Ok, I'll give it up...I'm a street rider sneakin' in and asking the racers for some info....
So, the simple question is...do tires, especially the stock ones on the ninjette...tell you when they're gonna let go ? ...before they let go.
Everytime i take this bike into a sweeper I feel like I could be going WOT if i trusted the tires. But i dont know if how far to trust them
FYI...tires show some wear to within 3/4" of the "end of tread" ridge
Outermost ring of lil' rubber **** is still there
Have 5600 miles on bike.
Wanna share some experience ? Thanks

Which stock tires, IRC or GT501? I used the 16" GT501s as race tires on the classic bike so they stick pretty well.

Beyond that you should NOT be "testing" your tires like that on the street. That is why there are tracks, and why we ride them.

Thanks for the reply Ryan.
Still, in your experience IF you've fallen, do you recall....was it a slow loss, a quick breakway, did the tire skip then break away....or is there no simple answer in your opinion.

I used the stock 501's for quite a few trackdays on the 250.
I lowsided on the 501's.
Yes, they just let go.
The IRC's are not near as grippy as the 501's and you can expect the same result at the limit.
That being said, I wore the 501's all the way to the edge and was dragging a knee before I reached the limit on the track. Give them a couple laps to warm up and they grip enough to go pretty darn fast.

Check out the threads on tires here at ninjette.org for more info.

I kinda have the same question do any of you have a good way of feeling your grip on the road? I had a bit of a track day when I was going through a corner I felt the rear slip a bit but I corrected it and got the traction back. So any sort of observations you guys use to gauge your traction or at least have a good estimate? almost40 is right about them typically just letting go most of the time.

While I haven't raced a 250 (yet), I've raced a ZX6R and I stay away from tires that are on/off because I've been there, done that.. It's not worth it! That being said, know your tire pressures regardless of tires. Not only cold, know the hot temps too because throughout a track day your may gain a few PSI over what you want and sometimes that'll be the difference of you having traction or not. I check them before I go out, and right after I come in.

I used the stock 501's for quite a few trackdays on the 250.
I lowsided on the 501's.
Yes, they just let go.
The IRC's are not near as grippy as the 501's and you can expect the same result at the limit.
That being said, I wore the 501's all the way to the edge and was dragging a knee before I reached the limit on the track. Give them a couple laps to warm up and they grip enough to go pretty darn fast.

Check out the threads on tires here at ninjette.org for more info.

Exact same happened to me. I tracked them a few times, and definitely got knee down, dragging pegs, exhaust, toes and eventually kickstand. Hitting the kickstand caused my lowside, but on other occasions, the rear tire started to slide, but instead of being a predictable slide, it would skip and chatter, probably not helped by the stock rear suspension. Definitely not a good feeling, or a good tire to track with unless you plan on taking it easy.

I used the stock 501's for quite a few trackdays on the 250.
I lowsided on the 501's.
Yes, they just let go.


+1

Moving my mark by a foot or two was enough to go from "feels great" to "splat". There was no gradual reduction in traction or turn in, no warning that I was approaching the limit, etc..