Tires and Chicken Strips

[DanH]

I just learned that the little rubber hairs on my tires are called "chicken strips." It's a metaphor. See the photo. The concept is that the rider is too "chicken" to lean enough into turns to wear off the strips. As a beginner, I wear mine proudly.

But next time I pass a seedy, roadside biker bar, I'm going to dismount my scooter and inspect the front tires of those big bikes.

The question is: If I leave that biker bar at 12:00 PM at 45 miles per hour ... with a five minute head start ... how long will it take them to catch me?

 

[DryFly]

Depends. Is that 12:00PM midnight or 12:00PM noon?

[dan v.]

As you ride and the tire wears, you will notice the area between where the rubber is worn from the center to the outside edge of the tire.  The "strip"from the worn and well used part of the tire to the unworn part toward the edge is the "chicken strip".   So the riders that push the turns and lean into it will wear further to the outside edge of the tire.   His chicken strip will be narrower than the rider who is timid on the turns.

I think it is a squid/testosterone thing for a guy to check his buddy's tire to see how wide his chicken strip is - scooterists  generally don't concern themselves with that - as we already know we are manly enough 

[klaviator]

Back in my sport bike days I was much more into checking chicken strips.  Occasionally I will still check out the chicken strips on sportbikes.   

As for chicken strips on scooters.  Very few scooters have enough cornering clearance to get rid of their chicken strips.  You will start to scrape hard parts before you use all of the tread on the tire.  If you live someplace with mostly straight roads you will tend to have much larger chicken strips than someone who lives near twisty mountain roads.   

[CROSSBOLT]

I just love the sound of scooter talk in the morning!

[klaviator]

Since we were on the topic, I went and checked out my chicken strips.  My Like has 1/4 " chicken strips front and rear.  My recent trip to the mountains is probably responsible for that.

So what do chicken strips really mean?

First, the exact width of the chicken strips is meaningless.  Different tires have different profiles.  The same lean angle will produce different size chicken strips on different tires.

But, extremely wide chicken strips tell me that the rider of that bike is probably not very skilled at taking curves.  This is not something I would be proud of.  The ability to take curves is an important skill that can prevent an accident or even save your life.   
I wouldn't worry about whether you 1/4 inch or 1/2 inch vs no chicken strips.  Depending on your bike and tires it may not be possible to totally get rid of your chicken strips.

If on the other hand you have 2 inch chicken strips that means you are barely leaning your scooter when turning and that is more an indication of lack of riding skill than lack of bravery.  Many riders crash because they go into a curve at what they think is too fast of a speed and end up crashing when all they had to do was lean the bike a little more to make the curve.

What about avoiding an unsafe situation?  Sometimes the best thing to do is brake but sometimes swerving is a better option.  To swerve hard you have to be willing to lean the bike.  If you haven't been practicing it you probably won't be able to do it in an emergency.

So how far should you lean your bike?  That's a hard question to answer.  Unlike motorcycles scooters don't have folding footpegs with feelers on the ends to warn you that you are reaching the bikes lean angle limit.  I ride curves a bit more cautiously on my scooters than my motorcycles because of this.  The best thing to do is slowly increase the amount you lean your bike until you are comfortable taking curves at a reasonably fast speed.  This is much easier to do if you regularly ride curvy roads.  If you live somewhere with mostly straight roads then just accept the fact your skills won't be what they would be if you lived somewhere with curvy roads.

Even if you live in Kansas you will still ride 90 degree curves turning from one street to another.  If you practically stop when making those turns you are increasing the chance of being rear ended.  Even in Kansas the ability to go around corners can be important.

Don't forget the fact that reducing your chicken strips about the most fun thing you can do on your scooter!!!

[john grinsel]

One of the secrets of staying alive on scooters/bikes---Make your tires do as little work as possible---traction of one sort or another is the deal.

[monkeybongos]

Make your tires do as little work as possible

John, could you elaborate on that?  (how to do it)

[Stig / Major Tom]

Ya know....a fella could get beat up at the Dew Drop Inn tavern talkin' chicken strips ....with his scooter parked out front.
........................................................................

I'm with John. I stress nothing while riding.
Not an age thing. I've had a good imagination since I first threw a leg over a Honda in 1967.
My style is not for everyone.
Stig

[klaviator]

One of the secrets of staying alive on scooters/bikes---Make your tires do as little work as possible---traction of one sort or another is the deal.

This is the opposite of my riding style.  It wouldn't be safe for me.....I'd die of boredom.

[scootertherapy]

My like 200 came was delivered w/ too much air in the tires. My chicken strips (and now that I know what they are) have less of a chance of surviving now that it's dialed in better; but they put down some type of  gravel deal here on some of the roads rather than repaving. Much of it is gone, but not enough to allow me to delete it from my riding awareness.  Nice picture.

[Tromper]

Depends on how straight the roads are and if it's sport bikes or cruisers.

...The question is: If I leave that biker bar at 12:00 PM at 45 miles per hour ... with a five minute head start ... how long will it take them to catch me?

[john grinsel]

Making tires do as little work as possible-----has worked for me for 64 years and over 1.5 million miles----idea is to keep bike upright as much as possible, forcing tires not to work too hard----which means in many cases slow down.   Possible to ride in snow/ice/slippery mud, etc solo and stay upright.


On braking I tend to use as little force as possible....although ABS as eliminated idiot braking to a degree.


"feel" part of successfull everyday 2 wheeling---some people never get it.   Dirt bikes good place to practice traction skills and feel.

[klaviator]

When riding on wet or slippery surfaces I try to ride smoothly and make the tires work as little as possible.  On dry surfaces I ride my scooters like I rode my sport bikes.  I corner hard and occasionally brake hard.   The ability to lean over in a curve is one of the things that makes two wheels so much fun for me.  The twistier the road the better.  When I am taking it easy I tend to lose focus and that's when I am most likely to make mistakes.   

Dirt bikes are a great way to practice traction skills and feel.  I ride my scooters in the dirt as well but not as fast as a dirt or dual sport bike.

Riding a scooter with street tires in the mud can be tricky but....



At least riding in mud makes gravel seem easy.

[Stig / Major Tom]

Watched a big bike following a Honda Forza 300 at "sporty" speed through lovely UK countryside.
All was well for miles until ONE bend had gravel.....
Do not agree that scooter, or bike, will let you know permissable lean angles. Road surface will.
If you've reconned the route that day by car, or slow speeds on bike, then there's a good chance nothing is waiting to take you down in a corner.
Visit your local facility for Track Day on a closed circuit if you want to see what'll scrape on your bike.
I've read that most scooter and motorcycle crashes are "single vehicle" events. Just the rider and his bike.
Stig