Oh fuck, not again....

[midden]

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha... breath... hahahahahahahahahahaha.

Not seen the way I ride, have you? Tyre stress hasn't got all that much to do with ccs or bhp!!



Very sedately according to you, 50-80kmh didn't you say.  the stress of tyres comes from the oil on the roads and that focin 33bhp restrictor

[stevierst]

Not seen the way I ride, have you?

I think we've just found the problem! ;D

[ChristoT]

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha... breath... hahahahahahahahahahaha.

Not seen the way I ride, have you? Tyre stress hasn't got all that much to do with ccs or bhp!!



Very sedately according to you, 50-80kmh didn't you say.  the stress of tyres comes from the oil on the roads and that focin 33bhp restrictor

I was talking about cornering angles. On the dodgy tyres I currently have, a little = splat (well, loss of grip).

Elsewhere, it's how fast you brake / accelerate.

[midden]

Alternatively you'd make a great grave digger

[Dead Eye]

You don't HAVE to buy the Pilot Road tyres - there are cheaper alternatives and if your tyres are as bad as you say, then anything will be better... those perhaps a better mentality would do wonders for you as well

[JoeRock]

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha... breath... hahahahahahahahahahaha.

Not seen the way I ride, have you? Tyre stress hasn't got all that much to do with ccs or bhp!!



Very sedately according to you, 50-80kmh didn't you say.  the stress of tyres comes from the oil on the roads and that focin 33bhp restrictor

I was talking about cornering angles. On the dodgy tyres I currently have, a little = splat (well, loss of grip).

Elsewhere, it's how fast you brake / accelerate.

Which on the FZS 600, are pretty crap to be honest - out of curiousity what's the maximum lean angle like on the ZX in comparison? Know on my FZS the footpegs are now the limiting factor, its one of the reasons I'm going back to a sports bike, as i imagine they'd be a serious hindrance on track rather than the occasional annoyance on the roads!

Will agree with you on the braking/accelerating front, but you've got a relatively light bike, with quite old brakes, and i'm willing to bet that they're not in particularly amazing working condition either, so you're not putting a massive amount of stress on the front tyre through braking.
With 33hp accelerating on a straight won't trouble most sports touring tyres now (although if yours are that old they will be a bit shit), even in the wet. Obviously at high lean angles in the wet then even on a 600 whacking the throttle fully open will often lead to a slide, but if you've not got the throttle control to control 33hp, then god knows what's gonna happen on a bigger bike!

For what it's worth, my riding style is a bit confused at the moment - was on bigger bikes for a couple of years which you do have to ride differently - you can't accelerate whilst leant over as easily, so it's often better instead of hanging around in the corner leant over to try and straighten the bike up, and then accelerate hard once the bikes upright. Been back on a 6 for a few months now which is changing that a bit as you can accelerate more once you're leant over, but I'm trying not to change that too much as it won't be helping me in a few weeks when I get back on a bigger bike!

[Yamazer-92]

Whilst I understand that being restricted to a 2-3 bhp 50cc moped and 30mph is actually a more harmful law than good, I don't really understand your complaint about 33bhp restriction and why it would stop you getting training? Or how it affected your riding to contribute to the accident if that is what you were getting at? If not then sorry I got confused.


I think I am the same age as you and the 33 bhp time I did was absolutely no issue for me. I just took it for what it was, I accepted that I was on a bike that was only slightly powerful and had fun with that and made sure it didn't affect me soon getting onto a proper bike. I hate commenting on threads like this, because I feel like I'm tempting fate, but touch wood in my 5 years I am yet to have any sort of accident (knocked old bike over on the drive once or twice) and plan and pray to keep it that way. One of the greatest things I did last year with my Dad was a bike-safe course with the police. I can't rate it highly enough, the whole thing was about £40 I think and the amount I have gained from it is priceless. It's pretty much a taster of what advanced training courses are like. The police riders are excellent, they really come across nicely and have lots of helpful knowledge to pass on. It changed my opinion of them to be honest. They also watch you ride and highlight and rate things that you are doing well and more importantly need to improve. I also agree with others that riding off road can help with throttle control and not panicking too much if you lose the rear. Messing about with my mates DT125 in a field has probably saved me 3 or 4 times now on my own bikes on the road in some sketchy moments.


As for maintenance and money, I only work part time currently and fund the bike myself so understand that it is expensive. But you surely have a decent enough job to put aside £100-150 a month towards the bike? That is what I have been doing and over my year and a half ownership I have slowly been building it up to the standard that I want. Next on my list is a stainless exhaust FINALLY as the original may as well be papier mache. A few of my mates have been hard up and needed tyres and been recommended Maxxis tyres. They're a lot cheaper than the top brand ones and they seem to all like them, two of them reckon they're the best tyres they've ever had. Maybe it would be worth getting some of those for now?

[fireblake]

I've only heard good things about Maxxis tyres.
I'd happily chip in a Tenner towards some bike training for Chris.
I'm FaceBook friends with Kent Fire bikes so would consider doing one of their courses if timings were right?


Mickey

[ChristoT]

Mickey - you can't have been listening to me then, had them on the Fazer and hated them! I'd prefer to invest in better quality, longer lasting tyres.

Having mentioned the Kent Fire Bikes course to Ma and Pa, they've very kindly offered to pay for it. So next step is fixing up the bike in time for that.

[Pat]

You don't HAVE to buy the Pilot Road tyres - there are cheaper alternatives and if your tyres are as bad as you say, then anything will be better... those perhaps a better mentality would do wonders for you as well

Google gives the rear tyre size for the ZX4 as 140/60 18 so that means a very limited choice of tyres and pilots aren't one of them. Bridgestone BT92 being the best if not only non-trailie choice.

[Dead Eye]

Depending on the date, I could be interested in this event as well

[midden]

May I ask a personal question Christo?.......How old are you?

[Doddsie]

Mickey - you can't have been listening to me then, had them on the Fazer and hated them! I'd prefer to invest in better quality, longer lasting tyres.

 Christo, youve only been riding bikes for 5 minutes, If I lined up 5 fazers with different tyres on  Im pretty sure you wouldnt be able to tell me which ones were which. If you had any handling issues,judging by what ive been reading, they were probably down to you more than the tyres!!

[JoeRock]

You don't HAVE to buy the Pilot Road tyres - there are cheaper alternatives and if your tyres are as bad as you say, then anything will be better... those perhaps a better mentality would do wonders for you as well

Google gives the rear tyre size for the ZX4 as 140/60 18 so that means a very limited choice of tyres and pilots aren't one of them. Bridgestone BT92 being the best if not only non-trailie choice.

You're not bloody wrong there mate.
If he's lucky, the rim will be 4 inches and it'll therefore take a 150/60, so he could also get the BT-090 in those sizes.
To be honest though, probably be a lot easier looking to try and find a 17 inch wheel that'd fit in (I suspect ZXR400 would be minimal work), and then raise the ride height a bit to compensate!

[Dead Eye]

May I ask a personal question Christo?.......How old are you?

Pretty sure he may be the youngest foccer on the site - younger than me and I'm 23

I'll leave him to divulge his exact age if he so wishes...

[midden]

You're not bloody wrong there mate.
If he's lucky, the rim will be 4 inches and it'll therefore take a 150/60, so he could also get the BT-090 in those sizes.
To be honest though, probably be a lot easier looking to try and find a 17 inch wheel that'd fit in (I suspect ZXR400 would be minimal work), and then raise the ride height a bit to compensate!



Surely the easiest and probably safest option would be to just buy a tyre to fit the wheel rather than a wheel to fit the tyre. 
 

[darrsi]

[stevierst]

Not blaming maxxis AGAIN are we?

Well if I can put over 150hp through them, and edge a 190 tyre with full confidence, then there's bugger all wrong with them!

STOP BLAMING YOUR TYRES!!!!!!

I'm another one for getting you on either a bikesafe, or even better, an advanced course. You'll learn a hell of a lot (if your willing to learn).

[Punkstig]

STOP BLAMING YOUR TYRES!!!!!!

If ChrostoT's tyres were new I'd  agree with you, but in this case I remember him saying they were old, for which the rubber would have gone off and be more like riding on plastic wheels, as such tyres would be a factor in the accident.
However, knowing they were old he should have changed them the first day he had the bike.
So it's still all your fault ChristoT!
(I am glad you're Ok, and my original 'knob' post stands)

[Fuzzy]

Echoing others here, do an advanced course, it'd be so worth it.

I'm the same age as Deadeye. I did an IAM course a few years ago and it helped a lot. I've become a far better rider since. I ride 2up regularly and I do so in complete confidence in my abilities and the pillion's safety. The advanced course/rides will help in themselves but they also let you learn and improve after you've finished them.

I think it's £60 odd for membership and then factor in another £60 or so for the rides/course before taking the test. That's 5 or 6 rides lasting pretty much a whole day each. Worth the investment. Much cheaper than a lifetime of replacing broken fairings. Most of the observers/instructors I met fit the pipe and slippers stereotype but lots of them rode professionally and will be very good riders. When I first started, I was shocked by how fast they all were too.

Took a big crash, broken bones & a written off bike for me to start this and other training. Believe me, you don't wanna wait for that to happen. Plus, when other riders see you can ride they'll stop calling you knobhead and take you more seriously!

[Exupnut]

No we wont lol

[Kosmic Kartman]

'On that note,  Kent fire bike team are doing ride skills day's at Brands Hatch for £50. This includes biker down refresher,basic first aid, slow speed control, classroom theory,  a one to one ride out with an iams instructor and two 20 minutes track sessions.well worth the money and recommended for all abilities.

I'm assuming that's for riders ABOVE the fucking 33bhp limiter? I blame that thing a lot as well - I know how the bike can perform normally, and the bastard thing keeps holding me back. Infuriating. I reckon I'll be a lot calmer when the kit's out (and preferably violently destroyed to boot).

Been following this tread with much interest and firstly I'd like to say that I'm glad you got away with this without any broken bones or other serious injuries.

I am, however, a bit shocked at your blinkered approach to blaming your crash on everything else other than yourself. In short you do need some form of training be it on a moped, 33bhp bike, or bike with more power. Blaming the bike for not having enough power is a bit stupid IMO. If you can't handle a bike with less power riding one with more power, and no training to tame your temperament will only get you in deeper shit in the long run.

No mater how fast or slow you ride the most important factors with regard to staying on is knowing how much grip you have with the road surface... be it wet or slippery, secondly it is knowing how to apply the brakes or the power to maintain that grip. I don't mean this to sound like I am lecturing you, I am just worried for you. You need to change your attitude. If you tyres are shit then ride accordingly. ie going to hot into a bend as you mentioned doesn't sound like you are riding accordingly. Missing or failing to see bits of debris in the road sounds like you are not planning ahead to take avoiding action or taking clues from what you see ahead. In short think and plan ahead. Know what the surface grip is like and know the limits of your bike.

The first time we road together you asked me what you could do to improve your riding. All of the above I mentioned to you. You mentioned you wanted to maybe do some racing and I told you that you would need to smooth your riding beforehand. Same applies on the road.

Get training. And until anything changes I think the Nickname 'Merve the Swerve' is gonna stick with you.

PS Don't mean this to sound harsh. I'm just seeing it from my point of view. I want you to be a better rider and have mastery of your machine. I don't like to hear of riders crashing. STAY SAFE.

[fireblake]

Mickey - you can't have been listening to me then, had them on the Fazer and hated them! I'd prefer to invest in better quality, longer lasting tyres.

Having mentioned the Kent Fire Bikes course to Ma and Pa, they've very kindly offered to pay for it. So next step is fixing up the bike in time for that.

I am very old and a little forgetful. You did and i promptly forgot. Now then, what were we talking about?


Mickey

[JoeRock]

You're not bloody wrong there mate.
If he's lucky, the rim will be 4 inches and it'll therefore take a 150/60, so he could also get the BT-090 in those sizes.
To be honest though, probably be a lot easier looking to try and find a 17 inch wheel that'd fit in (I suspect ZXR400 would be minimal work), and then raise the ride height a bit to compensate!



Surely the easiest and probably safest option would be to just buy a tyre to fit the wheel rather than a wheel to fit the tyre. 
 

Well usually yes, but the rear wheel size he's got is a very, very old odd one, and there's very, very few choices in that as noone has that size 18 inch wheels on a bike any more!
Only one I could find, apart from a bunch of shinko plastic jobbies were bridgestones rather old BT-092s, whereas if he swapped to a 17 inch rear as with every other modern bike, he'd have a huge choice of tyres.
Only difference really would be he'd then have to raise the ride height a bit to compensate for the smaller wheel, which is an extremely common mod on most older 400cc bikes (lot of the older Hondas had an 18 inch rear too as standard)

[JoeRock]

May I ask a personal question Christo?.......How old are you?

Pretty sure he may be the youngest foccer on the site - younger than me and I'm 23

I'll leave him to divulge his exact age if he so wishes...

22 here! Have been riding for close to about half that now though