With the best will in the world I'm not going to use Moto Cross riding techniques on a loaded up bike with another 5000 miles stretching out in front of me. And, having done long trips on a bike (a few of them actually) where reaching the ground was an issue, I'm now older and wiser via my own experience - and that experience - as I posted before - involved having to master tippy toe techniques. With that behind me I try to avoid it for all the reasons I gave before. If that means my off road adventures are going to have to be curtailed for lack of ground clearance or because I haven't graduated from the Latest Dakar God Off Road Riding School, then so be it.

You're right that sooner or later there's a good chance everyone will come a cropper even if they can plant both feet. I did it a few years ago on a bike where I can plant both feet when I stopped on a flooded road and put my foot into a submerged pothole. And many years ago on a long Euro trip I was following someone on a GoldWing when he missed a gearchange on a hairpin turn. His leg was too short for the (extreme) camber and the bike ended up upside down in a ditch. Both of those incidents could / should have been avoided but I don't want to head off somewhere on a bike where it could happen at every set of traffic lights. If there's no other alternative and that's the bike I'm stuck with I'll take messing up the steering geometry by lowering it over hoping there's no sand of gravel under the tip of my boot every time I just manage to get a toe down.

Your post leads to the question about why we travel on motorcycles - whether it's for the buzz of the ride itself, or whether it's the travel experience that matters.

Is it nice to be able to flatfoot both sides? Yes. Is it necessary? No, if you're a reasonably competent rider.

I think you are all making good points.

Now, there are various degrees of handicap. Someone who can plant their heels with bendt knees, or just their heels with straight legs, or just their toe balls, or just barely their tippy toes, or have both feet dangling high up in the sir - it is different. If you actually were to ride comoetetive MX and intend to win, then you will ride the best bike - feet dangling or not.

HU is about travel. To some it is about riding a decent amount of pretty difficult terrain, with a light load. To others it is riding two up with all their creature comforts and self reliance gear onboard - avoiding the knarliest stuff. To those that lean more to the latter category they will be able to find plenty of superb bikes that won't cause any fear of heights. Those that lean more towards the prior category might have a much smaller selection, many which will be tall. The question then becomes how tall relative to their reach and to what extent they ought to compromise on bike height. I would assume that few woul need to make a compromise if they could plant both toe balls, while just about all that could barely tippy toe ought to.

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