How wide are your chicken strips? Can you scrape your pegs?

stingray · January 9th, 2009, 10:18 PM

hey y'all, since this is a more "mature" crowd than those "other" forums, i'd like to get a thread and a poll started over here...

i've been riding since october and already logged 2800 miles. i go down some decent twisties around my area, but haven't been down any truly mountainous terrain yet. still practicing on my skills before braving the mountain curves.

for the record, i'm the type that doesn't mind going 70-90 mph down a deserted country road with some decent twisties. however, i still have about 3/8" of chicken strips! perhaps i'm being on the conservative side around tight turns, i dunno. i'm trying to build confidence to lean fully, but i usually get to a point where i question the bikes ability to grip the pavement so i tend to back it off.

so what is your opinion on the matter? should a sportbike rider at least be *CAPABLE* of fully leaning just in case an emergency scenario ever arises that calls for a full lean? now i'm not implying one should scrape the pegs every day, but at least have the ability to feel confident at full lean (thus no chicken strips).

i'll be riding tomorrow (saturday) and practicing leaning so i'll update.

Cling · January 9th, 2009, 10:27 PM

The tires on the 250 are very tall and thin, it doesnt take much lean to get this bike turning very fast, because of this you need to be going very fast and hard in order to rid your bike of the strips.... for some this is 'dangerously' fast.

Kurosaki · January 9th, 2009, 11:45 PM

I don't ride nearly fast enough on the street to scrub the edges of my tire.

On the track, sure.

Depends on how much of your body you're using too. Some people keep their butt glued to the seat and lean way over when they could be leaning much less at the same speed using their body or go faster with the same lean + body positioning. I don't believe in trying to wear out the edge of your tires on the street. Take that ish to the track.

I ride pretty quick pace on mountain roads but still not to the edge of the tire. That kinda riding requires alot of commitment and trust in the turn, your tires, and half a dozen other conditions. I don't have those kinda balls for the street. The edges of my tires get ragged from the track and I never ride hard enough on the street to scrub that stuff off. But I can see how far I'm leaning in my street riding by looking at how much track rubber has been cleaned off.

I can't think of an avoidance situation where you would need to be leaned so far over scraping your pegs unless you were already cranked over pretty good and needed that extra lean to miss something? I dunno. That's what peg feelers are for. (I took mine off though. I know where my limit is.) Even on the track, for me, dragging peg means I need to back off or I'm being lazy with my body position.

In short, not having chicken strips is not necessarily a good thing. It doesn't really mean much.

I use the same riding technique and style on the street as I do on the track. I just ride slower on the street.

Cling · January 10th, 2009, 06:54 AM

Yep its very true, some people think they are 'being cool' by ridding all their bikes of chicken strips so easily because they can stay glued to the center of the seat around turns, but the funny thing is that somebody who has good form and gets off could do the same turn at the same speed with probably half the lean angle of the glued on person! I try to use my bottom as a gauge usually, I always try to get one full cheek off in the turns ;P

ScraitT · January 10th, 2009, 09:23 AM

Chicken strips are the most misleading sign of a "good" rider.

I have no chicken strips on the left side of my tires. Why is that? Because of a U-turn I have to do on the way home. This is NOT a tight U-turn (about 4 lanes) and it is not at high speed (maybe 10 mph). I just have a little fun leaning the bike over through the turn with absolutely NO riding technique at all.

Now the right side of my tires probably has about 1/4th" on strip left because I rarely have to turn right. The closest I get is a large S-Turn on the way to work that I could easily do at max speed on the 250 and not have to lean to the edge.

I'd love to get a track day in and see how far I can really lean it the right way, but that cost a little more $$ then I have atm.

aloh · January 10th, 2009, 03:51 PM

i love chicken strips.

BlueTyke · January 10th, 2009, 03:53 PM

I really wanted to vote but... I have only scraped peg on accident and even then I wouldn't be able to tell you how wide my 'strip' is...

My witty answer was... 3/4's inch fried please...

Guinss · January 10th, 2009, 04:20 PM

By chicken strips you mean what areas of the tires that havent got "dirty" by riding right? Or have i misunderstood?

Have never thought of checking that kind of things after a ride. Will do that when season starts again

I've scraped footpegs on stock tires(roadwinner), only once at 15mph hehe, no problem.

So that made me trust those pegs to be a limit for how long down i can go. But i dont know how much grip there are left after pegs are touching ground. probably some for safety matters.

HKr1 · January 10th, 2009, 04:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aloh

i love chicken strips.

Broom · January 10th, 2009, 04:40 PM

fyi for the noobs: chicken strips are the portion of your tread that hasn't had the release compound scrubed off yet.... you can tell the difference cause its a little shiny and the rest of the tread is dull.

it really is a poor gauge, but its still rewarding the first time you get rid of them. some tire profiles make it imposible to use the entire tire, while others are way too easy.

i saw this bike parked outside of a bar. it was a cbr1000 or something. made me sad that this poor bike never gets to do what it was designed for

Viper-Byte · January 10th, 2009, 05:11 PM

The roads around where I live are often a little banked, so it takes more speed to be able to go further on the tyre. There are places, tight corners that I can do 60 kph in my car in and the front is just about letting go, then I could be doing 100 kph round the same corner on the Ninja and she takes in no problems. I prefer to get off the seat and move, lean in more when I ride fast as I feel it keeps me in the zone and focused.

Also, I am not sure I trust the roads around here that much to be riding right to the edge as there are many things that can go wrong, and if you need a little more lean for whatever reason, and it is not available, things can turnout very nasty...

On the track is another story, there are fewer things that can go wrong (debis, stupid cagers etc etc) so you can push the bike further.

stingray · January 10th, 2009, 07:25 PM

thanks for the good info guys. i do tend to partially hang a buttcheek over in tighter turns, so that could definitely be a reason i still have some strips on the sides. i practiced some low speed u-turns, figure 8's, offset weaves, etc today and made them strips a little narrower. but i did manage to scrape my shoe that was below the shifter, that kinda sucks when it takes you by surprise!

at the very least, i like to know my bike's limit in case a hazard ever presents itself that requires a full lean maneuver. that said, i'm pretty sure i don't need to go much faster than i already do down the twisty country roads.

noche_caliente · January 10th, 2009, 07:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stingray

hey y'all, since this is a more "mature" crowd than those "other" forums, i'd like to get a thread and a poll started over here...

in that case - you left off the 'who cares' option....

Alex · January 10th, 2009, 07:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by noche_caliente

in that case - you left off the 'who cares' option....

Fixed.

aloh · January 10th, 2009, 08:00 PM

an option for "too wide to fit in the dipping sauce" isnt there either

noche_caliente · January 10th, 2009, 08:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alex

Fixed.

Thanks!

KnoxNinja · January 10th, 2009, 08:15 PM

I think I have a whole drumstick and half a thigh. I'm still new to riding, but when I practice taking turns, I try to take the turn as fast as I can while leaning the bike as little as possible. I try to increase my speed through the turn by mostly using body position. When I get that down, then I'll lean the bike more as necessary.

Oh, and that liter-bike up there is doing what it was designed for... going stupid fast in a straight line

Guinss · January 11th, 2009, 03:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stingray

at the very least, i like to know my bike's limit in case a hazard ever presents itself that requires a full lean maneuver. that said, i'm pretty sure i don't need to go much faster than i already do down the twisty country roads.

at bike traffic school the teacher said that the bike often could lay down alot more than the rider dared.

View Poll Results: How wide are your chicken strips?
3/4" +	9	23.68%
5/8"	0	0%
1/2"	3	7.89%
3/8"	3	7.89%
1/4"	1	2.63%
1/8"	4	10.53%
No chicken strips -- I can lean all the way	4	10.53%
I'm a peg scrapin' fiend!	4	10.53%
Who cares?	10	26.32%
Voters: 38. You may not vote on this poll

January 9th, 2009, 10:18 PM	#1
stingray ninjette.org member Name: Lee Location: Athens, Georgia Join Date: Jan 2009 Motorcycle(s): 2008 250r Posts: 23	How wide are your chicken strips? Can you scrape your pegs? hey y'all, since this is a more "mature" crowd than those "other" forums, i'd like to get a thread and a poll started over here... i've been riding since october and already logged 2800 miles. i go down some decent twisties around my area, but haven't been down any truly mountainous terrain yet. still practicing on my skills before braving the mountain curves. for the record, i'm the type that doesn't mind going 70-90 mph down a deserted country road with some decent twisties. however, i still have about 3/8" of chicken strips! perhaps i'm being on the conservative side around tight turns, i dunno. i'm trying to build confidence to lean fully, but i usually get to a point where i question the bikes ability to grip the pavement so i tend to back it off. so what is your opinion on the matter? should a sportbike rider at least be CAPABLE of fully leaning just in case an emergency scenario ever arises that calls for a full lean? now i'm not implying one should scrape the pegs every day, but at least have the ability to feel confident at full lean (thus no chicken strips). i'll be riding tomorrow (saturday) and practicing leaning so i'll update.

January 10th, 2009, 09:23 AM	#5
ScraitT Green! Name: Tyler Location: S. Florida Join Date: Nov 2008 Motorcycle(s): 08 Ninja 250R, 04 Honda CRF230F, 94 Honda XR80R Posts: 505	Chicken strips are the most misleading sign of a "good" rider. I have no chicken strips on the left side of my tires. Why is that? Because of a U-turn I have to do on the way home. This is NOT a tight U-turn (about 4 lanes) and it is not at high speed (maybe 10 mph). I just have a little fun leaning the bike over through the turn with absolutely NO riding technique at all. Now the right side of my tires probably has about 1/4th" on strip left because I rarely have to turn right. The closest I get is a large S-Turn on the way to work that I could easily do at max speed on the 250 and not have to lean to the edge. I'd love to get a track day in and see how far I can really lean it the right way, but that cost a little more $$ then I have atm. __________________________________________________ 2008 Green 250R

January 10th, 2009, 03:51 PM	#6
aloh lolwut Name: Alex Location: socal Join Date: Dec 2008 Motorcycle(s): 2008 Kawasaki Ninja 250R Posts: 196	i love chicken strips. __________________________________________________ 08 Blue Ninja 250R

January 10th, 2009, 03:53 PM	#7
BlueTyke So slow I'm first! Name: Sunny Location: San Jose, CA Join Date: Oct 2008 Motorcycle(s): 06 Kawasaki Ninja EX250 Posts: A lot. Blog Entries: 10	I really wanted to vote but... I have only scraped peg on accident and even then I wouldn't be able to tell you how wide my 'strip' is... My witty answer was... 3/4's inch fried please... __________________________________________________ Learn from the mistakes of others, you cannot make them all yourself. Save yourself the trouble and Learn.

January 9th, 2009, 10:27 PM	#2
Cling ninjette.org member Name: Jesse Location: Oxnard, CA Join Date: Dec 2008 Motorcycle(s): 06 Honda 1000RR, 08 Ninja 250 Posts: 96	The tires on the 250 are very tall and thin, it doesnt take much lean to get this bike turning very fast, because of this you need to be going very fast and hard in order to rid your bike of the strips.... for some this is 'dangerously' fast.

January 9th, 2009, 11:45 PM	#3
Kurosaki Akai Suisei - 赤い彗星 Name: Joseph Location: socal Join Date: Nov 2008 Motorcycle(s): 08 Kurosaki 250, 09 Honda 600RawrRawr Posts: 540	I don't ride nearly fast enough on the street to scrub the edges of my tire. On the track, sure. Depends on how much of your body you're using too. Some people keep their butt glued to the seat and lean way over when they could be leaning much less at the same speed using their body or go faster with the same lean + body positioning. I don't believe in trying to wear out the edge of your tires on the street. Take that ish to the track. I ride pretty quick pace on mountain roads but still not to the edge of the tire. That kinda riding requires alot of commitment and trust in the turn, your tires, and half a dozen other conditions. I don't have those kinda balls for the street. The edges of my tires get ragged from the track and I never ride hard enough on the street to scrub that stuff off. But I can see how far I'm leaning in my street riding by looking at how much track rubber has been cleaned off. I can't think of an avoidance situation where you would need to be leaned so far over scraping your pegs unless you were already cranked over pretty good and needed that extra lean to miss something? I dunno. That's what peg feelers are for. (I took mine off though. I know where my limit is.) Even on the track, for me, dragging peg means I need to back off or I'm being lazy with my body position. In short, not having chicken strips is not necessarily a good thing. It doesn't really mean much. I use the same riding technique and style on the street as I do on the track. I just ride slower on the street.

January 10th, 2009, 06:54 AM	#4
Cling ninjette.org member Name: Jesse Location: Oxnard, CA Join Date: Dec 2008 Motorcycle(s): 06 Honda 1000RR, 08 Ninja 250 Posts: 96	Yep its very true, some people think they are 'being cool' by ridding all their bikes of chicken strips so easily because they can stay glued to the center of the seat around turns, but the funny thing is that somebody who has good form and gets off could do the same turn at the same speed with probably half the lean angle of the glued on person! I try to use my bottom as a gauge usually, I always try to get one full cheek off in the turns ;P

January 10th, 2009, 04:20 PM	#8
Guinss ninjette.org guru Name: Simen Location: Norway Join Date: Jan 2009 Motorcycle(s): 2008 250R (Black) Posts: 298	By chicken strips you mean what areas of the tires that havent got "dirty" by riding right? Or have i misunderstood? Have never thought of checking that kind of things after a ride. Will do that when season starts again I've scraped footpegs on stock tires(roadwinner), only once at 15mph hehe, no problem. So that made me trust those pegs to be a limit for how long down i can go. But i dont know how much grip there are left after pegs are touching ground. probably some for safety matters.

January 10th, 2009, 04:40 PM	#10
Broom Track Junkie Name: Jon Location: Dallas Join Date: Dec 2008 Motorcycle(s): '08 Ninja 250r Track Bike, DR350 commuter, KDX220 woods bike Posts: 602	fyi for the noobs: chicken strips are the portion of your tread that hasn't had the release compound scrubed off yet.... you can tell the difference cause its a little shiny and the rest of the tread is dull. it really is a poor gauge, but its still rewarding the first time you get rid of them. some tire profiles make it imposible to use the entire tire, while others are way too easy. i saw this bike parked outside of a bar. it was a cbr1000 or something. made me sad that this poor bike never gets to do what it was designed for __________________________________________________ Las Escobas -- Track Bikes Save Lives JonBroom.com

January 10th, 2009, 05:11 PM	#11
Viper-Byte ninjette.org sage Name: David Location: Wellington, New Zealand Join Date: Dec 2008 Motorcycle(s): 08 Ninja 250R in Green! (Sold) Now 2011 Triumph Daytona 675 SE Posts: 564	The roads around where I live are often a little banked, so it takes more speed to be able to go further on the tyre. There are places, tight corners that I can do 60 kph in my car in and the front is just about letting go, then I could be doing 100 kph round the same corner on the Ninja and she takes in no problems. I prefer to get off the seat and move, lean in more when I ride fast as I feel it keeps me in the zone and focused. Also, I am not sure I trust the roads around here that much to be riding right to the edge as there are many things that can go wrong, and if you need a little more lean for whatever reason, and it is not available, things can turnout very nasty... On the track is another story, there are fewer things that can go wrong (debis, stupid cagers etc etc) so you can push the bike further.

January 10th, 2009, 07:25 PM	#12
stingray ninjette.org member Name: Lee Location: Athens, Georgia Join Date: Jan 2009 Motorcycle(s): 2008 250r Posts: 23	thanks for the good info guys. i do tend to partially hang a buttcheek over in tighter turns, so that could definitely be a reason i still have some strips on the sides. i practiced some low speed u-turns, figure 8's, offset weaves, etc today and made them strips a little narrower. but i did manage to scrape my shoe that was below the shifter, that kinda sucks when it takes you by surprise! at the very least, i like to know my bike's limit in case a hazard ever presents itself that requires a full lean maneuver. that said, i'm pretty sure i don't need to go much faster than i already do down the twisty country roads.

January 10th, 2009, 08:00 PM	#15
aloh lolwut Name: Alex Location: socal Join Date: Dec 2008 Motorcycle(s): 2008 Kawasaki Ninja 250R Posts: 196	an option for "too wide to fit in the dipping sauce" isnt there either __________________________________________________ 08 Blue Ninja 250R

January 10th, 2009, 08:15 PM	#17
KnoxNinja BRKDWN. Name: Jimi Location: Knoxville, TN Join Date: Dec 2008 Motorcycle(s): 89 GPX250R, 89 GPZ500S Posts: 126	I think I have a whole drumstick and half a thigh. I'm still new to riding, but when I practice taking turns, I try to take the turn as fast as I can while leaning the bike as little as possible. I try to increase my speed through the turn by mostly using body position. When I get that down, then I'll lean the bike more as necessary. Oh, and that liter-bike up there is doing what it was designed for... going stupid fast in a straight line

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