The Ego and the Chicken strip

To drag a knee or not depending solely on rider weight. Same bike, speed, tires, line, ability all being equal, rider weight would play no part. Entry speed and where you are on the apex of the turn and exit speed. All being equal that is. Even on the street I see guys laying into some turns. It’s pointless imho for street riding. Just showboating
 
Guy Martin says the only reason he uses knee pucks is because the sponsors pay for them. He says he never needs to drag a knee. I am a heavy guy and I would have to be hitting 150 mph to need to drag a knee in a turn. When I was learning to do it, I was always scratching my head because I was making the turn easy and the guy I was following had his knee on the ground. I almost hit him he was going so much slower than I was. Then I realized they were reaching out for the ground, not going faster.

When I first started riding (bog boy toys not my pw50 when I was 8) I was really concerned with starting out on the busa. I kept reading it’s a big uncontrollable power beast that can’t corner...
Then when I’d go out with my buds (Gixxer bros) they were dragging knees and throwing their ass cheeks around like they were working a pole...
Meanwhile I’m behind them leaning about 1/5th of what they are.
They would correct me and explain I need to lean for this and that and so on because I couldn’t keep up with them in the “twistes” but I was keeping up... and it was kinda boring.....
So either I REALLY am fuckin up... or the exaggerated lean they are doing is just for funsies an no one wants to cop to it.

Also 3 out of the 5 have low sided this summer.

So, maybe it’s because I don’t have the skill.
Maybe it’s because I’m fat.
But I like my chicken strips an they ain’t goin no where.
 
If bikes are the same rider makes the difference but everyones style is different and some lean on the knee drag heavier than others. I've always found dragging the knee gives a good indication of how far over I'm leaned over. Chicken strips you say?!
1605669

1605670
 
If you look close he chopped the throttle mid corner, weighted the front causing the low side. Had he been slightly on the throttle through out the corner the front would have retained grip.

cheers
ken

Yep, too hot into a corner even by a couple mph can cause the inexperienced rider to let off the gas and just that minimal suspension upset can have serious and expensive results. I always want throttle control in the twisties so I always like to be in the right gear.
 
If you look close he chopped the throttle mid corner, weighted the front causing the low side. Had he been slightly on the throttle through out the corner the front would have retained grip.

cheers
ken
If you look close he chopped the throttle mid corner, weighted the front causing the low side. Had he been slightly on the throttle through out the corner the front would have retained grip.

cheers
ken
Maintenance throttle for the win, He was in trouble even prior to that and had upset the suspension just prior to chopping the throttle he looks awkward in the segment just before the throttle chop. But I still say he could’ve have navigated this curve with less angle with the same relative speed which would’ve given him enough margin that a throttle chop wouldn’t have washed out that front
 
I've only been riding seriously (meaning an emphasis on technical) since my mid fifties, which makes me a newbie on this forum. I was graced with a track coach who advised me to 'assume the position' that would allow kneepad contact in corners, but to keep my focus on working the corner (entry, apex, exit, etc). "Let the track come to you," he said.

The net outcome was progressively faster lap times, disappearing chicken strips. Kneepad only contacted track during a mistake (an infamous bump at Buttonwillow, CA).

My point: I associate the lack of chicken strips with track time. Seeing chickenless rubber on a street bike makes me ask which track they're running. And then wonder (but not ask) why ride their track bike on the street?? I know there are those who do, but honestly, chicken strip width is a track metric, not a street tactic, IMVHO
 
I've only been riding seriously (meaning an emphasis on technical) since my mid fifties, which makes me a newbie on this forum. I was graced with a track coach who advised me to 'assume the position' that would allow kneepad contact in corners, but to keep my focus on working the corner (entry, apex, exit, etc). "Let the track come to you," he said.

The net outcome was progressively faster lap times, disappearing chicken strips. Kneepad only contacted track during a mistake (an infamous bump at Buttonwillow, CA).

My point: I associate the lack of chicken strips with track time. Seeing chickenless rubber on a street bike makes me ask which track they're running. And then wonder (but not ask) why ride their track bike on the street?? I know there are those who do, but honestly, chicken strip width is a track metric, not a street tactic, IMVHO

Years ago, I just kept riding faster and trying to learn suspension...eventually they disapeared.
There are curves that if I didn't lay the bike over at that speed, I wouldn't make it.
And, there are that many more curves that wouldn't be nearly as fun...if I didn't lay it over further than I needed to, lol.
 
Normal roads are dangerous to try and be "chicken stripless" as there are just so many variables out there, gravel, sand, coolant, oil, pot holes and the like to be too aggressive.

I ride to ride, I've raced competitively so that is out of my system, nowadays I easily wear out the center of the tire long before the sides, there are a few trusted roads I ride where it is generally safe to lean over....many times I ride a recce before hand though to make sure there are no surprises.
 
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