BMW R1200RT/R1250RT Forum

I love to ride through twisties, so much fun!  When I look at my tire, I don't get that last inch or so scuffed (see pic).  Does anyone get their tire scuffed all the way to the edge, or is that beyond where the pegs will let you go?

In the UK we have many roads that have plenty of bends in them, espacially in the Yorkshire Dales where I do most of my riding. Have seen quite a few bikes that have tyres scrubbed right to the edge and also too many bikers that end up badly injured or dead because they ride beyond their limits trying to get their bike over too far. Stay safe and don't ride beyond your comfort zone, better late in this life than too early into the next.

falconmick wrote: In the UK we have many roads that have plenty of bends in them, espacially in the Yorkshire Dales where I do most of my riding. Have seen quite a few bikes that have tyres scrubbed right to the edge and also too many bikers that end up badly injured or dead because they ride beyond their limits trying to get their bike over too far. Stay safe and don't ride beyond your comfort zone, better late in this life than too early into the next.
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Second that on all counts. Don't try to be a hero, if it don't feel right, it ain't right. Ride safe   

It will go further than your picture shows 

But I agree with others, roads are probably not the best place to be on the lean limit. 

What shows on the tyre depends on its profile as much as your riding  I have a recently fitted Roadtek 01 .  On a recent trip to Scotland a few following riders mentioned how low the RT goes and I'm no hero. They are only scuffed a little short of the outer tread pattern.
As others have said.  Ride at what is comfortable for you.

The answer to both your questions is yes. But it's a tourer .

You will be able to use the tire to the edges, leaving no "chicken strips" before the pegs touch down. I am no hero, but under the right circumstances I do use the tire to the edge. While I have touched my foot to the pavement, the pegs have not touched on the new RT. Different tire brands will act differently. My rear Roadsmart II was comparatively easy to reach the edge and it was easy to feather the tread under power. Not a good tire at all, but that is another story. Most importantly, the rider has the ability to control how much the bike leans. I do scoot weight to the inside and my head is "trying to kiss the mirror". This allows you to go through the turn without leaning the bike too much. That is why dragging the pegs doesn't mean all that much. I can do that in a parking lot easily by simply leaning on the bike the wrong way!

We have many roads in SOCAL where you can drag your knees if your so inclined
The ROCK STORE near Malibu has one such stretch, go early don't park on outside of turn and watch from above, pretty much guaranteed to see a couple low end slides every Saturday and Sunday, if you wish to perticpate be aware, sheriff and CHP watch also
If your into higher speeds the Ortega HWY in Orange County offers that thrill with a couple cautions, it's two lane, thousand foot drop offs abound, again be aware CHP is out in force on weekends. Good news though if you live through the accident there is a paramedic unit a few miles away, most of the accidents here involve car/bike or bike on bike unless it's a cruiser then alcohol is involved
Now if you really want to test out your tires and not up in a plastic bag, try out one of our motorcycle racing schools that abound north of LA (most anywhere for that matter)
My advice find a track and sign up for a weekend course, then check the chicken strips on the tires, it's fun and addictive, a big plus almost any bike can compete from big harleys to goldwings and anything smaller

Personally, I stopped even looking at how wide the usage pattern on my tyres is once I swapped the Ducati for the RT.  Now I find it much more fun to try and out-ride people whilst keeping the bike as upright as possible.


Drives people daft when they can't keep up and you appear to be just bumbling along...

Fun to overcome your fear to lean the bike to its limits but is the street the place to test this?  For me street riding hardly allows for speeds that necessitate hitting the peg feelers--you don't know what's around the tight curve be it a couple of deer, a raccoon, a dog, a logging truck overstepping the double yellow line, a piece of metal debris, sand, you name it and you need enough time to be able to straighten up before emergency braking commences, I would argue even w/ ABS Pro.  Practice late apex cornering versus hard lean angles, keep your weight inside the turn to keep the bike leaning less--it's not necessary for street riding unless you're into Russian Roulette.  The badge of honor unless you have a suicide/severe injury wish is to get around the corner fastest w/ the least lean angle--so getting rid of the last 3/4" of your chicken strips should not be the criteria.  Try track days if you're interesting in pushing the bike to YOUR limits.  JMO and I'm sticking to it

There are old riders.
There are bold riders.
But there aren't any old, bold riders.

Don't push beyond what you are comfortable with.

Stay safe and keep the rubber side down.

done a track day for the first time on my Multi - great fun! Had sports tyres fitted - Metzeler RR something or other - great fun, and burnt the rubber all the way to the edge.....and beyond!

That is the place to really test a bike and see what it, and the tyres can do. Sure, you can do this on the road as well depending on many factors but the road ain't for heros. 

Speaking as someone who had a spectacular OFF and survived unscathed a couple of years ago, I know the cons of pushing too hard. I've since done tons of advanced riding training and keep on doing it.

Main thing for the road, forget what the tyre looks like, concentrate on how to do a corner really well. In like a lamb, out like a lion!  Focus on really good cornering principles and just forget about your lean angle.

and of course........do some track day training if you want to learn more about getting full lean, fast corners etc

Northern Soul wrote:Main thing for the road, forget what the tyre looks like, concentrate on how to do a corner really well. In like a lamb, out like a lion!  Focus on really good cornering principles and just forget about your lean angle.

That is exactly what I strive to do.