A beautiful sight

singlecoillover · April 14th, 2011, 07:35 PM

After some tips from one of the highly skilled racing guys at my local dealership I decided to put my tires and my skills to the test. So I found an abandoned parking lot and proceeded to methodically push myself through turns harder and faster until I managed to drag my boot. (yes it was on the footpeg

) I know this won't be terribly impressive to a lot of you but it sure is a milestone for me.

For me it's really nice to have a feel for what the bike is capable of. It's one thing to see others do something, but actually experiencing it is a whole different story.

Just thought I'd share my excitement.

bob706 · April 14th, 2011, 07:39 PM

Nice

Xoulrath · April 14th, 2011, 07:46 PM

Great job on reaching your goal. How fast did you end up going to get to full lean?

singlecoillover · April 14th, 2011, 07:50 PM

Thanks guys!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Xoulrath

Great job on reaching your goal. How fast did you end up going to get to full lean?

I honestly have no idea. I know I was in second gear and the parking lot wasn't that big. I was busy looking through the turn, forcing myself to relax, move smoothly, and not touch the brake. If I had to make an estimate based on the gear and how high I think the rpms were I would guess that it was in the 20 - 30 MPH range in a circle that maybe had a diameter of 50 feet.

I also discovered I find it a lot easier to turn left than right. Odd. I should have been a NASCAR driver.

kkim · April 14th, 2011, 08:22 PM

change your tires if that's the stock IRCs or you'll be surprised on how bad they really are once you try pushing the bike in the twisties with your new found "skills".

jmgrande · April 14th, 2011, 08:44 PM

So what were the tips they gave you?

And turning left always seems more comfortable, I don't know why...

Xoulrath · April 15th, 2011, 02:21 PM

I second what Kelly said. I avoided full lean as much as possible on my IRCs because I didn't believe for a second that they would hold under a full lean at all.

singlecoillover · April 15th, 2011, 05:37 PM

I totally intend to replace my tires with bt-16's next spring. I mainly use the bike for cruising and commuting so I hate to just toss the stockers without getting SOME use out of them. It's also hard to sell the wife on anything bike related. The guy at the dealer said I should have gotten tires instead of a pipe, and after this little experiment I'm kinda wishing I had. He invited me to go sport riding with him this summer, but I'm hesitant because of all the bad things I've heard about the IRC tires.

Some of the tips he gave me were to always be smooth, never touch the brake, never slam the throttle closed, and to trust the bike. With the caveat that the tires need improving of course.

Yasko · April 15th, 2011, 08:24 PM

kool...

spooph · April 16th, 2011, 01:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kkim

change your tires if that's the stock IRCs or you'll be surprised on how bad they really are once you try pushing the bike in the twisties with your new found "skills".

Concerning the post, singlecoilover, you could get better tires.... Or you could keep improving your skillz and learn how to slide the rear tire....

Keep in mind, this is coming from the slightly-abnormal mind of Spooph, but I tend to look/think back to the days of yore and the amazing things some riders did with that vastly inferior technology, back in the day. How did they cope with it? By just being amazing riders. Not saying I'm an amazing rider, there are a gabajizillion riders better than me, all I know is you learn to push that IRC past it's ability, your learning curve will be that much higher when you go tires with some proper grip....

Again, please take this with a pinch of salt.... If you choose to go this route, make sure you have all the right gear, frame sliders on the bike and other some such nonsense to make pushing the limits as safe and reasonable as possible....

Xoulrath · April 16th, 2011, 02:15 PM

I agree with spooph, and I've said something along those lines before. Because I didn't trust my tires, I was forced early on to make sure I had body positioning and smoothness taken care of. I couldn't rely on grip, and I did get used to the tires exhibiting a tendency to slide a bit in a harder lean. I truly believe it helped me to get better faster. YMMV.

singlecoillover · April 17th, 2011, 06:44 AM

I see where you guys are coming from. Knowing that the irc's are not that good made me far more careful than I may have been if my tires inspired confidence. I gotta say though if money wasn't a factor my irc's would probably already be replaced. When my life is on the line I like to make as many variables work to my advantage as I can. A tire that's more forgiving can mean the difference between life and death on a high speed twisty run. I doubt I would ever have the guts to push those tires to their limit on the street.

Xoulrath · April 17th, 2011, 07:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by singlecoillover

I doubt I would ever have the guts to push those tires to their limit on the street.

It doesn't take guts to push a tire to its limits on the street; it takes stupidity, recklessness, and a complete disregard for others safety.

I'm sure some expert rider could make a Ninja with IRCs howl with pleasure on the street, but no way does he do it without exceeding serious speed limits. I had my Ninjette leaned about as much as 70% of full lean, running 70 mph around bends on roads with 45 mph speed limits. And I'm far from being an expert rider.

I'm not saying you would be careless, I'm just letting you know those IRCs, while awful, have higher limits than you give them credit for, especially when we are just talking street riding. Tracking the bike? Take them off immediately.

heylookitsfranco · April 18th, 2011, 07:09 AM

@singlecoillover dude that's aweosme, i'm still scared to go to a parking lot to do that without frame sliders

To address why it's easier to turn left, my msf instructor said that if you're right-handed, it's always gonna be easier to turn left because your strong arm is on the outside with better leverage of the handlebars. same goes for right turns and left-handed people.

April 14th, 2011, 07:35 PM	#1
singlecoillover ninjette.org member Name: Barak Location: South-Central PA Join Date: Feb 2010 Motorcycle(s): 09 Ninja EX250-J Special Edition Posts: 71	A beautiful sight After some tips from one of the highly skilled racing guys at my local dealership I decided to put my tires and my skills to the test. So I found an abandoned parking lot and proceeded to methodically push myself through turns harder and faster until I managed to drag my boot. (yes it was on the footpeg ) I know this won't be terribly impressive to a lot of you but it sure is a milestone for me. For me it's really nice to have a feel for what the bike is capable of. It's one thing to see others do something, but actually experiencing it is a whole different story. Just thought I'd share my excitement.

April 14th, 2011, 08:44 PM	#6
jmgrande YEAH! Custom name tag. Name: Jon Location: CT Join Date: Jul 2010 Motorcycle(s): 2010 Ninja 250R SE- SOLD to maverick9611 Posts: 525	So what were the tips they gave you? And turning left always seems more comfortable, I don't know why... __________________________________________________ Don't touch it. Don't even look at it. Go on, get out, you heard me. Don't look at me either. Yeah, you better walk on. I'll hit an old man in public.

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April 14th, 2011, 07:39 PM	#2
bob706 ninjette.org certified postwhore Name: Sean Location: Mary Esther, FL Join Date: Jan 2009 Motorcycle(s): 2008 Ninja 250 1998 HD Road King Posts: A lot.	Nice

April 14th, 2011, 07:46 PM	#3
Xoulrath ninjette.org sage Name: T Location: U.S. Join Date: May 2010 Motorcycle(s): Current: '11 ZX-6R; Previous: '09 Ninjette; '08 ZX-6R (Ex-Wife '09 TU250X) Posts: 981	Great job on reaching your goal. How fast did you end up going to get to full lean?

April 14th, 2011, 08:22 PM	#5
kkim Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: Too much.	change your tires if that's the stock IRCs or you'll be surprised on how bad they really are once you try pushing the bike in the twisties with your new found "skills".

April 15th, 2011, 02:21 PM	#7
Xoulrath ninjette.org sage Name: T Location: U.S. Join Date: May 2010 Motorcycle(s): Current: '11 ZX-6R; Previous: '09 Ninjette; '08 ZX-6R (Ex-Wife '09 TU250X) Posts: 981	I second what Kelly said. I avoided full lean as much as possible on my IRCs because I didn't believe for a second that they would hold under a full lean at all.

April 15th, 2011, 05:37 PM	#8
singlecoillover ninjette.org member Name: Barak Location: South-Central PA Join Date: Feb 2010 Motorcycle(s): 09 Ninja EX250-J Special Edition Posts: 71	I totally intend to replace my tires with bt-16's next spring. I mainly use the bike for cruising and commuting so I hate to just toss the stockers without getting SOME use out of them. It's also hard to sell the wife on anything bike related. The guy at the dealer said I should have gotten tires instead of a pipe, and after this little experiment I'm kinda wishing I had. He invited me to go sport riding with him this summer, but I'm hesitant because of all the bad things I've heard about the IRC tires. Some of the tips he gave me were to always be smooth, never touch the brake, never slam the throttle closed, and to trust the bike. With the caveat that the tires need improving of course.

April 15th, 2011, 08:24 PM	#9
Yasko Texas Newbie Name: John Location: D/FW Texas Join Date: Sep 2010 Motorcycle(s): 07 Ninja EX250, 07 FZ6 Posts: A lot.	kool...

April 16th, 2011, 02:15 PM	#11
Xoulrath ninjette.org sage Name: T Location: U.S. Join Date: May 2010 Motorcycle(s): Current: '11 ZX-6R; Previous: '09 Ninjette; '08 ZX-6R (Ex-Wife '09 TU250X) Posts: 981	I agree with spooph, and I've said something along those lines before. Because I didn't trust my tires, I was forced early on to make sure I had body positioning and smoothness taken care of. I couldn't rely on grip, and I did get used to the tires exhibiting a tendency to slide a bit in a harder lean. I truly believe it helped me to get better faster. YMMV.

April 17th, 2011, 06:44 AM	#12
singlecoillover ninjette.org member Name: Barak Location: South-Central PA Join Date: Feb 2010 Motorcycle(s): 09 Ninja EX250-J Special Edition Posts: 71	I see where you guys are coming from. Knowing that the irc's are not that good made me far more careful than I may have been if my tires inspired confidence. I gotta say though if money wasn't a factor my irc's would probably already be replaced. When my life is on the line I like to make as many variables work to my advantage as I can. A tire that's more forgiving can mean the difference between life and death on a high speed twisty run. I doubt I would ever have the guts to push those tires to their limit on the street.

April 18th, 2011, 07:09 AM	#14
heylookitsfranco ninjette.org member Name: Franco Location: Fairfax, VA Join Date: Oct 2009 Motorcycle(s): 2008 Ninja 250r, 2006 Ninja 636 Posts: 175	@singlecoillover dude that's aweosme, i'm still scared to go to a parking lot to do that without frame sliders To address why it's easier to turn left, my msf instructor said that if you're right-handed, it's always gonna be easier to turn left because your strong arm is on the outside with better leverage of the handlebars. same goes for right turns and left-handed people.