Chicken strips front but not rear - what is this telling me?

**darkwolf** · 1st April 2012, 13:17

I recently completed a track training day at Ruapuna run by Mainland Motorcycle School and have noticed that the "chicken strips" on the rear tyre are gone. WOOP I guess. But they are still there by about half an inch on the front tyre. Now I'm not worried about getting rid of them, I'm just interested in what I should be able to gather from this.

On the day - as with regular riding - I ran 29 PSI on the front 32 on the rear on my VTR250.

Firstly, is it normal for the front tyre to scrub less than the rear? I figure it may be, on the basis that the front tyre is turned into the corner to a certain degree, therefore the need to lean is less - right or wrong?

If it isn't normal - could it be because of the lower pressure at the front? I don't believe this to be a cause of the wear as I would have thought that a lower pressure would have resulted in a larger contact patch and therefore more wear on the front that the rear.

The bike does not have adjustable suspension. Could it be my 101KG created larger load on the rear?

Am I reading too much into this and should I just not stress?

**puddytat** · 1st April 2012, 13:30

pretty normal I'd say...

**jrandom** · 1st April 2012, 14:37

This is normal. The front strips usually go last. If you look at your tyre profiles, assuming your tyres aren't fucked, you'll note that the front one probably curls up around the side a little more. As you start going faster and leaning the bike over further, what's left of the contact surface will get used up on the front as well as the rear.

Point to note. Are you running a properly matched set of tyres? Same manufacturer and model front and rear?

Different brands have different profiles and are designed to be ridden on as matched sets. And personally I'm against the common practice of running a stickier tyre on the front and a 'touring' tyre from the same manufacturer on the rear, due to this profile issue - the curve of the rear tyre will be shallower, and you'll find yourself running out of rear tyre profile far too early for the way the front wants to tip in. Just because two different models of tyre are both made by Michelin, or Metzeler, or whoever, doesn't mean that they're necessarily designed to work together.

You probably don't have anything to worry about, though. Just go forth and scrub what's left off. Although the nature of your bike and its tyres may simply be such that the bike itself cannot provide enough lean angle to scrub the whole of the front. This isn't unknown. Some bikes can't even scrub the whole of their rears (ER6s with 160s on the back, for instance, if I recall correctly). Don't worry about it. Just enjoy your riding.

**Subike** · 1st April 2012, 15:04

i often run the rear "chicken strip" off of the tire, but never the front
I would actually be concerned if I did, that front tire is all that keeps you going around the corner remember.
I would rather have 10mm of usable rubber left on the front, than be going over that edge and not having enough.
As for mixing brands? Phift!

**darkwolf** · 1st April 2012, 20:44

I should have added - the tyres are Pirelli Sport Demon front and rear. And that's good to know.

**AllanB** · 1st April 2012, 21:51

Very normal. Often depends on the bike too, some seam to have identical CS front and rear others less rear more front.

Tell you something weird I was running Pilot Powers (sport tyre)- no rear chicken strip, I have changed to Conti Road Attack 2's and loving these tyres, I can ride faster in corners than I was on the Powers BUT there is still 10mm of chicken strip on the rear! All to do with profiles I guess.

**sugilite:Me** · 1st April 2012, 21:53

You have a matched pair, and that sounds pretty normal, so nothing to worry about. To be absolutely sure, you could just check the stock front tyre size against what you have on the bike.

**G4L4XY** · 2nd April 2012, 15:03

I'm the opposite, i've got minimal (2mm) strips on the front and like (5mm) on the back but thats from road use only and I hardly get the chance for a decent ride in the twisties.

**NighthawkNZ:Me** · 2nd April 2012, 16:39

not eating enough chicken?

**mossy1200** · 2nd April 2012, 17:17

Man up and buy some 80 grit sandpaper before your mates see the lines of shame.

**ducatilover** · 2nd April 2012, 19:35

Originally Posted by mossy1200

Man up and buy some 80 grit sandpaper before your mates see the lines of shame.

Same goes for the knee and toe sliders!

**Madness** · 2nd April 2012, 19:39

Originally Posted by AE4ME

I'm the opposite, i've got minimal (2mm) strips on the front and like (5mm) on the back but thats from road use only and I hardly get the chance for a decent ride in the twisties.

Your tyres have been fitted incorrectly. Remove the wheels and swap them over.