DRAGGING HARD PARTS

by SPEEDSLUG

Since cruisers dominate the market and some are riding lowered bikes, I thought I'd post on dragging hard parts. Lowering a bike changes the amount of clearance while executing a turn. So does adding any accessories near the pegs, like guards, rigid forward pegs, even pipes. A passenger, some luggage, even a suspension adjustment.

Try taking a piece of cardboard, holding it at the base of the wheel and start angling upward from the floor. See what part of your bike the ground will touch first. If its a flexible peg or floorboard that's good. If its a hard mounted, rigid peg or engine guard you need to ask yourself if its at the top of your priority list. Unlike the flexible peg that came on your bike, a solid part can and will dig into the road, becoming a 'pivot' point with not so nice results.

So you're not going to ever push it that hard, eh? Think again.

Even with a conservative approach to riding, road conditions may not give us an option. A positive or negative camber, a pot hole or rut, a rock in the middle of a blind turn will all contribute to determining road clearance whether we like it or not. Not to mention the dreaded blind, constantly decreasing turn.

If you've done your figure 8's, lock to lock on the handlebars, then you've done your homework. On the road, a couple of hundred miles from nowhere isn't the place to find out.

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