Went "scraping" today

[stroguy]

If you are in a turn hard can the bike slide before it scrapes?

My first scrape on the F6B was a turn I did not approach perfectly and had to lean into it more than normal. I was ready for the possibility of the scrape and at no time did the tire or bike want to slide. Have no fear.

Much better to scrape than fixate on the apex of the turn and drive into a tree or guardrail. Look past the turn, the bike will do what you need.

[BIGLRY]

Here is an easy way to see what hits first without getting any road rash on you or your bike. I use this method when ever I change foot pegs, exhaust or suspension parts, i.e. lowering forks or shorter rear shocks, phat low profile tires or going darkside.
You will need a sheet of plywood 4'x8' or anything flat and about that size along with a friend as a helper.

Either you or the friend set on the bike holding it straight up with the side stand up, next place the 4'x8' plywood parallel and against the sides of the tires flat on the ground.

Now, with the bike perfectly straight up and down, you or your helper tilt the plywood up keeping the lower edge against the tires. Now you will see what hits first on the bike as if it were in a lean while riding, you will want to do this on both sides of the bike. What you are doing is imitating the lean angle of the bike by making the plywood the road. While this is not perfectly exact due to lack of suspension loading in corners when the bike is in motion, it will give you a damn good idea what is going to hit first.


Tip; The person on the bike should have as much weight on the bike as possible to spring the suspension. You can do this on the center stand, but the bike is not at the proper height as it would be if it were rolling.
This is a good test when changing to aftermarket foot pegs and exhaust so you know the lean limits without causing and damage to you or you steel steed. You can determine what hits next as the foot pegs fold up when scraping by continuing to lift the plywood.

[stroguy]

Here is an easy way to see what hits first without getting any road rash on you or your bike. I use this method when ever I change foot pegs, exhaust or suspension parts, i.e. lowering forks or shorter rear shocks, phat low profile tires or going darkside.
You will need a sheet of plywood 4'x8' or anything flat and about that size along with a friend as a helper.

Either you or the friend set on the bike holding it straight up with the side stand up, next place the 4'x8' plywood parallel and against the sides of the tires flat on the ground.

Now, with the bike perfectly straight up and down, you or your helper lift the plywood up and see what it hits first on the bike, you will want to do this on both sides of the bike.
What you are doing is imitating the lean angle of the bike by making the plywood the road.

Tip; The person on the bike should have as much weight on the bike as possible to spring the suspension. You can do this on the center stand, but the bike is not at the proper height as it would be if it were rolling.
This is a good test when changing to aftermarket foot pegs, exhaust so you know the lean limits without causing and damage to you or you steel steed. You can determine what hits next as the foot pegs fold up when scraping by continuing to lift the plywood.

Ingenious Bigs.

I'm so ignorant I first started reading and I was thinking the friends were there to lean the bike over while you sat on it. Would have to big healthy corn fed dudes to pull that off.

Excellent stuff.

[Kurare79]

If you are in a turn hard can the bike slide before it scrapes?

No worries. On normal street conditions I was never able to make the F6B slide in a turn while scraping. At the end of the turn if you pull the throttle to high and early you can make a little "power slide" which may look cool but is totally insufficient for gaining distance.
With the possible leaning angle of the F6B you are in almost every road condition on the safe side without having to fear that you slide/slip away while turning hard. At least that's what I experienced the last 15.000 miles.

[srt8-in-largo]

I agree with all that's been said about scraping; assuming tires, weather, and road conditions are good, the 6 will take everything you can throw at it... and ask for more. I would only qualify that statement by saying that proper throttle control and a smooth technique are also assumed. Proper roll-on of the throttle keeps the suspension loaded and stable.

...

Saorla (SAYR-la) is my '95 Heritage. From Saerlaith, Celtic for "noble" + "queen" or "sovereignty."
Isleen (ISH-leen) is my F6B, Celtic for "vision."

I assumed those were Gaelic names... a magical language to listen to. Is Gaelic a form of Celtic?

[Limoles]

You're welcome! Thanks, i'am doing fine over there and i hope you, too! I am often dreaming about riding my F6B in the beautiful United States Such a vast country and you can travel all around with the same kind of money, language and nearly equal standards of living. And all that different kind of places from mountains, deserts, beaches, swamps and giant cities. You got just everything in one country over there. Maybe next year i'll be able to go there with my F6B. Won't have more than two weeks, but i'll do best out of it!

@Steve: Trust me: The F6B lean angle is compared to a "normal" or "sports" bike pretty low. There really isn't anything to fear. If you hear it scratching there is still some more lean angle needed, before you touch with the hard things like the cage around the engine. I would test it on a free space like a big Walmart parking area (after shopping hours of course). Starting with a big circle and taking it more and more narrow till you can hear it. Same thing counter clockwise. Afterwards alternating left and right. And if you feel safe you can try it on the street.
Within time you are getting a very good feeling how far you can go, before it scratches or when it will scratch.

Karim ,

If you decide to come over and specify objects of your interest , I'll join you and try to show the most spectacular places , which I already know . Promise you to enjoy all of them . Shipping your B for 2 weeks isn't good idea - it will be to expensive , so I can lend you one of my bikes . Let me know , when ready . Meanwhile I'm preparing all gears for 2005 Inzane to Paris and passing Germany is in our schedule already . Europe has also tons of attractions to offer and will be nice to see familiar sites again. Life is beautiful anyway and can make people happy everywhere .

Les

[53driver]

Thanks Steve, I don't scrape enough. My BRC2 was cancelled in April due to rain. I have it in two weeks and can't wait to scrape and learn more.

I'm hoping you learn a lot and have fun. I have yet to scrape the F6B in the peanut...she hasn't done it yet. I was on the Harley for this drill. I have scraped Isleen hough.....it was in an awesome lean angle and we were functioning as one.

[53driver]

I assumed those were Gaelic names... a magical language to listen to. Is Gaelic a form of Celtic?

The Celtic languages are a language family inside of the Indo-European languages.
There are six Celtic languages still spoken in the world today, spoken in north-west Europe.
They are divided into two groups, the Goidelic (or Gaelic) and the Brythonic (or British).

[stroguy]

Well then there is my challenge! No scrape on da peanut. I have still yet to master the F6B bi-polar clutch. The first 10 minutes after firing her up the clutch grabs with just a lil release. After she is warm though it takes a noticeable amount more of lever release to get to the go go point. More driving should solve that.

[Kurare79]

I would only qualify that statement by saying that proper throttle control and a smooth technique are also assumed. Proper roll-on of the throttle keeps the suspension loaded and stable.

+1

If you decide to come over and specify objects of your interest , I'll join you and try to show the most spectacular places , which I already know .

That sounds great! If plans get clear, i'll let you know!

Meanwhile I'm preparing all gears for 2005 Inzane to Paris and passing Germany is in our schedule already.

I'll write you a private message.