BMW R1200R R1150R/T F800 K1200R R1100R/T R1250R RnineT Message Board

Jim Ford spammed my inbox about "riding light". In part, he said:

Begin by having the balls of your feet resting on your foot pegs. … your legs will become more engaged and better serve as shock absorbers and help you lean into curves as you ride along. Your legs will help you sit lightly in your saddle. Instead of ever gripping your hand rest, grip your thighs and knees to the gas tank. Using your core muscles, sit up straight and lean forward slightly. Make sure your elbows are bent.

I ride in city traffic and had always hooked boot heels to the pegs. I've been trying balls-of-feet on pegs this week. It's interesting how a posture tweak makes such a big difference in riding feel. At first I felt more tucked and sporty and didn't like it. Then I took some S-turns. Wow. Riding through turns feels a lot more harmonious. Squeezing the tank with my legs and consciously engaging core muscles does take tje load off my arms, as Jim says. (May be why he calls the bars hand rests.) I've cycled this way for years. With SPD cleats, it's the ball of the foot, not the arch, contacting the pedal.

On straight roads, the benefit of ball-of-foot on peg isn't as apparent. It takes longer to shift, and that extra half-second in traffic makes me nervous.

I get the sense Jim has a lot of tips like this, but his classes aren't cheap. If anyone in the D.C. area is interested in attending one of his workshops, please send a message. He offers group discounts.

One thing about riding with the balls on pegs position is that you will save your boot toes when you get leaned way over. Besides, as you have discovered, it gives a much better feel when riding in a sporty manner, and you can slide around on the seat to set up curves if you want to try that action. A benefit of this is that your arms are more relaxed and loose and control feel is much better in the twisties.

I've ridden on the balls of my feet since I got back into riding 15 years ago. It feels much more natural than riding flat-footed and I find it way easier to maintain a line through the corners that way; a little preasure on inside peg to tighten and a little on the outside to widen. I use my knees on the tank to pull the bike over more when needed. Much more connected than riding flat-footed.

Doug

Hooked boot heels to pegs. I just seem to naturally go there on this bike.

A good friend of mine once posted that he rides with his balls on the pegs - luckily we knew what he meant

I tend to put the balls of my feet on the pegs when I'm in the twisties because it certainly does improve the feel of the experience (purely in the mind I'm sure) but if I'm slogging down to the South of France or where ever on the motorways then I prefer the more relaxed position of locked instep. On my FJR, putting the balls of my feet on the pegs on the straight bits also allowed me to stand up and stretch my legs - I kid you not!

Shakey wrote:On my FJR, putting the balls of my feet on the pegs on the straight bits also allowed me to stand up and stretch my legs - I kid you not!

Sure, that's a common muscle-stretching technique. After the first couple of hundred miles in a day, I've used it on my R12R and all the preceding bikes, too. Getting a new seat, however, changed things. The new seat provides better butt support or different posture or something, and allows my body and particularly my legs to relax. During the thousand-mile ride back from having the seat installed, I didn't stand up to stretch once. That was strikingly different from my experience during the previous 38 years of riding.

The original comment confused me until I realized it mixed motorcycling with bicycling. Let me know how the spd cleats work out on your R1200R!

Thanks for the comment. I am going to try getting off my arches on onto the balls (of my feet.)

Thanks websterize ... good information.
I have been riding for a couple of years and realized early on I could take corners faster in my Miata than I could on my bike. Looking for an answer I posted the dilemma about my inability to run as fast on my bike as I could in my car around turns. The response I got was first to lean in on the turn and the second was go to a track day type class. Also they said to stay in my comfort zone (ride your ride.) It helped.
Now I hear about gripping the tank with your knees and weighting the foot pegs although reading the posts I remembered the tank gripping technique from somewhere else.

All Good Techniques. I'll be adding the weighted foot pegs to my riding skills.

I try not to have a death grip on the handle bars under heavy acceleration instead gripping the tank with my knees allows more maneuverability. Also I wish the seat had more of a lip. My fat arss feels like it wants to slide off the back of the bike under heavy acceleration. Maybe if I lost my fat arss the bike would run even faster.??? I'm goin' on a diet!

Robert

I have been reading Keith Codes "Twist of the Wrist II." I just got to the chapter on putting weight on the outside peg as you turn. He calls it "Pivot Steering" and says even though it is double backwards, it works once you get retrained. That whole chapter is about actively engaging on the foot pegs and using your weight.

redwing wrote:… Also I wish the seat had more of a lip. My fat arss feels like it wants to slide off the back of the bike under heavy acceleration. …

Robert, after switching from the BMW standard saddle to the BMW comfort saddle, I felt at if I was sitting in versus on the seat. The comfort saddle's basin shape cups the hind real nice. You might try one out.

websterize wrote:

redwing wrote:… Also I wish the seat had more of a lip. My fat arss feels like it wants to slide off the back of the bike under heavy acceleration. …

Robert, after switching from the BMW standard saddle to the BMW comfort saddle, I felt at if I was sitting in versus on the seat. The comfort saddle's basin shape cups the hind real nice. You might try one out.

Websterize...I like the comfort saddle... maybe I can find a used one. Another saddle is the 2011 R1200R. Seats are so expensive... I can buy lots of farkels for 300 plus dollars.
I'll be looking. Thanks...

Robert

Seats again? Looks like some topics never got old on the R1200R board!

jkhomes wrote:Seats again? Looks like some topics never got old on the R1200R board!

Topic drift is mandatory under the r1150r.org terms of service. All paying members know this.

hi
balls of feet on pegs most of time ,do not think i would like to catch my toes while fast cornering or with foot under gear change ,straight line motorway work ,normally rest the arch of your feet on the pegs .
i would presume this is what most would do.

Riding my 08 R1200R in the mountains last week and practiced actively pushing down with my outside foot like in the Keith Code book. It got my whole body more engaged and was definitely a good change. I think locking your heels in may not be a good idea because it seems to work much better to be actively engaged.

websterize wrote:Jim Ford spammed my inbox about "riding light".

Jim pointed out to me that I signed up for his e-mail tips on riding smooth. My use of the word "spammed" was flip and inaccurate.