Which foot do you put down when stopped?

[codeblue]

down with left foot for me

 

[OneTrack]

A hidden hazard for the vertically challenged when stopping is on the left side of a one-way street in the left turn lane. The camber slopes down and away instead of 'up' as is normal when on the right side of the road, which almost made me drop my bike when I over-balanced. I guess if I was in England I'd spend most of my time picking my bike back up off the road. Either that or I'd have to put a couple of Auntie Doris's bread puddings in each saddlebag to lower the seat height by an inch or two.
I am looking for boots with thicker soles....Sidi's seem to be thicker than my Alpinestars.

 

[Nelly]

The solution for the vertically challenged is to add on say 80 more pounds to your normal body weight so when you sit on the bike you are compressing the rear suspension enough to touch the ground with both feet flat!

I'm trying to lose weight mate lol. All though I like your thinking.

 

[Nelly]

A hidden hazard for the vertically challenged when stopping is on the left side of a one-way street in the left turn lane. The camber slopes down and away instead of 'up' as is normal when on the right side of the road, which almost made me drop my bike when I over-balanced. I guess if I was in England I'd spend most of my time picking my bike back up off the road. Either that or I'd have to put a couple of Auntie Doris's bread puddings in each saddlebag to lower the seat height by an inch or two.
I am looking for boots with thicker soles....Sidi's seem to be thicker than my Alpinestars.

I have done that once, I put down my foot but there was no ground. Its such an idiot thing to do lol. I alwasy make sure I check out the ground now before I stop.

Platform bike boots, Bring back Glam rock..

 

[VEGASRIDER]

Very intresting thread. I actually had to go and ride to figure what I actually did. After several stops, I realized that no two stops are alike. However, for the most part, I have found myself placing my left foot down first, but the right foot is not far behind. It's almost down at the sametime, but the left foot definatley touches first.

 

[Nelly]

Very intresting thread. I actually had to go and ride to figure what I actually did. After several stops, I realized that no two stops are alike. However, for the most part, I have found myself placing my left foot down first, but the right foot is not far behind. It's almost down at the sametime, but the left foot definatley touches first.

So are you going to make covering the rear a part of your riding routine? Or stay as you are?

 

[VEGASRIDER]

So are you going to make covering the rear a part of your riding routine? Or stay as you are?

When I place my foot down I'm already pretty much at a dead stop. For the most of my stops at the lights, I'm usually slowing down to a crawl from downshifting and braking. I find myself using my front brake, not my rear, to completly stop or to hold the bike in place. I rarely use my rear brake during the actual stop. So it's left foot on the ground and front brake at the sametime, then the right foot a split second afterwards. Funny, I thougt about this thread at every stop on the way to work this afternoon. So I actually had to retrace my motions after each stop to come to my conclusion.

 

[Nelly]

Covering the rear is more than just stopping though mate, ita about being safe when ou are stopped and giving yourself a smoother start IMO. Plus the more you use the rear brake the better control you get with it. I personally think that ABS for the rear would be great as I used to lock the rear quite often under agressive braking.

Neil

 

[au.FZ6N]

both feet down, i can stand over the bike and lift my *** off the seat

6ft1 so not overly tall

i was never taught to cover the rear brake, sadly i have made the effort to bend my rear brake lever in towards the bike so i dont stand on it.

im 30 now and 1st started riding when i was 9 or so

only ever really used the rear brake on a dirt bike and as part of my emergency stop when getting my licence

other than that, maybe 10 yrs of not touching a rear brake on a motorbike

 

[Nelly]

both feet down, i can stand over the bike and lift my *** off the seat

6ft1 so not overly tall

i was never taught to cover the rear brake, sadly i have made the effort to bend my rear brake lever in towards the bike so i dont stand on it.

im 30 now and 1st started riding when i was 9 or so

only ever really used the rear brake on a dirt bike and as part of my emergency stop when getting my licence

other than that, maybe 10 yrs of not touching a rear brake on a motorbike

Never to late to learn mate, sounds like you already have good rear brake control from the dirt bikes. Just need to transfer it to the road.

 

[grommit]

Covering the rear is more than just stopping though mate, ita about being safe when ou are stopped and giving yourself a smoother start IMO. Plus the more you use the rear brake the better control you get with it. I personally think that ABS for the rear would be great as I used to lock the rear quite often under agressive braking.

Neil

My last bike had ABS. Actually did not like it on the back, did not feel right. Some of the newer bikes have combined braking so even if you put on one brake it will apply it to the other.

 

[OneTrack]

I have done that once, I put down my foot but there was no ground. Its such an idiot thing to do lol. I alwasy make sure I check out the ground now before I stop.

Absolutely!! I put my foot down in my son's driveway after my last ride of the season and it slipped sideways on wet, fallen leaves. I caught it just in time, but that scared grandpa.

Platform bike boots, Bring back Glam rock..

OMG...I just had a mental image of Garry Glitter...

 

[OneTrack]

both feet down, i can stand over the bike and lift my *** off the seat

6ft1 so not overly tall

It is "overly tall" to someone who's 5'8". :Flip: IAE, it's all about leg length, really....if I had just one inch more...just one miserable inch. Is that too much to ask for?

i was never taught to cover the rear brake, sadly i have made the effort to bend my rear brake lever in towards the bike so i dont stand on it.

The main point about the rear brake is more to do with the brake light. IMHO, it should be ON the entire time that you're stopped. I keep the brake light on by using either brake, depending upon the circumstances. In fact, I'll often flash my brake light when I'm stopped if I see someone approaching me from behind at a high rate of speed.

im 30 now and 1st started riding when i was 9 or so

only ever really used the rear brake on a dirt bike and as part of my emergency stop when getting my licence

other than that, maybe 10 yrs of not touching a rear brake on a motorbike

I know that you know this, but I'll say it anyway. Using both brakes together increases both your stopping power and control when stopping, particularly in an emergency.

 

[Nelly]

The main point about the rear brake is more to do with the brake light. IMHO, it should be ON the entire time that you're stopped. I keep the brake light on by using either brake, depending upon the circumstances. In fact, I'll often flash my brake light when I'm stopped if I see someone approaching me from behind at a high rate

It is also about saftey, your at a stop you slip of the clutch. Wham your of the back of the bike. If the rear brake is depressed the bike does not move as far or as fast.

 

[VEGASRIDER]

It is also about saftey, your at a stop you slip of the clutch. Wham your of the back of the bike. If the rear brake is depressed the bike does not move as far or as fast.

If I'm stopped, and elect to keep the brake depressed for whatever reason, safety, hill, etc. I will most likey use my front brake. The fact that you are able to keep both feet on the ground, you are less vulnerable for the bike to tip over from a gust of wind, or from other weird reason. I would think keeping the rear brake applied during the stop, relying on one foot to keep the bike upright is an accident waiting to happen. If I'm going to get hit, I'm going to get hit. Hopefully, my natural reaction will be to release my brake, I don't think applying the brake will help stop a 2000 pound plus vehicle rearending me.

 

[HavBlue]

If I'm stopped, and elect to keep the brake depressed for whatever reason, safety, hill, etc. I will most likey use my front brake. The fact that you are able to keep both feet on the ground, you are less vulnerable for the bike to tip over from a gust of wind, or from other weird reason. I would think keeping the rear brake applied during the stop, relying on one foot to keep the bike upright is an accident waiting to happen. If I'm going to get hit, I'm going to get hit. Hopefully, my natural reaction will be to release my brake, I don't think applying the brake will help stop a 2000 pound plus vehicle rearending me.

I agree. I also happen to avoid stopping in the middle of the lane. Rather, I stop at the extreme outside left of the left or right lane. May not mean anything but it does prevent a direct hit from behind and if the idiot coming up thinks about (a big if) they may go right by me with the room I have left.

 

[VEGASRIDER]

I agree. I also happen to avoid stopping in the middle of the lane. Rather, I stop at the extreme outside left of the left or right lane. May not mean anything but it does prevent a direct hit from behind and if the idiot coming up thinks about (a big if) they may go right by me with the room I have left.

That's a very good point that I never thought of, giving a small escape route in case the upcoming vehicle doesn't see you or can't stop in time. But I generally stop on the left side of the lane anyway, since I travel on that line. I like to avoid the oil and grease that has accumulated on the center part of the lane. And trust me, there are a lot of it here in this town, it rarely rains.

 

[Nelly]

If I'm stopped, and elect to keep the brake depressed for whatever reason, safety, hill, etc. I will most likey use my front brake. The fact that you are able to keep both feet on the ground, you are less vulnerable for the bike to tip over from a gust of wind, or from other weird reason. I would think keeping the rear brake applied during the stop, relying on one foot to keep the bike upright is an accident waiting to happen. If I'm going to get hit, I'm going to get hit. Hopefully, my natural reaction will be to release my brake, I don't think applying the brake will help stop a 2000 pound plus vehicle rearending me.

Totally agree that if said 2000lb of car hits you it won't matter what your doing. It is still a very good technique to get into the habit of. I have never been able to put both feet down due to leg length. If I try to put both feet down then I am only just supporting the bike. So in my case, and shorter riders case. I don't beleive that the argument holds.
I also totally agree with you about the centre lane, I rarely use the centre, aspecially in town as the buses deposit so much crap.

 

[VEGASRIDER]

Totally agree that if said 2000lb of car hits you it won't matter what your doing. It is still a very good technique to get into the habit of. I have never been able to put both feet down due to leg length. If I try to put both feet down then I am only just supporting the bike. So in my case, and shorter riders case. I don't beleive that the argument holds.
I also totally agree with you about the centre lane, I rarely use the centre, aspecially in town as the buses deposit so much crap.

Neil, how tall are you? I'm five feet and nine inches tall. My feet touches the ground by tip toeing, I'm definately not flat footing.

 

[Nelly]

Neil, how tall are you? I'm five feet and nine inches tall. My feet touches the ground by tip toeing, I'm definately not flat footing.

I stand at a colosal 5'6" maybe 5'7" in my boots lol. I have a short inside leg 29". My body and arms are regular. YepI know what your thinking, freak of nature lol.