Hey, guys. I did my first two track days this year, both at Putnam. The first was in June and the last was in September. I have ridden on the street for several years and finally was able to start with the track days. I did all the drills and tried to soak up all the coaching, and I ejoyed every minute of it, but both times, I came away with extremely sore knees when working on my body positioning, pointing my foot and knee, moving my butt off the seat, and sticking the knee out. I'm not dragging my knees or anything, I think it's just the force of actually weighting the footpeg so much (or maybe trying to hard) when riding on the track. My right knee tends to be considerably worse than my left, which I attribute to the track having quite a bit more right turns. My question is, can anyone tell me what could be causing this, and how to alleviate it? For a little background info, I use my street bike, which is a 2009 Yamaha R6, entirely stock. It does not give me sore knees on the street. Thanks in advance for all the help I know I'll receive.
knees I hear ya. I hope some more experienced riders chime in and tell us that, yes, it goes away with time/experience. my pain seems to calm down as the day goes on; I guess it means my knees/muscles warm up. I notice the one sidedness too, particularly at Tally. I think we use our quad muscles much more, and for much longer on the track (to support our body weight) than we would ever do on the street. my solution? deep knee bends, particularly with more weight on 1 foot, then the other; holding a position that mimics the position of riding and then rocking side to side seems to help also. additionally in your case, you are getting used to MANY new situations/positions as a new track rider. RELAX. I think you'll see that the more you relax, the more the bike will support your weight. as for putting your knee on the ground, I'll admit my eagerness too. now that I can do it w/o effort, I see that it's really just a gauge telling me that I'm very close to the edge of the tire. moreover, the faster riders, I hear, drag knee less due to the fact that they keep the bike stood up more (in order to accelerate earlier). there's so much to learn about this sport. seat time is your best teacher. one more thing: RELAX.
Try holding the majority of your weight with the opposite leg, having the leg locked into the peg and tank. You really shouldn't be holding a ton of weight with the inside peg. The key is to lock the outside leg to make it part of the bike. Yes you do weight the inside peg to help with turn in but not all of your weight. Next time out (not sure what group you will run), grab someone and tell them the issue so they can take a look on track.
Do some research on Glucosamine and Chondroitin supplements. Some people claim they don't do anything, but I'm 46 & ride more than most people, & they do the trick for me. If you don't like big pills, Joint Juice is a drinkable version. Talk to a doctor first if you're diabetic or have any other blood related isses.
Thanks for the responses so far. I think locking the opposing leg against the tank is probably where I need the most work. On my 2nd track day, I was concentrating on moving my butt on the seat and my head and body to the side, and I probably need to focus on that other leg now. Only problem is, I"ll probably have to wait until about June to get back out there. I do have a question, though...what do you mean about locking my leg to the peg? I understand locking the knee to the tank and helping to push the bike over that way, but do you just mean keep the other foot on the peg as you do this? One more thing, there's no question that I will still be in the Novice class lol
lock leg to tank I believe it means push the ball of your (outside) foot down to push the same-side knee up and into the tank.
Consistently good diet and exercise are always a plus... I've been doing extra leg stuff at the gym the last week or two in anticipation of my first two-day weekend at Barber.
leaf has it right. u want to "push up" on the balls of your feet and push your knee into the tank "dig in." you can get good practice and instruction on this during the body position drill we do in the novice class. this will also help you take weight off the handle bars. a good set of tank grips will help u grab the tank with your knees. i love mine and wouldnt ride the track without them. and they also help you from putting weight on the bars while braking riding a bicycle will help you build the muscles in your legs to make it easier to move on the bike. your muscles will grow around your knee supporting it and taking stress off the joint. i tore cartildge in both my knees playing soccer and the doctors and trainers told me the best exercise to strengthen the knee is riding a bike. its low impact, and you even get some cardio in there too. i usually do 7-10 miles 3-4 times a week. start off with a mile or two then work your way up as you can. also, core exercises will help u too. lower and upper back, chest, abs, hips, ect. all these muscle help keep you "planted" on the bike and you wont get tired as quickly. if you have any more questions feel free to email me and good luck shawn dot gosselin at yahoo dot com
I've actually got some tech spech grips that I put on this summer before my first track day. They seem to help when I remember to grip with my legs (like I said, I'm still learning and there's a lot to learn lol). I understand what you're saying about using the outside foot as a point to place pressure in order to push on the tank with that leg...I guess my question now is: how does that not counteract the pressure you're putting on the inside peg with the inside foot? Maybe my problem is that if I put more pressure from the outside knee against the tank, I wouldn't feel like I have to put as much pressure on the inside peg with the inside foot, which would alleviate pressure on the inside knee. (I guess I'm thinking out loud a little) I usually do an eleptical at least 3 times/week, and then legs after that one of those days. Maybe when it gets closer to the riding season, I'll switch over to the bike.
You may be thinking into it a little too much. Your not really holding yourself up with the inside peg. It is more of putting some weight to help with turn in then use the outside knee into the tank to also help. I lock into the tank with my outside knee and lock my foot into the peg and subframe (this will be different for everyone and depends on comfort), this holds me on the bike with a little weight on the inside peg. The weighting of the peg is just a quick initial thing, not putting all of your weight on that peg. I personally use the tank more than the inside peg to help with turn in.
So, I'm a little late to the party. Everyone is giving really great advice about how to mechanically ride the bike. But, How do your leathers fit? Seriously, I had a big problem with mine and they caused some serious sore knees. My answer - BODY GLIDE. The leathers were not fit to my body properly and as a result would bind up while I was trying to move about. Body glide on my knees cured this. Now your problem could be all mechanical with how you are standing/riding. But make sure the darn suit fits and moves properly. It is kinda like pit stick, but most people use it in wet suits. I like it in the knees and elbows of my 2 piece suit. my 1pc fits much better.
I'd bet your feet are parallel to the bike's frame, while your leg is pointed away from the bike at an angle near 45 degrees. Knees aren't made to flex sideways. Get the pegs under the balls of your feet and turn your heels into the swingarm. When foot and knee are aligned, the hip opens up and it all gets easier.
Yep ride a bike... A fixed gear bike ..... Your legs will be constantly moving with no impact... Its great to loosen up before weekends ... Also Bannana's and Lots of H2O... As far as foot placement.. Knee angle ect there is NO RIGHT WAY.... We are all different you will just need to find what works best for you...
Jimbo showed my how to lock my inside foot against the footpeg/frame/chaingard, which helped me immensely as it provided something stable to 'hold' on to. You are probably riding your motorcycle in ways you never did before. Your body had to have time to adjust. To include exercise, and as you get older, supplements, etc. One of my best friends on track weekends is a bottle of Aleve
Lots of good advice here. I had sore knees for a long time too. I chalked it up to being on a little bike and being crunched up, but I had the same thing on a big bike. Bicycling and stretching definitely helped, although I disagree that a single speed is the way to go. Depending on what the gearing is like, and the terrain where you ride, constant hard mashing on the pedals is bad for your knees. You need to be able to pedal at a comfortable cadence.
Not sure how old you are or what kind of shape your knees and core are in but I've been track riding for a long time and have always suffered from sore knees because of old injuries and age. My orthopod told me to take Ibuprofen two hours before I start and every 4 hours after thet. It's amazing how much it helps. On hot days, I take my leathers off between sessions and ice my sore knees as well. It's no substitute for good leg and core conditioning, but it helps!
Stretching will help loosen up the joints a lot! Also doing some high rep, low weight workouts such as lunges, squats, even just using your body weight for squats is useful. Also mentioned, Glucosamine, this is a supplement that is suppose to help those tight joins.
DJ Baker has a good point check with your Doctor, my knees have been killing me but not from riding just old knees. My Doctor has giving me injections in both knees(chicken fat) seems to be helping some but just buying time before they do knee replacement. Yep the joy of getting older.