Toe Drag...what am I doing wrong?

[Lance Goodthrust]

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?

[SeaS2R]

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 

[Slide Panda]

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

[DesmoTull]

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.   

Have fun working on your form!   [moto]

[Research Monkey]

+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.

[Lance Goodthrust]

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.

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.

[DesmoTull]

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 

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.   

[Slide Panda]

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. 

[ducatiz]

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

[Ducatista]

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.

[stopintime]

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.

[Ash]

Ride with your balls (foot, not yer nuts) on the pegs. 

   hilarious mental picture...

[ducatiz]

  hilarious mental picture...

only you.

[Ash]

ya right.  you're disturbed too   

[Ducatista]

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.

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.)