 |
 | Home | Contact Us | FAQ | Search & Site Map | Link to Us |
 | Sign In | Join | Other 45 Sites in Network |
| HomeDiscussion Groups General MotorcyclesHarleyYamahaSportbikesRacingOff-roadSnowmobilesTechnicalCountry Specific Australian GroupUK GroupClassic (UK Group)Related Topics CarsBoatsMore Topics ... |
Motorcycle Forum / General / Sportbikes / March 2007Wrenchin
Having just sold a pile of Duc parts and feeling another year older and stiffer on my first couple of rides I sprung for a set of Helibars for the Duc. It's actually a new upper triple clamp as opposed to their normal bar/clipon improvements. The clamp moves the bars back about an inch and a half. I spent most of last night and about 4 hours tonight installing that and getting a new rear tire put on. (You wouldn't think you'd have to disassemble the entire bike to change a friggin clamp!) For the tire, I went with the new BT021. I have one for the front too, but I don't have any way of lifting both ends of the bike simultaneously and I'm too exhausted to f.ck with it tonight. The tread seems considerably deeper than I recall the 020 being new. I'll give my impressions once I have a little time to break them in. > (You wouldn't think you'd have to disassemble the entire bike to > change a friggin clamp!) Yeah, and to drain the fork oil on my ZX, which has no drain at the fork bottoms, I had to turn the whole thing upside down! > For the tire, I went with the new BT021. I > have one for the front too Oh. My. Gawd. Is BS still making a version of the crappy BT020? Does BS still use the same tired old Spitfire tread pattern on the front? The Spitfire pattern was for a rain tire and the tread blocks on the BT020 were too flexible. With the pointy profile, a BT020 front tire made my FZR1000 feel exactly like my old GS1100, i.e., unstable at any speed. It shimmied at legal freeway speeds. > The tread seems considerably deeper than I recall the 020 > being new. Check the Bridgestone website, it will tell you what tread depth is on all their tires. The typical tread depth for front tires is only 5 mm to reduce wiggle. The typical tread depth for rear tires is 7 mm, because customers would get really pissed if their sport touring tires wore out in 4000 miles. Tell us how the BT021 works out, but try to be objective about the subject. The fact that you spent your own money on something shouldn't make it the best possible purchase. And, if you should have to criticize the tire objectively, I won't think you have a "negative attitude". > > For the tire, I went with the new BT021. ?I > > have one for the front too [quoted text clipped - 29 lines] > And, if you should have to criticize the tire objectively, I won't > think you have a "negative attitude". You think I give a rat's a.s who makes the best tires? The fact that I find the former 010 great and 020 perfectly acceptable may not sit well with you and your bike, but on the three bikes I've run them on the 020s have been fine. My favorite tire of all time is the Pilot Power, but it would last about 3 rides on a heavy bike like the FJR. I have every reason to believe the 021 will be a good bun, but I have no interest in promoting Bridgestone. If it lets me down you'll know about it. It's just of the Bridgestone, Michelins, Avons, and Dunlops I've tried, Bridgestones have given me the most favorable results, YMMV. > > Tell us how the BT021 works out, but try to be objective about the > > subject. The fact that you spent your own money on something shouldn't > > make it the best possible purchase. > You think I give a rat's a.s who makes the best tires? Well, excu-u-u-se me for contacting your sulky inner child! > The fact that > I find the former 010 great and 020 perfectly acceptable may not sit > well with you and your bike, but on the three bikes I've run them on > the 020s have been fine. That's nothing new. We knew we had to run a softer front tire and a harder rear tire way back in the 1970's. BT010's and BT020's filled the bill for the econotire crowd ever since they figured out what the oldtimers already knew. > I have every reason to believe the 021 will be a good bun, but I have > no interest in promoting Bridgestone. If it lets me down you'll know > about it. That's what I want to know. Objective experience. � > It's just of the Bridgestone, Michelins, Avons, and Dunlops > I've tried, Bridgestones have given me the most favorable results, > YMMV. Yes my mileage has definitely varied. Of all the Bridgestones I've ever tried, only the BT020 rear tire was acceptable. But the wallet thumpers always raved about Bridgestones so I tried a set of the BT45V's on my old GSXR. They were utter crap, they squirmed, and gusts of wind blew me across the road. But they were perfectly acceptable to riders whose idea of a Sunday ride was to ride the freeway out to the Rock Store and back and 45mph cornering in the canyons. > > > Tell us how the BT021 works out, but try to be objective about the > > > subject. The fact that you spent your own money on something shouldn't > > > make it the best possible purchase. > > You think I give a rat's a.s who makes the best tires? > > Well, excu-u-u-se me for contacting your sulky inner child! My "child" has never been an "inny." > > ?The fact that > > I find the former 010 great and 020 perfectly acceptable may not sit [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > the bill for the econotire crowd ever since they figured out what the > oldtimers already knew. I never ran them that way, but it seems like a reasonable idea. I prefer two new tires at a once. Since this isn't enough cash outlay to keep me outta eats, that's how I do it. > > I have every reason to believe the 021 will be a good bun, but I have > > no interest in promoting Bridgestone. ?If it lets me down you'll know [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] > ride was to ride the freeway out to the Rock Store and back and 45mph > cornering in the canyons. Whatever makes them happy and keeps a buck in their pocket. I'm sure slicks would stick way better than anything I've ever ridden on, but thus far 010s and Pilot Powers have taken me around racetracks and backroads just fine. They also last a damn sight longer and allow me to ride in the rain too. Since I commute 60+ miles to work everyday, 020s serve their purpose well too. > You think I give a rat's a.s who makes the best tires? The fact that > I find the former 010 great and 020 perfectly acceptable may not sit > well with you and your bike, but on the three bikes I've run them on > the 020s have been fine. My favorite tire of all time is the Pilot > Power, but it would last about 3 rides on a heavy bike like the FJR. Hmmm. I have 5k miles on my Pilot Powers (600cc f4i). I can't quite describe it, but they feel really "squirelly" on rough surfaces at 30-40mph. Every where else feels fine. It is weird. I've tried various tire pressures but it doesn't really go away. Of course in the grand scheme of things the problem could be related to the fact that I went to "full soft" on all suspension settings. The expansion joints on the freeway were rattling my teeth and on the rough road I ride every day. > I can't quite describe it, but they feel really "squirelly" on rough > surfaces at 30-40mph. [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > on all suspension settings. The expansion joints on the freeway were > rattling my teeth and on the rough road I ride every day. In his Daytona race commentary Freddy Spencer briefly alluded to the fact that riders could preload the front springs more when they had a front tire that was softer and more compliant. The situation is opposite when the front tire is of a harder compound and less compliant. Harder rubber cannot damp out the oscillations of the front springs as well as softer rubber can. Riders will compensate for the harsher rider by dialing off front preload. Reducing preload lowers the natural frequency of a spring. When the natural frequency is around 1 cycle per second, you get the 1969 Buick feeling, it's like being on a boat on the ocean and steering becomes imprecise. When you try to countersteer into a turn, the chassis dives quite a bit and the front wheel tracks toward the outside of the turn for too long. Riders perceive this brief "outtracking" as imprecise steering. If you increase preload, natural frquency of the spring increases. Around 2 or 3 cycles per second gives a less comfortable ride, but the steering feels more precise with less outtracking. Around 5 cycles per second the chassis transmits so much vibration to your head your eyeballs can't focus on the road ahead. There is little or no outtracking, but all you have left to absorb small pavement imperfections is the compliance of the tread rubber. > Tell us how the BT021 works out, but try to be objective about the > subject. The fact that you spent your own money on something shouldn't > make it the best possible purchase. So far so good. No rain, but I was easy on them for about 5 miles and once I felt no uneasiness I began to pick it up. I was riding really deep lean angles by 1 > Tell us how the BT021 works out, but try to be objective about the > subject. The fact that you spent your own money on something shouldn't > make it the best possible purchase. So far so good. No rain and I was easy on them for about 5 miles. Once I felt no uneasiness I began to pick it up. I was riding really deep lean angles by 10 miles (enough to scrape shaved FJR pegs anyway) and the tires stuck fine. I think they do have a considerably pointier profile than the 020s though as they seem to fall in and require more effort to hold a stable line. Not racerboy quick steering or anything, just that you can't put the bike on autopilot thru the long faster stuff as easily. My steering head began shaking about 3/4 of the way thru the ride so I had to go easy from there. The main triple tree clamp nut requires 90 ft*lbs of torque. My torque wrench only goes to 75 ft*lbs which I used to tighten it originally. (FWIW, I noted this same problem from the factory and the techs didn't have a torque wrench that measured above 75 ft*lbs either, but Bubba the hillbilly who installed my Yamaha factory trunk (that at 3k miles broke off thru no fault of his) fastened it down to 90 Bubba*lbs. At first I sneered at this crude animal, but came to appreciate that the front end felt perfectly fine after he winged it and until I went and f.cked with it.) I used my wrench to get it to 75+ ft*lbs and as I mentioned, it did feel fine for the first 3/4s of my ride. When I got home I removed the handlebars and re-torqued it to 75 ft*lbs + a saddle imitiation of a Bubba grunt. Of course I lost a small handlebar cap bolt down in the engine bay so I have to tear it apart since this thing ain't gonna be no Lowe's sale item. Woe is the tale of the biker dood... |
Reply to this Message |
 Sign In
 Join
 My Latest Posts My Monitored Threads My Blog My Photo Gallery My Profile My Homepage Start New Thread Enable EMail Alerts Rate this Thread
|
©2009 Advenet LLC Privacy Policy - Terms of Use
This website includes both content owned or controlled by Advenet as well as content owned or controlled by third parties.