what's the best way to remove the fear of fast cornering?

[VermilionX]

I hope your bike can lean to 45º. Even a harley can lean that much! Your bike is probably rated close to 70º of lean, so don't worry about the bike not being able to handle a fast corner

i must have been over-imagining 45º.

ok so im not worried about the pegs anymore, but im still worried about my tires.

[Sev]

45 degrees means it's 1/2 way between horizontal and vertical. Your bike... is a race bike. You know those guys out there on the track who can scrape their elbows along the ground? You're riding the same thing. This is why we don't normally recomend a bike like yours for a new rider.

You should be able to handle 45 degrees without flinching, if you keep some speed on the bike.

And that corner is a great place to practise. It's a tight turn from a stop which means that you need to actually think about what you're about to do. Head through there every chance you get, and take the corner as fast as you feel comfortable. You'll find that after a while you'll start taking it faster and faster.

I've taken my cheap "O Ring" cruiser to over 45 degrees, and I've done so on my Honda as well. Are you going to let me say Honda's are better then Zooks?

[Ninja Geoff]

I hope your bike can lean to 45º. Even a harley can lean that much! Your bike is probably rated close to 70º of lean, so don't worry about the bike not being able to handle a fast corner

i must have been over-imagining 45º.

ok so im not worried about the pegs anymore, but im still worried about my tires.

they'll scrub themselves as you gradually lean more and more. Don't be discouraged if you have an inch and a half of chicken strip left. Oh, and your front tire will pretty much always have chicken strips. My friend dan has none in back but still has them up front. He's been dying to do a track day to see how far he can get that front tire.

If you really want to, you can scrub the tires your self.

[VermilionX]

45 degrees means it's 1/2 way between horizontal and vertical. Your bike... is a race bike. You know those guys out there on the track who can scrape their elbows along the ground? You're riding the same thing. This is why we don't normally recomend a bike like yours for a new rider.

You should be able to handle 45 degrees without flinching, if you keep some speed on the bike.

And that corner is a great place to practise. It's a tight turn from a stop which means that you need to actually think about what you're about to do. Head through there every chance you get, and take the corner as fast as you feel comfortable. You'll find that after a while you'll start taking it faster and faster.

well yeah my bike is a race bike, but like i said, my tires... my tires are not race tires.

[VermilionX]

they'll scrub themselves as you gradually lean more and more. Don't be discouraged if you have an inch and a half of chicken strip left. Oh, and your front tire will pretty much always have chicken strips. My friend dan has none in back but still has them up front. He's been dying to do a track day to see how far he can get that front tire.

If you really want to, you can scrub the tires your self.

scrub my tires? is this practical and how does one do such a thing?

[Ninja Geoff]

45 degrees means it's 1/2 way between horizontal and vertical. Your bike... is a race bike. You know those guys out there on the track who can scrape their elbows along the ground? You're riding the same thing. This is why we don't normally recomend a bike like yours for a new rider.

You should be able to handle 45 degrees without flinching, if you keep some speed on the bike.

And that corner is a great place to practise. It's a tight turn from a stop which means that you need to actually think about what you're about to do. Head through there every chance you get, and take the corner as fast as you feel comfortable. You'll find that after a while you'll start taking it faster and faster.

well yeah my bike is a race bike, but like i said, my tires... my tires are not race tires.

The OEM tires are good for 45º. They're probably good to close to it's max lean angle. But if you do start doing track days, you *MIGHT* want to get some better rubbers.

[Sev]

I've taken my cheap "O Ring" cruiser to over 45 degrees, and I've done so on my Honda as well. Are you going to let me say Honda's are better then Zooks?

Your tires are street tires that are designed to handle street riding with a bike of your power. You'll need to scrub the sides, but the bike isn't going to jump out from under you the second you lean it over. Make sure they're a little warm and get to it.

I'd honestly be surprised if you managed to low-side it by taking a corner to fast and leaning to far. Taking one to slow seems a lot more likely.

[Ninja Geoff]

they'll scrub themselves as you gradually lean more and more. Don't be discouraged if you have an inch and a half of chicken strip left. Oh, and your front tire will pretty much always have chicken strips. My friend dan has none in back but still has them up front. He's been dying to do a track day to see how far he can get that front tire.

If you really want to, you can scrub the tires your self.

scrub my tires? is this practical and how does one do such a thing?

I htink a very course brush will do it. But i'd go for scrubbing them the hard/fun way of leaning more and more.

[VermilionX]

I've taken my cheap "O Ring" cruiser to over 45 degrees, and I've done so on my Honda as well. Are you going to let me say Honda's are better then Zooks?

Your tires are street tires that are designed to handle street riding with a bike of your power. You'll need to scrub the sides, but the bike isn't going to jump out from under you the second you lean it over. Make sure they're a little warm and get to it.

I'd honestly be surprised if you managed to low-side it by taking a corner to fast and leaning to far. Taking one to slow seems a lot more likely.

that's good to hear and actually makes sense to me.

and no, i will not let you say that honda is better than zook!

thanks guys

but back to the corner intersection... the traffic light/intersection is right in the middle of the corner. not before or after... is it still a good place to practice?

[Sev]

Oh, I'd definately say my Honda is better then your Zook, it's seen more KM, and leans further when it turns.

Now get out there and practise (carefully) and prove me wrong.