07-09-2021, 08:11 PM
If I remember correctly, that book we all read in the nineties (Total Control?) talked about resting your toes on the pegs. I’ve never liked that, and I never felt I got better control doing it, so I’ve grown into a bad habit, I guess.
On the BMW R65GS I had in the nineties, I once dragged the engine guard. That was scary as he**, tbh. At max lean angle the guard hit and the bike *bounced*. I managed to sort myself out, but after that I decided to get rid of the guard, which obviously decreased the available lean angle, and started using my toes as feelers. I would point my toes a little outward, and that worked. If my toe scraped, the engine would be next. Act accordingly. (On the old BMW airheads, the bike would shift sideways with throttle input. More gas and it pulls away from the road, decrease it snd you «fall» inward. So if toes scrape, gun it!)
But on the CB1100 I haven’t made any conscious choices about toes, they find their own spot.
I will try to apply the correct toe position, but I have to admit that idioms about old dogs and new tricks come to mind.
I have been waiting for the first hardware to scrape,. It’s a different sensation on every bike, but it pretty much always feels dramatic. There’s an interchange outside of town that goes through about 270° with decreasing radius, perfect for practicing cornering with no danger of meeting traffic halfway. When I get everything right, I can go through all of second gear in one delicious (and scary) curve before flicking to the right to join the highway. It even has a roundabout at one end, so you can go once, to the right, downwards, then turn back and go again, this time up and to the left. I’ll go leave some of the footpeg feelers there after the next coffee.
On the BMW R65GS I had in the nineties, I once dragged the engine guard. That was scary as he**, tbh. At max lean angle the guard hit and the bike *bounced*. I managed to sort myself out, but after that I decided to get rid of the guard, which obviously decreased the available lean angle, and started using my toes as feelers. I would point my toes a little outward, and that worked. If my toe scraped, the engine would be next. Act accordingly. (On the old BMW airheads, the bike would shift sideways with throttle input. More gas and it pulls away from the road, decrease it snd you «fall» inward. So if toes scrape, gun it!)
But on the CB1100 I haven’t made any conscious choices about toes, they find their own spot.
I will try to apply the correct toe position, but I have to admit that idioms about old dogs and new tricks come to mind.
I have been waiting for the first hardware to scrape,. It’s a different sensation on every bike, but it pretty much always feels dramatic. There’s an interchange outside of town that goes through about 270° with decreasing radius, perfect for practicing cornering with no danger of meeting traffic halfway. When I get everything right, I can go through all of second gear in one delicious (and scary) curve before flicking to the right to join the highway. It even has a roundabout at one end, so you can go once, to the right, downwards, then turn back and go again, this time up and to the left. I’ll go leave some of the footpeg feelers there after the next coffee.