skids and slides and what to do...

hypo

New member
Never had a crotch rocket long enough to go really really fast and do anything stupid yet, so my FZ8 has taught me a few things about shifting and braking and skids that I'd never really had to deal with before, and I wanted to hear from the fast crowd and the stunters on how they measure the tires/angles/edge of the envelope when feeling out just how far you can push the bike when it comes to spinnin your tailwheel on a dusty slick road.

Every day I go off base, cross a few sets of railroad tracks, go under a bridge and bang a left across an intersection that is always warm, but when I get stuck at the light and I put a foot down, I feel like my foot is slowly sliding out from under me...

which gave me pause the first time I made it through that light, dove into the left turn in 2nd or 3rd kinda easily and my stocker rear tire broke free and started to slide out from under me.

:mad: so, cussing, I eased up ever so slightly on the gas, (NOT OFF,) eased up on the dive so I didn't lowside, then gassed and continued to spin my rear tire as I corrected with direction and automatic reaction (front tire never lost traction) and guided myself down the access road to get on the highway. I was pissed. but I really didn't expect to lose traction like that. And coming from a cruiser for the past 10 years or so, its a rare occasion that I've done any dives into corners and most of my slides have been from wet pavement.

So teach an old man a new trick about breaking loose traction and some do's and don'ts.

cheers.
 

djcecil

New member
i got 6900 miles out of my rear tire and would go out pretending i am josh hayes on the track, i learned that way lower pressure keeps the stock tires from sliding, had i been running lower pressure the time i did drop the bike, i would have had more control and stayed upright. now on accident i pointed to the wrong tire and noticed after it was mounted that i picked a 190/55/17 dunlop q2, i was going to get a 190/50/17 bt-16. now the larger tire makes this a much better bike turn in wise, still have not gone to some areas that have done to me what you just described. i thing the "touring compound" in the middle of the stock with the torque and light rear just make it easy to do. i have gone out trying to break the rear end loose on the stock tire and it has and it recovers very fast. i replaced that tire with hardly a flat spot and ridden all the way to the edge of the tire under hard acceleration and did not ever get nervous, so i'd say you are good.
 

djcecil

New member

the tire that was still holding well at 6900 miles
 
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