Ducati Monster Forum

I like to go out and ride some twisty roads, but nothing really crazy. Just trying to become a better rider and keep those dreaded chicken strips off my tires  :). As the day goes on and I tend to feel more confident I find my cornering is better, but I inevitably start dragging my toes on some corners. Now, this scares the hell out of me every time it happens. Is this normal with a size 13 boot, or am I doing something wrong?

You should be on the balls of your feet except when you're shifting or braking.  You shouldn't be doing either of these when leaned over  :)

Yep, ball of your foot on the peg, with the inside of you foot as close to the inside as you can manage. 

If you want to do a little reading, get Lee Parks 'Total Control'.  It's got a good description of how to position your body.

Also, if you've got a buddy to ride with, preferably one who is a more skilled, trail you and watch for you doing things like crossing your body up in a turn.  Some folks will shift their hips to the inside of the turn as a conscious effort to hang off the bike - but will then sub consciously shy away from the turn with their upper body, negating or even mildly counter acting the weight shift of their hind end.  The effect is that the bike needs more lean to make the turn, which can mean touching bits to the pavement you don't want to

I for one would not get all banged up about not scrubbing in the tire all the way to the edge for streetriding.  I ride pretty quick, but when I *know* someone doesn't do any track riding, and is balling up the edges of the tires, that says to me that they are riding too fast for the street.

As SeaS2R said, balls of the feet on the pegs.  Hang off with your butt a little more and you'll be fine.   [thumbsup]

Have fun working on your form!   [moto]

+1 on what everyone else said.  You can also try to touch your heel guards/ swingarm with the heel of your boot. I did this and it fixed any issues i had with dragging toe.

Ordered it the other day while reading another post about improving riding.

Thanks for all of the suggestions. Funny how the simplest solution seems to be the one that never comes to mind. I guess I've been keeping my heel on the peg b/c I don't feel confident about my gear selection although I've never changed gears mid-corner. Can't wait to give it a shot this weekend.

Gear selection will come with time.  The way the twins have the power down low, it really won't ever be a problem  [thumbsup]

Just remember to set up properly *before* your turn.  Brake, shift, and change your body position before your turn in will keep the suspension settled, and your ducati will go through like it's on rails.   [evil]

Yep, you should get all the busy work like gear selection out of the way before the turn.  'Slow in - Fast out' is something you'll hear a lot and it's true.  A good controlled entry into the turn can get you a better line, and the ability to get back on the throttle sooner and more of it that blasting into a turn a full tilt, botching the line and making course corrections that delay your ability to accelerate out.

So perhaps going out and purposfully slowing up a bit more, and dropping a gear prior to your turn will help you get a feel for the slow in, fast out and improve you confidence in your gear selection and bike.

If there's a Total Control class near you - you might hit that up as well.  I haven't been to one of his actual on-bike classes.  But one of his instructors did a 'chalk-talk' session at an event.  Even without being able to apply the lessons immediately the information and demonstration was quite informative.

I don't claim to be fast.. but out for a ride though some local twists I set about to practicing some of the elements Parks teaches and the result was.. (atthe next gas stop)  my friend behind me said "When we entered that set of bends we were right behind you.  When we came out in that long straight I was like 'What the?! Where the hell did he go?'" And I didn't even feel like I ws pushing that hard... So, what Mr. Parks has to say, seems to do me some good.

A suggestion he makes is if possible, find a buddy with  video rig.  I said before to have a buddy follow you, which is good, but seeing yourself in action can be really telling. 

Dude, you've got some big-ass feet, what do you expect?

Ride with your balls (foot, not yer nuts) on the pegs.  get some rearsets to move it all back and up if you can. 

otherwise, just get some good skid pads on your boats

Regarding gear selection, I flipped my street bike to GP shift.  Being in a gear too high will never hurt (on the street), since you don't lose all power when you're in the low and midrange of your powerband.  Being in a gear too low can be fixed on corner exit (with a bit of practice) or by just not accelerating as much.  I think having GP shift is more ergonomically sound.  It's just my preference, though.

I'm trying to improve my skills as well, so this thread is very informative. But I also have another related question - where do you guys recommend to adjust/place the gear lever? I mean, when the foot is moved forward to shift - should the toe peg be under/over/besides where the foot naturally is positioned? Excuse me if I'm missing something obvious - I'm fairly new to advanced riding techniques.

 [laugh]  hilarious mental picture...

only you. [coffee]

ya right.  you're disturbed too    8)

My lever on both my bikes is positioned so that upshifting is easiest.  Theoretically, only upshifting happens when leaned over.  That said, both my bikes are GP shift, so tapping down is really upshifting for me.  So the lever is adjusted so that when my heel is hooked and my ankle in a neutral position, the shift peg is just under my toe.  (Yeah, I have little footsies.)

So am I getting carried away with the "balls of the feet on the pegs" thing?

I find that lately when I am just cruising down the highway my left heel is getting pushed up and down by the swingarm as it moves across road bumps..  I am wearing size 10 Alpinestars.  I don't really think that would make me the biggest foot on the board  [cheeky] .

Have I overdone my foot placement or is this a normal thing for a Monster?

You definitely shouldn't be getting contact with the swing arm. Right or wrong I tend to tuck in a little round corners point my toes in to the bike if I know I'm going down low and move my feet back on the pegs a little although I tend to cover the rear brake with my right foot because it can be helpful stabilizing the bike at 'scary' angles haha. But just with my toes.

Are you keeping your knees/inner thighs against the fuel tank (i.e, don't fan out your legs like cruiser riders do) while riding?...doing this should keep your heels off the SA unless your ankles/feet are twisted out 45 degrees from normal or you're 7' tall.

Few things

A: so GP shifting is basically like putting a reverse shift lever on your bike, only without buying extra gadgetry? 

B: I know Monsters have a bit more ground clearance than most sport bikes, does anyone have any problems grinding the pegs on turns?  A buddy of mine has a GSXR and says that he knows he's cornered far enough when his inner peg drags a bit.  Having had the same toe drag issues as Lance and at the same time having little room left on the edges of my tires, I find it really hard to believe that ANYONE would take their bike that low.  He's never laid any bike of his down and is a pretty competent rider, just wondering if there's that big of a difference. 

C: Maybe it's just the uber noob in me, but I get a little uncomfortable shifting my feet/ass around on a set of quick twisties.  I do have a tendency to WANT to ride on the balls of my feet, but get kind of discombobulated when I switch from ball to heel and back. 

Mini threadjack?? Surry

 No, I have the same thing happen to me on the S2R1K. It's a product of being up on the balls of your feet and keeping them tucked in.


 Don't worry, I have chicken strips too. Mine are just well done!  ;D

(http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff176/MonstermashS2R/Trackday003.jpg)

 

Actually, Monsters have a bit less ground clearance than most sport bikes.  It'll depend on the specific Monster.
Mine will scrape the sidestand nub on the left, and the rear brake lever on the right, not the pegs.

You can see in this picture how the sidestand nub is the closest on my bike.

(http://paularickert.net/albums/userpics/Keigwins_2007-10-07C.JPG)

+1 on what msincredible said.  Monsters generally have less ground clearance.  The rearsets are lower than most sportbikes and certainly, if you have low mounts, those will drag pretty easily.  I know mine are pretty scuffed up. 

And yes, GP shift is just a reverse shift pattern.  Whether you get a direct shift lever, some other kind of rearset, or just flip the spline so it is going up, it all has the same effect, although it will have a different feel for each one.

+2 balls of your feet.  i have the same problem (size 14 feet- i'm 6'5 250lbs) with dragging the footpegs sometimes. although for me it's usually the outside of my boot. rearsets will help with ground clearance. it just sounds to me that you want the chicken strips gone for the "cool" factor and not the "experience" factor. riding fast enough to get rid of the strips is sometimes rediculously fast for public highways. do you live in an area where there is a road track? that's a good way to learn some corners (and get rid of those strips, haha)

Yea, reversing my shift pattern solved a lot of my cornering problems.  One of which was riding with my toe below the lever.  It does, however, stir up a new set of problems until you get used to it.  It took me about a week. 

what compound tires are those monstermash? Im gonna get some pilot power race takeoffs when my bike is done.

Don't know if it has been mentioned yet but be sure to roll on the throttle through the turn.

Increasing the throttle will help settle your suspension and increase ride height as you go through the turn giving you that little extra clearance.  Remember from MSF; Slow, look, roll, and press. 

I always thought, and friends were convinced, that it was my foot position on my ex-Rs that caused my toes to drag. Especially the right one. I had the 50mm termis on and that pushed my foot out further. Well, I don't have that problem on my 749 with stock or SSR rear sets. Not on the old GSXR either. The GS.. well it just scrapes the footpegs as it's an Adventure sport bike.

I recently rode a friends Z750, no toe drag. An R1, no toe drag. Bimota DB7 & Tesi 3D on race track - no toe drag.

For me, it's the Monster footpegs being too low or awkwardly positioned.

i raised my pegs an inch and half, but i still drag them, or i did

I wish I did have rearsets on mine, could have had a lot more fun..

(http://img403.imageshack.us/img403/7223/kurtisuh8.jpg) (http://img403.imageshack.us/my.php?image=kurtisuh8.jpg)

I'd get toe drag just after this lean angle.. swiftly followed by a possible low side if the suspension was playing silly buggers at the same time.

I try to rest the sole of my boot against the bike with the outside of my foot on the peg with the ball of my foot position inline with the peg.

Wow, I'd never thought of doing that on a fullsize bike.  That's standard fare for pocketbikes though.

Yeah it's more a "try" then actual performing. Just helps me keep my foot out of harms way.