Another first for me

[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]

[quote author=darrsi link=topic=7858.msg76802#msg76802 date=1368807839]
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
[/quote]


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 ( :lol ) 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.

[Dead Eye]

If you can't afford lessons etc, just get out on the bike and don't be afraid. Is the fear mostly around the damage to the bike or yourself? Silly question I know, but I usually think about what's going to happen to my poor machine rather than myself

If its the bike, well you already dropped it and have a second now as well! So use your gold one to get more experience and not worry about dropping it as much. Your drops have been from low speed anyway, so you shouldn't (fingers crossed) hurt too much more than your pride

Try to find out which techniques you aren't familiar with or haven't gotten the knack of yet and get out and practice ONE at a time. Trying to through them all together will likely not end well. For example, how confident are you with counter-steering? If not very, get out on some twisty roads and practice. The more you get out and the more miles you rack up, the better you will get It took me a bit of getting used to when I got back in the saddle in January after not riding for 3 months

[stevierst]

Or what about getting out there in the rain with an experienced rider and watching how they ride. It'll certainly give you a bit more confidence to see them going round a corner in the wet, and following their lines.

Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2

[darrsi]

My little bit of advice would be rather than going from A to B on a short journey in the rain, go out and stay out in it for a while.
I used to get called into London quite often to go to film sets and had to get there as quick as possible.
Riding in the centre of London is traumatic enough anyway, but add rain in the mix and it all becomes a bit manic.
But i find that once you're out in the rain for quite a while you actually tend to forget about it, and i find myself riding the bike much more aggressively by the time i get back than when i first started out.
Saying that, it still falls back again on having tyres that you trust in the wet.
If you have little faith in your tyres then you will become rigid when riding, rather than relaxed, and it will make for a very uncomfortable journey every time you go out in the rain and lean the bike, and you really don't want that at all.
It's all about having a good feeling and rapport with the bike and the road, and the only way to learn that is by getting out there and practising!