Hanging feet always says "newbie" to me. I give everyone space, but stay entirely clear of feet hangers.

 

Ain't we having fun...

Suicide clutch & jockey shift. Linked front & rear brakes fed from a handlebar master cylinder through a proportioning valve set to ~ 60% front/40% rear, give or take; backed down of the front % due to a lotta gravel time. Hardly ever put left foot down as it is on the clutch pedal.

Due to diabetes I have lost some of the "feeling" (sensitivity?) in my feet. It's just recently gotten more difficult to do a smooth take-off with the suicide, so I'll be looking for an auto-clutch for the next rebuild.

Other than that - overall smoothness - starting, stopping, lane adjustments, lane changes, into & out of curves - tends to mark an experienced rider.

 

I've been running a foot clutch for several months now and still can't do a smooth take off. Don't give a **** whether anyone thinks I know what I'm doing or not. Just like ridin and have liked it for about 50 years now. That's all that matters to me.

 

Sometimes I ride down the highway with my feet off the pegs hanging down because after about 5 hours on the bike my knees hurt really back. Arthritis sucks.

 

Yeah, those dudes scare me.

Not the same thing. Ever see those people who drop their feet at 20mph coming to a stop, then don't pick them up after taking off until they're well into third gear? That's who we're talking about.

 

Then I must agree, those guys are scary!

 

I'm an experienced rider, 24/7/365 40+ years, and yet when I first rode a scooter with forward mounted pegs it was difficult for me to remember that the pegs weren't where I was used to them being. In some situations, being an experienced rider works against us.

 

I hear ya. When I rode a bike with forwards it did take a few minutes to remember where the pegs were. I'm sure if many were to hop on a sport bike or any bike with a different configuration it takes a few moments to acclimate to it.

That said, after the initial few minutes, most experienced riders shouldn't have to think much about the mechanics. In my experience anyway.

 

Rev-matching when down shifting to make for a smooth shift.

 

Had I know way back when I first got interested in motorcycles that it was going to be something I would be judged on, I probably would have taken up something else.