so that's what thats like

So there it was, a decreasing radius fast downhill turn with my feet on the highway pegs attached to the crashbars. Wasn't even thinking about the pegs, just leaned into the turn more and drive the bike further into the lean.

Both the peg and my boot left quite the scrape mark and I still needed to lean further to make the turn. Well, no panic, just stood the bike up and hit the brakes. That guardrail came up fast, but I had a pretty good margin of safety. Not an entirely pleasant event.

The guy two bikes behind me on a harley wasn't quite so lucky - smacked the rail. He was (mostly) OK, the bike, not so much. I wonder if he was just watching my miss too intently?

So I now know two things. First, no using the highway pegs on the really twisty parts. Bad idea. Second, with the pegs folded up, the clearance is just fine. I am not going to scrape them when they are folded.

Looks like you learned an 'easy' lesson, congrats.

One lesson is not to have a HD follow you on a twisty road. He could have smacked you.

Eric L said:

So there it was, a decreasing radius fast downhill turn with my feet on the highway pegs attached to the crashbars. Wasn't even thinking about the pegs, just leaned into the turn more and drive the bike further into the lean.
Both the peg and my boot left quite the scrape mark and I still needed to lean further to make the turn. Well, no panic, just stood the bike up and hit the brakes. That guardrail came up fast, but I had a pretty good margin of safety. Not an entirely pleasant event.

The guy two bikes behind me on a harley wasn't quite so lucky - smacked the rail. He was (mostly) OK, the bike, not so much. I wonder if he was just watching my miss too intently?

So I now know two things. First, no using the highway pegs on the really twisty parts. Bad idea. Second, with the pegs folded up, the clearance is just fine. I am not going to scrape them when they are folded.

Click to expand...

And third: ride your ride, don't use others for your brake marker, as their bike may not be set up or react the same as yours.

Good that you had a safety margin to work with, many don't have enough.

Whew, baby! Glad you pulled it out.

Those Gen3 ABS brakes are the bomb, aren't they?

AuburnFJR.... I was leading the ride. The pace was actually OK. I had just gotten complacent about the stupid highway pegs. I had a decision to make and I may have made the wrong one, but I have no idea how I could have leaned further with my boot heel already scraping the pavement.

The harley guy was new to the group. He certainly had the gear and the swagger. Unfortunately as it turns out, he had only logged 2000 miles in the last four years. HE was a few riders back, following another small cruiser, so I think his crash was on him.

Not as easy to shift your weight inside or slide your butt off the seat when your feet are on highway pegs.

That's one of the reasons I dislike riding a cruiser. That forward foot sitting position makes body shifting in a turn damn near impossible, at least for me.

Glad you recovered nicely and kept the shiny parts up!

This is going to piss a whole bunch of people off. Here goes.....

Highway pegs and their mounting hardware are poor matches for an FJR. Anything that reduces the already marginal ground clearance is a bad idea. And on a bike with the seat/bars/stock pegs relationship, the heels of your boots shouldn't ever be close to the pavement, much less the first thing to hit. Going around a corner, at a sporting pace, should have the balls of your feet on the pegs, with your toes tucked in. I know, we all have different styles, and some of us have physical comfort levels due to medical conditions, but reducing your ground clearance is always a bad idea. If the FJR riding position isn't comfortable for you, try a different bike. Handlebar risers or an aftermarket seat are one thing, adding something that drags and is solidly mounted is dangerous. The stock footpegs are spring loaded, and fold just in time to let you know you're getting close to the edge of your tire (if you're not hanging off the seat at all). I've been a complete idiot in the past, and started to drag hard parts. Who knows how close I was to crashing? I try not to do that, but I'm an idiot. I've just been lucky. But taking an FJR and adding something that lessens my safety margin if I have to swerve to avoid a deer isn't something I want to do. And years ago, I was the guy leading the ride, decreasing radius corner, not near as good of a rider as I thought, and fell down. Thankfully I didn't get hurt. Just dumb luck.

That being said, I'm all for freedom of choice. If you're harming no one else, smoke 'em if you got 'em, chase sheep, put a car tire on your motorcycle, hide in a married woman's closet, and, by all means, put highway pegs on your FJR. Just glad you didn't get hurt, and I'm sorry for the other guy's damaged bike.

OK, now go ahead and rip away. I deserve it.

SwollenRaccoon said:

This is going to piss a whole bunch of people off. Here goes.....

Highway pegs and their mounting hardware are poor matches for an FJR. Anything that reduces the already marginal ground clearance is a bad idea. And on a bike with the seat/bars/stock pegs relationship, the heels of your boots shouldn't ever be close to the pavement, much less the first thing to hit. Going around a corner, at a sporting pace, should have the balls of your feet on the pegs, with your toes tucked in. I know, we all have different styles, and some of us have physical comfort levels due to medical conditions, but reducing your ground clearance is always a bad idea. If the FJR riding position isn't comfortable for you, try a different bike. Handlebar risers or an aftermarket seat are one thing, adding something that drags and is solidly mounted is dangerous. The stock footpegs are spring loaded, and fold just in time to let you know you're getting close to the edge of your tire (if you're not hanging off the seat at all). I've been a complete idiot in the past, and started to drag hard parts. Who knows how close I was to crashing? I try not to do that, but I'm an idiot. I've just been lucky. But taking an FJR and adding something that lessens my safety margin if I have to swerve to avoid a deer isn't something I want to do. And years ago, I was the guy leading the ride, decreasing radius corner, not near as good of a rider as I thought, and fell down. Thankfully I didn't get hurt. Just dumb luck.

That being said, I'm all for freedom of choice. If you're harming no one else, smoke 'em if you got 'em, chase sheep, put a car tire on your motorcycle, hide in a married woman's closet, and, by all means, put highway pegs on your FJR. Just glad you didn't get hurt, and I'm sorry for the other guy's damaged bike.

OK, now go ahead and rip away. I deserve it.

Click to expand...

Okay, brace yourself, because here it comes. Just how did your Raccoon get swollen? And, does it hurt?

Glad you recovered without mishap. I have highway pegs on my bikes but close calls with forest rats make me reluctant to use them until my level of discomfort makes it necessary and there's no place handy to stop and stretch. Mostly use them on the interstate, if the traffic isn't too heavy.

Well, I thought "highway pegs" are for highways; as in Interstates or long, flat, straight roads like they have in Florida or Kansas. Silly me.

Glad your OK.....

Since the Raccoon decided to touch on this, perhaps this is a good instance to put out that - I had those low highway pegs on the 05 FJR and touched them down a couple times, scared the hell outta me, and super glad I didn't hit a pot hole or anything serious for them to grab onto..... I learned to be much more chill in the sweepers.....

With that said, on the 2015 I went with the Canyon Cages, and attached pegs to those, they are much higher up, much more comfortable to stretch out your legs on and above all..... WILL NOT TOUCH DOWN....

https://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d109/Warpdrv/2015%20FJR/Canyon%20Cages/IMG_20150405_144149_zps4iar5unf.jpg

Stay Focused My Friends !!

Warpdrv said:

Glad your OK.....
Since the Raccoon decided to touch on this, perhaps this is a good instance to put out that - I had those low highway pegs on the 05 FJR and touched them down a couple times, scared the hell outta me, and super glad I didn't hit a pot hole or anything serious for them to grab onto..... I learned to be much more chill in the sweepers.....

With that said, on the 2015 I went with the Canyon Cages, and attached pegs to those, they are much higher up, much more comfortable to stretch out your legs on and above all..... WILL NOT TOUCH DOWN....

https://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d109/Warpdrv/2015%20FJR/Canyon%20Cages/IMG_20150405_144149_zps4iar5unf.jpg

Stay Focused My Friends !!

Click to expand...

^^^^^^^

Now THAT'S more like it.

I have those nice hwy pegs on my 05 and don't have a problem at all.........they stay folded always in the twisties.........only flop out on the slab with the cruise engaged and the birds singing............

I would think that if an add on that limits lean angle and scrapes in a corner at a speed that will allow you to stand up the bike and actually stop... could be

Ah nevermind.

yeah, no disagreements from me. Highway pegs will be only for highways from now on. The clearance of the folded up pegs is fine. Glad I didn't squish. Best kind of learning experience is one in which you are just scared enough to remember your idiotic mistake without having it tattooed on your ass.

Eric, wasn't suggesting that you were the cause. Just a reminder to all that you have to ride your ride so to prevent this type of situation. Always a good topic for a pre-ride brief to remind others in the group.

Eric L said:

yeah, no disagreements from me. Highway pegs will be only for highways from now on. The clearance of the folded up pegs is fine. Glad I didn't squish. Best kind of learning experience is one in which you are just scared enough to remember your idiotic mistake without having it tattooed on your ass.

Click to expand...

Perfectly stated.

Good on ya for learning and sharing.