[Uncle Ben]

I've owned my '06 ZX6R for two weeks now. It's my first bike. I'm still breaking it in, as well as honing my skills on it.

I recently discovered leaning taking turns aggressively by leaning into them. When I first started leaning, everything felt firm and table throughout the turn. Lately, when taking right hand turns, the rear end either seems to slide or the suspension rebounds in a weird way. Regardless, it gets a bit unnerving for a new rider.

Anyone have insight as to what this is? Are the tires still slick on the outsides from not being used? Is the Uni-track breaking itself in?

Think I should have the dealer look at it?

 

[nevada]

tire pressure? have u checkd them recently? and yeh the sides could be slick still..if u havent scrubbed them in. the molding wax will be on there still and it can be slick.

 

[Uncle Ben]

Tire pressure is spot on.

Guess I'll keep scrubbing them in.

 

[enduro963]

How much do you weigh? Check the suspension settings. Default is supposed to be for a 150lbs + - rider.

Oh, yeah, and check the road, just in case you're turning on gravel!

 

[rychrger72]

Originally posted by enduro963
Check the suspension settings.

exactly, even if you are close the size of the "prototypical" rider that they base the settings on, you should still set your sag, and get the bike set up for you and the way that you ride. but tire pressure and gettin them srcubbed in is also important. ride safe.

 

[Uncle Ben]

I weigh 160. No gravel on the road.

I'm leaning more toward slick chicken strips and more aggressive leans, making me slide a bit.

I'll keep scrubbing and see if it gets any better or worse.

 

[BrandonM7]

Originally posted by Uncle Ben
I weigh 160. No gravel on the road.

I'm leaning more toward slick chicken strips and more aggressive leans, making me slide a bit.

I'll keep scrubbing and see if it gets any better or worse.

It may be the tires, but I'd bank on suspension settings - I've noticed the exact same thing, and this is far from my first bike. However, this IS my first bike with suspension adjustments out the ass. I also weigh 160 (with my jacket on.) I tightened the rear rebound damping just 1 click and it made that little wobbly feeling a whole lot better - still not perfect. But if I go another click, it feels like it packs down. I need a half click I also tightened the rear compression damping just a hair, loosened the front compression damping a 1/2 turn and rebound 1/4 turn, now it doesn't beat my shoulders when I hit bumps in the road.

I actually tried the Sport Rider suggested settings, and it made the wiggly feeling way worse, and I felt like I was riding on a cloud - they must have been using a very light rider or something. I tweaked from those settings until I felt everything was as good as I could make it, and damn if I didn't end up almost dead on the factory settings. Makes sense though, since I'm close to the weight the factory sets it for. It's strange that I like the rear harder than stock and the front softer than stock, but I guess that's just due to a difference in weight distribution due to my riding style or something.

Grab your owners manual and look at the setting screws, then bump that rear rebound damping up a hair - it may help. If not, all you have to do is click it back to where it was.

 

[zx_sqrill]

i had a similar problem with my bike ended up being the front tire was cupping, but that was due to incorrect pressure. (One side of the tread is higher than the other) But if you say your pressure is the way its supposed to be then i guess the prevous post may be closer to your problem. How 'loose' are you on the bike? I found that if you are too loose when cornering the bike has a tendency to get away from you especially if the road is not perfectly smooth.

 

[xtremewlr]

You need to get you suspension dialed in for your weight and riding style. Take it to a bike shop that is able to do this for you. Once the suspension is set up for you, it will feel much better. So many newer riders neglect to have the suspension dialed in, mostly because they don't realize the importance.

And if this is your first bike, don't be so eager to ride aggressively. Take your time and learn how to actually ride and stay on 2 wheels before trying to dive into a corner at speed. Get used to how the bike feels doing things a little slower and then start progressing to slightly faster speeds. Another common mistake is riding beyond your limits.

 

[Greenisfaster]

Scrubbing??? sorry for jacking the thread but whats that???

 

[xtremewlr]

Originally posted by Greenisfaster
Scrubbing??? sorry for jacking the thread but whats that???

Scrubbing is breaking in new tires. New tires need to go thru a couple of good heat cycles before they are fully broken in and most people also like to get rid of the shiney factory surface that new tires have. This is called scrubbing a tire in. It usually takes anywhere from 30 to 100 miles to get new tires scrubbed in and ready for normal riding. The milage all depends on the rider and thier skill/comfort level.

 

[Uncle Ben]

Scrubbing is wearing the wax off of the tires.

Thanks for the advice everyone. I have ~300 more miles until I go for a 1000 mile service and basicially a complete teardown at my dealership. They readjust everything. I'll have them set everything up professionally then.

 

[xtremewlr]

Originally posted by Uncle Ben
Scrubbing is wearing the wax off of the tires.

Thanks for the advice everyone. I have ~300 more miles until I go for a 1000 mile service and basicially a complete teardown at my dealership. They readjust everything. I'll have them set everything up professionally then.

Sorry but there is no "wax" on new tires. The shiney surface is caused by the tire mold during the manufacturing process.

The dealer shouldn't really need to do a whole lot for the 1000 mile service. Just basically check over all the controls and basic operation of the bike and maybe do an oil/filter change. I would suggest not waiting for that to have your suspension dialed in. It should only cost around $30 and will really make a difference in how the bike feels when you ride it.

 

[Uncle Ben]

Wax was a poor word choice.

I was under the impression that during the manufacturing of tires, some sort of lubricant was used to keep the tires from adhering to the mold. Wax meant the lubricant.

 

[xtremewlr]

Manufacturers might use a type of chemical release agent to prevent the tire carcass from adhering to the tire mold but not in any significant amounts to change how the tire would feel or react on the road when freshly mounted.

 

[Sanjose636]

Try this while you're leaning Uncle Ben, Weight the outside peg a little bit more. Doing this allows for a better contact patch. Unless you are shifting or rear breaking you should always have the balls of your feet on the pegs. Be calm and relaxed, your arms and back should be at a relaxed bend when you set up for the turn in. Reason for your arms and back to stay relaxed at a slight bend is because you want your arms to work with the suspension and not to feed back the bumps and hops to the frame. Use countersteering and lower body weight transfer to get better turn ins. Move your body up against the tank and slide your ass cheek to the inside of the bike when you set up for the turn. When you've turned the bike around, use your outside leg to pull yourself back to up right. Trust your bike, and commit to your inputs. Hope some of this info helps you out in your turning dilema. Oh yeah and keep your eyes focused on where you want to be at in 4-5 seconds.[8D]

 

[calen636]

Maybe it's less about suspension or tire pressure and more about form. Brand new rider. I had to completely relearn how to ride when I bought my bike. Been riding dirtbikes all my life but it's an apples and oranges situation when compared to a streetbike. The more magazines and books I read and the more I practice and ride with people who've been out here for 15 years the more comfortable I get. My avatar shows the product of my bad riding form around corners. It's probably a combination though. Read books and take classes. It's money well spent.

 

[05 ZX]

Uncle Ben, when I first got my 636 it felt like that to me too. I kinda called it a "wishy washy" feeling. The back end just did not feel stable to me at all. Granted I weigh about 35 more lbs than you but still something wasn't right.

So one day I decided I was going to adjust my suspension to the Sport Rider magazine guide just to see how it was. I know these are track settings or set up for a much lighter rider but whatever I just wanted to see how it felt. Before I did this I pulled out the manual (i think) or it may have been a dealer prep manual...i don't remember now but it detailed the stock settings of the suspension of the bike.

Much to my dismay, I found all of the settings completely wrong. Not only were they not close to recommended settings left and right sides were different, etc. And they were way way different than Sport Riders recommendations. So I switched them to the stock settings and took it out. Better but still not what I had hoped for. Switched to the Sport Rider settings....a lot better but still needed some tweaking. So I tweaked it from there to my liking.

It is a night and day difference. What before I thought was my own lack of confidence or newness of the bike to me when leaning in a turn turned out to be poor suspension settings. I have yet to have my sag adjusted and all that and maybe someday I will have all of it looked at by a professional and set up correctly for me...some day when I have some money lol.

At any rate I don't think its your tires or the size of your "strips". If it had anything to do with the fact you have strips, at such a agressive lean angle you would have slid out and lowsided by now. Look to the suspension. You might not think it at first but having a proper setup for you is a huge difference.

And never trust the dealer prep for anything. For some dealers...mine included...dealer prep is uncrating the bike, folding the mirrors out, and making sure theres enough gas in the tank so the bike starts. Past that, I doubt they look at the suspension at all...because everyone is different.

 

[EDT007]

Can anyone in the NJ/NYC area recommend where I can get my suspension settings adjusted?

 

[ffej]

Washington Cycle Works (WCW) in washington, NJ... I think they are on rt 31... well worth the trip, and after you get your suspension done there are miles and miles of great county roads to put a smile on your face.