What have you done with your bike today?

[Asmith61]

That is some route 2112    and what a bonus to see an osprey 

[Steve T]

Little bike out for some more miles the other day after adding some home made extras . . .




And some photos from yesterdays wander with a pal, seeing as the weather Gods where smiling on us . . .






Steve T

 

[Asmith61]

Ohh, picture of the odd wear if you get the chance. Nothing like a pic of an oddly worn tyre.

My former Tiger 1200 used to put a 45 degree flat spot on either side of the front tyre, creating the most odd wear pattern. Starting in the centre it went round, flat and then round again, odd. It eventually started to feel a bit odd but by then it was due a change anyway.

Here is the picture of the odd wear on the front tyre  from the picture not sure you can see the wear ?

Also I didn’t take long for the dealership to put my Harley Nightster up for sale 

[nigel s]

Can't tell much by pics , but that huge front tyre will wear differently to a more normal size one, pays to get it checked out though 

[Brockett]

I never use Bridgstone because I had two front tyres that wore unevenly. It looked to me as though they had dual compound with a harder section in the middle. The tyre wear was as if the compounds had spread and not remained linear. I used one of those flexible shape finders to track the surface and found there were miniature hills and valleys after 2000 miles or so.

[The Doctor 46]

I heard somewhere that tyres wear uneven because of the camber on the road, the right side wear's more. I blame roundabouts because I love to ride round and around the big ones at speed. 

[Dark-Strom]

Hi Asmith, I think it might be the size of the tyre and the state of the roads?
Brocket - Bridgestone and Pirelli's have been my go to tyres for years, never had an issue, unlike some Dunlop and Avon's...

[NeilM]

Brockett: My s/h Vstrom 650 came fitted with Bridgestone's, and as it was my first ever Japanese bike and my first ever ADV style bike I thought I had made a terrible mistake, the thing scared me silly with it's twitchy front end handling.

Then I heard about asymmetric wear / cupping, checked the front tyre and found the culprit. I changed to Avon Spirit ST's and life has been good ever since.

Dark-Storm. I'm on my second set of Avon Spirit ST's, the first set went just past 12,000 miles and I'm 6,000 miles into the current set. I have found them excellent in all road and weather conditions.

[Dark-Strom]

My old Glee handled fine on its OE tyres. It's only on Metz Tourance now as they were the deal at the time.
Had a Sprint 1050 and the Avon Storms had no feel until you were 10 miles into a run, with the BT23's fitted the feel was there from the get go.
I guess with tyres it can all be a bit bike / road condition specific...but you go from your own experiences 

[Brockett]

Enfield Classic 500 Stealth - adjusted the chain and replaced the pilot bulb. MOT day tomorrow 

[Asmith61]

 nigel s    no I agree it is hard to see but when you run your hand over you can feel it.  But to be fair I have done about 300 miles with the bike now and probably ride differently than the previous owner, but when I take it in to the dealers to get the tyre checked on Friday it will be the test as motorway speeds.
Dark -Strom  yes it is a bloody huge tyre     and the roads everywhere are crap ( why do we bother paying road tax  )
The Doctor 46 uneven wear because of Camber on the road makes sense 
I originally booked the 5000 service for May the 24 th but have changed it to Thursday 17th April ( probably going to be 500 short of the 5000 but that will be fine ) while we are down Kent for the week.

[Brockett]

MOT was a pass. So I took a little ride to Manningtree on the back roads.
The Rape has been busy covering the fields in a yellow duvet and the countyside was smelling nice. Plenty of sunhine but a chilling east wind spoils it a bit. Couldn't stay out long as my school holidaying Grandson is making sure my TV doesn't get cold.

[2112]

Today I had a run out by myself for a change and a run over the Carter Bar, Jedburgh, Kelso, Berwick-Upon-Tweed and then down the coast via Bamburgh & sea Houses - both rammed out. It was so warm I had to shed my thermal lining at one point!

[Upt North]

Snap.
18 to 24 of your blummin'eckin centigrades. It's all downhill from here.
Did I see you somewhere?
New SW footpegs are brill and the gearing is so much better.
Upt.

[The Doctor 46]

Just been to garage, filled up and worked out I'm doing 48.7mpg. Cheaper to go in my car but that was 48.7 fun mpg not like the normal horrible 60+ mpg in the car. 

[2112]

Did I see you somewhere?

I only spotted one V-Strom today and it was a very early Mk1 1000 in blue?

[Upt North]

That's a no then, I saw a white TA around 4 on the 697 S/B. I don't think it was far from Wooler but I was in a Running Fox sugar rush at the time so it could have been anywhere.
We did 697 to the 68, south through Jedburgh and then to Rothbury and home.
Food at the Caff at Earlston was pretty good and the Running Fox at Powburn saved me from negative cake'itis syndrome. That can be fatal.
Upt.

[2112]

I've not tried the Running Fox at Powburn yet. On the to-do list 

[NeilM]

Wednesday, I took advantage of the weather to get the GS and myself up to Bala in North Wales.

I have three routes, up, there and back, that I had previously ridden on my VStrom and wanted to see how the GS compared.

The ride up was great, the campsite was all but deserted, but it was a little chilly overnight.

Thursday, the ride around Bala (140 mile loop) was amazing, but getting home proved tiresome, as part of the A470, and my route home was closed. I don't know my way around up there well enough yet, otherwise I could have found an alternative, the route offered on yellow signs was going to take me miles out of my way, so I headed for Aberystwyth.

The 18 miles from Machynlleth took an age, due to the 20 and 40mph limits, seemingly every 500 yards or so, still, it was a nice day and I ended up on the A44 which is an amazing road... moreso without the blanket 50mph speed limits!

The GS is a beast. It absolutely ate everything I could feed it, even loaded up... but on a long run, it's not quite as comfortable as the VStrom.

I'll forgive it that.

500 miles in two days: 165 up, 140 loop, 195 home.

Of course, no ride in that area would be complete without a breakfast. Dyffryn Cafe, if you are ever passing.

[MilozFolly]

Nice Neil!  Which Campsite did you opt for?  I usually like to be right on the lake but be nice to have an alternative.