One for the colder climes,

Hi Guys / Girls,
This may seem a daft question but it is one that has bothered me for a while.
How long do you give it before you trust your tyres to be warm in normal road conditions. The daytime teamp here at the moment is around 12-16 C. I always give mine a few miles with varied acceleration and braking. I have got to the comfortable point of machine control but unless the weather is warm I struggle to be able to fully commit to the corner. Thsi leaves me with that horrid feeling of getting no feed back. Ironically I have less confidence in my rear than the front. Is this because I can feel the road better through the bars?
Neil

Pretty similar Neil ... normally give it about 4 miles including some heavy braking then WAZZZZZ

Have confidence in that back tyre mate ... hammered mine on the track last week and it never gave me reason to worry ... If you have the stock Bridgestones fitted you're onto a winner ..... well thats my oppinion anyhow I was really suprised how sticky they got when working hard and up to temp ...

Fella at work has avon storms fitted and they seem to stick like glue aswell ...

I think they'll be my next tyre however I'll check the review first


:Sport:

JONAC said:

... If you have the stock Bridgestones fitted you're onto a winner ..... well thats my oppinion anyhow I was really suprised how sticky they got when working hard and up to temp ...

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Did you guys get bridgestones with your bikes? I got Dunlops.

JONAC said:

Pretty similar Neil ... normally give it about 4 miles including some heavy braking then WAZZZZZ

Have confidence in that back tyre mate ... hammered mine on the track last week and it never gave me reason to worry ... If you have the stock Bridgestones fitted you're onto a winner ..... well thats my oppinion anyhow I was really suprised how sticky they got when working hard and up to temp ...

Fella at work has avon storms fitted and they seem to stick like glue aswell ...

I think they'll be my next tyre however I'll check the review first


:Sport:

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Cheers Jonathan, Its the rear that I have had a few slips with. I have the BT020's. The front is excellent. Maybe I'm just not letting it warm up fully. I'm well chuffed that you had a great track experience. I wish the roads were in the same condition.

Pseudo Cloggy said:

Did you guys get bridgestones with your bikes? I got Dunlops.

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Yes mate got the BT020's as standard. I have just replaced them again. 1000miles on them. I think they are a good tyre. I have heard good things about pilot powers to.

perryn said:

Yes mate got the BT020's as standard. I have just replaced them again. 1000miles on them. I think they are a good tyre. I have heard good things about pilot powers to.

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I had the BT020's on my old bike (FJ600S) and never had any problems with them slipping (only a couple of times on the white lines in the wet but that was my own fault). Of course the Fazer can deliver more power to the back wheel, so I can't tell you how they handle with power applied.
I am not too impressed with the handleing of the dunlops I have, and going on other threads I believe the handleing improves greatly with other (good) tyres. Another thing the Dunlops seem to wear down pretty quick, in comparison with the ones on my old bike, in any case, I have 5500 Km on my bike and I'm not sure if the tyres will make it for another 2000.

In short I found the BT20's very good tyres.

Got a BT021 on the back and a BT020 on the front. If you ride all year round and have plenty of experience in all conditions then these things just come to you. Last winter I must have had 5 or so rear wheel slipouts with one major wobble, handlebars flapping for 20 yards or so (my fault, too much throttle coming off a roundabout). Never came off though. This was always in the wet. I have never had any problems with the cold affecting the grip. this morning was brrrrrr chilly and had as much lean as in the summer.

But, that is the rear - jamie Whitham (on WSBK coverage) always bangs on about having to have confidence in the front. If you lose grip to the front, you're down! Just required mucho practice braking into corners

Also heard lots of bad vibes about the Dunlops cloggy ... Read the tyre thread from Wrightme ... some good info there..

I almost forgot to mention my front end wobble on my track day .... Also gave too much throttle on exiting a sharp bend ... 10 yard tank slap but it forgave me perfectly Have so much confidence in the bike now ... Hopefully not too much though :thumbup:

buggerlugs said:

Got a BT021 on the back and a BT020 on the front. If you ride all year round and have plenty of experience in all conditions then these things just come to you. Last winter I must have had 5 or so rear wheel slipouts with one major wobble, handlebars flapping for 20 yards or so (my fault, too much throttle coming off a roundabout). Never came off though. This was always in the wet. I have never had any problems with the cold affecting the grip. this morning was brrrrrr chilly and had as much lean as in the summer.

But, that is the rear - jamie Whitham (on WSBK coverage) always bangs on about having to have confidence in the front. If you lose grip to the front, you're down! Just required mucho practice braking into corners

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Hi mate, I have been riding for 16 years. I have never experienced the lack of feel that I get in the past. As stated the front feels great, I have even had a few front wheel slides that felt predictable. The back just seems to go with little warning.
Are you Aldermaston down the road from me? AWE.

biker_dude43 said:

Hmmmmm..., I've been riding to work a couple of times now where the temps are down to 3°C. Never even thought about the tires, but haven't had a slide yet (knock on wood). Traffic tends to slow me down on the turns where at best I'm 35 to 40kmh in the turn. Any faster and I'm parking it in the back seat of the cager in front of me. What speed are you noticing the sliding? I'm on the stock Dunlops.

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Hi mate, Im going about 56 - 60 kph on this particular stretch of road.

biker_dude43 said:

What speed are you noticing the sliding? I'm on the stock Dunlops.

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I've not had any problems on the Dunlops with regards to sliding, only the handling is a bit wallowy (not very crisp), friends of mine have assured me that its almost certainly the tyres. After having read several threads (including the one from Wrightme) I'd come to the conclusion that things will improve when I change my tyres. I am still planning to ride these tyres until they're worn but then change front and back regardless of the state of the front ones.

Yesterday it was down to freezing here (0°C) , I noticed some frost on the way in and took it easy, but I was rewarded with great weather on the way back. Unfortunately the clear weather has now gone and its very grey (but still dry), which means higher temperatures.

I have not used the Dunnies so I can't comment. I will have a go with the pilots ot 021's when these ones are finished. Slight frost here this am to. I don't mind that, it helps kill all the bugs.

I am near AWE. On the A4 just north east of Frouds Lane, one mile east of Woolhampton. I travel to Reading town centre every day along the A4. Did you know the guys from Aldershot racetrack are rebuilding Paices Hill racetrack. Armco and tarmac going in, should be open for Xmas

I just remembered why and how I found this site in the first place, earlier today. My FZ6 is a late 06, bought in April this year. It has done 5000 miles and the starter button is knackered. Somethings gone wrong in there and there's no click when I press it. I can just get it to start at the moment but I fear it will be bump starts next week. I know I should get it fixed under warranty but I bought it from a dealer in Swindon, 40 miles away and that is massively inconvenient. Has anyone come across this before and is there any easyish fix?

my starter button doesn't come back out all the way either. its been that way for a while but it still starts.

buggerlugs said:

I just remembered why and how I found this site in the first place, earlier today. My FZ6 is a late 06, bought in April this year. It has done 5000 miles and the starter button is knackered. Somethings gone wrong in there and there's no click when I press it. I can just get it to start at the moment but I fear it will be bump starts next week. I know I should get it fixed under warranty but I bought it from a dealer in Swindon, 40 miles away and that is massively inconvenient. Has anyone come across this before and is there any easyish fix?

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Well , nice one. A proper rider with a proper bike just down the road. I never even knew there was a track at the shot. Is it for carts or bikes, or what? I also got my bike from GW Swindon. It is a pain getting down there true enough. Im up in Brum this weekend. I will hopefully meet up with hobbit and purchase his bellypan. If you want me to follow you down to GW and give you a lift back let me know. Or you could try probike in newbury to see what they say. Please keep me posted about the track and send details.
Neil

Thanks for the offer but seeing as sportrider has had similar problems and it hasn't got worse I think I'll see how it goes. Next service is in 1000 miles which won't take me too long. Paices Hill racetrack is, unfortunately, just cars. Bangers and stocks. It is a small ovall grasstrack place that hasn't been open in years but I saw some people working there 3 saturdays ago who told me they were reopening it. This is the website Fleet-Motor-Club.Com and if you type RG7 4PQ into google earth you can see the old oval just south of the industrial estate.

On the matter of tyres - Ride In tyres in Reading only ever recommends the Bridgestones for the Fazer, so that's what I've always gone for. The new BT021 on the back seems better than the old BT020

buggerlugs said:

Thanks for the offer but seeing as sportrider has had similar problems and it hasn't got worse I think I'll see how it goes. Next service is in 1000 miles which won't take me too long. Paices Hill racetrack is, unfortunately, just cars. Bangers and stocks. It is a small ovall grasstrack place that hasn't been open in years but I saw some people working there 3 saturdays ago who told me they were reopening it. This is the website Fleet-Motor-Club.Com and if you type RG7 4PQ into google earth you can see the old oval just south of the industrial estate.

On the matter of tyres - Ride In tyres in Reading only ever recommends the Bridgestones for the Fazer, so that's what I've always gone for. The new BT021 on the back seems better than the old BT020

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I go to ride in to. He is a top bloke with great service. I had so much tread left on the front I decided not to mix them as bridgestone don't recomend it. Have you done a track day yet?

Yup, ride in is quick, and cheap. I once saw some chap on a ninja (in matching green leathers) pushing his bike along the bath road in reading cos he had a puncture. Offered him my can of tyre weld but he thanked me but said no it was only another half mile to Ride In. Nutter, I wouldn't have pushed it that far. Still see the same bloke about once a week - I overtake him cos he won't filter. Quite funny really seeing him and plenty of other people on sportsbikes who sit with the cars in the jams.

Anyway I had a nail in the rear at 4000 miles and the chap at ride in said the front BT020 was good for another 2000 but the rear was buggered but that mixing the 020 and 021 was fine so I had a 021 on the back. 300 miles later I can honestly say there's no problem and that the 021 does offer more grip. Less spin in the dry on 2nd gear roundabouts (mainly at the fantastic roundabout where the A4 meets the A340 at Theale):Sport:

Incidentally if you go from Aldermaston to Burghchlere, as I did this morning for a change, along Church Road there is a corner, just before the AWE back entrance, that is almost exactly like Eau Rouge at Spa. If there's no traffic it's great fun

perryn said:

Have you done a track day yet?

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....and no I haven't done a track day yet but there's a bloke I just met at work who's done the IOM a few times times, came 14th or something on the supersport this year who is an instructor so I'm going to hook up a day when he's instructing in the new year. I think he's called Dan Hobson