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RAWLDYMAN

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I ride a Sportater 883L with 2 years post test riding behind me. I don't go throwin it down into corners but I'd say I'm reasonably competent. Ive often heard guys saying how easy it is to touch down the pegs while cornering, due to the low height which makes for restricted lean angle. I've never done this!
Is it not really dangerous? Would it not de-stabilise the bike in the corner?
 
I have a Dyna with forward controls and a 3" spacer which makes my pegs stick out wide then normal. I have scraped mine tons of time and it is not a fun feeling for me. It gets your attention to say the least. I know a guy that has crashed because when he layed into a curve his peg scraped and dug down into the road and it caused him to crash.
 
I scrap hard parts all the time.. You just have be confident in your abilities, your bike's capabilities, and know both your and the bike's limitations...
 
If someone scrapes their pegs and they dig in and upset the bike, they are not adjusted correctly. Your pegs should fold back and up at an angle, so that the can not "dig in" if the scrape, they are supposed to give so the bike is not upset. This way, they give notice that you are getting to the limits before something solid does dig in and potentially cause a crash.

As RichardS said, this is not something you should be trying to do. As your experiance level grows, you will become more comfortable in turns and may get to the point of scraping the pegs. If this happens, fine, just don't push it or you may become another statistic.
 
Just as I thought guys. I've absolutely NO intention finding out what it's like. I am particularly concious of the risk of touchdown on very sharp bends - and also at those darn mini-roundabouts! I guess on low bikes like mine - and probably most Harleys - you have to be.
 
I have only witnessed two guys scrap...and in this case it was floor boards on their Ultras...both times were emergency life saving maneuvers...one guy crossed the center line going down the Dragon and almost took out a SUV...the other entered a curve too hot on rt19 coming into Maggie Valley...both guys are experienced riders...but both made the vital mistake of taking their eyes off where they wanted to go.I think the 25+ yrs of riding experience and a lot of luck is the only thing that saved them.
 
Well Hobbit that was pretty sobering! Looks (EDIT) dangerous to me - I mean with any small imperfection in the road surface, the peg could catch (especially the ones with the bolt coming out the bottom like my Sportster?) and you are down!
I'm amazed at the small lean angle before touchdown (I'd say my 883L is no better) and will continue to err on safe side!

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In the past i have touched the pegs down on bikes was a wee bit scary on the 75 bonnie cos the pegs were fixed
but as yet never had them touch down on any of the harleys
but then im older slower and perhaps a little more cautious than i used to be

Brian
 
I agree you shouldn't be out trying to scrape your pegs or boards on a consistent basis. However, I feel like anyone riding a motorcycle needs to spend some time in a school or church parking lot experimenting with weight shifting and lean angles until they discover exactly where the bikes limits are. Keep tightening up the turn until the pegs JUST scrape and then back off. In real life situations you will be able to sense when you are approaching this same limit and make the appropriate adjustments.
 
The Sportster has much more cornering capacity than your two-years of experience can utilize. I never scraped the pegs on my 2003 Sport and I have decades of riding experience.

However the big twins are much lower and prone to scraping. I seriously buried the floorboard on my Road King, and while the noise scared the bejessus out of me the bike barely budged off its line.
 
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