Lean angles ...

Been told I ride like a wuss because my back tyre has “chicken strips”…It does have a couple of strips at the outside edges but there is no way of me getting the bike over far enough to use that part of the tyre…I only use this bike on public roads. Does this make me a poor rider? …

This is the offending tyre…Its on a bog standard XJR 1200 used on the road only and the strip is about half an inch wide.

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dont worry what people say dude, just enjoy riding and keep the bike right side up:)

you should see ratty46 chicken strips:w00t: but he still cool:D

There could be a number of reasons why you have the strips, some due to bike setup and tyre profile.

I have chicken strips on the road because the tarmac and other peoples’ driving really isnt up to giving any more confidence to it. When youre that far over, youre so committed that there is no hope of being able to change your position should someone else make things difficult for you.

Go on a track day, get rid of the strips there if it bothers you, but keep them on the road, because if you dont keep that margin of safety in place, nobody else will.

The only person that you should pay attention to in terms of what you are and are not prepared to do is you.

p.s. I dont ride “like a girl…”/“wuss”

not really, still fairly leant over, my road bike has no strips at all, becuase i KD no other reason than that- yes on road( corners not roundabouts) and yes its dangerous… but i liove it:D, soem people i know kd but still have an untouched strip of rubber on the edge.

i dunno what it is but i seem to have something against tires, my last work bike had nothing left on the edge, infact it had blistered and removed the lil michelin man, and its a CBF500 courier bike!:w00t:

been scrubbing in a new one today, got about half an inch or so to go now…not that it matters;)

The strip on the right-hand side of my rear tyre is about half the width of the one on the left. I don’t go roundabout surfing or owt; I think I’m just more confident on right-handers than left-handers.

But as Gabs said, on the road I don’t really want to be getting over so far that I scrub them all off. It would mean I was right on the limit with nowhere else to go if something happened.

Doesn’t bother me really. I’m not the fastest rider, but who gives a squit? :smiley:

it depends if you you have strips because you choose not to lean, or you have difficulty leaning the bike.

as gabs mentioned, track is by far the best place to find out how to ride the bike properly and experiment with lean and body position

Dont worry what other people say mate, ride your ride and enjoy it :wink:

I got big chicken strips, but see it as that I’m reducing my carbon footprint :smiley:

Chicken strips yummy…urhhhh.

I’ve still got strips on mine, I think a track day is in order.

:laugh:

OMG stop riding immediately :smiley:

Do you really care dude?

Keeping it vertical is more important than the size of strips…

I’ve mastered chicken stripping, and tarmac acquainting…Decided to play it safe on the road.

The bike will not go over any further because parts of it are dragging on the ground and it really is at the limit when its that far over. Last night I had the chance to have a ride out with the 2 who made the comment…should have known really… This bike may be old and lardy but it showed their much newer and quicker (though poorly ridden!) bikes the way home. I feel a lot better now;)

There’s nowt wrong with a tyre like that on a XJR!

Like has all been said above, lean angles are dependent upon varios factors, including chassis dynamics, suspension set-up, ground clearance, your weight, grip levels, tyre profile, etc., so it’s all very subjective, and doesn’t necessarily mean you’re any slower through the bends, as you’ve now managed to prove to your mates. :wink:

and - more importantly - yourself!

Yes, that’s the ultimate factor, of course. :slight_smile:

still, you could probably do with riding it a bit harder :Whistling: :smiley:

https://www.youtube.com/v/0nrMQ3QwyPo&hl=en&fs=1&

The lack of chicken strips is not indicative or a rider’s skill level just how willing they are to ‘risk it all’ for nowt.

Frankly I’m more suprised that nobody has commented on the rim tape :wink: