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Old tires can give you a wiggle also, as can brand-new tires (before the mold-release is rubbed off).

Along with the other things mentioned, personally I hate tar snakes in the road. Also watch for pavement markings (the sticker kind found in some areas, especially in the rain), metal grates and manhole covers and of course just broken/cracked pavement.

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Old road racers adage......slow into the corners.....& fast out.....ride to survive....7/10th's max anywhere on the street....above & beyond on the racetrack only.....

 
What they said above :)
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Best way IMO is to go and take some track lessons as noted by Chornbe - that really is the best way to feel what the bike (and you) does in relatively safe surroundings with no oncoming traffic. Moved from a cruiser to the FJ and found I had picked up some orrible habits (bike riding ones :evilgrin: ) went to the track lessons and was scraping and hanging off in one day - made a huge difference to my road riding as became smoother, faster, better control and appreciated where the limits of me and the bike were.

As an example of one small thing picked up - I had got into habit of riding with my toes pointing down - so my boot scraped before the peg - not a great idea on the road - apart from wearing the boots out rather quickly it can be painful if the road graps ya foot.

Really would suggest that a few lessons on the track is really worth the outly (oh and it IS fun :thumbsupsmileyanim: :yahoo: )

avaguday

 
Don't be a wimp ;)
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Those of you who have got your peg down, how do you do it? I know how to lean, but when I get good lean on my little toe drags before the peg touches. I know that there is more lean to be had on this bike cause I've never felt the least loss of traction or control at that kind of lean. What worries me is that if I ever DO need serious lean my foot will come off.

I used to think that it had to do with my foot position, but I have my foot resting on the pegs just behind the balls, above the arch. Are my feet too big?

For doubters, there are safe places to get good lean in off the track.

 
Those of you who have got your peg down, how do you do it? I know how to lean, but when I get good lean on my little toe drags before the peg touches. I know that there is more lean to be had on this bike cause I've never felt the least loss of traction or control at that kind of lean. What worries me is that if I ever DO need serious lean my foot will come off.
I used to think that it had to do with my foot position, but I have my foot resting on the pegs just behind the balls, above the arch. Are my feet too big?

For doubters, there are safe places to get good lean in off the track.
Again, a good riding class will help. At the Parks TC-ARC they spent a lot of time with each lesson reinforcing things like foot position, relaxed arms, etc. The finer points. When you're "in" a turn like that, your feet should be tucked up and back so only the toes are on the pegs.

Then you should apply these techniques for a while, blend them with your own style, then go back and do the course again to get some refinements. A good instructor will realize that blending and instruct accordingly ($.02)

What I found for me... ( YMMV - peg weighting is a hotly-debated topic) My weight should typically be on the inside peg. My outer leg is along for the ride and to only help keep me stable. Applying weight to the outside peg has me working against myself, so I don't do it in the steeper turns. I'm at the point now where I would rather move my ass off the seat than just automatically go into a max-lean just to take an average high-speed turn. It may look like overkill in some turns, but I'm ready for most that I come across. I have [chicken/stupid] strips that are pretty wide compared to many riders, but I'll keep up with pretty much anyone. I especially enjoy showing a wheel to many of the squids in my area on a few of my favorite roads on my "touring" bike ;) Getting the pass then leaving them in the turns is sooooooooooooo gratifying :)

I still completely suck at judging entry speed, tho'. I still tend to go in a little hotter, and trail brake in. People keep telling me how bad it is. *shrugs* I guess so. I'm hoping more instruction and a track day will help polish that a bit.

 
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Old road racers adage......slow into the corners.....& fast out.....ride to survive....7/10th's max anywhere on the street....above & beyond on the racetrack only.....
Yup!
The Mike's have it. You never know (hardly ever know) the road conditions. A little sand or gravel and the lean possibilities quickly diminish.

 
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Tires losing pressure? Get a good gauge and do it yourself. I just got my FJR out of winter hibernation. Tires were down to about 25 psi from around 40 psi when put away. I took it to the local dealer for a round of maintenance and new Avon skins. I told them to put 40 in the rear, 38 in the front. A week later, just before leaving on a 955-mile three-day weekend, I checked pressures and had 32.5 psi in both front and rear. I don't think that was from a loss of pressure, just an inept shop tech with a bad gauge. Yup, check 'em every week.

The FJR will easily touch pavement feelers while well under control. Then, the centerstand tang on the left and exhaust collector on the right. I consider grounding these parts too much and haven't done it for several years, but that's what can happen when you go from a sportier ride to the FJR.

 
What they said above :)
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As an example of one small thing picked up - I had got into habit of riding with my toes pointing down - so my boot scraped before the peg - not a great idea on the road - apart from wearing the boots out rather quickly it can be painful if the road graps ya foot.

avaguday
I got that habit also <_< only felt my left toe once so far. When i was 20 on the old '74 Z1 I had ground down cases from trying to find the limit...no more !

Cary

 
Course, I didn't fly into no tree.... :huh:
But it was only a small tree! :dribble:

Back on topic: Don't 'try' and scrape your pegs. It'll happen eventually as your skills, and comfort level improve. It's kinda like draggin knee, force it and your riding style and possition are gonna be way off. B)

 
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I reluctantly say anything in this thread -- likely to get blasted by someone for having scraped my pegs more than once. If you want to read about it, go back to the two books Del (painman) cited to get better advice than you'll get here, despite some very good observations that have been made in this thread.

The more you get your weight inside of the turn (off the bike), the less lean angle the bike will need to make the same turn. That means more contact patch is being used for the same amount of turn, and more contact patch = more margin of error. Another fact is that the FJR has pretty low pegs compared to many other bikes, certainly compared to sport bikes, so it isn't all that hard to scrape pegs. Also, as illustrated in a pic above, there isn't a lot of room past the peg scrapers before an OEM muffler touches down and that's NOT good. In a very related vein, the OEM suspension may not be a good match for your riding style or weight. Well set up aftermarket suspension is going to make it a lot safer and more predictable.

The greatest truism is probably that if you go into a corner with the right speed for what you are comfortable with in terms of making your bike turn, then you have this whole thing dialed. Probably the source of the most errors is too high an entry speed, or grabbing a handful of brake once in, standing it up and taking the bike outside into traffic or off road. Obviously, the big variable requiring a margin of error is unknown road hazards, unfamiliar roads and other roadway users.

To me, there are two types of peg scraping situations. The one I fear is the one where I come into a corner too hot for the bike's load and the radius of the turn (esp. if it's decreasing) and compress the suspension too much as I push the bar lower to make the radius and stay inside the double yellow (and I feel the peg scraper unexpectedly touch down hard). That is where I've made a mistake, and that is where I fervently hope I don't touch anything but the scraper down. The other situation is much more controlled. I've actually ridden a section of roadway with tight but rhythmic turns where I went from peg scraper to peg scraper 4 or 5 quick turns in a row, toes on the pegs, feeling like I was controlling exactly how much pressure my foot was exerting on the peg scraper as it gently rode over the pavement. Very much like the kind of finesse you feel in carving a ski. (For me, it works to know where the margins are and what it feels like to approach them in a controlled fashion.) Again, the FJR pegs are pretty low, and I guarantee that despite shifting my weight setting up for each turn, it didn't look anything like Hayden and Rossi with knees down in MotoGP.

Which gets to peg weighting, as well noted by chornbe, above. Read the books painman recommended for a better explanation of weighting the inside peg to help control your bike's turn-in. To add to what chornbe said about peg weighting being a source of much debate (and an area for additional learning): on sweepers, I do sometimes weight the outside peg. With my body weight inside, I may initiate the turn weighting the inside peg and THEN shift the peg weight (my body still on the inside) to the outside peg while I hold the inside bar end down, countersteering. If you get used to peg weighting as discussed in the books and then try this, you may find that on high speed sweepers (not tight twisties or peg scraping, at least not for me), the combination of weighted outside peg and countersteering (which is what is holding your line) will make the bike feel like it is on rails. This has been known to put a real grin on my face marveling at this big heavy bike and how well it will do what it does.

Anyway, for those so inclined: fire away -- I probably ride too fast on occasion, but . . . One should never exceed the speed limit or do anything that exceeds the safe operating conditions of the VW bug with whom you share the road. :rolleyes: :p ;)

 
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On a recent ride to Big bend I had the pleasure of following a real racer on an old ST 1300. He thrashed me which isn't saying much as i am not that fast. Sure I dragged one or the other of the pegs (for the first time!) and scared the shit out of muself. However where he was really fast was on the entry where he braked late but enough to go through the corner off the limit and then had the ability to really accelerate out of the corner. Sayonara motorscooter and away he went. Never touched a peg down the whole day!

I rode that wobbly piece of shit later that day, dam that boy really had talent, the thing was all over the place!

 
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