MCN: How to get your knee down

[@gregdixon172]

That looking around a door thing is the best thing I have ever learned about taking corners. 10/10 :)

[@TV-FilmCameramanUK]

I tried this - I got my knee down, followed by my elbow... then my arse!

[@lastcall170]

lol

[@MrStlover99]

+ukcameraman lmfao

[@glenwhyte2273]

180 degrees beats MM93's 64

[@solomonsignet]

ukcameraman 😂😂

[@rob.1963]

😂

[@CyberEditing]

Good solid advice in this video, regardless of the location. Experienced riders check out the road condition first and avoid places that have side roads etc or other high risk situations.

[@orangeorphan]

It looks like he's still riding twisted at the end when he get's it down.

[@apollo_]

Thanks to this and other videos like it, I got both my knees down on only my second outing. Feels awesome! A couple things that made the difference for me... scoot back in your seat a bit if you're having trouble, and keep a crouched position if you're on a more standard bike. I did it on a 07 Honda 919.

[@Thru-The-Lens]

I'm only here for the 144p

[@notafanboy250]

loooooooool

[@steffinor7751]

hahahsa

[@lightupyourlife111]

Nostalgia

[@RobertJones-pm3zk]

Betamax is way better than

[@Gentlemen_london_]

Michael Neeves is such a nice bloke! He should start a race school as his calm and patient approach with have riders flocking in there droves to be taught by him!

[@sdolman79]

Quality reminds me of a over watched 90s porn VHS

[@slabbyrider8665]

Steven Dolman ah, the devl in miss joans

[@leftkeyentry]

I got to say big thank you to Neevesy and the MCN team, for the excellent Knee down vids! I have now got my Knee down!!!!

[@56yqc]

Followed the advice and did it! I found it helped to put the knee forward rather than out to the side so much ie: more under the bike than outside it. Great feeling! Cheers.

[@nakmas73]

Bloody excellent... I've been riding for 20 years, got my knee down ages ago but never been taught to go round a bend properly... this will make my riding better... thanks

[@cjpdiver]

Nice one - watched your vid a couple of times and after 15 years on the road got my knee down on me zx10r yesterday - after the initial shock and celerbrations managed to do it again and again round the whole round about in the end. feel like a proper biker now!!!!!! nice one MCN

[@5inchflyboi]

That's why I got a bike, to ride around roundabouts getting my knee down to show a scratched slider off at the next burger van!

[@thejtkirk2072]

fairweatherfred I know you're joking,but for me it's true!

[@mozzmann]

The principle he is demonstrating here is the cantelever effect that assists in using the rider's body weight on the inside of the bike coupled the centrifugal forces to in effect driver the tires onto the road harder giving better traction and eventually greater confidence and corner speed.

[@maltesepsycho]

New 2013 laws mean I got upgraded to a full A (unlimited) licence without even applying for the test as of jan 19th 2013. I had lost my licence and sent off for a new one last month and hey presto, it was on there. Thank you DVLA, you did something in my favour :D

[@liamj2363]

I think a lot of people obsess over it too much, especially on the road. It's pretty useless if you're not taking good lines, I've seen people really going for it, getting really low and then getting humiliated by old guys on VFRs and whatnot who keep it pretty upright but are very smooth and calculating. If you're cornering fast enough and have good body position it will happen naturally, no point specifically trying to drag knees.

[@elkey1000]

+Liam J yeah, smoothness is most important. If you want to get a knee down but still can't control throtle smooth - bad idea. I heard it once that street is a bad idea to try knees (maybe later, when you really got track experience) cause once you do it you will try to make knee in every corner and - like you said - there is no point for it. Knee drag is not an aim, just instrument.

[@STONEAJE]

+Liam J I think that if you're using max lean angle you don't have much room for error. You can speed up to open the corner, or slow down to close it, but if it's a lot sharper than you anticipated or you need to brake there's no more traction left for the maneuver. Older drivers know how hard to push...because the one's that didn't never made it.

[@elkey1000]

+STONEAJE True, but there is always another reason why you can use max lean angle. If you are terrific rider, know your machine and - most important - know the road, you can touch your limits by having max speed on curve. I don't say it was like that in this case, only saying that it is possible. Of course you almost always see it in MotoGP, not on public roads by amateurs.

[@calebstith6310]

I'm a new rider ...and I was thinking this the whole time....it comes with experience and time

[@elkey1000]

Caleb Stith Knees only on well known roads but I best you can do is to play with knees only on track.

[@rockybrewer]

thanks for this video, been out for a nice ride today playing on some round abouts, and its clicked, that hanging my whole body off get the bike round the corner soo much quicker, keeping the bike more upright able to get on the power much sooner, thanks alot

[@moss197]

This guy gives a really good instruction! Anyone who has never dragged their knee before needs to listen to what he is saying, especially he part about not trying to drag your knee, that's not what it's about, it's about keeping yours and the bikes centre of gravity low and making the tyres no work so hard in the turn by keeping the bike more upright!

[@BhindiBhaji888]

I got my knee down for the first time this weekend. I can't believe how much it made me buzz to have done it. Totally relate to the grin on that guys face when he did it!

[@tonyblade1000]

Kneevsy is a good guy to listen to, puts it across so well!

[@TypeSly]

Haha i love how giddy he is afterwards. Great video, great tips

[@SirSnoqualmie]

Great video! Very helpful in staying centered and letting you become one with the bike. I'll give it a shot today.

[@digisuboob]

i had the exact same r1, same colour and everything. 2001, absolutely great bike, back when they were still carbys.

[@Joonagoona]

Whoever disliked this vid there's something wrong with them mentally. Why would you dislike this vid? Thanx for upload guys great work.

[@motormanish]

@MotorcycleFair Conversating is not a word. It is conversing.

[@moorvogi]

lower your elbow and "kiss your mirror" you'll instinctivly put your knee down and it'll be ALOT more comfertable/natural.

[@Kcrunchymunch]

That's the best instructional vid I have ever seen on taking the twisties

[@mymotorcycle5]

That roundabout looks delicious! I've found a couple of places in my town to knee surf, but none of them are as perfect as that. Drool.

[@cyblur]

Greatest video on the internet!!!!

[@Hyuts]

Great tutorial but I was struggling to understand what was being said through the ambient noise.

[@elliotscrim]

Your exactally right mate. Most of the top riders use there knee's to control the bikes around cornor's and to gadge weather there in the right lines or not.

[@cplsyx]

Actually you'd be surprised. I went out (before I saw this vid) and attempted getting my knee down. I failed to do so, but I did learn that the bike can go much further over than I ever thought possible! On a side note, I first got my knee down on a track day at Donington - an instructor spotted me for a few laps and told me essentially what this video does. I got my knee down at the Melbourne Hairpin without even trying. Once you're riding correctly, it will just happen. :)

[@cbropt]

excellent ,we need a few more of these for bike riders

[@NoobInaCan]

like he said. Drop in your shoulder...and forget about the knee. Best advice ever!

[@djdykied]

yay i got the same r6, good on you fella, even better for me to watch and learn, never had my knee down, so gona watch and try it later :-) safe riding all

[@Le_Sourpuss]

You welcome dude, By lean angle, I mean especially the bike's leaning angle. Like a blind person using the hands to feel the way around the house. That's more less how it works, by probing the ground's proximity. When you mechanize it, it's very useful. But it also helps, like a pendulum to shift a little more weight into the center of the curve. And you need that on a track. Shifting your weight on the bike is always good for safety both on track and on the road. Have great rides! ;)

[@PGC434]

hey guys i just did my first knee drag action from my last ride.!!! thank you mcn too bad my leather pants didnt do very well. its an icon overlord pants.. now im going to upgrade to track legal pants if i plan to do some more knee drag action...

[@theoriginaldimi]

pure genius, recording the whole instruction part next to a busy road...

[@TheEalanor]

Thank you mcn. ! 10 min After kneedown !!! Crazy !!

[@DerFeldzug]

i would give so much meeting this guy and learning by him...

[@CaptainCarling]

This is my first season riding and i got an R1 in april. Got my knee down for the first time yesterday on the Cat n Fiddle run not poncing around on roundabouts lol

[@pjhaines2000]

35 - 50 mph depending on tightness and size of roundabout it good. A couple of things that should be mentioned are on roundabouts watch out for road grit and gravel and also no one has mentioned that your tyres need to be nice and warm. Try it straight from the garage and you're in grave danger of going down. And as for those who say knee down is not Necessary, well it's not but it gives you a great feeling when you manage it and once you've done it, you'll be able to do it everytime.

[@brutalMF]

I used to "butt-drag" too when I first started, this vid completely opened my eyes and now i can't stand 90% of the so called "knee-drag" vids on youtube. I pick their style and technique apart much more now that my own riding is so much better. Thanks MCN. BTW maybe some more vids on race techniques and skills. i'd like it.

[@jolupapi]

Nice! I'm the second american to watch MCN vids.

[@speedo202]

Like Neevesey I first got my knee down on a Rd 350 LC in 1982, the bikes & tyres these days make it even easier so come on guys!

[@secondjeken]

you are absolutely right. I think you misunderstood. Maximizing your body position and leaning OFF the bike minimizes the lean angle the bike has to lean. So you maximize a more efficient lean angle by hanging off the bike so leaning off the bike keeps the bike upright. im sure you agree that an upright bike is "just as fast but at a safer lean angle"

[@todddhel]

ma it really is a awesome feeling when you get your knee down for the first time. i had a huge smile on my face the first time when I got mine down for the first time. its a good feeling of accomplishment.

[@AlpinestarsR6]

@JonathanSandusky Couter-steering is what makes a bike turn, dropping your shoulder or weighting the pegs may help but you will still be counter-steering weather your aware of this or not.

[@ribinrobin8925]

I just get in my leathers and slide my knee on the floor, all the lads down at burger van think Rossi

[@893rrn]

what a top vid, learned something new there. Any chance of a vid on safe, hard braking???

[@Vizcaio]

@hackneo64 this has to do with the leaning of the bike. the more you lean a bike, the less surface of tyre gets in contact with the road, thus leading to more changes of loosing grip. when you lean your body weight "out of the bike", your body acts like a counterwheight, so the bike does not have to lean so much, resulting in more tyre surface in the road. With that in mind, it's easy to figure not only more safety in turns, but more speed in them. Hope this helped. Cheers

[@benjyboba]

when I first had thoughts of knee down, I thought i'd lean over to see how far you had to lean, What I didn't know at the time was about hanging off, I never had knee sliders either so I thought i'd just lean a long way and keep my leg close to the bike. Sitting upright on my 600ss I leant far enough to get my knee down. I frightened myself and the bike went round like it was on rails and felt amazing. I've still not had my knee down to this day, maybe one day i'll get some sliders and have a go

[@bughisan]

i will...just waiting for the season to begin (in aprox 2 weeks...now it's a bit cold)

[@Delfic]

Great vid... I've sent this to lots of people.

[@rrob212003]

I remember this video coming out! Wow, 17 years ago.

[@TMM6944]

Excellent tutorial. Ty for posting.

[@haodi13]

i think mcn should make more how to......videos. Love it

[@benbay001]

Chin on the floor! I will try that! Thanks again MCN!

[@riderzx10r05]

If it doesn't feel right under you, then you could be faced with suspension problems, tyre pressure settings or road grip! These are the first things I addressed when I started road riding. Even stock suspension you can tweek to get some performance out of it. Your tyres need to be new enough without bacon strips on them and sticky enough to provide you with the grip.Grip goes hand in hand with pressures!

[@jaffR6]

Bev,the whole concept of knee down is to move the weight to the inside of the corner thus being able to go around quicker as the bike does not require as much lean angle.Its virtualy imposible to scrape metal on a modern sports bikes.Someone i know was off the edges of his dunlop qualifiers and couldnt scrape metal

[@eddyemm]

Just read some comments. So if you push on the inside bar a bit it will cause the wheel to turn to the outside of the roundabout a little keeping the bike more stable?

[@5thgearouttahere]

seconded. top vid fellas, those flat bloody roundabouts!

[@chrisgray2851]

This was a great help to me.. Thanks guys

[@operationnorthwoodz]

Just spent 2 hours going in circles in a parking lot (with permission). Barely got my knee down in 3rd gear @ 29 mph (actual mph is less), 50 foot radius. Bumpy with up and down slope. Cop and private security drove by after a "noise" complaint (factory exhaust at 3000 rpm under 30 mph). Then speedo went blank from low voltage so maybe stator overheated & died (new stator under warantee). Softened bump/rebound 3 clicks, 30 psi hot F/R. No chicken strip on left side. Right turn more difficult.

[@TRUFFLEHOUNDEXPRESS]

@VideoHelper08 Glad to hear you found the "Twist of the Wrist II" DVD so helpful. Ride Safe.

[@goitoutdoors]

fantastic advice!

[@greenmarine5]

@JainYuan counter steering starts when you start to come out of the turn. Remember it's* NOT* the person that hits the turn the fastest that usually wins. It's the person that speeds out of the turn the quickest that usually wins. Tis why you'll see a lot (almost all) GP racers will slide their rear tire out coming out of the turn

[@mbergvill]

Nice video. The road is not the safest place to be doing this though. I have been riding professionaly for one season and the most crazy feeling was putting my knee down through the corners with raintires on while it was pouring down. That was some feeling I tell ya. Please take care out on the streets. Kneesliding can be done a lot safer on the track where it is actually smart to do it as you have a greated feeling of where you are at regarding lean angel and where the limit is.

[@mikev951]

im 5'4 140lbs and i ride 07 r1 , my buddy let me ride his 600rr and what i liked about it was the soild chassis and narrow seat. the r1 is fat on the seat and takes alittle force to get my lean going .

[@msigartau]

very usefull information ... thx

[@xvidmax]

Can you guys show this to an owner of a speed triple? I been wanting to try it on mine... But I know the ergonomics are different to an R6... Would really appreciate this Micheal! You are great mate!

[@eddyemm]

I had the bike in 2nd gear and it wasnt revving high. throttle response seemed smooth.

[@benjyboba]

I got my knee down, I tried it on round about but I couldn't figure out how to sit properly and really felt uncomfortable. I kept slowing down when I see a car and waited till it was safe (respected everyone else first), I built up speed and was nervous of my sitting position. Instead of thinking about putting it down i just tried to keep it smooth and it came down. I needed a bit more speed, I was doing about 60 on a large roundabout. I did it on my 1198s, nice bike for first knee down :)

[@mhks68]

That sucks...then again thats the game we play on two wheels. Now I see what you meant by your response! hope you and yer bike are well!!!

[@JanBinnendijk]

I dragged my knee on a 1972 Yamaha 125 ,a 1979 Honda CB550, and a Kawasaki GPX 550, all with old and very hard tyres.. it's not the bike.. it's the guy or girl riding it.. the only problem with honda's is ground clearance.. i wore down half the footpeg on my first attempt with the CB 550...the "lean forward, and kiss the mirror approach is a good one.. when i'm confident with a bike, i just flick it in.. and catch it on my knee.. works great with 250's.. and also with Ducati's..

[@mikev951]

when ur doing heavy lean angles u want to have ur toes on the peg or the ball of ur feet on the pegs . if ur doing heavy right turn i still have my toes on the peg some people ride with the rear break covered . but i use thottle control if im over shooting a turn .

[@RalphiniusHarringtonIII]

depending on the state you can filter through traffic in the US to

[@iwuzyou]

as you lean into the turn your feet move naturally with time ..seat time is the key... practice practice practice.... i believe inbetween the ball of my foot and my toes... it just happens when your comfortable

[@p4ddythehelipilot]

I tried years ago on my 350LC, had my head hanging, shoulder hanging arse hanging, crushed coke can tied to my knee lol but i couldn't get it down. I've got leathers & a slabby now so this year i'm trying again. Did they close the roads for that vid? I've never seen a roundabout so quiet & safe to do it.

[@Shrrg]

i'll give that a go when i get my bike fixed what do you ride ?

[@Knightlore10]

@deanNkamura Yes this is actually a oval racetrack with a packed grandstand behind them.

[@hondated]

G8 video MN seems a nice guy.Is Michael saying this is a better method than counter steering.It does sound a good method. No chance for me doing it though as I ride a Tiger 1050 and am not brave enough.

[@TimSauers]

i have been going to ty howards race school and the one thing they all say not to do is actually try and put your knee down. they say that when your corner speed reaches that point and your technique is correct it will happen without trying. you might create bad techniques by trying to drag a knee before getting the correct corner speed up. take your time and it will happen

[@MiG2880]

@3000ST1 Tell me about it. I'm looking forward to summer on my Firestorm. I rode it through winter though :-) taught me a lot about grip and being progressive with the throttle. We are getting some nice biking weather now though, eh? I think this summer will see my first 'knee down' ;-) Stay safe mate.

[@tinigy]

@sharper1106 i had the problem to i think ur putting ur foot to much inwards >the way pointing at ur engine . U should try and put ur foot a little bit more to the outside (still keeping ur toes on the pegs) but just move ur whole foot a little bit more outwards like 2 toes or something.

[@TarlZaralka]

What motorcycle is that? Also I'm planning on getting a motorcycle and its my first time should I get a 250, 500, or 650 CC bike since it would be my first time driving one? Aside from the course which only had 125 CC motorcycles to use.

[@waepekk]

Thanks for the video!!!

[@irishkerry]

great video well explained

[@Maartwo]

If my teachers at school were this good, I would probably like studying lol.

[@jinx20001]

what are these new laws?? ive had a full unrestricted A licence for a year and a half now aswell as a full driving licence for about 8 years, anything i should be aware of or just some new rules regarding learners and applying for licence types? cheers.

[@Chief1987]

Great clip mate thanks for sharing picked up some really useful tips. Loved the blokes reaction when he achieved getting his knee down for the first time.

[@lolspain86]

MCN, can you please make this and the "how to wheelie" video as a tutorial with your new go pro cameras? Because it's so much easier to hear what you guys say and it's easier to see the small details.. I would've been geat if you could do so;)

[@lockheed08]

I think it's just getting over the initial fear. I've learned to the proper position from watching motogp and superbike, and when I tried it, the bike feels so stable. Of course, I don't touch the ground bc I don't have knee pads

[@mugget]

that's a great vid. all good info...i'll remember this when i get out to a track day.

[@nelson2772]

Just checking you’re still alive and doing well.

[@twowheelsavvy]

@telright Well that's just it. We do it naturally to an extent. We don't know we are doing it because we don't know what counter steering is when we first start learning to ride.

[@JerryWick]

If youre tires are newer (age wise), well broken in (over 100 miles on them), and you have a dry road with no gravel or sand on it, lean 'er over! Probably the BEST way to get used to leaning is going to a empty parking lot and go faster and faster in the same space, until youll get er all the way over. Practice makes perfect!

[@sharper1106]

sorry i been busy and forgot update you. yeah it help me alot. i didnt reliize i was doing that but it made me feel safer hanging off the bike. meaning i dont feel like im gonna fall off the bike. but i still cant get my knee 100% down.

[@Taylor314T5]

I'm always nervous that the tires will give out and i'll low side.... any words of encouragement?

[@rama6maiden]

i have a question? im left handed and for me its easier to turn to left rather than right,is it same for the right handed as well??i mean easier to turn right rather than left?

[@rasqo3]

2 years ago when watched this video, i just went out, and i knee downed first time trying it.