Flash camping trip 1/17 - 1/18

[muskrat]

Sure they'll mount it but they won't balance. They don't have the proper tools to balance my particular rim. Besides, I wouldn't trust Cycle Gear with a 10 ft. pole. 

Randy's the man. He's let me hang out every time I've had him do anything and I've learned a bunch. It's evident to me that he honestly cares what he's doing and that fact alone gives me great peace of mind. He's extremely reasonable on pricing too.    (that's two thumbs-up)

offered it up as a suggestion, don't know why, but they never changed a tire of mine.  I have my trusty mechanic in McKinney.  [moto]

[Cyclone]

In all situations?  Loaded down with luggage and unladened?  Seems counterintuitive.  Why not try raising the rear tire pressure when on a long distance trip with luggage.  try +2 to +4 psi.

BTW, what brand tire did you shred?  What tire are you going to/did replace it with?

cdc

He had a pirelli tire & got a pirelli tire - his center wear on the old one was typical shaft drive scuff wear. Hot starts & stops & just plain shifting ( particularly downshifts where the downshift braking makes the tire scuff ).  More pressure makes this worse since the contact patch is smaller.  Using the brakes to brake and matching RPM to speed on downshift will save a lot of tire.    I think this is why Metzler's are so hard & stiff ( what she said ) ! 

[dallas2r]

In all situations?  Loaded down with luggage and unladened?  Seems counterintuitive.  Why not try raising the rear tire pressure when on a long distance trip with luggage.  try +2 to +4 psi.

BTW, what brand tire did you shred?  What tire are you going to/did replace it with?

cdc

To tell you the truth, I haven't given it much thought until now. 42 already seams pretty high to me so it worries me to push it any further and possibly lose out on surface contact. I really don't think it's anything I can avoid. It's a heavy bike at about 540lbs wet. Add maybe 50lbs of luggage to that with a heavy throttle hand pushing 167bhp and it's probably to be expected. I know what to expect now and can adjust accordingly.

The tire was a Diablo Supersport Street. Cycle gear had the set on sale for $190 just before Christmas so I decided to give them a shot. The front is still in good shape, so I went with another Supersport Street just on the rear. I've heard good things about the Pilot Road 2's so I'll try those out next change.

[dallas2r]

He had a pirelli tire & got a pirelli tire - his center wear on the old one was typical shaft drive scuff wear. Hot starts & stops & just plain shifting ( particularly downshifts where the downshift braking makes the tire scuff ).  More pressure makes this worse since the contact patch is smaller.  Using the brakes to brake and matching RPM to speed on downshift will save a lot of tire.    I think this is why Metzler's are so hard & stiff ( what she said ) ! 

Good points. It might make more sense to run lower (like 40) on the rear when I'm solo. I do use a lot of engine breaking, and it's been a learning process on matching the revs. It's getting better.

[dallas2r]

offered it up as a suggestion, don't know why, but they never changed a tire of mine.  I have my trusty mechanic in McKinney.   [moto]

I've just heard bad things about Cycle Gear and don't trust them. YMMV   

[cdc]

He had a pirelli tire & got a pirelli tire - his center wear on the old one was typical shaft drive scuff wear. Hot starts & stops & just plain shifting ( particularly downshifts where the downshift braking makes the tire scuff ).  More pressure makes this worse since the contact patch is smaller.  Using the brakes to brake and matching RPM to speed on downshift will save a lot of tire.    I think this is why Metzler's are so hard & stiff ( what she said ) ! 

Interesting and makes sense except for the shaft drive scuff wear. My bikes are chain drive and I engine brake more than I use the rear brake (which is why I never complain about Ducati's rear brake being weak) and I get the same wear pattern.

What was different about Wil's  tire was the premature wear which I think as Donald mentioned, may be because of hot starts.  I think thatpart of the reason for Wil's hiher wear are high speeds and relative under inflation given the extra load he carries on a long trip.  Most of the time, the factory recommended tire pressures assumes regular load.  When extra load is expected, the manual recommends a higher pressure.  I believe the rationale for this is that the tire will be stiffer and will less likely heat up and wear less.  As a lot of the miles will be on the center of the tire instead of the sides, the tire will last longer. 

You might argue that the sides of the tire will offer less grip but I think that the additional weight and long distance will be enough to heat the tire up properly.  If more side grip is needed hopefully you can wait until the bike is unloaded of additional gear and you can lower the tire pressures to allow the tire to generate more heat.  That is what they do during track days.  My bikes regular tire pressures are 32/36 front to rear but are reduced to 30/30 for track days to allow more heat and quicker heat build up.  I bet the shredded sides during track days are because the sides are hot and the rubber consequently softer and wear faster but grip more.

Lastly, the Pirelli Diabolo Supersport Street is not listed in the current Pirelli website unless you mean the Diabolo Strada.  In either case, the Corsa III are their dual compound tire and may be a better choice for the BMW which seems to see a fair amount of long distance runs.  I suggest you get a dual compound tire which most tire manufacturers make to give you the longer center stripe wear and stickier sides for when your riding involves an altered perception of the horizon.   

Live the dream. 

[Duc L'Smart]

He got 2000 miles out of the tire, including a HC/3Sisters run, all in 3 weeks

[LYD]

+1 on Randy being the MAN!!  Good luck Will in the race!!

[dallas2r]

+1 on Randy being the MAN!!  Good luck Will in the race!!

Thanks Alan. 

I'm off. Hope everyone has a great weekend! 

[Duc L'Smart]

I'm off.

We know... That's why we like you!!!

[Cyclone]

  Will - don't know if you got an owner's manual with your bike but mine weighs the same as yours ( almost exactly )
the cold tire pressures they tell one to use for:

Solo - is 32 PSI front;  36 PSI rear ( my standard setting )

Two Up - 36 PSI front;  39 PSI Rear ( my setting with Cyclonette )

Two up with 50 lbs luggage ( Max Gross vehicle weight )  36 PSI Front;  42 PSI Rear

It may be different on the K but if you got your info from a BMW Dealer in far N. Dallas - they may have told you wrong - because they definitely told me wrong - ( they looked at the tire and it said 42 max - so they said use 42 -  WRONG ).

I did some searching this morning & found a site that confirms my theories - with photos - I think you are over inflated ( what she said ) & it is a shaft drive !  Scott's K wore out the same way & he is always on edge !

http://www.rattlebars.com/valkfaq/tirewear/

for what it's worth !  [moto] 

[cdc]

the cold tire pressures they tell one to use for:

Solo - is 32 PSI front;  36 PSI rear ( my standard setting )

Two Up - 36 PSI front;  39 PSI Rear ( my setting with Cyclonette )

Two up with 50 lbs luggage ( Max Gross vehicle weight )  36 PSI Front;  42 PSI Rear

Donald,

Not having this information, I assumed that Wil's tire pressures at 36/42 were the standard "solo" pressures which he stated as using under all circumstances.  If your tire pressures are applicable to the K bike then he is running higher pressures than appropriate when he is running without luggage.  That wears out the center stripe prematurely.  I agree with the hot starts, hard acceleration and sustained fast speeds over 100 MPH as contributing to premature center stripe tire wear.  Dual compound tires are said to offer more mileage by using a harder compound for the center stripe.

cdc

[Duc L'Smart]

42 is the max pressure stated on the tire

[dallas2r]

Interesting stuff on the tire pressure discussion. We'll continue that later... I'm freakin' tired after a very active weekend. In the meantime here's some pics. Y'all really need to be ready for the next flash camping trip. I'm giving you plenty of notice.    All these were shot with that little Lumix I mentioned in another thread.




Brains for desert







Frozen morning





Colorado River





Here's a link to the rest

[cdc]

Was that frost on the bike?  Brrr.  Glad you made it home safe. 

BTW, what kind of mileage do you get on the Beemer?  Were you knider on your rear tire this time? 

cdc