So today (sunday) I went to Palomar with a buddy and we spent the day ripping away the pavement on the south grade. The pictures below is my rear tire each side, I can honestly say that when I had an R6 I was never comfortable enough to get as low as I was today... I hope everyone had a good weekend of riding and rode safe. I know this morning we lost a rider on Palomar no information was released to me.
My street bike tire was the same as well
Then I started doing trackdays and then raced CMRA briefly
After that my strips were alot bigger on the street
I just cant push the same way anymore
I enjoyed the backroad rides at a brisk pace but cant get close to where I was back then and before
My street bike tire was the same as well
Then I started doing trackdays and then races CMRA briefly
After that my strips were alot bigger on the street
I just cant push the same way anymore
I enjoyed the backroad rides at a brisk pace but cant get close to where I was back then and before
I don't know of any streets around here I can do that with the posted speed limits, second of those I could do it would have NO room for any variables like road conditions or the worst cagers in my lane.
Did my first 4 track days on a Tiger 1050, which is far from ever being a track bike.
A ninja off the show room floor is more of a track bike than a tiger will ever be.
Cost's in my state any moving violation is minimum $160, if your doing 10 mph over gets real expensive quick so compared to a track day it's a no brainer, not mentioning points and increased insurance.
I don't consider the track a
3 rules I can think of, how to merge on the track, how to get off the track and 6 foot passing rule in my group.
SO if you can do that on the street you have some great basic skills that would really shine on the track.
Do yourself a favor, figure out how to budget for 6 track days. If you feel the SAME WAY you do now after 6 FULL track days and don't admit you are having more fun on your bike than you ever have had. I will eat my words.
Man, I love this forum!!
Coming from a naked bike, I thought the pressure was up, that I couldn't have chicken strips on a ZX6R (street riding).
But you guys have made me wiser and realized that is not worth the risk. Now I'm going to call them "smart strips".
Thanks guys.
For real man, my lowside on the track made me realize how close I have been to washing out the front on the street a bunch of times. Now the gsxr gets a straight line squirt here and there and I just cruise through the twisties a bit more reasonably. I'll do the rest on the track.
The problem with many street riders is that they don't know where they can go fast on the street.
Once they become fast, they think that they can go fast everywhere. Wrong...... know your roads. Where the driveways are, where people in cars stop and sightsee, know when traffic is heavy etc. Avoid all of the danger signs. If you see too many danger signs, know when to call it a day. Even if it is the beginning of the day. Many times in the canyons of California on Holiday weekends,
I have just said " there are too many Sunday drivers today, let's go home". The older you get, the more you are able to read the signs of a bad situation beginning to present itself.
I've had days where I just don't feel as sharp, and yeah, don't ride as quick those days. More space in front, slower in the corners.
Also agreed, you have to know where the side streets are, where the blind rises are, etc. If you know those things, you can be much more prepared for unexpected obstacles, since they're partially expected. If you ride a route constantly and you haven't picked up on where traffic is heavy, where people slow, where they cut into the right lane to go around someone waiting to turn left, etc, you're doing yourself a disservice.
^^ never ride faster than you can stop in the space that you can see...... never put your faith in the unknown; for some that leap of faith is terminal........
Michelin Power RS 180/60-17 at our local canyon ie. Bakersfield to Lake Isabella. Pace at about 70-90mph, we know these roads enough. I have chicken strips, all while getting knee down in a few spots. Don't let anybody tell you shit about chicken strips, especially those guys on 1000's with those 190/50 tires...
Damn, I havent heard the term chicken strips in a pretty long time. Just sold the street bike and all I have now is the track bike. But like the others have said, I'm not a fan of decreasing chicken strips on the street. My PP3s from my 07 street bike are very very very large chicken strips. The SC2s I just pulled off my 09 track bike has 0, which isnt all that impressive as its fairly common on 180s/190s on the track. Never really understood all the hype over strips. Road speeds dont call for the bike to be leaned that much, and if your speeds do... well then youre increasing your chance at being a statistic.
I don't know about the roads that most of you ride but around my area it's hard to not burn the edges of both front and back tire. Fairly basic cornering experiences. Roads with few cars if any.
Lol guys, once you hit the track and get somewhat proficient, you will hit 1 day where you physically need to work on less lean.
Less lean is always faster then more lean.... very simple put you are able to stand bike up faster and get power on sooner.
Also all the tires have weird profiles, i cant scrub in a pirelli front but the bridestone front i scrub front tire all the way without trying on the street.... its not a sign of anything.
You *can* fully scrub a Pirelli front...it is just a real bitch to do so. Anyway, yes I agree some tire profiles make it a lot easier to run all the way to the edge.
Made a conscious effort to reduce lean angle in corners Sunday at the track, it worked apparently, and I have some chicken strips again lol. Will post pictures later if I remember. I was definitely not going slower than last time either.
Adding more lean angle when I didn't have any left to add is a part of why I crashed my first day. I chalked it up to bad BP originally, but bad BP is the reason I was leaned as far as I was in the first place, so being out of tire and trying to adjust my line and my BP all added up to a lowside. I want to avoid that as much as I can lol. Looking forward to seeing the pictures the photographer got as well so I can compare my BP this time. I believe it is MUCH improved.
I ended up with some metal polish on my back tyre that drys white, so i can see exactly how wide mine are. Surprisingly to myself they aint very!
Less than a finger nails width :O
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