Scraping the pegs..am I chicken?

[quema]

I am with swingset on this... if you are scraping something (other than possibly a knee slider) you could have done something better.

Let me qualify all my statements by saying that I am a chicken... I have been riding for about 15 years and have only had pegs hit the ground right before the handlebars and tank did too. I am not saying that you can't scrap the pegs and ride though it... because I know many people do. I am just not that aggressive. I ride fast, I ride fast in the twisties, I have worn of chicken strips and turned a tire to suede before... I am just not aggressive enough to risk something on my bike turning into a lever.

A year or two ago I took a sport rider's course (Military MSF) on my VFR. One of the exercises was to go in a tight circle (not sure 20'-30' diam), mildly hanging off and increase speed... It was amazing to me how quickly I could go around the circle w/o loosing traction... and because I was leaning myself way to the center of the circle, the bike wasn't that leaned over (not sure, but maybe on the middle of the side). On that same circle, I could have leaned to the outside and rubbed of the strips and scrapped the pegs, even at a lower speed.

A few years ago, I watched a buddy turn his foot peg into a lever and total his bike (pretty slow, left turn in the city).

Anyway, Chicken strips don't really mean anything, when I want to get rid of mine I can slowly and in town... not because I am good rider, but because I wanted to scrub them off around a corner. Last month I went from SC to NC to TN to GA to SC... some really great riding, I was w/ an SV1000 and that guy is a very good rider... we were really pushing in some areas... I left with chickenstrips.

Smooth clean riding means way more than how you wear out a tire. Google "the pace motorcycle" I work towards this style of riding... and our V-twins work great with strong engine braking. Ride your ride, within your ablities and you will have fun and be able to return and have fun again.

[Project Mayhem]

Thanks for the responses guys. You guys kinda of verified what I thought about the capabilities of the bike....if the bike wasn't supposed to lean far enough to put those peg thingies on the ground then why are they there. I do lean off the bike some what through tight corners to offset the weight keeping the bike a little more upright creating that downward force, it feels most comfortable to me.

[garandman]

Originally Posted by swingset

I've hit my pegs times, but I'll be honest every single time it happened I considered it a failure of my technique not some street riding victory.

If you're engaging the turn at that degree of lean-angle, and have hit pegs or are at the end of your contact surface you've done something wrong....namely you should be off the side of that bike leaning with enough offset so that the lean-angle of the bike is not near its limit....or you've simply gone too hot into too tight a turn.

Some people look at scraped pegs or chicken strips as a measure of a rider's skill or aggressive nature, but both are not an indicator of anything in and of themselves.

What he said. If you get your body in the proper position, and get on the throttle early, you will raise the bike on the suspension and give yourself more cornering clearance: and more safety margin.

"Slow in, fast out." If you are regularly dragging your pegs, you're doing it wrong or the bike is undersprung. It's how fast you go around the corner, not how much you lean. Don't forget the stock suspension is sprung for about 170 lbs so if you weigh more than that, some suspension upgrades are in order.

Only time I've dragged my pegs was on the track, except for one scrape on the Appalachian Gap road, which was downhill and banked (in the rain - got my attention). Scraping on the track is not fast and you can literally see bikes in front of you ride away.

[DFW_Warrior]

Originally Posted by Project Mayhem

Thanks for the responses guys. You guys kinda of verified what I thought about the capabilities of the bike....if the bike wasn't supposed to lean far enough to put those peg thingies on the ground then why are they there.

It was designed for leaning that far. I've done it many, many times and never had a problem with it. The hard part is actually not scraping them while upping your corner speed from when you did scrape them. Do that, and then you'll be getting somewhere.

[AncientMariner]

Survival instinct, chicken? Nobody wants to lowside. I once (late sixties) had my college roommate's sister on the back of his Triumph Bonneville in Pennsylvania. We're talking in my first year of bike ownership (I had a 305 Superhawk) and with not many miles under my belt. Motorcycles were not appreciated at my school and all riding had to be on the QT. There were no MSF courses in those days. I had the usual collection of self-taught bad habits. We came to this decreasing radius turn with a drop off to a creek bed on the outside. I was somewhat reluctant to lean at a frightening-to-me angle but even more reluctant to booger up my friend's bike not to mention his sibling by depositing them in the creek bed below. I desperately tipped that sucker to an angle that I thought was way over. Stayed on the road. Scared the living crap out of myself. Obviously, I didn't deserve the trust my passenger had placed in me. The bike's reaction was, "so friggin what?" I didn't come anywhere near any of its limits.

I believe a lot of crashes occur when neophytes panic and stand the bikes up in a turn. They don't turn well in that attitude. Not knowing the limits is a bad thing. People can tell you all day long that a bike will do this or that but until you experience it, it's just rhetoric. I had to force myself past the fear of leaning to discover that, hey, the world doesn't come to an end when the bike is leaned way over. On the other hand, judgement is a good thing. I've also learned that things can get scuffed up when you lean over too much in a spot with loose sand on the pavement.

The little feelers on the ends of the footpegs are there for a reason. They tell you you're getting close. I needed to practice in order to really learn and accept that with appropriate tires and clean, dry pavement, the bike can securely track around a turn with those feelers touching. I'm usually satisfied that I'm having fun when my boots make contact (before the peg feelers do). Speaking for myself, even with the confidence of experience, high lean angles still tap the fear a bit. If not, how could riding the twisties be so thrilling?

[randyo]

my Vee (lowered 1" rear-5/8" front) scrapes exaust midpipe in righthanders and sidestand in lefthanders before pegs, don't scrape often, mostly 2up when suspension is settled a little extra in steeply off cambered turns

I also consider scraping bad technique

[tmcgee]

If you get into a corner too hot, push on that inside grip a little harder. You really don't need to analyze this any further.

[knybanjo]

You're all a bunch of old wussies!

It does not even matter if you scrape or not!

You're still an old wuss!

[Evildoer SDR]

I scrap mine. They are there for a reason use them. Grazing the peg feelers at the apex of a corner is fun. I move around on the bike to get It more upright but if I go fast on a familiar road the pegs touch down. I doubt ill take the wee to the track but that is the place to test the limits of you and your bike.

[Rainier_Tom]

Originally Posted by Project Mayhem

What are your experiences with aggressive road riding on the wee...good or bad?

I ride a Vee but....you trying to impress yourself or your peers? I've yet to scrape pegs but I still get from point A to point B in a rapid fashion. No roadrash yet and I hope to keep it that way. Slow down and enjoy the scenery.