Another first for me

[ChristoT]

I have to admit the sound of the rain on the lid was absolute bliss.
 

Not when it's misted up both your visor and your specs! When that happens, foc knows where you're going! 

[simonm]

I have to admit the sound of the rain on the lid was absolute bliss.
 

Not when it's misted up both your visor and your specs! When that happens, foc knows where you're going! 

Pinlock and nikwax visorproof seem to do okay for me.  I tried to mist up my caberg duke  on purpose (as a test) and I couldn't do it.

[darrsi]

I use these, they're brilliant:       http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_odkw=visor+anti+fog+prospeed&_osacat=0&_from=R40&_trksid=m570.l1313&_nkw=visor+anti+fog+progrip&_sacat=0

[stevierst]

Pinlock is an absolute necessity for wet weather riding, and Mr.sheen polish on the outside just before you set off certainly helps.

Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2

[darrsi]

Just got a text from my mate who's been living in Germany for 3 years, and has hardly ridden his Fazer whilst over there (it's his first bike).
He's bringing the bike back over and he's 160 miles into a 290 mile journey to Calais and he says it's absolutely tanking it down with rain, then he'll have the journey from Dover to North London, the poor sod 

[Chris]

Oh dear, hope he makes it back ok. It makes for a better story in the pub later if it rains all the way or your tent blows away or you end up in a knife fight with a monkey... maybe scratch the last one 
 
Chris

[simonm]

Just got a text from my mate who's been living in Germany for 3 years, and has hardly ridden his Fazer whilst over there (it's his first bike).
He's bringing the bike back over and he's 160 miles into a 290 mile journey to Calais and he says it's absolutely tanking it down with rain, then he'll have the journey from Dover to North London, the poor sod 

I hope his textiles are in good condition.  Yesterday it was 50/50 which worried me the most; falling off or getting soaked through.   

[darrsi]

Just got a text from my mate who's been living in Germany for 3 years, and has hardly ridden his Fazer whilst over there (it's his first bike).
He's bringing the bike back over and he's 160 miles into a 290 mile journey to Calais and he says it's absolutely tanking it down with rain, then he'll have the journey from Dover to North London, the poor sod 

I hope his textiles are in good condition.  Yesterday it was 50/50 which worried me the most; falling off or getting soaked through.

He hardly used the bike all the time he was there, but he has all the clothing so he should be okay.
I gave him a Vee Wipe about a year ago so hopefully he's using that this time?
When he bought the bike his first main ride was to Germany, and it pissed down on him then as well. 
It wasn't the ideal introduction to biking, but looking on the bright side, it can only get better for him! 

[ChristoT]

Just got a text from my mate who's been living in Germany for 3 years, and has hardly ridden his Fazer whilst over there (it's his first bike).
He's bringing the bike back over and he's 160 miles into a 290 mile journey to Calais and he says it's absolutely tanking it down with rain, then he'll have the journey from Dover to North London, the poor sod 

I hope his textiles are in good condition.  Yesterday it was 50/50 which worried me the most; falling off or getting soaked through.

He hardly used the bike all the time he was there, but he has all the clothing so he should be okay.
I gave him a Vee Wipe about a year ago so hopefully he's using that this time?
When he bought the bike his first main ride was to Germany, and it pissed down on him then as well. 
It wasn't the ideal introduction to biking, but looking on the bright side, it can only get better for him! 

Er....

That's what I thought after 4 hrs in torrential rain on French motorways on my 125, and all my gear leaked.

Then I did 4 hrs and 100 miles on the Fazer through driving snow, and all my gear leaked again! The snow was MUCH worse. Colder, worse visibilty, and the INSIDE of my glasses fogged up. Appropriately, I was singing "Bat out of hell" to keep my spirits up on the last stretch up the A1. Appropriately, as I was blind as one!!

[darrsi]

Just got a text from my mate who's been living in Germany for 3 years, and has hardly ridden his Fazer whilst over there (it's his first bike).
He's bringing the bike back over and he's 160 miles into a 290 mile journey to Calais and he says it's absolutely tanking it down with rain, then he'll have the journey from Dover to North London, the poor sod 

I hope his textiles are in good condition.  Yesterday it was 50/50 which worried me the most; falling off or getting soaked through.

He hardly used the bike all the time he was there, but he has all the clothing so he should be okay.
I gave him a Vee Wipe about a year ago so hopefully he's using that this time?
When he bought the bike his first main ride was to Germany, and it pissed down on him then as well. 
It wasn't the ideal introduction to biking, but looking on the bright side, it can only get better for him! 

Er....

That's what I thought after 4 hrs in torrential rain on French motorways on my 125, and all my gear leaked.

Then I did 4 hrs and 100 miles on the Fazer through driving snow, and all my gear leaked again! The snow was MUCH worse. Colder, worse visibilty, and the INSIDE of my glasses fogged up. Appropriately, I was singing "Bat out of hell" to keep my spirits up on the last stretch up the A1. Appropriately, as I was blind as one!!

I must confess, i don't miss the steamy glasses scenario, i had my eyes lasered years ago to combat that one, best decision ever.
I remember fog being particularly bad as well. Fog inside your glasses, ouside your glasses, inside the lid and fog outside too.
Game over basically!   

[Punkstig]

/\ one of the reasons I got my eyes zapped too, that and not being able to look through them when at an odd junction, plus not being able to 'glance' at the clocks etc etc.

[Rebuilt]

you are going to hit rain , fog , hail at some time on your journies regardless what the bastard weather man  says ( weather girls prettier so carefull not to fall prey to that  also ) ... gald you got in there and glad you made it but .. try hail on the M5 and think its smart not to bother with waterproofs as its sunny  arrrr ... cold nuts comes to mind ... meanwhile GF on back was pre waterproofed ...not a lot you can do when on the move 

[darrsi]

you are going to hit rain , fog , hail at some time on your journies regardless what the bastard weather man  says ( weather girls prettier so carefull not to fall prey to that  also ) ... gald you got in there and glad you made it but .. try hail on the M5 and think its smart not to bother with waterproofs as its sunny  arrrr ... cold nuts comes to mind ... meanwhile GF on back was pre waterproofed ...not a lot you can do when on the move 

Ha ha, yes, hailstones are probably the most fun of all 
I mean, what idiot sits down when getting pelted by iced marbles, then tries riding over them? 
It sounds funny, but it really isn't.......

[simonm]

Out of interest, what tyre do you have on the rear? I've ridden in some downpours before and I've never felt the rear misbehave that much. I obviously ride appropriately for the conditions but not so much that I'm crawling along at a snails pace

After some investigation I think these may be past it ?

[simonm]

I have no idea what the hell the samsung galaxy s3 does to screw up picture rotation, it must be some arcane mix of modifying the exif tag and the picture too.  This is the right way up on my phone...

[darrsi]

What are we looking at exactly?

[simonm]

What are we looking at exactly?

I think it's the date of manufacture but I've been known to be incorrect on more than one occasion.

The tyres have plenty of tread but as I've said before it was a 12 year old bike which had done 5k miles, I suspect it's still on the same tyres from New.

[darrsi]

There's no visible cracks or anything in the photo's though.
They just may not be that good in the wet, compared to later tyres?

[john 087]

That’s not the age of the tyre; it will be 4 numbers together, the first two are the week and second two are the year. If it’s a pre 00 tyre it will only have 3 numbers. 

[simonm]

There's no visible cracks or anything in the photo's though.
They just may not be that good in the wet, compared to later tyres?

I have very little riding experience and don't know what to expect from tyres or what result any changes would make.  I have read that tyres over 4 years old are probably a bit old and wondered if, in that case, 12 year old tyres would be as hard as an old school eraser.

The tyres are in good condition with micro fractures in the tyre but no substantial wear and tear.

I was considering getting some BT23's or Roadpilot 3's.  I'll send Bigsteve a message to ask if he can help inform as we talked about it at the Birm meet a while back.

You said you run a mixed pair, please can you spill the beans on your combo ?

Cheers

[simonm]

That’s not the age of the tyre; it will be 4 numbers together, the first two are the week and second two are the year. If it’s a pre 00 tyre it will only have 3 numbers.

Sorry , is this right ?

[Punkstig]

Use your thumb nail to dig into the tyre, a decent fresh tyre will feel more like chewing gum than an old tyre that will feel more like plasticky leather if that makes sense?


My suggestion- ditch them, and do it sooner rather than later,
No, tyres aren't cheap, but cheaper than binning the bike!


I keep saying it - pilot road 3's ftw, ( but tyres are massively subjective to personal 'feel')

[darrsi]

There's no visible cracks or anything in the photo's though.
They just may not be that good in the wet, compared to later tyres?

I have very little riding experience and don't know what to expect from tyres or what result any changes would make.  I have read that tyres over 4 years old are probably a bit old and wondered if, in that case, 12 year old tyres would be as hard as an old school eraser.

The tyres are in good condition with micro fractures in the tyre but no substantial wear and tear.

I was considering getting some BT23's or Roadpilot 3's.  I'll send Bigsteve a message to ask if he can help inform as we talked about it at the Birm meet a while back.

You said you run a mixed pair, please can you spill the beans on your combo ?

Cheers

For the last few years i've always had a Metzeler M1(discontinued now i think?) up front and a Bridgestone BT021 on the rear, and they have served me extremely well in the dry and much more importantly in the wet too.
But then my bike is mainly used for commuting so they work brilliant for me, but i believe Punkstig is a courier so i can only imagine his style of riding is a tad different from mine ( ) and he will also do a hell of a lot more mileage in constant shitty weather, so if he says the Pilots are the real deal then i have absolutely no reason to disbelieve him!!
The only thing i will say is if you're gonna pay more money for the top range of tyres then be prepared to stick with them, because if you decide you're a bit short of cash one day when you're in need of new tyres and you decide to save a few quid by downgrading then you will be bitterly disappointed!
Some tyres are more expensive for a reason, they simply do the job better.

[Punkstig]

I have to add that Michelin have massively shot themselves in the foot!
Why?
The road pilot 3 is absolutely perfect for a 600 (I also had 2 on my srad 750, increased pistons, gas flowed head and race cams!) the grip truly is very very good, it'll probably show its limitations on a track on a 750 and above being absolutely hooned, but for us fazerers its massively capable for our power output, not only that but I got 16000 out of the rear on the srad, and I do not hang about when the roads permit it! (I had 20000 out of the front!)
The price per tyre- you will not find another tyre that grippy that'll do that mileage,
So, overall, they cost a little extra to start, but £'s per mile x grip = nothing else is comparable in my experience!


Now, that brings me to throw a spanner in the works- I know there's already been conversations on here about tyres developed and matched to one another to attain maximum grip but for my riding style I put a sportier stickier tyre on the front, I was on pilot power 2’s which the feel from was just beautiful, but they don't come in our 110's, I'm currently looking at a front wheel conversion to a 3.5" rim because I liked them soooo much!


But (again) for your riding experience stick with the pr3's as a pair,  they are way more capable than needs be on our roads and would only limit you on track if you was in the fast group!

[AdieR]

" I definitely want to go out in the wet but I either need more experience or training.  I talk about training a lot but then I'm tight fisted about spending the mulah."

It's a catch-22 here: you want to go out in the wet but need the experience - but you won't get the experience if you don't go out in it.

One piece of advice I got from a mate at work (with 30+ years exp on bikes): "It isn't wet roads, or diesel spills, or daft car drivers that cause accidents; it's not knowing how to handle them that's the problem".

I got caught in snow last year on the A9 Perth - Inverness road at stupid o'clock in the morning (effectively in the middle of nowhere), which left me with the choice of a) a long run back to Perth or b) press on to Inverness with a fair distance to go. I decided to press on northwards. Can't say it were fun, but with some care, I made it up without incident (indeed, the bike probably coped better than I did, and them Battlax 020's were rock-steady even through the crap cold A9 weather, and the wet greasy roundabouts in Inverness).

I were "lucky" (if you can call it that) in that when I were preparing for my test (over winter '08 / '09) I had lessons in a variety of weathers (heavy rain, high winds, cold but dry days etc), and decent weather on test day - but the lessons I had in poor weather, and the experience I gained from it, proved invaluable. One lesson I had were on a road prone to crosswinds (I knew the road well, I used to go to work on that road during my L-plate days, and were aware of the crosswinds) - my instructor seemed quite surprised that I'd "coped so well with it".

You mention training, but mention being tight-fisted with money: I'd argue that training (whatever it costs) is worth every penny if it saves your bacon in situations you're uncertain of - there's no merit saying "I wish I'd..." if you throw it down the road (training will work out cheaper than weeks off work with no income...).

I've heard the "can I trust my bike / tyres?" question a few times; fact is most bikes / tyres are more capable than the human operator.