From: "D.R. McClellan" To: "Mailing List GTS" Subject: Tired thread Date: Sun, 30 Mar 1997 14:24:38 -0800 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Priority: 3 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Tire tread? huhh?? Well, I finally got around to getting new tires installed. Mosquito Ridge Road claimed yet another Dunlop! Mosquito Ridge is the road leading to French Meadows reservoir near Foresthill, California. It's about 40 miles of government paved race track with little traffic. It's amazing. It features decreasing radius turns, double apex turns, good and bad banking, scary cliffs with great views, cool forests, great asphalt and occasional rocks in the road to keep things interesting. We (Beth was on the back) were chasing a couple of AFM club racers on CBR's. BTW, centerstand and pegs touch down first, and also the little feet on the Krausers. It's amazing what a 1000 lbs of bike and riders can do to a tire. When we left for that ride, the front was just getting into the wear bars, the back still had a couple of tenths to go. When we got back, the ME-Z1 front looked about the same, but the D202 rear was *GONE*! It looked like somebody doused it in blue grease and took a cheese grater to it! The first time we did that was when the bike had 1500 miles on it with the original D202. That tire came back blue, and cornered like it was made of hard plastic after that. We've done the same ride with ME-Z2's several times, and never had problems. The GTS is currently sporting a 120/70 ME-Z1 on the front and a 170/55 ME-Z1 racing compound on the rear. At first, I found the combo uninspiring, but then I bumped up the pressure to 38psi front and 43 psi on the rear. It always amazes me what a *huge* difference that makes with this bike. It definitely steers quicker with the taller front. I like it. I'm sure that I'll need a new rear tire before summer is out. That purchase was more an impulse than a decision. (It seemed like a good deal at the time!) I don't think I realized that it was the race compound when I was buying it. Well anyway, at least the Metzlers have a reputation for lasting on the track. The next rear tire will be a 180/55. One final note on the tire thing. I had Firestone mount and balance the front tire for me. I told them it was a hassle for the bike shops to do it. (They've all been able to do it, but the wheel always comes back with new scratches on it!) It was a class act. I told them which direction to mount it, and they had it done in 5 minutes! It was $17, which might sound like a lot, but there seems to be a conspiracy among bike dealers around Sacramento that has them all charging $20 and up to mount tires. I hate it, I hate it! _ o _ / = > Later, _ (_)==(_) Don ---------------------------------------------------------- Another thing that will make your wobble problem grow and shrink is tire pressure. The correct pressure for decent handling will very according to load and tire shape(brand), but try going a bit high. Mine steers like a truck at the "correct" pressures, so I've learned to use 42-43psi in the rear and 38 psi in the front. These pressures *really* help my handling, and pretty much eliminate cupping. One more thing to check is tire wear. When I've been riding the freeways a lot, it starts getting a bit truckish. A good blast in the hills to carve down the edges does wonders. One last shot; any time you have front end problems, check the rear wheel alignment first. It's the easiest thing to fix and most often the culprit. Next would have to be the bearings under the handle crown (that pseudo-triple-clamp thingy). After that, I think I'd start checking the tightness of the swingarm pivot bearings (rear first than front). Last after making sure every thing else was properly tightened, I'd check the alignment of the front. Hope this helps, _ o _ / = > Later, _ (_)==(_) Don