Okay... Here is the deal. I have ridden the Hurricane since 1987. I have ridden it hard. I would like to know if the other riders would describe "the limits" the same way.You know you are getting close when the front end pushes on you(slides to the outside of the curve). The next sensation is the rear wheel slides also. Has anyone else experienced two wheel slides while cornering?

 

i wish i rode mine as hard as that. the only time i've felt it slide is when there is sand/gravel in the corners.

 

It scared the crap of of me the first time the front end pushed...I had to stay on the gas to bring the rear around.

 

what kind of tires are you running? from the sounds of it, you're only reaching the limits of the tire's traction.

 

At the time I was running metzler comp k's They were the best you could get. They would stick for a long time and when they did start to slide they did so predictably... not just a sudden no traction. I tried pirelli they were **** tires they just heated up and got greasy. The stock bridgestones were okay but they were a little too hard... got lots of miles on them but I prefered the stickier metzlers. Right now I am running Bridgestone battleaxes... Because Metzlers are impossible to find.

 

You are right about being at the limits of the tires traction...and dragging the feelers on the footpegs. The chassis is limited by the contact patch with the ground. Once you are pushing the tires in the corners if the tires don't slide predictably you risk lowsiding from completely running out of traction or highsiding if it does a quickslip and grip.

 

I've been running Pirelli Sport Demons on the track (track days, not outright racing)- they feel a bit greasy at first while they warm up, but hang on good enough to scrap the ***** on the footpegs (standard pegs, not rearsets) as long as I don't try to change direction too agressively. If I heave it around too much the back end breaks away momentarily (at lower gears - I haven't had the ***** to try it in 5th & 6th). I sort of decided that as long as the pegs are scaping, then I'm happy with that and don't much any harder. Only had the front break away when there was some sand on the road.

This is really interesting - hope you get lots more posts.

 

I tried pirellis. I found they were ok running at a moderate pace. When the pace picked up they got greasy and let go. There was little warning when they were about to give. The best thing I will say about the pirelli is it made a great smokeshow! I only kept it on the bike for about 1600 miles.

 

here is a vid that was posted elsewhere on the forum but shows the characteristics of the limits... and how close you are to disaster when riding at or near them. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDme_9lMQe4

 

Sounds right to me. I've been past that point a few times as well. Luckily there is a lot of forgiveness on big roads and tracks. I have to pull my feet up off the pegs so they can fold up some times.
The guy I bought my cane from in 99 actually would do it on purpose, he called it drifting the bike, or checking your ball size. He is still a better rider than me.