Chicken Strips for Lunch

[go cytocis]

I recently put on a new set of Battlaxs' and got to work scrubbing them in on a quiet stretch of twisties nearby.

I am on an Ss with 'R' pegs which give me a 47 degree maximum soft lean angle, as opposed to the 44 degree lean angle of the stock 'S' pegs. I found that my stock 'S' pegs often scraped, and gave me some warning before I reached the edge of the tire. On the other hand, I have never once landed the 'R' pegs, in spite of having shaved off all trace of chicken strip.

A shot from my Go-Pro shows me at ~45 degrees, which is about as low as I am comfortable getting on the street. The air temperature was a cool 10C (50F) but I did not feel like I was anywhere near breaking traction even though I was at the edge of the tire.

For reference, the series of curves you see in the pic above are ~50 m (150 ft) radius, and I am taking them at ~100 km/h (60 mph) in second gear.

I'd like to hear from anyone with experience dragging 'R' pegs on how close you feel you are to reaching the bikes's & tire's limits when the feelers start scraping?

 

[anrkizm95]

how close you feel you are to reaching the bikes's & tire's limits when the feelers start scraping?

take the feelers off you have a lot of lean to go.

 

[06xbss]

I barely touched the feelers a couple of times on my Ss with drop pegs, took the feelers off. Haven't touched a peg since..... I'm also big on practicing proper body positioning..... Near as I can tell from the pic, on those corners @ 60mph I'd still have a 3/4 inch chicken strip.

 

[go cytocis]

take the feelers off

On a track bike, I totally agree with you Kiz, but our local track closed a couple of years ago so now all I ever see is the street where I like to have something other than my knee to gauge how far over I am. Knee dragging on the street tends to alarm civilians and attract police, so I have learned

 

[anrkizm95]

then leave them on and grind them down by then you should know your bike

 

[FlaXB9R]

take the feelers off you have a lot of lean to go.

I don't know about "a lot" but there is some room left. The S model with one inch drop pegs + feelers I might agree but on the R your pretty damn close to maxed out (at least with street tires and not on a track). I took mine off for this reason and have dragged my toe sliders with foot against the bike "not sticking toes out at all" and I don't know how much more of a difference it was from dragging feelers. Although dragging plastic sliders feels better than pegs/feelers.

Then again maybe I just have big feet. I just looked at this picture below and my toe sliders are barley shorter than the feelers (you can see on my right foot) so maybe there is "a lot" of room if you have small feet but if small feet are case you might have other issues to worry about besides motorcycles in general.

 

[go cytocis]

I'm also big on practicing proper body positioning

You're right 06, if I would have been hanging off during that shot, the bike could have been kept more upright, but when I'm on the street, I prefer to keep in-line with the bike. Again, it's a matter of remaining as inconspicuous as possible to any cop who may be rounding the corner up ahead!
Keep in mind, I'm on a shoulderless road keeping to my lane in that shot!

 

[go cytocis]

Fla, looks like you might be a tad over 45 degrees in that pic. How close to the edge did you feel there? Looks like you had a pretty safe line.

 

[06xbss]

Again, it's a matter of remaining as inconspicuous as possible to any cop who may be rounding the corner up ahead!

Good plan on public roads..... The only time I hang off the bike on public roads is middle of the day during the week, when chances of seeing a cop are almost non-existent

I have found that just shifting my ass/upper body while leaving my knee against the frame still has a noticeable effect on how far you have to lean the bike. Still remain fairly inconspicuous because your not sticking your knee out.

 

[go cytocis]

The only time I hang off the bike on public roads is middle of the day during the week,

Ha! you are obviously lucky enough to work shift, or be retired. I envy guys like you because you get to enjoy the roads when no one else is on them!

 

[FlaXB9R]

I felt like I still had more. Even when I had toe sliders on the ground I've felt very stable and grounded on this bike but personally I don't know that I need nor want to lean any further...

This is all on power pures. I'm going a little sticker next set so we'll have to see if that changes my mind any.

 

[go cytocis]

I have found that just shifting my ass/upper body while leaving my knee against the frame still has a noticeable effect on how far you have to lean the bike

Yup, this allows you to lower your overall CoG which means you can afford to keep the bike more upright.

 

[go cytocis]

I'm going a little sticker next set so we'll have to see if that changes my mind any

The downward spiral you get into when running 'stickier' tires on the street is that they require more heat to get traction, which is hard to generate & keep at street speeds...

 

[FlaXB9R]

I've honestly been debating not riding street anymore. I feel I've pushed my luck enough. Only down side is four hours to closet track [sad]

All I like to do is ride aggressive and really the street is not the place for that (not that I pay any attention to that obviously but might be gaining some wisdom over the years [confused])

Edit: ok that's not the only downside if I quit the street I'll probably go i4

 

[06xbss]

Ha! you are obviously lucky enough to work shift

Last summer I had weekdays off, this year the only time I really got to play was when I could get my ass on the road just as the sun was coming up.

The downward spiral you get into when running 'stickier' tires on the street is that they require more heat to get traction, which is hard to generate & keep at street speeds...

I run med/med-soft compound Michelin Power One take-offs and have just played with tire pressures to find what gets and keeps the tires at the proper temp. With the current cooler temps. I'm running 32psi front/30psi rear.

 

[06xbss]

I've honestly been debating not riding street anymore.

I'll never ride a i4 or even a 9r/12r on the street, body positioning makes it to temping to go to fast. Another plus to a Ss/S or any naked, is that cops pay less attention to you when your in a more upright ridding position.

 

[go cytocis]

I run med/med-soft compound Michelin Power One take-offs and have just played with tire pressures to find what gets and keeps the tires at the proper temp.  With the current cooler temps. I'm running 32psi front/30psi rear.

That's a great tip 06! I am not afraid to run my street tires down to 28 psi (depending on ambient temperature up here in Canada) to keep temperatures up and increase the contact patch. I also find it helps reduce squaring-off.
Low tire pressure is actually a trick I learned dual-sport riding where we are usually below 20 psi!

 

[06xbss]

When I used to have a dirt bike for ridding trails, ran 15psi front/10psi rear.

 

[go cytocis]

if I quit the street I'll probably go i4

Yup, I came to the XB after I landed myself in court on my 919 and I was looking for something a bit slower. Liter-class I-4s simply can not be ridden sensibly on the street, at least not by someone who lacks the maturity I do!

 

[06xbss]

Liter-class I-4s simply can not be ridden sensibly on the street, at least not by someone who lacks the maturity I do!

Even a 600 begs to go way to fast for public roads