Which foot to lean on?

funny thing about this BBS, a lot of things typed are interpreted as argument. I think it's an intriguing idea, that we all go around the same corners and have a different opinion on where the weight is. I've said that I know I'm not qualified to say what's better, or what's right, but I know I often weight the outside peg.

But BTW (and this is where are lot of people are mistaken) you CAN tell which peg is weighted with a photo. Maybe not precisely with the one I linked, but if the photo was straight from the front or back, you certianly could.
Bikes have a CG. It's known within a few inches. People have a CG it's the same for everyone within a few inches - it's damn near your belly button but on the inside. If you analyzed the photo just like they do on CSI, ha ha, you could come close. If the rider's ass isn't on the seat and their elbows are loose, you know for sure.

Here's a fact. You can not stand still and shift your weight from one foot to the other. No one (but maybe David Blain, Merlin, or allah) can do this. And I'm not talking about throwing in tricks like being on train going uphill or holding a box with a tiger inside of it or whatever. It's suprising how many people 'feel' something with their feet and think that they can accomplish this.

 

To me it looks like they both have most of their weight on the inside peg. In both cases, their body weight is obviously well to the inside, so I don't see how the outside peg could possibly have more weight on it. If someone was weighting the outside peg more than the inside, he'd look like he was riding a motocross bike (bike thrown into the corner, body leaning outward). I've seen supermoto guys do it that way on the road, but even in their case I don't see their logic in wanting to do that on the pavement. - Or am I missing what you're saying? Are you talking about leaving a small percentage of weight on the outside peg by not hanging off to the inside of the bike as far or something? Either way, I'm not sure that I see the logic.

When I first started riding street bikes (in the 80's), after many years of riding motocross, I tried weighting the outside peg on the pavement and found that it just doesn't work for me. I think most people would tend to agree that weighting the inside peg is the way to go on street bikes, but hey... everyone is welcome to whatever method works best for _them_. YMMV.

 

I cant remember having weight on either peg....Is that bad? I just turned

 

I agree 100%. And, I think it is an argument, but in a positive way (not a bickering way). Arguing done politely and intelligently is one of my favorite things. I know there isn't much of that here, but once in a while...

 

That's what I do. KSSS teaches that method, FWIW.

 

But they aren't standing still. They didn't come to a complete stop in the middle of the corner before the picture was shot. Just because their body weight is off to the left doesn't mean that their left leg is carrying more of it. We know for 100% certian that the weight of the motorcycle is also off to the left, and not over top of the wheels anymore but the wheels are carrying 100% of the bike (and rider's) weight. Where the tires touch the gound is the furthest thing to the right that you see of the bike/rider in the whole picture.

 

What if his outside foot was bolted to the peg
he could then lift his inside foot off the peg .
Now if he wedged his knee of the outside leg
into the tank and braced it there with his foot
and heel could he not have a good amount of
force on the outer side ?

 

No shit. They're not standing still? WOW!!! I didn't notice that. :crackhead:

Even accounting for g-forces, momentum or whatever... hell _especially_ accounting for it... neither one of the guys in that picture is weighting the outside peg more than the inside. The fact that they're off to the left of the bike as far as they both are DOES mean that their weight is on the _inside_ peg. Not the outside. Put down the crack pipe. I can tell you that from personal experience, as I've screwed around a lot over the decades trying different body positions, etc. When you are hanging that far off the bike your weight _is_ on your inside leg no matter how fast you're going... anyone who rides can FEEL that every time they hang off the bike.

But hey... you think whatever you want to think. There's no point in continuing to argue the point, 'cause I _know_ what I know from personal experience and you say you also do from your own experience, so neither of us is gonna change our position. So hey... you're welcome to your opinion man. I'm just trying to help the newbie avoid mistakes that will slow down his learning curve and that could potentially get him hurt. I'm not here to argue about pictures. Enough said.

 

Tim,
Easy. Easy with the "No Shit", calling me a crack head, telling me to put down my crackpipe, even calling this an argument is a stretch. Lighten it up about 2 notches. This isn't a safety concern either so you don't have to bring a nobler reason into the discussion that's going to save someone's life.

I think we all agree (except maybe you, I'm not sure) that's it's possible to weight either the inside or outside. The question remains "Which is best". Also, the question has been posed, from a physics standpoint, how it's possible to do either. That's what I'm trying to answer. Don't get worked up about the physics. It's math. It won't change no matter how much we discuss this.
The fact that some guys weight their outside foot is not a matter of opinion. It's a matter of fact that can be proven by physics. Saying that "anyone" who rides can feel weight on their inside leg just isn't true. Probably everyone who rides and leans on their inside foot can feel it, and the guys who don't, can't.
Think of it this way. You're standing on the outer edge of a merry-go-round. Your feet are shoulders width apart. Your right foot is on the outside edge. The merry-go-round isn't moving. You can 'weight' your right foot or left foot by swinging your hips (or shoulders) over that foot. If you move your body too far over beyond (to the inside) your left leg, you will fall down to the left. Now you stand straight up and get your weigh 50/50 again. Someone starts spinning the merry-go-round. You have a couple of choices. You can keep your center of mass directly between your feet as before (i.e. your posture doesn't change) but now most of your weight has shifted to your right leg. You can lean to the inside, just as you did before the merry-go-round started moving but this time for the same amount of movement you aren't putting all of your weight on your inside foot. That movement only redistributes your weight back to 50/50 instead of it all being on your outside leg as it was when you were trying to stand straight up. At some point, if the merry go round is going very fast (and your shoes are grippy) you can lean so far in that you could be way over to the left and STILL pick up your inside foot altogether. In fact, if you wanted to put all of your weight back on your inside foot, you'd have to lean even further in and almost sit your ass on merry-go-round the way Miguel was doing in that photo.

 

Man, you're thinking WAY too hard about the whole thing. I stand by what I said before. You go right on sucking on that crack pipe, man.

I'm done arguing with you. There's no point in trying to convey common sense to you.

 

I agree with you 100%. There is definitely no point in you attempting to convey common sense.

Cripes, lighten up. There is nothing in any of your posts that is close to a foregone conclusion, so maybe let up on the whole 'I know because I've done it, you're a crackehead' stuff, eh?

 

Wow. Can you beleive that? I post a picture supports what this guy believes. I write about how I can see how that's possible even though I do it a different way (and just so happen to believe my way is better for me) but wholey admit that other possibilities exist and he flames away and calls me a crack head.

I'm not thinking hard about it Tim. For me it's simple. I go into a turn, I feel weight on my outside leg. It all makes simple sense because the force wants to throw me to the outside and that's how my body is positioned. I never really thought about it before. The only part that takes any thought is figuring out how to explain it simple enough to someone with a closed mind. So I took you back to the playground, maybe to clear your head, maybe to remind you of a time when you weren't so hard headed and upset when proven wrong.

Okay, that was meant to be a little insulting. Just because now I'm mentally on the merry-go-round too and I want to fling some poo right back at ya. I was only into poo at that age, not crack. Can someone please spin this thing faster until we both fall out into the woodchips? I'm gonna flip highside over my braced right leg, Tim's gonna slide out on his ass.