Foot placement??

[Burgi]

The good news is I seem to have gotten the hang of really leaning my bike through curves. 
On the other hand I also learned not to keep my toe under the shift lever during these leans.  Am I the only one that was to dumb to realize this? Didn't do any damage but sure gave me a wake up when my boot caught the road!!
So how to do you place your feet? Keep the pegs under your arch or the ball of your foot? I'm guessing I'm not going to cover the shift lever?
I see some guys going through the curves with the leg straight out to side. I guess it comes from dirt bikes? I don't plan on using that one or getting a knee down anytime soon. 

[B83550nighthawk]

Pegs under the arch...

[LOKi]

balls of the feet. Check out some motorcycle racing and look where they keep there feet. In racing they actually flip the direction of the shifter. Up is down shifting while down is up shifting. That way they can shift into a higher gear while in a left hand turn without ripping off there toe.

[Vermontster]

I saw somewhere on the forum that keeping the peg under the arch is the preferred position, and I'd been riding with it under my arch...

When I switched to under the ball I immediately felt a bit more secure in handling the bike.

[LOKi]

I really don't pay that much attention until I get in the twisties. Then I'm up on the balls of my feet and pinch the tank with the knees. That is until I get deep in the corner and need to start shifting my weight to the inside. But having the balls of your feet on the pegs insures that your toes are not hanging lower than the peg. You want the peg to touch the ground before your toe.

[detdrbuzzard]

Pegs under the arch...

for 90% of my riding

[Burgi]

I've been riding arch but doing that my toe either is going to be below or above the shifter. Leaving it below the shift obviously is making me the low point on the left side. I don't want to think about what sort of damage I might do to myself if my foot caught seriously. 
Do those of you that have your peg under your arch keep your toe under the shift?
I think I will try to switch to the ball. Whatever I do I figure it would be good to make a habit of it since I have enough to think about when I hit the twisties and want my position to feel as natural as possible.
Those that ride that way finding any negatives over arch?

[LOKi]

Regardless you should keep that foot away from the shifter until it's time to shift. Keep those heals down!

[happycommuter]

The 'intuitive' way is the arch, like you're in stirrups.  That's how I did it at first, and it's a relaxed position, but not an athletic or responsive one.

I've been told to walk across a room a few ways: on tiptoes, on balls of feet, and flat-footed (since you can't walk on arches...and notice which balance point offers stability and agility, responsiveness.  Weight can be transferred most quickly and effectively by the balls of feet.  That's the one slight negative - vibration and bumps are transferred better too, so you get feedback that you may not really want...

[B83550nighthawk]

Lot easier for your feet to slip off the pegs when you are on the balls of your feet as well.

[B83550nighthawk]

I think a lot of this is going to depend on how you "fit" the bike as well.

[Snoopy]

One - i guess ive never payed enough attention to the position of my feet and now that I have been off for about 2 months (weather related) I can't remember...   

Two - I guess I've never leaned over far enough in a twisty to worry about scraping. Don't know that I trust my tires all that much...

http://www.kneedraggers.com/details/Bridgestone_Spitfire_S11_Sport_Touring_Rear_Tire--644556.html

There is the tire I use.

http://psawonline.com/METZELER-LASERTEC-13090V16-REAR-TIRE-1532400/M/B000GVA1MK.htm

Those are what I started my year out with. Loved em..but since I live on a halfmile of gravel, the back tire was worn out after 4k miles 
I still have the front tire on, wearing like a champ, but have had 3 back tires.

[LOKi]

I live on a halfmile of gravel

I ride these. Avon Distanzia's.


Great on wet and dry roads as well as dirt. I was running a rear Distanzia and a metzeler touring front my last trip to the Smokey Mountains. Dragging pegs was no problem. Dragging pegs while on the gas at 7k rpm stuck to the road like it was on rails. If there was any slip or drift I didn't even notice. Then when it comes to dirt they give you the extra grip to spit a roster tail, and the confidence to enjoy the ride. Just changed the tires last night and that rear got 9300 miles!

Sorry to  

[Burgi]

OK, so after 500 miles riding with my left peg under the ball of my foot instead of the arch I gotta say I really like it.
Lets me absorb shock much better with my legs instead of with my rear end. Once accustomed to it I feel more control and can move my body about easier.
I have to leave my right foot peg under my arch to cover my brake so for my normal (traffic) riding I guess I sort of split the difference.
Thanks for the advice guys and for those that haven't tried it you might want to see how it works for you.

[hockeyhawk]

When I'm just cruising around I mostly use my arch's, when hitting the twistie's hard I'm up on the ball of my foot for sure. I've been riding dirt bikes since I was a kid and your always moving your feet and legs around when dirt riding. Like Burgi said, try different things and see what's most comfortable.

Ride Safe,