Precis wrote:
Also, on the current "Interesting Rubber Company" tyres, she's getting some feathering on the edges of the front tyre, but not on the rear; intuitively, I'd say that indicates she's working the front harder and could do with more ride hieght at the front (or less at the rear?) and perhaps more air-pressure, or perhaps slightly stiffer forks.
Any suggestions?
Thnx!
The only tires I would recommend are Metzeler Interac M5's in a 110/70/ZR17. I'm on my fourth set now, and for rain, they are unreal. Also, for handling, they are beyond the limits of the bike. I really can't see anyone being able to get the bike past these tires.
The rim sizes on the first gen bikes (and even the second gen bikes) makes it really hard to find good tires. In the M5's case you're running two front tires. Lifespan is good but the front can get a little lumpy, usually after a long while. The ideal would be to rotate the front to the rear when replacing the rear.
Also, they fall in just beautifully when new. This only lasts for 500K or so. Because the tires are wider then the rim they are nice & pointy when new. Once they get some miles on them the points unfortunately wear down a bit and you loose some fall in. But, for the first 500k or so they are unreal. Even after that point they are awesome. I do all sorts of crazy things on them and have pushed them, once or twice, into some really hairy situations and I'm quite sure the frame on the bike will bend from lateral g-force loading before those tires loose traction
From a safety standpoint they should be a requirement. Rain? People have and do put their knee down in the rain. The tire is actually designed for 150 HP+ high-end litre bikes....
Really, when it comes right down to it, you have the worst tires in the world on the bike
. They are bias plies (I remember those!) and changing over to M5's puts you into one of the top 3 radials out there (I think). That alone is a massive change. The wet weather performance was critical for me because when I was learning to ride the IRC's almost killed me twice on one trip. First thing I did when I got home from that ride was research. I actually tested the M5's by intentionally going out in a torrential downpour. Through the twisties around a lake with a 30 knot cross-wind and sheeting rain blowing sideways with a fully drenched road (hydroplane material). It turned out to be one of my best rides ever! I went from being paranoid in the rain (due to almost being killed twice) to looking forward to it.
Another issue the 110's address is the nervousness or twitchyness of the bike on the highway with cross-winds. That disappears with the 110's. Another is the bikes' tendency to fall in cracks and get stuck in them. That also disappears.
If you choose to go this route then you will find that installing them is a horrible job. They are Z rated and I routinely have to inflate them to 110 PSI to seat the beads (don't tell anyone!). The last time I did them I had my neighbor help me and when seating the beads he hides behind the car - the far side of the car
Also, with stock suspension settings and the 110's the bike will NOT want to fall in. I'm talking, you can drive down the road and read a book and not even bother looking up. It will track dead-straight and all cornering will be done straight up. So, to address this you need to change the trail. To do that you just need to lower the bike in the front forks. I'm running, if memory serves, 33mm of exposed fork (if interested I can measure it easily and tell you for sure). This restores the fall in to similar to stock and you can no longer read a book while riding.
You can also adjust the front pre-load by lifting the front of the bike by the handlebars and removing the stock 100mm inserts at the top of the forks. Depending on your daughter's weight you can sub in PVC tubing cut to suit. In my case, I weigh in at 180+ gear so 110mm was perfect for me. If your daughter is the same weight as the average Asian then you may not need to adjust the pre-load. I believe I calculated it out once to see just what they designed the bike for and I think it was spot on a 100 pound rider......
Once a person has done that the bike will be totally new. It's an entirely different bike. It will out handle everything on the road. I've blown away a 2010 R6, a 2008 CBR 600 RR, too many Harley's to count, Buell's, and numerous others. The Performance Pack / Suspension Mods / Tires are really cheap and pay HUGE dividends. I'm not kidding when I say my bike will out handle everything. Pick the right road (short straights and tight corners) and you're gone. One day I'll enter it at MotoGP 3 at Phillip island
BTW, if you elect to go with 110's a common (and more/less required) tire pressure scheme is 28 front and 40 rear. I did a lot of testing on that and those really are the magic numbers. I don't think you can get stock size tires that will do what you want. In the UK you could get Michelin's in the stock sizes but not here. In all truth, after going Metzeler I can't see any reason to look further other then for a change. I believe you can also get BattleAxe's in the 110's as well in AUS.
Good to hear you daughter is having fun and OK after the spill!
This was a
mild run of the bike with the Metzelers, the suspension mods, the Performance Pack and the camshaft...the real corners are about 1/3 of the way through.