Tires - slippery when wet...questions

[twr1776]

Very nice bike.

Looks like the rear shocks have been changed, have you done the Progressives/Sonics on the front? Mandatory safety upgrade IMHO.

[tkent02]

Guess I got so used to sliding a dirtbike around that I didn't realize the GS wasn't supposed to do that too.

Great line, may I borrow it?

[gearheadE30]

nice looking bike. i'd like to see a pic of the caprice in your sig, my first car was an olds wagon....enjoy the new shoes!

greg

I actually don't have too many good pics, but here are a few. 1989 caprice 5 speed, 5.7 TBI putting down about 250 crank horsepower. Fast ratio steering, big sway bars, stiffer shocks and springs...it handles really well for what it is. All of the rust is just on the surface, and it has less than 90k miles on the body and frame. The passenger side is much worse than the driver's.

Having new tires will make a huge difference in grip/traction wet conditions.
Having the Roadriders should make for a great improvement period.
I am due for a new set and am liking the profile on those.
Hmm, will have to do some investigating!

I have often wondered if the cracking we hear about in the newer tires is due to people who stunt?
People who stunt their bikes go really low in tire pressure.

It seems to me like most of those cracking issues came as a result of running too low of tire pressure. Keep an eye on the pressure (I'm running 33 psi front and rear right now) and you should be fine.

Very nice bike.

Looks like the rear shocks have been changed, have you done the Progressives/Sonics on the front? Mandatory safety upgrade IMHO.

Thanks! yeah, I put progressive rear shocks on it. It will be getting Sonic springs when I do the seals here pretty soon, though those forks (from a GS1000S) made a huge difference just by themselves over the stock ones.

Great line, may I borrow it?

Haha go for it.

[bonanzadave]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KnVHUeKZGWI

[bonanzadave]

I have often wondered if the cracking we hear about in the newer tires is due to people who stunt?
People who stunt their bikes go really low in tire pressure.

It seems to me like most of those cracking issues came as a result of running too low of tire pressure. Keep an eye on the pressure (I'm running 33 psi front and rear right now) and you should be fine.

I had two 130/90-17s crack over winter storage. I think they just froze.

[boingk]

Gearhead loving the XR600R in the photo there, I had one (as per my sig) that I rode a heap of road miles on. HotCams Stage 1 camshaft, hot ignition unit with 3 to 5 degrees of advance over the range and then a big-plenum UNI filter kit... really brought it alive! Hope you enjoy it as much as I did mine.

On tyres I'm a big fan of both Avon's and Bridgestones... but nothing - and I mean nothing - beats Michelin Sport Pilots, now in their third generation. They have good feel, great grip and last ages - my Father got over 12,000 miles on a set on his BMW HP2 and he does *not* ride like an old guy!

My most used tyre is a Bridgestone BT-45 though, they're cheap, grip well and last reasonably, too.

Cheers - boingk

[WilliamGLX81]

Got the new tires on and painted the rims. Holy cow did that make a hell of a difference. I'm still trying to get over my nervousness that resulted from riding on the old crappy tires for so long, but it is sooo much nicer to ride now. Not to mention it feels a lot safer, wet or dry, and doesn't fight my inputs.

Pics:

Wow. Your wheels look AMAZING. Did you do the paintjob yourself?

[gearheadE30]

Thanks! yeah, I did it myself. I really should have gotten a before pic; they were pretty bad. I used a dremel with a scotch brite-type polishing attachment on it to get the corrosion off the rims, followed by normal scotch brite to give it that bushed metal appearance. I then masked the faces by taping off the surfaces and using an exacto knife to trim the excess. 2 coats of primer, 2 coats of gold metal flake, removed the tape, and 3 coats of automotive clear, all Duplicolor spray bomb stuff. It came out really well, and I've found that at least with this clear, it doesn't get as orange-peely if you do 3 light coats instead of 2 medium ones.