Ok.. Since I am just now starting to scratch the surface on riding more aggressively and care more about turning now vs just going fast in a straight line .. I have a question...
Does it mean something ( as far as proper vs wrong) to have even in used area on the bike as far as front tire vs rear tire?
I have seen a lot of bikes with the rear scuffed all the way down to the edges and what looks like a decent amount of un used area up front.. I have also seen where it appeared the whole tire was worn front and rear.
I looked at my tires after my first time on a track and I have about a 1/4" or so front and rear...
Does this mean I'm doing something right... Wrong?..
This is all new territory for me.. But I'd like to learn more about it.
Thanks

I never lost my front chicken strips. Not even on the track. I had about 1/4' like you.

On the street i also have wider chicken strips on the front.

I always have a wider chicken strip on the left than the right.

That's funny.. Mine are always wider on the right..
Are you left handed?
I got so close last weekend to scuff my whole tire on the rear but decided my bikes too pretty to push it too much too fast.

I'm not sure if it's possible for me to totally get rid of my front strips, I've ground down that bump out on my lower right hand fairing on the asphalt and still have chicken strips on my front tire. I'm sure different tires have different profiles that have something to do with it.

I have no strips on right and quarter inch on left and about half inch on both sides of front, don't understsnd this, oh well not losin any sleep over it,

Cool.. Ok.. Mostly curious if it meant something in particular for the front vs rear edge wear.
Thanks everyone for the input.
Paul

Look at like this. The front has a more V shape so you'll hardly lose that stripe. The back looks more like a U and that is where you'll run off the side, the back comes around so you more or less exceeded that stripe away. The front will still keep steering.

And as mentioned, run without the lowers next time so you don't tag that before a peg feeler.

That's funny.. Mine are always wider on the right..
Are you left handed?

Nope. Right.

For me, the softer and stickier a tire is, the easier it is to get it heeled all the way over. If you can feel what your tires are doing, you have some margin of error. Most sport-touring tires I have used feel a little 'walky' (my word) at near full lean and don't inspire the confidence of a full sport tire, which, to me, feels much more stable at those angles. I always end up with 1/8-1/4" on the rear of an ST tire, and a correspondingly larger amount on the front. With sporty tires (which I rarely buy 'cause I'm a cheap bastard) the rear strips disappear and the front is that much smaller.

A lot of variables there, front tire rubber compound....soft or hard, front tire profile, front tire air pressure, type of bike, combined weight of bike and rider, lean angle and suspension setup all have an effect. On an average well setup sportbike, by the time you get to the edge of the front, you're typically balling rubber up on the edge of the rear.

Also it will be much easier to do at a track, you're going to need about 50-51 degrees of lean angle to scrub the edge off the front tire, on the street that's hard to do safely. Just my .02

One last thing, I heard this tip the other day. Try shimming the rear shock 2 mm at a time to change the front end weight bias on the machine and work more of the front tire. Haven't tried this yet but it does make sense and will quicken turn in. Just don't go overboard here as your are steepening the rake and making the front end more prone to instability and headshake. There's always a trade-off.

Lowering the fork clamps was a popular mod on the 14 and that was supposed to achieve the same goal as raising the rear. I might try that some day.

Wow... Don't think Stoner has any chicken strips

I will assume since I kept the rubber side down I did ok. Was a crap load of fun playing on a track for the first time. Definitely will go back.. Soon if I can help it. Also trying to get a couple riders here at work to go too..

May try eventually what Rook said with the forks.. If anything going down a hair just to reach the ground better.
Being 5'7 and a penguin really hurts reaching the ground on certain bikes.

Again.. Thanks everyone for the good info!..

Stock fork height setting is 3/4" from the top of the top clamp to the top of the tube (ignore the cap) I am at 1 1/4" which is lowered 3/4" compared to stick setting and there was no loss of stability. Could probably do more, but I don't want to lose the ground clearance.

it's way better to have some strips on the front. It's easier to save a rear slide if you ride off the side of the rear tire. If you can save slides riding off the side of your front tire you are my hero.

Mad

Mine wear on the rear and Ihave a solid few mm of chicken strips on the front. I will confirm what others are saying.
Wman

Mad, I did a triple-slip save of the front in the rain on a bad tire a year or so ago. Stayed upright after losing the front 3 times, but the corrections put me directly in the path of an oncoming Soccer Mom in a minivan.

I remember thinking "This is gonna hurt" Made a dive for the ditch on her side of the road and managed to still stay upright and got stopped. The guy behind me said there were rocks, dirt and grass flying everywhere and he still doesn't believe I did what he saw.

Needless to say, it was an asshole-tightening experience.

That's good that you didn't give up. In class they kept saying never stop riding your bike.. I'm guessing most people in your shoes at that time would have assumed they were going down and then put the bike down.. Nice save!

Speaking of chicken strips, what is it with these Ducati guys? You have to wonder if they know how to lean a bike over.

Speaking of chicken strips, what is it with these Ducati guys?

Any advice of making my strips smaller as a large rider? I'm 6'3 335lbs and still haven't found the ability to lean more. I was told throttle control is the key. I would like more speed and confidence through the twisties but not sure how to go about it safely.

At 335lbs you're not going to gain the confidence needed to really ride aggressive until you spend some money on new suspension. If you get your bike to be stable and balanced it will become very predictable, then you'll be ripping the rear tire right off. Check out Traxxion dynamics, they do nice work. I use pilot power 3's on my bike and they love to lean, very stable. You can see in the photo the dual compound, the edges are a sticker compound and reinforced for stability.

* Last updated by: wfozx14 on 4/2/2014 @ 7:32 PM *

If you want to make your front strips as small as the rears, soften up the rear shock to the point of making it wallow. It'll be a bitch to steer through a corner, but the excessive rear squat will make you lean on the front tire more and the strips in front will shrink.

That being said, you should always have a bit more margin in the front than in the rear. Tire profiles are designed this way. Getting loose in the rear can be a giggle if it's controllable, but getting loose in the front will scare the shit out of you every time,

* Last updated by: Danno on 4/2/2014 @ 7:33 PM *

Kinda hard to tell from the pics, but just straight street ridin in 40-50•f weather. Runnin 39lbs / 40lbs f/r
I love these pilot road 4's!

I think when you're comfortable leaning and rolling in turns...the strips will just manage to disappear.You needn't be going fast to achieve this.Suspension and control will get yer strips off quick.Comfortable in leans....that's what does it(with mine anyway).

* Last updated by: Grn14 on 4/2/2014 @ 9:37 PM *