[FirstSymptom]

I lowered my front end by pulling the forks about 1cm up in the triple clamp a while back. I like the slightly faster steering, but I've noticed that now I use almost the whole front tire (i.e. ~2mm of chicken strip), and I haven't been to a track day on these tires so I wouldn't expect to push the tire over that far riding on the street. The back tire now has larger chicken strips than I previously had.

Can moving the forks 1 cm can affect the geometry so much that I risk losing the front end in a low side. I've been feeling the front want to push out in fast turns. I know I've heard of guys raising the forks more than the 1 cm I have, and I'm wondering if it happens to everyone who drops their front a little.

 

[wacky_woodchuck]

You raised them up 10mm... Which is a good amount. I think you are just using your bike more aggresively than the change in geometery. You lowered the front which brought the rear end higher (in theory) and now with the more weight that you are placing on the front tire you are riding it more than normal.

Now that you moved your forks, try moving your riding style (slide in the seat a bit). I have mine moved just as much as you along with the rear raised a good 1/2" and I still have plenty of chicken strips. Strips are good...that way you know you have tire left to use in a panic situation. And no, you cannot low side from sliding your forks up 10mm.

 

[B.C.]

Just out of curiosity how much of a chicken strip do you usally see on your bike in the rear when street ridding.

 

[evilbologna]

I had mine done 10mm, which felt good and I got comfortable with it. Then came the gsxr shock which raises the rear end a lil more, and also a 180 series tire on the F3 rim, which once again, adds a few mm. That made the front end way too twitchy so I backed it off to 5mm on the forks. At first it felt troublesome in slow speed manuevers, but really was just a matter of getting used to it. Like wacky said, adjust yourself to the bike now.

 

[wacky_woodchuck]

Just out of curiosity how much of a chicken strip do you usally see on your bike in the rear when street ridding.

1/2" or more....

On the track it'll be used up.

 

[punkjumper]

my forks are up about 10mm also but I have a 70 front tire and still have a good bit of chicken strip on the front and the rear is all the way to the edge. this is on the track and with draggin a random peg or two (feelers are off) on stock rearsets so its as far as I can go with the stock rearsets.

I just put on a set of woodcrafts so I'm curious to take it to the track this month.

 

[FirstSymptom]

You raised them up 10mm... Which is a good amount. I think you are just using your bike more aggresively than the change in geometery. You lowered the front which brought the rear end higher (in theory) and now with the more weight that you are placing on the front tire you are riding it more than normal.

Now that you moved your forks, try moving your riding style (slide in the seat a bit). I have mine moved just as much as you along with the rear raised a good 1/2" and I still have plenty of chicken strips. Strips are good...that way you know you have tire left to use in a panic situation. And no, you cannot low side from sliding your forks up 10mm.

I have been riding more aggressively, especially braking later & longer into turns. But it's not the fork change that I worry about, it's running out of front tire while trying to push the rear. I don't want to give up the quick steering I aquired from lowering the front, but I would like to feel like the front won't go way before the back.

Just out of curiosity how much of a chicken strip do you usally see on your bike in the rear when street ridding.

Before the fork change I had about 3-4mm front/4-5mm rear, now it's like 1-2mm front/8-9mm rear.

 

[algreen]

I know theoretically that lowering the front effectively raises the rear, but this doesn't make any sense to me. If the rear axle repersents a pivot point and everything in front if it represents a lever, than lowering any part of the lever (i.e. dropping the forks) will simply rotate the lever and lower the seat and your center of gravity. Since there is nothing substantial behind the rear axle, its not really raising the rear per se, that is to say that the axle, or rear seat is not actually higher, but slightly lower. Seems to me a better way of describing it is loading the front wheel more than raising the rear end up.

Am I totally off here?