scrapping peg feelers

[USSNTRprise]

I'm relatively new to riding, got my fz6 last September. I am by no means amazing but I'm not afraid of leaning the bike until I get to the point of scrapping the feelers or my knee.

Recently I was messing around in a parking lot working on low speed stuff and I decided to start going in circles to get used to leaning really low. I was going around 25mph and the first time I scrapped my peg feelers my bike got super squirrely and unstable and I thought I was gonna crash.

I'm wondering if this is just me not expecting it and I just need to practice more, or if you just gotta be that careful of pegs and feelers since it's a 'hard point', at least compared to a knee being able to move. I've also heard from people that going slow like that just makes the bike more unstable but I also don't wanna risk trying it at faster speeds and actually crash.

 

[Gary in NJ]

The feelers are there to tell you that you are about the hit hard points to the ground. They are a warning. When you do hit the feelers, allow your feet to rise up with the pegs - don’t fight them.

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

To actually do very slow speed riding, "lock to lock" turns doesn't necessarily mean scrapping pegs.

In the advanced Police Motorcycle courses I took years ago, here's some pointers-

-When turning, especially slow, turn your head fully and LOOK WHERE YOU WANT TO GO.
Should you look down, your going down...

-You can lock the steering fully to one side, while moving. Again, look where you want to go, DON'T LOOK DOWN..

-Again for super slow (and sharp turns), give the machine about 1/4-1/3 steady throttle and slightly keep the clutch slipping. Use the REAR BRAKE ONLY TO ADJUST YOUR SPEED.


On the full dressed Harleys we used, they had crash bars and with little ground to frame clearance, the kick stand GROUND circles into the pavement we were on. The FZ, won't do that, you'll just drop it if too aggressive (not good).

Look up "Iron Cross" (motorcycle related), figure eights (of course), etc. It's really amazing how slow you can go and how tight you can turn with proper knowledge and practice..

 

[Gary in NJ]

MotoJitsu (youtube) has a great training exercise where he does a figure 8 inside of 4 parking spaces (2 side-by-side and 2 opposed). It requires the technique Scott is talking about; full lock steering and counter balancing (having your body weight outside the turn). It's a fun exercise and leads to better slow-speed control. The key...look where you want to go (and as Scott points out - DOWN is not that place).

 

[Senior]

Bear in mind it's quite possible to get the center stand on the floor which will unsettle the bike