Hmmm, I don't think huggers are meant to hug that tightly...

Wicked Uncle Nigel says...

**** doesn't even know what bike they fit, they're GSX-R1100 ones, not
gixer thou.

 

There's no need to worry about having chicken strips on your tyres. I
can think of several people who've got rid of the strips and still
corner slowly.

 

And I can think of several who haven't and who are rather quick (and that's
not me!).

 

Er... explain.

Are you implying that you can lap roundabouts at 20mph and have no chicken
strips

 

*dingly*ding*

Although I did notice one interesting thing on my incredibly worn
tyres before I had them replaced last week, which was that the RHS
chicken strip was noticeably wider than the left. Not sure if that
really means I corner less aggressively that way, or if it's just due
to the direction of roundabaout over here...

--
_______
..'_/_|_\_'. Ace (brucedotrogers a.t rochedotcom)
\`\ | /`/ GSX-R1000K3
`\\ | //' BOTAFOT#3, SbS#2, UKRMMA#13, DFV#8, SKA#2
`\|/`
`

 

Mini roundabouts?

 

Mine are the opposite , are you left handed by any chance

 

Nope. I think it's just down to the side of the road one rides on,
TBH, although I never noticed any such LH bias when I rode in the UK.
When riding on the right there's nearly always more visibility and
more margin for error[1] on a left-hander, so I guess I tend to take
them faster.

[1] I.e. you can always relax the line a bit, assuming you're taking
it as far to the left as possible.

--
_______
..'_/_|_\_'. Ace (brucedotrogers a.t rochedotcom)
\`\ | /`/ GSX-R1000K3
`\\ | //' BOTAFOT#3, SbS#2, UKRMMA#13, DFV#8, SKA#2
`\|/`
`

 

Didn't realise you were out of the uk (jammy sod)

 

NAHAY?

--
_______
..'_/_|_\_'. Ace (brucedotrogers a.t rochedotcom)
\`\ | /`/ GSX-R1000K3
`\\ | //' BOTAFOT#3, SbS#2, UKRMMA#13, DFV#8, SKA#2
`\|/`
`

 

dwb says...

By jove, he's got it.

As others have said before, it was a constant source of amusement and
amazement how you could get the Gixer at almost horizontal angles of
lean, yet be so slow through the corner.

 

This may sound rediculous but I was quite shit on a bike until I started
racing minimotos! After I started getting my knee down on that (easy peasy
after a few gos), doing on the big bikes got MUCH easier. It's all about
learning to feel for grip and trust in the grip that you feel. When you can
do that, you can drive through a corner rather than wobble round it.

The market is flooded with cheap chinky minimotos these days and I wouldn't
touch one with a barge pole. Get yourself a Polini, a GRC or a Pasini and
learn to corner properly without risking life and limb ;-)

On the subject of risk taking - well that's another topic altogether innit?
Calculated risks are what biking is all about. It's a learning curve
really, one that never ends (and that's why we love bikes right?)

 

YOu may be glad to know I can't do it on the Strom - it'd fall over

 

I don't generally wobble around corners. The main reason I've not
tried to get my knee down is that I don't have any leather trousers
and, as such, no knee sliders. When I find some leathers at a
reasonable cost that will fit me then I will reconsider getting my
knee down, but I prefer to ride with an armoured jacket on and jeans.
I only wear matching motorbike trousers when I'm going on a long
journey that involves a lot of motorway work.

Plus as <Little Britain>"I'm the only biker in the village"</LB> I
rarely go out with anyone else for a blat but when I do I'm always
quite interested in following them and thinking "I didn't realise that
one could go quite so fast around that bend" and then have a go
myself.

When the tyres are lovely and warm I have a lot more faith in the
machine itself and I suppose (although it may sound a bit silly) that
I mentally count it as a part of myself. It just doesn't feel 'right'
sometimes and when I'm not 'in the zone' things tend to go wrong. But
when I'm 'in the zone' I have an excellent ride and it makes
everything worth it.

I'm 6'6" tall. I don't think I'd fit on a minimoto, but they do make
me smile.

That's why I took up riding. I'd exhausted most skills in a car in
just a couple of years, but nomatter how long I'm riding a bike, I
don't think I'll ever get to the top of the learning curve. I love
the experiences I've had (even the bad ones) and I hope to learn from
them.