News from the Road

[Rumpole of the Bailey]

Just did the 850 km trip to the folks place in Gippsland Victoria. Saw all conditions and had a tail wind for many kilometres. Lost a good pair of runners courtesy of loose 'OCCY STRAPS' and a small manbag (despatch bag Aussie Disposals) came over the rear left pipe and got burnt.
Now here is where my lucky charm came in, a can of man deodorant was getting extremely warm near that exhaust in the manbag. LUCKY!!!

Problems with the PR2's though, at 15000 klicks, the front is done. Bike shop reckons my pressures are down for extended periods. I have blamed it on the long straight Mallee roads. I always check pressures but will keep an eye on it in the future.

I am opting for a set of Dunlops tomorrow. $250 for a rear and $170 for a front, probably $60 to put them on. Yeah I know, Michelin, Michelin, well I say for an extra $100, the Michys are too expensive, I will try the Dunlops.

Yeah, I am a tight ass, I know.
But with plenty of holiday riding coming up, a babe joining me for a week of it, well, money talks and cow poop walks, hehe.

Pete

 

[Cloggy]

sorry to hear about your " small manbag" Pete

Lucky your deo didn't go up in smoke

Sorry to hear about your PR2's I have well over 25000 km's on my front PR2 tyre, IMO the durability combined with great grip works out great value in the long run.

Looking forward to reading your upcoming ride reports :thumbup:

Not that I'm jealous of you guys down south at this time of year or anything

 

[Rumpole of the Bailey]

Yeah, Endless Summer here in Oz.
Got the Dunlop Sportmax Q2's on this morning and change out of $500, I am happy. Will probably try the PR3's next but for now, new rubber is new rubber and there are hills, twisties and mountains near here.
Looking for a tyre guage at he next shop I can stop at.
Living out of saddle bags is ok, I was in the Yamaha dealer at Sale, in Gippsland and couldn't buy anything as saddle bags are full. Had some nice Shigt leather pants at $450 that caught my eye.
Pete:rockon:

 

[spock]

Please let us know how the Q2 behave and what pressures you use on them.

Thanks :thumbup:

 

[Motogiro]

Rumps,
Sounds like fun and makes me want to through my manbag over my shoulder and head out on a trip! Just afraid of also burning it on the tail pipe....

 

[Rumpole of the Bailey]

These bags were used in WW1 and WW2. Despatch riders used them on horseback in the first big stouch. My uncle used one in Darwin when the bombs were dropping there and he was taking photographs and riding back to the Army base for developing and whatever the Generals did. That was in the 1940's.
My students call my despatch bag, a 'man bag' and now it has a black hole burnt throught it lol.

 

[Humperdinkel]

I know your a lawyer & all that but umm do you always carry a corporate law book in your duffle bag ???

 

[Rumpole of the Bailey]

Hope to post some pics soon.
Yeah, have to have something to read.
Scuffed in the new Roadmax tyres on some twisties near Lake Glenmaggie yesterday. These tyres apear soft to the touch, ie, stick my nail in when warm. They are progressive and stick well but............. This old Barrister wonders if I have bought track tyres by mistake, he he.
Should I dislodge saddlebags and head for Phillip Island pronto to scrape pegs ha ha.

 

[Rumpole of the Bailey]

No parking space in the garage at the folks home so I thought, ok. I will park in the kitchen, forke em!

 

[Rumpole of the Bailey]

Christmas Lunch Downunder

 

[mave2911]

Problems with the PR2's though, at 15000 klicks, the front is done. Bike shop reckons my pressures are down for extended periods. I have blamed it on the long straight Mallee roads. I always check pressures but will keep an eye on it in the future.

I can not recommend nitrogen, only available from Bob Jane (trade marked), strongly enough.

For about $5 for both tyres (you may have to haggle a bit, as cars are now $7 per tyre)

You'll get it inflated to the recommended pressure, then get it checked a couple of times in the ensuing months (free checks/top ups) and once the air is completely out of the tyre, your tyres will hold the pressure.

Nitrogen, being a heavier, denser gas doesn't leach through the rubber, and unlike air (oxygen) doesn't expand when heated.

They use nitrogen in aircraft tyres for this reason.

You'll find you get longer, more even wear and trouble-free motoring (without having to check your tyres as often).

I've been using nitrogen in my bike and car tyres for over 11 years now, and can not recommend it enough.

Cheers,
Rick

 

[Wolfman]

I can not recommend nitrogen, only available from Bob Jane (trade marked), strongly enough.

For about $5 for both tyres (you may have to haggle a bit, as cars are now $7 per tyre)

You'll get it inflated to the recommended pressure, then get it checked a couple of times in the ensuing months (free checks/top ups) and once the air is completely out of the tyre, your tyres will hold the pressure.

Nitrogen, being a heavier, denser gas doesn't leach through the rubber, and unlike air (oxygen) doesn't expand when heated.

They use nitrogen in aircraft tyres for this reason.

You'll find you get longer, more even wear and trouble-free motoring (without having to check your tyres as often).

I've been using nitrogen in my bike and car tyres for over 11 years now, and can not recommend it enough.

Cheers,
Rick

Now you got me thinking!

:thumbup:

 

[fz6jason]

I can not recommend nitrogen, only available from Bob Jane (trade marked), strongly enough.

For about $5 for both tyres (you may have to haggle a bit, as cars are now $7 per tyre)

You'll get it inflated to the recommended pressure, then get it checked a couple of times in the ensuing months (free checks/top ups) and once the air is completely out of the tyre, your tyres will hold the pressure.

Nitrogen, being a heavier, denser gas doesn't leach through the rubber, and unlike air (oxygen) doesn't expand when heated.

They use nitrogen in aircraft tyres for this reason.

You'll find you get longer, more even wear and trouble-free motoring (without having to check your tyres as often).

I've been using nitrogen in my bike and car tyres for over 11 years now, and can not recommend it enough.

Cheers,
Rick

Well, with air having 78% Nitrogen in it.... I'll stick with just a tire pressure gauge and check my tires regularly.

Nitrogen does expand when heated, all gasses do. Ideal gas law and all that cool science stuff! :thumbup:

There are additional reasons why Aircraft use N2.

But hey, your wallet, your decision.

 

[Humperdinkel]

There are additional reasons why Aircraft use N2.

I know them all.......... But you probably expect that from me

 

[Wolfman]

I know them all.......... But you probably expect that from me

So what are these additional reasons you speak of....interested....

:thumbup:

 

[fz6jason]

I know them all.......... But you probably expect that from me

I would only be disappointed it you didn't know them all! :BLAA:

Wolfman, biggest reason is that Nitrogen doesn't corrode or fuel a fire. The oxygen in air can deteriorate the rubber of an aircraft tire, fuel a tire fire which is very bad if the rims are magnesium, and corrode the rims.

I'll let Humpy fill in more if he wants :thumbup:

 

[Clovis]

Just a quick chime in on my experience with the Q2s. I ran through three sets this summer.

Great tire for grip, performance and overall confidence.
Horrible on tread life.

The best I got was 4500 miles out of the front and 3200 out of the rear. I ran through 3 rears and 2 fronts.

I switched to PR2s at the end of the season and I've since put 2700 miles on those. They still look nearly brand new and I expect to get at least 10,000 miles out of them. I would rate their handling performance as 90% as good as the Q2s and to be honest I can't even tell the difference now.

We don't need a super agressive lean angle on our bikes since there is only so far we can lean due to the position of our foot pegs. My pegs are actually grinded down, I've already had to replace one side and the rear break lever.

My recommendation is to stick with the PR2 next time. A little more expensive then Q2s but for 3-4x the tread life without sacrificing performance is well worth the extra initial cost.

Regarding the PR3s, I haven't tried those. I got a little nervous after seeing the thread where the guy's tires melted on him and I try to avoid riding in wet weather. When I do get caught in the rain I ride slow. The rain tends to bring the oil to the top of the road service and makes it slick.