r/NewRiders • u/IllustriousPhone6041 • 3d ago
Lean angle
Hey guys I want some advice leaning and getting a new bike. So I have had my Yamaha r3 for about three months and have put 2,800 miles on it in the time I’ve owned it and my goal is pretty early in the riding season next year that I’ll get a r6 however I don’t want to be one of those people that gets a bike that out paces there skill level. I’m sure you’ve all seen the type and I don’t want to be like that so I want to know is there a specific movement where I’ll know I’m ready? I try to lean into corners more and more but still have some chicken strips so I’m not exactly sure how to feel about that. Over all any advice would be greatly appreciated.
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u/exenos94 3d ago
Chicken strips are a stupid way to judge skill. Are you making your corners at the speed you want to? Perfect. Could you mean more? maybe? But why if you don't need to
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u/IllustriousPhone6041 3d ago
I do generally just really like leaning my only fear is hitting a patch of gravel so I really do go super deep. That is a good way to think about it though I feel I can navigate all the roads near me with proficiency.
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u/Blackened22 3d ago
You need to leave the room for those, and go over them with straight bike in balance, and then you continue your line and leaning again.
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u/IllustriousPhone6041 3d ago
Got it I try be observant before I go in a turn but it’s just a little worrisome after going through some corners just cruising and seeing a patch of gravel I didn’t initially see
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u/jmdaviswa 2d ago
Track day. Corner workers keep the corners clean, amd warn you if there is an issue, so you dont have as much worry.
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u/bear0234 3d ago
get some educational riding books.
i dunno if this book is still around but i took a class with lee parks and have his book "total control: street riding techniques"
he talks about riding posture.
the class definitely helped me achieve better riding form - he did stress that its not about highspeed and getting your knee to touch, but better posture, throttle maintenance, and correct turn in, apex and turn out points that will help with daily riding out on public roads.
dont chase the knee down thing and holy bejeezes dont try to chase that on public roads.
practice it on the track or in a safe empty lot devoid of debris or obstacles. you definitely dont need a lot of speed to practice that - Lee demo'ed riding posture and got his knee down going less than 10 mph on a honda goldwing.
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u/AtiumMist 3d ago
Was that in one of those msf type courses? The 10mph counterleaning thing? I remember seeing something like that once
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u/bear0234 3d ago
i dunno about the msf courses, but i think a few years after i took that course, they got approved in some states that allows you to waive the dmv test, but dont quote me on it.
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u/AtiumMist 3d ago
I remember seeing a video about slow speed countersteering where some dude was demonstrating what you described. Wondered if it was the same thing
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u/IllustriousPhone6041 3d ago
Knee down under 10 mph on a gold wing is insane! Well that’s good to know though I think I just have it in my head that if I can’t ride this bike to damn near its fullest potential on the road then I shouldn’t get anything faster. Now that you say that it kinda reminded me that there are intermediate and expert level msf courses I can take so I’ll definitely look into those.
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u/jmdaviswa 2d ago
You should not be riding any motorcycle to its fullest potential on the road. You need to keep something in reserve for the unexpected. If you want to explore your or the machine's limits, go to the track.
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u/bear0234 3d ago
yah look into classes.
google lee parks total control - looks like they still around and offer classes. might have something in your area.
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u/actualsize123 3d ago
It isn’t like an obvious sign, and mileage means nothing, I’ve done 2000 miles in the last three weeks but it’s all been on the highway so i wasn’t actually learning anything.
Only way to truly know if you are ready is to take an intermediate rider course of some kind, and if you can’t afford that then you just have to feel it out.
Think of it this way, the r6 doesn’t stop or turn better than the r3, it just accelerates faster, so any situation where you have been going too fast on your r3 would be an accident on the r6, the faster a bike is the easier it is to overcook a corner or go beyond your limits before you realize it.
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u/IllustriousPhone6041 3d ago
Yea that is definitely something to think about I feel that I would be able to manage it I just want to make sure I actually have the skills necessary to do so before making the jump
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u/ApprehensiveKey4122 3d ago
I haven’t ridden an r6 but looking at the specs that is a pretty wild jump in power.
2,800 miles in three months is good seat time, but I’d stop thinking about chicken strips entirely. Wanting to improve lean angle is pretty universal but you’ll end up finding there just are not many scenarios where you’ll ever be leaning to any kind of degree on public roads to put a dent into chicken strips
I’d care much more about whether your braking, corner entry, lines, throttle control and emergency responses are consistently boring and automatic — including when something unexpected happens mid-corner. I’m not sure what your local geography is like but since I live in a metropolitan city I make trips out to the countryside in mountains to ride twistys and improve on cornering.
The biggest metric I consider is adaptation to unexpected scenarios. The more you ride the more you will come across situations you have never seen before on the road that will instantly humble you. I have about 15k miles in almost 2 years and these kind of situations don’t stop appearing from time to time that make you pause and take stock of how aggressively you’re riding. The other thing is power definitely corrupts on a bike. I need to check myself sometimes when I’m riding too aggressively and a super powerful bike is going to make you want to ride aggressively.
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u/IllustriousPhone6041 3d ago
I definitely agree about the large jump in power that’s why it’s crazy to me that people start on these bike however it’s my dream bike and I would like to end up on liter bike down the road ( obviously way in the future) and I need to have a middle point to get there the middle class bike they come out with not for example the r7 would cost the same in bike price but the insurance would be astronomical I will admit I am a bit scared to get a r6 because of power and lack of rider aids but in a way I feel that’s a fear I’m willing to get past as for the emergency breaking and response time I feel I’m not in bad shape however it never hurts to practice and I could definitely do that
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u/Trick_Measurement216 3d ago
Just slow down so you can comfortably make all turns. You're not a GP racer. You learn that stuff on a track with no oncoming traffic. Stop falling for the hype and start concentrating on how to control everything you can on the street.
I've been riding 50 years. I have several types of bikes. I don't care what I look like or what others think. I've survived this long to always ride another day. That should be your ultimate goal.
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u/Pitiful_Mouse_2989 3d ago
Chicken strips are as much a sign of an expert rider as they are of a novice.
Novice riders will corner slow and safe (if they are responsible). Expert riders will leverage body position to preserve traction. If you are on the edge of the tire, you have no more traction to use in an emergency. Most street riders that care about “chicken strips” outride their skill consistently.
Take advanced classes, learn advanced skills, and ride within your limits. Take your bike to a track for track days, learn skills in a closed and clean circuit. Most track riders don’t ride like that on the roads because roads have other traffic, potholes, and debris. Track riders know the risk and save it for the track.
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u/Ceska_Zbrojovka_V3 3d ago
Chicken strips are something only rookies care about.
Anyone who puts on heavy miles commuting knows that it's rare to wear the edge of the tire at legal speeds on public roads.
Keep those chicken strips in mind when you overcook a corner and need to dig deeper and lean farther than you ever have before. You know the bike can handle it, even if it is scary.
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u/AtiumMist 3d ago
Everything about this is wrong. You outgrew a 300 in 3 months? Unless you're running highway miles, a 300 packs quite a lot of power in it.
Chicken strips are stupid. You're on the road. There's potholes, there's morons who stop in the middle of a road, there's random lane closures, overgrowth on stop signs, (somewhat) unpredictable stop lights (if you're not doing the speed limit. You want to use the edge of your tyre in this situation? The answer is no. If you've hit a bump in a sharp lean you'll know how discomforting it is.
Leaning more into corners does not mean you've outgrown a bike.
Be safe, ride safe
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u/hellawreckless 3d ago
You decide when you’re ready. There is no move or lean angle or magic number of miles or hours or days. You either handle your wrist or you don’t. I haven’t seen you ride, seen your corners, obstacle avoidance, traffic awareness, emergency maneuvers. Even if I had, there’s no way for me to know if you’ll practice them and be ready when something shitty happens.
The only time I was given passage from one bike to another was when my dad took the 650 away and gave me a 250 because I was, allegedly, popping dank nooners down university and law enforcement caught the plate instead of going to classes.
It’s your money. It’s your ride. It’s your risk (and pain) tolerance level.
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u/Lightsguy3 2d ago edited 2d ago
Don't be a bitch.
Anything less than 1000cc is for dorks.
You've put on 2800 miles. That's like what, at least 10 sets of tires? If you go for a 600 now, you're going to outgrow it in about 2 weeks.
You've clearly an expert and have already used up all the capability of that 300. Not sure why you want to keep rolling around on that moped.
Plus how are all those cagers supposed to respect you rev bombing through traffic with a measly 300?
Jokes aside. Look at Moto3: Those fat tires on the super sports are mostly for power application, not so much cornering. If you're already afraid of leaning because of possible traction issues, the last thing you need is more power on tap that you have no experience how to handle.
You say you want a 1000 somewhere down the road? Why? It's totally okay, but what's the reason? If you go to a track day and you're not even in the top half of C group with a 300, you need technique, not horsepower.
Get good at that 300 and embarrass the people that felt the need to stroke their ego with a bigger motor.
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u/IllustriousPhone6041 1d ago
I’ve heard a lot of things about the Michelin road 6s I thought about trying those. And I do agree on the point about getting really fast of a 300 half of the reason I want to get a r6 to be honest is because that was my dream bike when I thought about getting a motorcycle it was always a r6 and for the getting a 1000 point to be honest I don’t have a great explanation always just seemed like what you do but to be honest the more and more I rode my r3 the more I have become hesitant to get a bigger bike because it’s not like I’m in the pipe all the time and as stupid as it may sound I really don’t speed all that much so I think I’ll get the r6 then go from there
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u/Lightsguy3 1d ago edited 1d ago
It will be a shame to crash your dream bike, because you got it before you were ready.
I see a lot of people who start developing real motorcycles skills, and then they get a bike with more power than they know how to deal with. All that technique goes right out the window because they're just trying to manage throttle.
They become genuinely worse, some never recover. Squids forever.
Don't NOT follow your dreams, but if you want to actually be good at it, consider actually learning how to ride first. If you do it that way you'll be better and faster the nearly all of your peers. When you get to that point where you can't wait to lean it over as far as it can go because you actually know what you're doing, it feels awesome.
I'm serious about the track day though.
Before you get a 600, at least do one event and see where you're at compared to others. When you are passing everyone in the corners in C group, then you might just be good enough to not handicap yourself by going up to a 600.
And if you're not going to the track, you're wasting your money on an R6. It's purpose-built to excel there. There's plenty of middleweight bikes that are street oriented. If that's where you're going to do your riding, consider those instead.
All that said, it's just a suggestion. I think everyone wants you to be safe and be happy.
Sometimes there's just that little voice in your head that wants the shiny toy because part of you is still a child. I have that too, and I buy things that make me giggle. And if that's what it is, at least be honest about it. Every little kid wants a race car, or a race bike. Just don't fuck it up, it hurts more when you break a toy you really really like.
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u/IllustriousPhone6041 5h ago
Ok so first and foremost I want to genuinely say thank you for the actual advice and yeah I definitely want to do a track day I just have a lot of things to figure out surrounding a track day as I’ve never been on one however I will be honest I think a lot of it is derived from just wanting the shiny toy to be honest with you but I did just have a idea recently that I’m kicking around being buying a r6 and keeping my r3 and make it a track only bike so I can learn but not sure yet if that makes any sense nonetheless I really want to get a r6 but I would rather be a really good rider and if more time on the r3 especially on a track is what that takes then so be it after all it’s more fun to drive a slow car fast then a fast car slow 🤷♂️
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u/Lightsguy3 4h ago
Having a dedicated track bike is a baller move.
Try to pick a track day provider that has instruction included.
You're gonna get addicted. Cool
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u/Mitsubullet1988 1d ago
Personally I think knee down on public roads I.e 0 chicken strips is retarded. Save that shit for the track. Ride the bike and have fun sure but if you Wana go that sort of speed go round corners. You're fearful of it for a reason... It's dangerous, could be an animal, pedestrian, cyclist, oil spill, gravel, fuel on the road all round that corner who knows?
I do ride fast on the road but I'm not scraping knees lol 🤣 that's track day sheeet
Also just buy the r6 I started on a 765r which is now tuned to 128whp.
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u/IllustriousPhone6041 1d ago
Yea I really want to get a a track big time and I’m excited for a r6 just a little scared of the lack of rider aids 😅😅
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u/Mitsubullet1988 18m ago
Lol you always will be though that's the thing..when a bike don't scare you.. sell it.
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u/Blackened22 3d ago
The point is to be efficient and lean as little as possible but to go fast and smooth, and choosing the best line, that is the safest... Very good video explaining it all to the point. But practicing and some talent/feel is needed to understand it... Good luck
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdDwiN2k1KA
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u/PsychologicalLog4179 3d ago
You’ll get the hang of it. Find a twisty mountain road and go back and forth for a couple week day afternoons and try different things. You don’t have to speed or do anything dangerous to figure out leaning. I dunno why people don’t understand that. Proper lines and body positioning have more to do with lean angle than speed.
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u/IllustriousPhone6041 3d ago
Yea I try to get out and ride as much as possible I have wanted to get on a mountain road the whole time I have had my bike I just can’t find one. I know it sounds stupid but I have explored around me quite a bit with no luck
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u/thisismick43 3d ago
I can't wear the chicken strips off my bike with out hitting hard parts but idc, you sound like you need more time with your r3 and maybe a eye opener cause they are alot of bike and most don't get the most out of them
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u/nerobro 3h ago
you're ready for "just about any bike" when riding the bike doesn't require thought anymore. I mean, when emergencies happen, you're not thinking about brakes, throttle, or anything, just directing the bike.
You... are not there. If you're thinking about lean angle, you're not there yet.
If you're questioning if you're ready... you're not ready. The more capable bike, should be a non event.
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u/Sharp_Bus6682 3d ago
Pushing lean angle as far as physically possible is dangerous and unsafe on public roads. Please don't be one of those riders who feels like they need to be dragging knee on public roads to prove themselves. Think about trying a track day if that's your goal.