Chicken strips?

[allanoue]

The only people who care how big their chicken strips are, are pu.... what..wait a second... sorry.

[cadd]

Mine are pretty wide. I don't really take turns too hot....hence, never have to lean aggressively.

I think mine are 1 - 1.5 inches wide. I'm looking at my tire and I'm confused determining where the strips start.

[cadd]

Here's a pic. You guys tell me. How wide are my strips?

[Klondike1020]

Originally Posted by cadd

Here's a pic. You guys tell me. How wide are my strips?

Go to Harbor freight

Buy - 1 rear stand, 1 grinder, one scouring disk, extension cord, sand paper and a pack straps.

Park bike against solid object, place on rear stand, start bike and put it in first.

Gently apply grinder to outer edges of tires. Once you rough it up right to the side walls smooth it all out with a nice high grit

dust it off with a rag.

Take new pic…. and now you can talk about your non existent strips

[LittleRedNinjette]

Here's mine. Street only. They seem to be about an inch i think...
20140710_082728.jpg

[subxero]

You guys should see the square I'm rocking on the back of the bike right now

Ill get a picture before I get it changed.

I'm over due for a new tire, I just ordered one yesterday

[Rifleman]

on the beasty



now I did scrub them off...



but also scrubbed off the "elbow chicken strips"

[cbinker]

Chicken strips are a measurement of your balls, smaller strips = bigger balls.

[Desmoluci]

Yeah, my bike needs washed...

[allanoue]

Originally Posted by LittleRedNinjette

Here's mine. Street only. They seem to be about an inch i think...
Attachment 31483

But you are dragging hard parts with them strips. You need to back to stock?

[allanoue]

Originally Posted by cbinker

Chicken strips are a measurement of your balls, smaller strips = bigger balls.

or bad BP.
Smaller strips = bad body position

Chicken strips mean nothing.

[LittleRedNinjette]

Originally Posted by allanoue

But you are dragging hard parts with them strips. You need to back to stock?

Actually not any more. I raised her back up for starters and i know my boot did hit the ground a couple times but i didn't find anyplace that i actually scraped hard parts :idk:

If my assumption that the mid hole on the roaring toyz links is correct, i have the bike lowered only 1" now. And i may bring it up one more notch in month or so.

[geeker]

Toe sliders scraping means your position is off. I finally worked that out last weekend at the track.

[capt_bugaloo]

I'll be the first to admit my bikes always have substantial 'chicken stripes'. Why? Because I _am_ a chicken!

[csmith12]

[LittleRedNinjette]

Originally Posted by geeker

Toe sliders scraping means your position is off. I finally worked that out last weekend at the track.

Yup, i was keeping my feet too far forward on the pegs. Trying to keep the balls of my feet on the pegs instead of locking the heel of my boot on them.

[M42]

If you manage to scour off your chicken strips doing street riding only, you're doing some seriously reckless stuff. Better hope the cops don't see you.

[Sirref]

Originally Posted by M42

If you manage to scour off your chicken strips doing street riding only, you're doing some seriously reckless stuff. Better hope the cops don't see you.

or your body positioning is really bad, in which case good luck and hope you don't crash soon

[250rr]

Originally Posted by cbinker

Chicken strips are a measurement of your balls, smaller strips = bigger balls.

Hmm. That's all well and good. But it doesn't account for my large chicken strips and the coconuts I am swinging.

[cbinker]

i will play the game (I do have pretty decent BP):

[Rifleman]

Has anyone noticed that the tire manufactures have taken to molding little "things" into the rubber on the edge of the bead?

My Metzelers have little tiny elephants in the edge rubber... the Pirelli's before that had little arrows...

[M42]

Yeah, it's a measuring thing for the fun of it, a lot of manufacturers do that on super sporty tires

[ninjamunky85]

Off with that elephant's head!

[choneofakind]

I've got the little arrows on my pirelli's. Time to scrub those off completely in August 5 and 6 with @csmith12.

Right now, my strips are about 1" wide on both sides. Been working on carrying speed with the body off the bike again, so I'm pretty proud of those strips. It means my practice is working.




now the MTB on slick tires? My goal there is to get all the way to the edge. I think I've finally got the technique down.

[csmith12]

^^^ I will give ya 3-5 laps chone, then it will all come flooding back.

[geeker]

Originally Posted by choneofakind

now the MTB on slick tires? My goal there is to get all the way to the edge. I think I've finally got the technique down.

This doesn't involve skinned palms and knees does it?

[choneofakind]

Originally Posted by geeker

This doesn't involve skinned palms and knees does it?

nope! just gotta cheat and lean the bike. Weight the outside peg to keep weight over the long-wise axis of the bike, then tip the bike in the turn. voila! Extra lean angle. It's how you get the bike to lean onto the side knobs and bite in turns on the trail. Works pretty well for gripping on the slicks on street too.

Sorta like sumo guys sticking a leg out and not hanging off the inside.

[geeker]

Originally Posted by choneofakind

nope! just gotta cheat and lean the bike. Weight the outside peg to keep weight over the long-wise axis of the bike, then tip the bike in the turn. voila! Extra lean angle. It's how you get the bike to lean onto the side knobs and bite in turns on the trail. Works pretty well for gripping on the slicks on street too.

Sorta like sumo guys sticking a leg out and not hanging off the inside.

I do it all the time on the trail. It's how I keep my times in line with the strong guys who can't corner. haha

[BoBO]

Here's a picture of my street tires. I no longer ride or lean aggressively after my first ticket on one of my canyon runs. Track only for me. A chicken strip can mean one thing, but it can also mean maturity.

[BoBO]

Originally Posted by M42

Yeah, it's a measuring thing for the fun of it, a lot of manufacturers do that on super sporty tires

It would be cool if they made OEM sizes for our 250.

[ninjamunky85]

Originally Posted by BoBO

It would be cool if they made OEM sizes for our 250.

Uhhh the M5 comes in a 110/70-17 front and a 140/60-17 rear. I've got a 110 front and a 150 rear on my 300. https://www.ninjette.org/forums/showthread.php?t=186041

[CZroe]

Originally Posted by ninjamunky85

Uhhh the M5 comes in a 110/70-17 front and a 140/60-17 rear. I've got a 110 front and a 150 rear on my 300. https://www.ninjette.org/forums/showthread.php?t=186041

OEM size for the 250J rear is 130. OEM size for the 300 rear is 140. These are oversize for a 250 same as your 150 is oversize for a 300.

[spooph]

so what's this talk about chicken strips not being a reflection of your ability? I realize it's in an attempt to keep people safe, however, instead of making a stupid statement that incorrectly and inaccurately devalues the information of tire wear, including chicken strips, have a little bit more respect for the brains who visit this forum and spend the time typing, or get a voice to text app if you're not willing to type....

Let's look at the best of the best: The MotoGP rider. I picked Marquez for some variety since most people post Lorenzo:



Some key things to notice about this picture:
1.) Correct body position - IE, lean off of the bike enough but not too much. Don't lean too much in an attempt to get your knee down as this will destabilize you. In that case you'd have to lean MORE and shrink your chicken strips....

2.) A race tire has a different profile, a profile which isn't made for the 250, but which you can simulate by putting a 150 tire on the rear. The profile is much more "peaky" than a road tire, like the "sharp" point of an egg, rather than the rounder "bottom" half of the same egg.

Therefore... It is EASIER to remove chicken strips from road tires than track tires... Now most people think you have to go fast to remove chicken strips when all you really need to do is to turn tight....

3.) The manufacturer has designed every part of the bike to work safely together. IE - for the 250, the edge of the 130 tire also happens to be exactly where the peg feelers start to scrape.... Therefore, if you scrape pegs, you'll have just a hint of chicken strip "feathers" left on the tire. You can drag peg with in/correct body position, good/bad habits, but you have to practice and gain experience and ability to do it comfortably, and that I believe translate into skill....

Thus, with enough training, practice, miles you CAN remove chicken strips on the street while staying within the speed limit, and it is a sign of how experienced you are and how well you can use, or ABUSE your skills..

Anyway, the point I'm trying to make is that your riding style, or the fact that you have chicken strips or not isn't a GOOD thing or a BAD thing, however, it is a good reflection of how capable you are and a good indication of how much more practice is necessary.

Knowing when/where to practice/improve and what is dangerous or not BEFORE you do it is mature and wise...

Along with that, the goal shouldn't be to shrink your chicken strips... That's kind of like trying to get a knee down.... And that's kind of like owning a Corvette so you can drive around looking cool in it. Don't go for a show/the look/trying to impress people.

Ride, practice, get better, don't be stupid, take a class if you have to, find experienced, patient teachers and above all, be smart and forget what other people think. Eventually, the chicken strips will shrink, but the GOAL should be to have fun and be safe.

My apologies if I offended anybody, but ultimate statements like:

"If you manage to scour off your chicken strips doing street riding only, you're doing some seriously reckless stuff. Better hope the cops don't see you."

"or your body positioning is really bad, in which case good luck and hope you don't crash soon"

and similar are simply judgemental and will keep people from learning to be better riders, and THAT will cost lives...

[Aufitt]

[BoBO]

It's very possible to remove your chicken strips on the streets or even drag the knee, but finding the right place to learn or to attempt to remove them can be a problem. There are so many variables like stoplights, cars running behind you, loose dirt and rocks, deers running out of nowhere, oil spills. That's why I think people prefer to encourage other people to remove their chicken strips at the track, where it's a safe environment.

It's also possible to remove chicken strips without exceeding the posted speed limit, but not every body has the same body type or riding characteristic. Some might require more lean than another person. But what if a little kid or dog bolts into the street out of nowhere, or a truck didn't happen to see you.The closer you are at the edge of the tires the less room you have to make corrections due to any unexpected variables.

[spooph]

Posted are my chicken strips, 2 of my track tires, and 1 of my current, brand spanking new road tire. The track tires is a SuperCorsa 150/60 and wraps around so much that there is no way to eliminate the chicken strips as the tire edge is nearly parallel to the rim edge plane (not sure what to call this - the red line - 0 degrees, 90 degrees from the riding surface when the bike is upright). The green line is the "chicken strip plane", and the blue line is where the tires have been worn.

The road tire still has about 1/8" of chicken left, as they are new and after more than 2 years off the bike I'm taking my time and rebuilding my frame of reference with these tires to stay safe and enjoy the ride. They are Conti Go's if anybody's wondering and in a few hundred miles they won't have any chicken left either. When I parked the bike 2 years ago, I had moved the exhaust and foot pegs up to get more clearance as I was scraping everything, but now I have put everything back to stock as I'm running the stock 130, instead of the 140 and don't want to accidentally ride off the edge of the tire - feelers are good, and I have yet to scrape them this time around. I have only ridden 2,000 miles since I got the bike running in January, after all...

Another note on reading your tires... If the tire sizes are within balance and manufacturer parameters (IE 110/70 and 130/70 for the 250, or other balanced combos like 120/70 and 150/70) then you can use them to see how where your fore-aft weight balance is in corners.

If your front strips are smaller than your rear strips it means you're entering the corner hot/ probably slowing down in the corner. The weight of you and the bike is more on the front of the bike forcing it down and to smush into the pavement. This means your rear tire is light. This is very aggressive riding and is dangerous as you are most likely at the very edge of the tire's grip.

If your front strips are bigger than your rear strips it means you're entering the corner slow, and accelerating out. The front tire is fairly light going into the turn and as you accelerate the weight is forced onto the back tire, smushing it into the pavement. This is safe as you have plenty of grip left on the front tire to adjust as is necessary, including for braking.

If the strips are the same for both tires you are in a Mary Poppins turn, practically perfect in every way, and you're probably riding At The Pace. No matter the speed, you are probably cruising as you aren't braking or accelerating and weight distribution is equal between the two tires. This is where all road riders should strive to be as it leaves the greatest amount of attention to watching your surroundings and staying safe instead of thinking about your tires, corner speed, etc. Ride ride ride and you will get there. For some it will take a few thousand, for others, like myself, it can take upwards of 50,000 miles before you can pull this off consistently.

Hope this helps.

so how 'bout we see some more chicken strips and tales of riding styles/habits?

[allanoue]

encouraging new riders to scrub there chicken strips and likely riding beyond there skills and having less room for unpredictable road changes.

@spooph was sorry for insulting me for being stupid and judgmental, he is trying to kill new riders and should be ashamed of himself

[CZroe]

It's not about whether it is possible to scrape your feelers and eliminate chicken strips at legal speeds on the street, it's about whether you should.

For example, let's find a turn where you can do this going the legal speed. Now, you can do it as tight as possible to get maximum lean or you can do it as safe as possible by chosing the straightest or most gradual line through a curve while remaining as upright as possible. Which of these will also leave you more room to lean should you encounter a hazard mid-turn? The one you should be doing. If you are already at maximum lean and turn angle for your speed, don't expect to be able to lean more to avoid a road hazard.

Now, I have a question: A counter-lean is considered bad riding posture, but can it allow you to lean the bike more while following the same line?

[ninjamunky85]

I got to think you're overreacting there a little bit @allanoue, it seems that there's something about this thread in general that you don't like. I actually thought spooph's posts were helpful, and more informative than encouraging bad riding. He even stated that there are risks involved.

If anyone crashes after reading this thread then it's their own fault. It's everyone's own responsibility for how they choose to ride. And if they crash trying to scrub off their chicken strips because @spooph told them to, then maybe they shouldn't be riding a motorcycle in the first place.

[allanoue]

@ninjamunky85 I agree most of what @spooph posted was helpful and should be taken to heart, but I have already said were he goes dangerously wrong.
Yes I think this is a bad thread given how many new riders come here.

Track riders show your chicken strips. All others, move a long nothing to learn or prove here.