Chicken Strip Question

[fretbender]

If you want more chicken go with the Avon. These tires are shaped a little different than the z4.

That was my experience as well. I've dragged the pegs with both the MEZ4's and the AV45/46 combo. The Z4's had used the tread all the way to the sidewall, while the Avon's still show about a 1/8" to 1/4" strip of tread untouched. (I haven't actually measured it, just going off of memory).

 

[penguin1300]

You will touch the peg feelers down before you run out of rubber.
Skippy

Yah, what Skippy said.

Not sure what to tell you about the differences in chicken strips between the two. Make sure air pressure is proper in both. Also maybe some front suspension firming would help. If front is bouncing around like a pogo stick, it is possible to consume more of the chicken strip.

 

[fastersilverfjr]

True measure is not chicken strip or peg scrapping...its exhaust can scraping.

If you are not scraping the exhaust cans, then you have plenty of PE left over and you are leaving way too much in the curve. Gotta up those afterburners.

h34r:

 

[Espia4ci]

It's also a matter of how you handle your cornering. Are you moving the bike under you or are you moving into the corner side of the learn so that the bike can stay more upright at any given speed?
You can eat up a lot of cornering clearance if you use slow-speed (MSF) techniques at higher speeds. Move around on the bike and get your shoulder into the curve.

I wholeheartedly agree with this statement. Many riders who have never did any track riding tend to lean the bike over a lot more because they are not distributing their weight into the corner.

If you sit perfectly centered on your seat and take a corner you have to lean the bike over farther then if you scoot off the seat and "pull" the bike through the corner. I have even seen riders actually try to "counterbalance" the motorcycle by shifting their weight to the outside of the bike while cornering, thus having to lean the bike over even farther.

Racers lean their body first, and the bike second when taking a corner.

 

[markjenn]

Shifting your weight to the inside of the turn (i.e., "hanging off") certainly reduces the lean angle of the bike for a given corner speed and is a required technique for road racing.

But I'd never recommend that anyone do it without some training at a track school. When I attend track schools, you can tell the people who hang off without training - they are the jerky ones who completely destabilize the bike at corner entry using the handlebars as grab handles to move around on the bike and who wobble through the corners with their bodies in ackward positions. It takes practice and coaching to do it properly.

For street riding, I recommend simply staying nicely centered in the bike and smoothly counter-steer - no body english. Or perhaps a little butt shift and leaning of the upper body down and to the inside IF you've had training. Make sure your suspension is set up properly for sag. If after doing all this, you're dragging stuff, you probably should be on a different bike.

- Mark

 

[quicksilver]

Skippy is right.

If you ain't hard scrapping peg, don't sweat the chicken strip.

There is plenty of tire to grind the foot peg tips off.

 

[Captain Obvious]

Skippy is right.
If you ain't hard scrapping peg, don't sweat the chicken strip.

There is plenty of tire to grind the foot peg tips off.

The elephants start getting scared when the exhaust starts scraping.... for Metzler shod bikes.

The limit for me isn't the tires, but the hard parts. And don't tell me that I'm going too fast and take to the track. The FJR does not have for shit ground clearance in stock form. VFR's and R1150RT's far out lean the FJR. I say these two because riding friends have these for comparison. I'm scraping and they aren't even close. For the record I'm at about 200 Lbs in my gear.

And sometimes I scare the elephants just for fun.

No this is not me.

 

[GunMD]

Radman's chicken strip is likely to be very one sided...I understand (from some other posts) that nearly everyone leans left up there near him.

 

[meosborn]

I've been scraping the pegs for quite a while (used to wear out a set with every set of tires) and I've taken a good chunk out of the rear brake pivot point not to mention the damage that I've done to the exhaust. The cure for me was the Wilber's suspension. I had them add 1/2" and with the stiffer spring/remote preload it isn't anywhere near the problem it was before.

 

[RonC]

As so eloquently said by Sir radman, there are a huge number of surprizes waiting for us on the tarmac: gravel, diesel fuel, tar pythons, powerline truck stopped just around the bend. Surprizes are only good at Christmas and birthdays. They are no good on motorcycles.

I have come across so many of the above that I refuse to ride 10/10 on the road. I want plenty in reserve. On a ride last week, there was gravel dragged out from scenic turnouts on probably half the twisties I rode.

Here is my bike at max velocity without any tire wear at all.

 

[Rogue]

As so eloquently said by Sir radman, there are a huge number of surprizes waiting for us on the tarmac: gravel, diesel fuel, tar pythons, powerline truck stopped just around the bend. Surprizes are only good at Christmas and birthdays. They are no good on motorcycles.
I have come across so many of the above that I refuse to ride 10/10 on the road. I want plenty in reserve. On a ride last week, there was gravel dragged out from scenic turnouts on probably half the twisties I rode.

Here is my bike at max velocity without any tire wear at all.

Looks like you have a smoking problem on that one... is it a ticker too? :haha:

 

[outrace]

Chicken strips? You guys have chicken strips?

 

[Leonard Lloyd]

Reminds me, has anyone put any race take-offs on their FJR?? Take-offs can often be had for a song at the track, and seeing as how Yamaha sized the FJR tires to match what all the open class bikes are running at the track, selection should be plentiful. Pre-toasted chicken strips, with lots of tread in the middle . . . . I've found that race take-offs also have decent wear characteristics for the street. I think its due to the slight hardening of the tire from the extreme thermal cycles, but they still grip better than most street tires.

I'd be very skeptical of race take-off tires on a bike as heavy as our FJR's. As mentioned, the heat cycles that a race tire goes through can greatly reduce traction as needed on the street, with more surface irregularities and garbage of all kinds to cope with, let alone any wet surfaces or heavy rain. Even among light super sport bike riders, the practice is much on the decline for street use.

YMMV

Leonard

Oakley, CA

 

[RonC]

Looks like you have a smoking problem on that one... is it a ticker too?  :haha:

See, the smoke is white. That's just the moisture from washing the bike that's being blown out the exhaust pipes.

It doesn't tick. It just goes 'Whoooooshhhhh!'

Ron

 

[outrace]

has anyone put any race take-offs on their FJR?? Take-offs can often be had for a song at the track, and seeing as how Yamaha sized the FJR tires to match what all the open class bikes are running at the track, selection should be plentiful. Pre-toasted chicken strips, with lots of tread in the middle . . . . I've found that race take-offs also have decent wear characteristics for the street. I think its due to the slight hardening of the tire from the extreme thermal cycles, but they still grip better than most street tires.

The tire in the pic above is a Michelin Power Race DOT race tire. It meets DOT specs and can be sold as a street tire, but I don't think I want to ride on the street in the rain with it. Look at the tread pattern.

1) There are no sipes in the center of the tire, very few on the side of the tire, and absolutely none at the edge. It's a hydroplane waiting to happen.

2) Race tires are much thinner than street tires. They are more likely to pick up a nail (or even a household staple) and lose pressure.

3) The sidewalls of a race tire are MUCH more flexible than street tires. This can lead to disconcerting weaves and/or the feeling that the tires are going flat.

4) Race tires are incredibly sensitive to temperatures. A cold race tire at an ambient 50 degrees F will be so incredibly slick you'll think you hit an oil patch! This is particularly true of "heat cycled" tires - e.g. race takeoffs.

I have race takeoffs you guys in the Dallas area can have for free if you want, but you'll have to sign a release of liability first.

 

[Blue Meanie]

Skippy is right.
If you ain't hard scrapping peg, don't sweat the chicken strip.

There is plenty of tire to grind the foot peg tips off.

The elephants start getting scared when the exhaust starts scraping.... for Metzler shod bikes.

The limit for me isn't the tires, but the hard parts. And don't tell me that I'm going too fast and take to the track. The FJR does not have for shit ground clearance in stock form. VFR's and R1150RT's far out lean the FJR. I say these two because riding friends have these for comparison. I'm scraping and they aren't even close. For the record I'm at about 200 Lbs in my gear.

And sometimes I scare the elephants just for fun.

No this is not me.

I hate to admit it; but, the elephants just "mock" me on the FJR (3/4" away) :beee:

But, I'm sneakin' up on them.

Dont' know if it's me or the MEZ 4's; but one (or three) of us are getting better with miles :bleh:

 

[JREW]

As so eloquently said by Sir radman, there are a huge number of surprizes waiting for us on the tarmac: gravel, diesel fuel, tar pythons, powerline truck stopped just around the bend. Surprizes are only good at Christmas and birthdays. They are no good on motorcycles.

I would agree 110%. On top of that, I usually ride two up, and that will or should require you to back down some. It does for me. I enjoy the company so much that I don't want to freak her out. On top of that she keeps me level headed when I start to act a little crazy (this bike is so much fun for me I tend to ramp up some).

 

[EastTNFJR]

Have dragged pegs on both sides and still have about a 1/4 on back and about 3/8 on front. I agree with the profiles, tire pressures and the amount you hang off or even lean into the curves can have a marked effect on the amount of rubber you have left at the edges.

 

[rene]

I'm glad to hear other FJR pilots having cornering clearance issues. The photo of the blue FJR is worth a lot to me too, since I can now judge how close the pipes are to touching down if the pegs are already there.

Does anyone have suggested suspension settings for a porky person like me (225lbs)? I took some suspension suggestions from Sprot Rider's website for my 2nd to last bike and they worked wonderfully, but they don't have listed settings for the FJR.

 

[twowheelnut]

My suggestion (WWFM): Increase the compression of your forks. 17mm wrench, crank it down so that two lines are showing (read your MOM). Go for a ride and she how she turns. If your still scraping, crank in another round and so on. Then move to the rear shock and play with that. Adjustments are best made in little steps.