Right peg, left peg?

Jampy00

Jampy00

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As I’m getting older I’m finding it increasingly difficult to kick my leg over the back of motorcycles, especially taller adventure bikes.
I’ve seen mounting examples from people stepping up on either the right or left peg. I feel more comfortable stepping on left peg (side stand side). But, is it better (safer) from the right peg. Is it simply a preference or are there pros and cons?
 
Same as mounting the Ural.Left peg,up and over.(are you still putting your foot down at stops?)
 
I always get on with the left peg. ( now that my hips no longer allow me to do it properly).

Saw some guy recently advocate that you should always mount from the high side. That sounds silly to me.
 
Jampy00 said:
As I’m getting older I’m finding it increasingly difficult to kick my leg over the back of motorcycles, especially taller adventure bikes.
I’ve seen mounting examples from people stepping up on either the right or left peg. I feel more comfortable stepping on left peg (side stand side). But, is it better (safer) from the right peg. Is it simply a preference or are there pros and cons?
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As a short rider on tall bikes, I always use the peg to get on the bike.

Recently I've started mounting on and off the right peg. I find that it's less stress on the kickstand having your weight on the opposite side. Also, sometimes it's easier on variable terrain to mount from the right, especially if the kickstand will sick into sand or soft dirt if you get on from the left.

A less common reason is if you're pulled over on the side of a busy highway or road and the shoulder is really narrow, it may be safer dismounting from the right side instead of waiting for traffic to subside to get off on the left. Especially if it's an emergency.

An even less common reason is, I lead a lot of group rides and when we park, sometimes the second rider parks very close to me on my left just so we can fit as many bikes in the space. As lead rider, more room for me to dismount if I do it from the right. Just a small Quality of Life thing... 🤷‍♂️


On a lot of bikes, the kickstand is mounted on the frame which makes for a solid attachment point, but for other bikes using cradle-less frames, like my Hyper, the sidestand mounts to the engine case. Don't want to be $napping that off if you put too much weight on it...

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I also make sure the kickstand is frame-mounted if I'm going to be doing the kickstand spin to turn a bike around.

But 90% of the time, I just use the cowboy mount/dismount.

 
The problem with using the right peg is if the bike is close to the balance point and goes past it as you step on the right peg and swing your left leg over the bike you'll likely fall over before you get your right back off the peg down.
 
Left side for me. BTW I'm having problems with my bicycle. The seat is as low as it can be and I've lost the flexibility to swing my leg over the seat.
 
nobbie48 said:
Left side for me. BTW I'm having problems with my bicycle. The seat is as low as it can be and I've lost the flexibility to swing my leg over the seat.
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Bicycle is easier. Lay it over on the left side, step over and stand the bike back up between your legs.
 
nobbie48 said:
Left side for me. BTW I'm having problems with my bicycle. The seat is as low as it can be and I've lost the flexibility to swing my leg over the seat.
Click to expand...

Cowboy mount for that. I have my doubts that I could pull that off 100% of the time on my motorcycle though. I used to swing my leg over normally on the bike until I realized those strange strains and cramps were because I no longer had the flexibility I had when I was younger so left peg it is for me.

Maybe I should carry one of these lol…
 
Wingboy said:
Same as mounting the Ural.Left peg,up and over.(are you still putting your foot down at stops?)
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Not a Ural. Tall adventure with side bag.
 
Jampy00 said:
Not a Ural. Tall adventure with side bag.
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My buddy rides a mid-sized Adv and always uses the left peg to get on due to a previous MC collision limiting leg/hip movement. He does the same with his dirtbike. The guy should be operating a Miata instead but he's stubburn.
 
I only use pegs to mount tall bikes with when carrying panniers. Always left.
 
Mad Mike said:
I only use pegs to mount tall bikes with when carrying panniers. Always left.
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Recently I started kicking the passenger seat of my Pan America this new bike is slightly taller and with side bags so it’ll be the left peg from now on. I understand the use of the right peg but it freaks me out a bit.
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