TYRES - which suit the Gen 1 Thou for hitting the back roads.......

[AyJay]

As an aside I don't ride in the wet so can't comment on handling in poor weather conditions, but for a tyre with Storm in it's name I wouldn't think they'd be too bad.

Funny you should say that, I wore out two sets Storm Ultra 2s on my ZZR1400 and they were lethal in the wet. Utterly lethal. The slightest throttle over a white line at low speed and it was spinning up. Scared me every time I went out on it. Just put 023s on it and they grip like they should. The Storms were amazingly long lived though. 8500 miles. And they were fine in the dry.

[PieEater]

Funny you should say that, I wore out two sets Storm Ultra 2s on my ZZR1400 and they were lethal in the wet. [/font]

The Storm 3D-XM is a totally different design so they may be better than the 2 Ultras in the wet.

[Camshaft]

[quote author=Camshaft link=topic=9130.msg91292#msg91292 date=1375182699]

On the Thailand note. I hired a Kawa ER6n great bike. Was riding up North above Chiang Mai and decided to pull over at a small road side market for a rest and a drink (not a pint) when parking the bike the centre stand was a bit forward and it got away from me gently landing it on its left hand side,,,,,breaking off the left foot peg. FUCKKKKKKK  plenty of twists to nearby small town Pia Fu....

I did the Mae Hong Son loop earlier this year, I did it all solo on a Honda Wave (as I was on a budget) but it was a hoot no less. Did you start from Chiang Mai? I spent a couple of nights there in the Riders Bar in the NE corner of the 'moat' -you probably know it! I did the loop clockwise staying on Doi Inthanon and at Khun Yuan, Mai Sariang, Mae Hong Son, Pai then back to Chiang Mai. I then went SE to Lampang and then East to the Laos border and followed the Mekong South and then on to Bangkok. Am doing Vietnam next.


[/quote]


Sound like a great trip. BIG distance on the Wave - well done!!  The Yamaha Elegance 135 could be a good scooter also if you'll be doing it again. Surprising acceleration.


I started in Chiang Mai, then to Chiang Rai then Chiang Sean (Golden Triangle right there on the Meekong). Also went through May Rim and a few other places for a day trip out from Chiang Mai.


The roads right up north are excellent quality and very little traffic. The Chiang Rai to Chiang Sean leg I took the twisty way instead of the big fat highway. Up and down mother big mountains and spectacular scenery and so many well banked corners. i had to stop myself from pulling over to take another photo". Some temples right at the tip of small mountains with windy banked corners all the way.


I went to Pai (I think most go through it as part of Mae Hong Son loop?) some poor roads including badly potholed hairpins to be taken at walking speed plus some sand/dirt on the road at times.


I didn't know about the Riders Bar but will definitely check it out next time. Enjoy Vietnam!

[unfazed]

I am a big fan or the Metzeler Sportec M5 on the Gen 1.  There are great wet or dry and speed up the steering of the Gen 1. I find that they give great confidence in the front. At present I have PR3 which I also find quite good, but the M5s are that little bit better and will be going back to them at the next tyre change.

[Camshaft]

Could be an option for me next. Big fan of german engineering and have heard plenty of good suff from Metzler users.


You say "speed up the steering on the Gen 1's" the RA2's on now feel great but have only had the bike for a few months. It is evident these beasts have some weight so faster steering would not go astray. If the Met's improve that I'll be a fan of them.

[PieEater]

It is evident these beasts have some weight so faster steering would not go astray.

Dropping the forks through the yokes is a quick and easy way to speed up the steering, as is fitting shorter dogbones (jack-up kit - ~£15 from ebay), I have done both and also used up the height adjustment on my Nitron shock to raise the rear even more. To me the bike now handles just as well as my old (untweaked) 929 fireblade.

[unfazed]

:evil

[quote author=Camshaft link=topic=9130.msg91534#msg91534 date=1375275593]
It is evident these beasts have some weight so faster steering would not go astray.

Dropping the forks through the yokes is a quick and easy way to speed up the steering, as is fitting shorter dogbones (jack-up kit - ~£15 from ebay), I have done both and also used up the height adjustment on my Nitron shock to raise the rear even more. To me the bike now handles just as well as my old (untweaked) 929 fireblade.
[/quote]
This is true, but it does not solve the worn tyre issue  :lol

[PieEater]

:evil [quote author=PieEater link=topic=9130.msg91550#msg91550 date=1375282603]
[quote author=Camshaft link=topic=9130.msg91534#msg91534 date=1375275593]
It is evident these beasts have some weight so faster steering would not go astray.

Dropping the forks through the yokes is a quick and easy way to speed up the steering, as is fitting shorter dogbones (jack-up kit - ~£15 from ebay), I have done both and also used up the height adjustment on my Nitron shock to raise the rear even more. To me the bike now handles just as well as my old (untweaked) 929 fireblade.
[/quote]
This is true, but it does not solve the worn tyre issue  :lol
[/quote]

[bigfootpete]

I am a big fan or the Metzeler Sportec M5 on the Gen 1.  There are great wet or dry and speed up the steering of the Gen 1. I find that they give great confidence in the front. At present I have PR3 which I also find quite good, but the M5s are that little bit better and will be going back to them at the next tyre change.

But how were the M5's for wear?

[unfazed]

I rarely get more than 4000 miles out of any of my tyres including the M5.
The most I got from a PR3 was 5500, but that was because 2 weeks in France wore the left hand side more than the right thus eventually wearing both sides fairly evenly.
The main wear differenct between the PR3 and M5 is that the PR3 wears out the sides first and the M5 wears out the centre first.