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What's the correct resting position of the left foot in respect to the shift pedal? Should the toe be above or below the shift pedal during cruising?

I took the MSF course two months ago and bought a used Yamaha Virago 250 to start. The shift pedal on the bike is positioned in such a way that when my left foot is resting on the foot peg, the toe of the boot is under the shift pedal. Today, as I was doing routine maintenance on the bike, I realized that the previous owner had shift pedal about 6 cm higher than what the service manual suggests! After adjusting it properly, I now can't leave my toe under the shift pedal. In fact, it feels natural now to have my toe resting above the pedal. Is this correct? I should mention that I don't really trust the "proper" tolerances in my service manual. It was written in 1988, and I have a 2004 bike.

So... what's the correct resting position for the left foot in respect to the shift pedal?

I'm not very experienced, so I'll just repeat what they said at the MSF class I took. They told us that the balls of your feet should be on the pegs. This means that you should have to shift your foot position to shift or brake.

I'm not sure if this is something they tell noobies to prevent hitting the wrong control in a moment of panic, or what. Maybe it's to make it easier to shift your weight in slow manuvering or when riding over an obstacle. In the little experience I've had riding, I try to keep the balls of my feet on the pegs.

Maybe someone with more experience can offer more insight.

ill'n wrote:What's the correct resting position of the left foot in respect to the shift pedal? Should the toe be above or below the shift pedal during cruising?

Whatever's most functional and comfortable for you. My toes aren't near the pedal unless I'm upshifting or downshifting. For just riding around steady, the balls of my feet are on the pegs.

As for the perevious owner, s/he adjusted the pedal farther up from "standard spec", probably because of shoe size. The bigger your foot or boot is, the harder it is to cram at a hard angle and be comfortable shifting.

Put it whatever feels best.

Damian wrote:They told us that the balls of your feet should be on the pegs.

Shorts wrote:My toes aren't near the pedal unless I'm upshifting or downshifting. For just riding around steady, the balls of my feet are on the pegs.

Hmm... I must have missed that in the MSF class. I've been resting the heel of my feet on the pegs on both sides. I will have to try resting the balls of the feet next time. Thanks.

My bike has floorboards which means my feet sit flat and not hovering near the shifter.

You will find what works best for you.

You shouldn't really hover over or under the shifter/brake pedal. This just increases the chances of an accidental shift or brake while riding if you are startled or lose focus.

In heavy traffic, I will hover my foot over the brake pedal.

Sevulturus wrote:In heavy traffic, I will hover my foot over the brake pedal.

Yes! That's the reason why I have a harder time trying not to hover my foot over the controls. Oh highways and such, I guess it's okay. But in heavy traffic, I'm only comfortable when my right foot is hovering over the brake, especially with all the left turners and driveway/alley launchers.

Anyway, thanks everyone, for correcting a bad newbie habit.

My brother is a newbie with big feet - in following him, I find that he often unintentionally is riding the rear brake very lightly. Aside from it not being a good thing to ride your brake, it also means that since his brake light is always on, when he does go to hard braking, a car behind him(or me following him) will not know that he's starting to really brake. IMO, this is a good reason to keep your foot away from the pedal when learning to ride.

Flting Duck wrote:he often unintentionally is riding the rear brake very lightly ... his brake light is always on

I had adjusted the brake light switch to come on later to prevent that from happening. Now that I'm not going to hover over the brake, I guess I will adjust the light switch back to normal to give earlier warnings to cages behind me.

ill'n wrote:So... what's the correct resting position for the left foot in respect to the shift pedal?

sounds like you're already covered, but pretty much whatever position is comfortable for you... different people have different riding styles. what works for you may not work for someone else...