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twigg

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Everything posted by twigg

  1. twigg
    You would benefit a great deal from the increased grip, which means better braking. You would also gain from the vastly improved wet weather performance. Car tyres shift a lot more water than motorcycle tyres and for someone who lacks a little confidence (read: behaves sensibly), it's all gain for you. You can get increased dry weather performance from a rear motorcycle tyre, but you will pay for it. A rear tyre on my VFR would barely get 4000 miles, and they were expensive, but they really gripped ... to the point of laying down a black line under hard braking, even without locking up. They were still crap in the wet. We do not need that level of tyre performance ... so let's be realistic. The tyres specified for our bikes are rated for all speeds up to 130mph ... really! Even allowing for the natural bragging of motorcyclists, none of us rides at that speed, and if they do then they might be in the wrong discussion .... They need to be talking about radar and laser detectors
  2. twigg
    You might try asking your local Motorcycle Safety Foundation (MSF) for recommendations. Google is your friend, especially if you can find biker forums that discuss courses they have been on.
  3. twigg
    The "click" is usually the solenoid. Do all the panel lights dim when it clicks? That would suggest that the starter is trying to turn and drawing full (or more) power. Connections are the main cause .... battery to solenoid, solenoid to starter, engine ground to battery. Check and clean. If that doesn't fix it then your starter motor has an issue. It may be "stalled". Rock the bike (ignition off) in gear until the engine turns a bit ... Try again with the starter. If that fails to fix it, the starter needs to come off for repair.
  4. twigg
    A blowout is a fast decompression ... A puncture is much slower. Blowouts are very rare events on modern tyres, even when badly punctured. Either way, car tire or motorcycle tyre you have a similar problem. Even the runflats won't help much, that isn't what they are designed for. Tyres don't "shred" in the time it takes to stop from a fast (or slow) puncture. They shred when driven for miles before the driver realises he has a flat.
  5. twigg
    Remember this is just a discussion ... point and counterpoint. Your concerns are fine, and perfectly reasonable. My point is that it it a very rare event, and I have never seen a motorcycle with a tire shredded like that from an explosive decompression, not heard of it either and certainly not in the context of this debate. I'm not saying it can't happen, or has never happened, but the risk is tiny. Compare the risk with the benefits.
  6. twigg
    Bookmarking this in case he ever tries to sell a motorcycle :rotf:
  7. twigg
    They should put the less experienced up front: 1. They are not pushed into trying to keep up 2. They follow behind one of the most experienced 3. They do not get left behind at lights, etc. 4. They "feel" good not trailing 5. More experienced riders behind can watch over them 1 & 3 are probably the most important here. If there is a large group, some will be frustrated by the slower pace and the group should maybe be split into two.
  8. twigg
    Your Ride Captain sounds like a guy worth listening to. Cardinal rule .... Leader at the front ... all the less experienced riders right behind, and the more experienced bringing up the rear. There are good reasons for that, and he knew what he was doing.
  9. twigg
    Car Motor Oil, or 20W50 Motorcycle Oil? Car motor oil may not have friction modifiers, but most of them have viscosity enhancers which are not good in our gearboxes.
  10. twigg
    lol ... y'all wanna see "wagging" I give you: [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_S50Dz1JCMg&feature=related]Valentino Rossi 2011!! FULL HD - YouTube[/ame]
  11. twigg
    That is extremely rare. Most deflations are at a much slower rate, explosive deflation happens rarely, and can usually be traced to a fault. If a tyre fails that rapidly, at high speed, then I doubt your run-flat would save you. The main issue with run-flats is the increased unsprung weight slowing down the steering response. But we really don't much ride at speeds where that is a major concern .... we are talking heavy tourers and cruisers here, not race bikes.
  12. twigg
    In racing, you don't need to see where you are going Generally you know exactly where you are going and could pretty much ride the track blindfold ... with allowances for other riders, of course. In racing you need the fastest way round the corner that maximises the next part of the track ... which is usually the absolute fastest way around, but not always because exits speeds can be varied depending on what comes next. So on a section of track that is a series of fast sweep you go fast all the way through ... but a tight turn followed by a long straight demands a fast exit, which compromises the entry. If you come off such a corner too slow, you carry the disadvantage all the way along the straight. Races are lost this way. None of that applies on the road because you do not know what is around the corner ... a child, a broken down vehicle, whatever. Also, until you can see your exit you don't know if the corner tightens up (nasty) or opens out (wonderful). So you almost always go in slow, hit your chosen apex, and power out. Going in slow gives the widest safety margin without putting new creases in your seat, and powering out increases the fun. The other thing to remember is that coming off the bike, at warp speed, on a track is vastly less dangerous than even a low speed spill on a road. There are no high curbs, no walls in dangerous places, no street furniture (poles, lamps, signs) and nothing coming the other way. Track days are enormous fun, and the whole style and approach is almost alien to road riders.
  13. twigg
    There are no dumb questions ... Not asking is a bit dumb I get that feeling of "shame", I know where it comes from. The macho image that used to typify motorcyling should be long gone. The idea that to be a "proper" biker you had to be able to scrape the pegs, or get your knee down on every bend ... and woe bedtide any rider who couldn't do that. It is hogwash now, and it was hogwash then.There are many reasons to ride, and few of them are to do with trying to behave like Rudolph Valentino on public roads. Indeed, those that try often end up dead. Riding is a mixture of confidence and skill. The confidence comes from knowing your own limits, and sticking to them. The skill comes from teaching, and practise. There is a great deal of fun to be had riding between 40 and 70mph, with not a Z-rated tyre in sight.
  14. twigg
    Enroll on an Advanced Rider Course. These are enormous fun, and you will be taught by experts to corner and ride quickly and safely. They will help you unravel any bad habits, and teach you some new good ones. It is the best money you will ever spend.
  15. twigg
    Mike is that blue bike yours? It looks better than anything Yamaha designed!
  16. twigg
    1. Prodigious amounts of grip 2. Massively improved water clearance 3. Frequently cheaper 4. 40 to 50 thousands miles from a tyre. People worry about putting things on their bikes not approved by the manufacturers. Go take a look at your bike, from oil to brakes shoes, we all use things not approved. Folk seem happy to recommend synthetic oils, but baulk at car tyres and the reasons they give are not born out by the thousands of riders who have done this, over millions of miles. If you don't want to do it, fine. If you try telling folk it isn't safe to do it ... then you would simply be ignorant (not YOU, any you)
  17. twigg
    It will be on the container. It will say something like "low friction", or "superslick" or some phrase that gives you a clue. They cause wet clutches to slip. The modern car multigrades are a base weight oil with added "viscosity enhancers" to make it multigrade. The pressure in a motorcycle gearbox rapidly chops those molecules down to size. The oil can lose a whole grade of viscosity in as few as 1000 miles ... not what we want. The Diesel Oils have to cope with much higher pressures, especially on the bottom end bearings, so they don't use the modifiers, they blend different weights to get the grade they want ... so, no problem. The key is the compression ratios ... In an average car there may be a compression ratio of 9 or 10:1 ... In a diesel engine it takes about 20:1 to ignite the fuel, so the explosion is more violent and the oil has to cope.
  18. twigg
    Me too ... You are compensating for an inherent weakness. All you can do is make sure everything is tip-top, with maybe a fork brace. It's never gonna be an R1
  19. twigg
    Although they do seem to be closing quite fast, until they backed off
  20. twigg
    The comparison is unfair. Go find some video of Moto-GP at the same track and see just how much those bikes squirm around when ridden flat-out .... and they are on the finest motorcycle tyres money can buy. Ride a GP bike on the road and it would feel as planted as an oak tree ... If you could ride it slow enough
  21. twigg
    I use 15W40 Heavy Duty Diesel Motor Oil. Changed at 4000 miles and a new filter at 8000. Others are perfectly free to use whatever they want. By the way ... Using a regular straight grade, or multigrade car oil is perfectly fine to "get you home". Make sure it has no "friction modifiers" and change it within about 500 miles. It takes longer than that for the long-chain viscosity enhancers to become short-chain soup.
  22. twigg
    er .... That was Laguna Seca ... Those guys were flat out and scraping the panniers. Of course they were looking for the "feel".
  23. twigg
    A "slow turn" at 70? I guess various tyre and bike combos are better or worse than others. Tyre pressure is critical, and that, I understand, can take some working out. I just wish I could find a CT that would fit my '86
  24. twigg
    There are several ways, but first it has to be said that the front forks are marginal, at best. They should have been beefier! First make sure that things like wheels and tyres are actually "round", or it will always be poor. Also, the forks must be dead straight in the yokes, with no twist. The fork brace is poor. A Superbrace will stiffen up the front and you will notice that most when making slow speed turns. Forks need the bushes on the stanchions to be perfect, to eliminate unwanted movement, and the head bearings should be in good condition and torqued correctly. That will eliminate all or most of that wobble. The other thing you can do is be mindful of technique. These bikes do not like being allowed to coast around tight turns ... you will feel the front shift around (we are back to the weak forks) ... Instead, whatever the turn, try to "drive" through it. so go in very slow and accelerate through. In cities, at intersections, etc, this is a nuanced thing, but the difference it makes is quite remarkable. Even when leaving my driveway into a narrow country lane, this slight change made a massive difference ... it takes practise but I rarely feel any uncertainty now.
  25. twigg
    If there remains any lingering doubts about fitting a car tyre to a motorcycle, then this may help. While I accept that it isn't definitive, in any way, it certainly is more useful than idle speculation and prejudice. In any event, it's a terrific video and only just over 2 minutes: Edit: Both the bikes in the video are fitted with car tyres ... Lean angles seem to be decently manageable. [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BmNqKOhX1r4&feature=youtube_gdata_player]Goldwings at Laguna Seca - YouTube[/ame]
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