I'm wondering if maybe I chicken out of leaning into a turn, because I only PERCIEVE traction to be an issue.

I dunno if i've got the ***** to try to push past that "omg it feels like i'm on the edge of traction" barrier though.

 

I guess maybe its because we don't' have smooth concrete or smooth blacktop here, everything has a traction surface built in. I bet its nothing special. Anyway I corner not as fast as if I was on a track, but nearly as sharp/low of a lean as if I was and have never slipped once. The danger in not cornering hard all the time is that your back tire will wear flat across, and when you do decide to corner hard you will be up on the sharp edge and that's where you might get into trouble. So its sort of like the break in method with our engines you need to do it or not, but you really need to decide it early on. I've seen knobby tires wear so flat that you could set a coffee cup on it and its sits there like its on a table. If you look at my tire it is pretty evenly rounded across, which puts more ***** on the road in a hard corner and really in all situations.

 

This is an interesting discussion and one that I have thought about a lot, especially lately for some reason. Deej, that's a good point on keeping the back tire round. I've not thought about it that way.

I personally don't stick anything out for balance in curves. Sometimes I wonder if I should, but I mostly find that I take it a little wide going into the turn, lean a little back and down into the turn and then gas it during the turn. This gives the feeling of pushing the rear tire down and makes everything feel a lot more stable. I don't know if this is the way you are supposed to do it, but it seems to work for me. If I lose my line a little, I do tend to go a little wide and have to slow down fairly quickly to gain my composure.

 

When you lean to the outside, wether you realize it or not you are setting the bike up properly, however your body english, not so much. Steering at speed requires countersteering the bike. IE, right hand turn, push on the right grip and the bike will lay down into the corner nicely. Varying pressure on the inside grip will correct your line as you corner, as opposed to just "leaning" the bike one way or another. On the road keep your feet on the pegs, they won't slide like they do in the dirt. I try to keep myself more to the outside of the bike when turning. I have more room to react that way should I need to change my course, its much easier to flip the bike the other way if you are on top of it than if you are inline with it leaned over in the corner.

 

Ok, no offense to anyone..... Is leaning in a turn this unnatural to you? Is it just me or is this being made out to be bigger than it is... This bike was the first one i drove off the dealers lot right on to the road and felt fine and i hadnt ridden a bike in years.... Then again maybe i have acceptional balance and stuff from mountain biking.... I can lean way over in turns but am scared of the knobbies and gravel on the road so i leave that stuff for the dirt.... and on your comments deej, to keep your tire round "wearing evenly" you must turn alot...... i find that next to impossible, and i lean in every,turn the only part of the 606's tread i dont use is the last 1/4" on the ends of the knobbies....

 

good example?

 

look at his left foot...

 

I make my back wheel slide on black top sometimes, it makes it funner

 

I've been to flat track races, and that position looks wrong. All of the guys I watched have their left foot flat just out from the shifter. I don't know what kind of racing that picture is from.

 

flat track is different that supermoto deej...... lol.....