sort of figured by now right hand corners would happen but i really think it's the throttle for me and having control of that fluid motion in a corner. Again, thanks for the tips and help everyone!

  19. #19
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    Re: Right hand corners- knee drag?

    Another recommended tip is not to put a full grip on the throttle, but to grip it in the same fashion as you would if you were using a screwdriver.

  20. #20
    Junior Member CowboyZX6R's Avatar
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    Re: Right hand corners- knee drag?

    Quote Originally Posted by Drano View Post
    Another recommended tip is not to put a full grip on the throttle, but to grip it in the same fashion as you would if you were using a screwdriver.
    cool- thats pretty easy to understand as well- I'll give that a shot. Of course maybe now that I've lived here a year I'll meet a few more of you all this year out and about-

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    Chief Viffer Lifetime Supporter dirkterrell's Avatar
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    Re: Right hand corners- knee drag?

    Quote Originally Posted by CowboyZX6R View Post
    cool- thats pretty easy to understand as well- I'll give that a shot. Of course maybe now that I've lived here a year I'll meet a few more of you all this year out and about-
    That is a good point Drano made. In a previous discussion on this issue, I pointed out something that I discovered when I was doing some testing out at HPR a while back. Paying attention to what I was doing with my hands in corners, I discovered that I don't use a lot of force pushing the right grip when I'm leaned over in a right turn. I realized that I was applying most of the force by pulling with my left hand. Essentially, I steer with my left hand and throttle with my right after the initial turn-in. Until I paid attention to it, I had no idea I was doing that. Whether it's good or bad, I can't say, but it does simplify what the right hand has to do in a corner and should allow you to be a lot smoother with the throttle. I don't have any left-right awkwardness issues. All of this underscores points like Bueller's about body positioning. Bad body positioning gets you into a situation where your hands have to be doing things they shouldn't be like supporting weight when your feet and outside knee should be taking care that.

    To the OP, maybe thinking about what your hands are doing in turns will help you figure out what is going on. It's probably a multitude of things, but I've found that it's getting all those little things right that makes your riding better.
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  22. #22
    Gold Member asp_125's Avatar
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    Re: Right hand corners- knee drag?

    Also think about how you are hanging onto the bike while leaned over. If you are able to wiggle your fingers on the controls mid corner, then you are not using the bars to hang on. If you are unable to do that, perhaps think about how you are connected to the bike. Outside knee against tank, inside heel against heel guard, and ball of inside foot on the peg. The more stable your body is, the easier it is to maintain a soft touch on the controls and steer the bike; not fight it in the corners.
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    Re: Right hand corners- knee drag?

    Quote Originally Posted by dirkterrell View Post
    That is a good point Drano made. In a previous discussion on this issue, I pointed out something that I discovered when I was doing some testing out at HPR a while back. Paying attention to what I was doing with my hands in corners, I discovered that I don't use a lot of force pushing the right grip when I'm leaned over in a right turn. I realized that I was applying most of the force by pulling with my left hand. Essentially, I steer with my left hand and throttle with my right after the initial turn-in. Until I paid attention to it, I had no idea I was doing that. Whether it's good or bad, I can't say, but it does simplify what the right hand has to do in a corner and should allow you to be a lot smoother with the throttle. I don't have any left-right awkwardness issues. All of this underscores points like Bueller's about body positioning. Bad body positioning gets you into a situation where your hands have to be doing things they shouldn't be like supporting weight when your feet and outside knee should be taking care that.

    To the OP, maybe thinking about what your hands are doing in turns will help you figure out what is going on. It's probably a multitude of things, but I've found that it's getting all those little things right that makes your riding better.
    I don't remember where the technique was explained to me, but I did find an article here http://issuu.com/sportbikesincmagazi...bioctober2012# it starts on page 94. It's good information, sadly I couldn't find a standalone article. :S

    When I find the time later I'll transcribe the article and pictures into its own thread.
    Last edited by Drano; Thu Mar 13th, 2014 at 05:02 PM.

  24. #24
    Junior Member CowboyZX6R's Avatar
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    Re: Right hand corners- knee drag?

    I appreciate all the advice here. Sorry it took so long to reply, sometimes this site doesn't work.

    i really focused last weekend on just seeing how my body position was going into corners, and I feel like while I'm no expert by any means, I've got my lower body supporting my weight more so than my hands (outer thigh hugging the tank, with the ball of my foot on the peg like asp said. I'll try focusing more on my hands next time as you suggest dirk.

    The one thing that didn't work for me was "kissing the mirrors" this just felt extremely awkward and threw my whole body off. Does a persons height factor in to this body positioning?

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