|  | Topic : Ashamed..... |  |
| | | rod2625 | | Set |  |  | | Reg. Date | : | 26/01/2010 | | Posts | : | 108 | | Location | : | Olympic Peninsula, WA, United States |
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| | Posted : 31 Mar 2012 - 18:23 Post title : Ashamed..... | | | I feel really bad about how I have been treating the TBird. It was 2 years old earlier this month and it only has 8,717 miles. My previous bike, a Kawi Vulcan, I averaged over 7k miles for the 3 years I had it. Last July we did my annual trip from the Seattle, Wa. area to Red Lodge, Montana with some buddies. All said and done 2k miles. So it has been on the tender since Oct and I just went down, slipped in the key and hit the start button......cranked right up......I forgot what a nice sound that is.....
The trip in July gave a strong hint of what was to come. After riding about 15 minutes I would experience what felt like a groan pull.....come to find out I needed a new right hip. Jan 17th got the new hardware and now thinking it will be soon time to jump back on the bike. With 8,717 miles on the original Metz's ( >1mm on the rear/ |1mm on the front). I will stick with them since I have not seen any posts raving about any other tires. The first summer I had the bike was traveling through Canada in a driving rain with 60mph wind gust the bike felt solidly planted on the road so for now will stick with the Metz. Looking forward to this summer......Roger
| Roger
'10 TBird SE 1600 ABS
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| | | Steve | | Set | |  | | Reg. Date | : | 24/03/2011 | | Posts | : | 480 | | Location | : | Chesham, United Kingdom |
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| | Posted : 01 Apr 2012 - 00:25 Post title : Re: Ashamed..... (Re: rod2625) | | | It's gonna be hard holdin' the the bird back while you run the hip in. You'll be wanting to stay on way too long. 
Enjoy!!
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| | | DizzE | | Thor | |  | | Reg. Date | : | 12/07/2010 | | Posts | : | 3,141 | | Location | : | Sunnyvale, CA, United States |
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| | Posted : 01 Apr 2012 - 14:46 Post title : Re: Ashamed..... (Re: Steve) | | |
Steve wrote:
It's gonna be hard holdin' the the bird back while you run the hip in. You'll be wanting to stay on way too long.
Enjoy!! |
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Friend of mine had 3 hips done (one appliance was replaced -under warranty- ++big cash payout++)
But, he never had any trouble getting back on his feet. I've had my share of joint re-hab also. First, last and always.
Take it easy.
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| | | zolti | | Thor | |  | | Reg. Date | : | 23/03/2010 | | Posts | : | 3,127 | | Location | : | newcastle , United Kingdom |
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| | Posted : 01 Apr 2012 - 17:14 Post title : Re: Ashamed..... (Re: rod2625) | | |
rod2625 wrote:
With 8,717 miles on the original Metz's ( >1mm on the rear/ |1mm on the front). I will stick with them since I have not seen any posts raving about any other tires. The first summer I had the bike was traveling through Canada in a driving rain with 60mph wind gust the bike felt solidly planted on the road so for now will stick with the Metz. Looking forward to this summer......Roger |
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good tyre but a little short lasting.
i changed to a avon storm but only got 300 miles before i got rid of the bike, some do like that tyre as an alternative.
enjoy your summer 
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| | | EnGage | | Thor | |  | | Reg. Date | : | 14/07/2009 | | Posts | : | 3,155 | | Location | : | Grand Rapids, MI, United States |
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| | Posted : 01 Apr 2012 - 19:24 Post title : Re: Ashamed..... (Re: zolti) | | | I have 1,000 miles on a the new excedra Max. I have no idea how long they will last, but the pair was only $260.
I can tell they are dual compound because the rear locks up easier (harder rubber), which is a downsidecfor safety, but means the tire might go longer. In the corners the Max seems as good.
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| | | mat1600 | | Thunderbird | |  | | Reg. Date | : | 06/03/2010 | | Posts | : | 8,596 | | Location | : | Bridlington, Democratic Independant State of Yorkshire, United Kingdom |
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| | Posted : 01 Apr 2012 - 19:37 Post title : Re: Ashamed..... (Re: EnGage) | | |
EnGage wrote:
I have 1,000 miles on a the new excedra Max. I have no idea how long they will last, but the pair was only $260.
I can tell they are dual compound because the rear locks up easier (harder rubber), which is a downsidecfor safety, but means the tire might go longer. In the corners the Max seems as good. |
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The Avons are like that. I made the mistake of going on a 300miler with a new Avon on the back and the ABS out. It was like riding a snake. Can't tell you how much I would have given for a KTM that day (never thought I would say that) - things only got worse when it started to snow.
| My first natural instinct is to breathe. My second is to evade tax's.
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| | | zolti | | Thor | | | | Reg. Date | : | 23/03/2010 | | Posts | : | 3,127 | | Location | : | newcastle , United Kingdom |
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| | Posted : 01 Apr 2012 - 22:12 Post title : Re: Ashamed..... (Re: mat1600) | | |
mat1600 wrote:
The Avons are like that. I made the mistake of going on a 300miler with a new Avon on the back and the ABS out. It was like riding a snake. : |
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are you sticking with the avon?
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| | | davetac1 | | Thunderbird | | | Reg. Date | : | 06/09/2010 | | Posts | : | 8,379 | | Location | : | Haverhill, Ma., United States |
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| | Posted : 01 Apr 2012 - 22:40 Post title : Re: Ashamed..... (Re: EnGage) | | | Todd: Was your Exedra front tire Z or V rated???If it was V rated,where did you find it??? Dave!!!
| | Post edited by davetac1 on 01 Apr 2012 - 22:41 |
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| | | mat1600 | | Thunderbird | | | | Reg. Date | : | 06/03/2010 | | Posts | : | 8,596 | | Location | : | Bridlington, Democratic Independant State of Yorkshire, United Kingdom |
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| | Posted : 02 Apr 2012 - 07:34 Post title : Re: Ashamed..... (Re: zolti) | | |
zolti wrote:
mat1600 wrote:
The Avons are like that. I made the mistake of going on a 300miler with a new Avon on the back and the ABS out. It was like riding a snake. : |
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are you sticking with the avon? |
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For the mo yes. Might give a Metz a go after this one to see if there is any diff. now that I am used to avons.
| My first natural instinct is to breathe. My second is to evade tax's.
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| | | EnGage | | Thor | | | | Reg. Date | : | 14/07/2009 | | Posts | : | 3,155 | | Location | : | Grand Rapids, MI, United States |
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| | Posted : 02 Apr 2012 - 13:05 Post title : Re: Ashamed..... (Re: davetac1) | | |
davetac1 wrote:
Todd: Was your Exedra front tire Z or V rated???If it was V rated,where did you find it??? Dave!!! |
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The are both Z rated. Given they are dual compound tires I'm not sure it matters if they are V or Z, but without knowing someone in Bridgestone's engineering department, we can only guess.
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| | | davetac1 | | Thunderbird | | | Reg. Date | : | 06/09/2010 | | Posts | : | 8,379 | | Location | : | Haverhill, Ma., United States |
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| | Posted : 02 Apr 2012 - 20:45 Post title : Re: Ashamed..... (Re: EnGage) | | | Todd,the reason I'm asking is because,my Bridgestone Exedra, 190/60R/17 ,which is what's printed on the sidewall,is adveretised as a V rated tire,not Z.The Dunlop,American Elite, I have, as well as Michelin's New CommanderII are both V rated.Do the sidewalls on your tires say ZR or just R.I still believe the short tire life is due to the Z rating of the tire which makes the rubber stickier for high speed on corners,but short life, mileage wise.Now if it turns out that these tires are infact,"Z" rated,but advertised as "V" rated,and the tire companies did NOT advertise it,then they have mislead the public and will be contacted regarding that little oversight.
All I can say is "IF" these tires do NOT produce the claimed mileage,a CT is lookin better and better.Dave!!!
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| | | EnGage | | Thor | | | | Reg. Date | : | 14/07/2009 | | Posts | : | 3,155 | | Location | : | Grand Rapids, MI, United States |
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| | Posted : 03 Apr 2012 - 14:32 Post title : Re: Ashamed..... (Re: davetac1) | | | davetac1 wrote:
Todd,the reason I'm asking is because,my Bridgestone Exedra, 190/60R/17 ,which is what's printed on the sidewall,is adveretised as a V rated tire,not Z.The Dunlop,American Elite, I have, as well as Michelin's New CommanderII are both V rated.Do the sidewalls on your tires say ZR or just R.I still believe the short tire life is due to the Z rating of the tire which makes the rubber stickier for high speed on corners,but short life, mileage wise.Now if it turns out that these tires are infact,"Z" rated,but advertised as "V" rated,and the tire companies did NOT advertise it,then they have mislead the public and will be contacted regarding that little oversight.
All I can say is "IF" these tires do NOT produce the claimed mileage,a CT is lookin better and better.Dave!!! |
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Dave,
both my tires state "ZR" on the sidewalls.
I agree with you that it's a safe bet that Z-rated tires are softer than V-rated. However, since the Exedra max is a dual compound tire, that might not be a good bet in this case. Also, the fact that some Exedra Max's are Z-rated and others are not, might be due to a factor other than the rubber compound - like geometry. A tire does not need to handle well to be Z-rated, it simply need to stay in one piece on the machine that tests the tires for endurance at speed.
I can tell the the rubber is harder in the middle when compared to the Metzlers. As stated above, I have locked the back twice now. Once was just a short chirp coming to a stop, but coming home from La Crosse last week, I was going through a small town in Wisconsin and a car pulled right in front of me and I locked the back tire up again. That was my first unplanned emergency stop and I instinctively handled it well. I did lock the back, but kept it locked (as one is taught to do to keep the back of the bike from whipping) and I grabbed a lot of front brake, but not too much. 
| | Post edited by EnGage on 03 Apr 2012 - 14:33 |
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| | | rod2625 | | Set | | | | Reg. Date | : | 26/01/2010 | | Posts | : | 108 | | Location | : | Olympic Peninsula, WA, United States |
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| | Posted : 07 Apr 2012 - 18:17 Post title : Re: Ashamed..... (Re: rod2625) | | | Thursday was the first ride with the new hip. Felt pretty good. My biggest issue was getting the dang boot on. The new Met''s are mounted and the tech mentioned how sticky they semed.....was picking up everything in the parking lot. Big surprise to me was my rear pads are shot at 8748,miles. If there are post here I missed them. Did a search at the shop and found posts on the RAT FORUM saying 8-10k is normal. I had over 21k on my Vulcan and the pads were still good. Will get the pads installed this week.
Roger
| Roger
'10 TBird SE 1600 ABS
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| | | davetac1 | | Thunderbird | | | Reg. Date | : | 06/09/2010 | | Posts | : | 8,379 | | Location | : | Haverhill, Ma., United States |
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| | Posted : 07 Apr 2012 - 18:36 Post title : Re: Ashamed..... (Re: EnGage) | | | Todd: Does your scooter have ABS?? If not,that's why the rear wheel is locking.My scooter does have ABS.My rear pads have been on there for close to 20,000 miles now and are still good.But that's because I finally figured out how to use the front brake per Triumph's instructions stating that 90% of the stopping is using FRONT brake ONLY,using the rear for panic stops.And following those instructions seems to be workin because my rear pads are now lasting where before,I too was goin thru rear pads.lol Dave!!!
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| | | EnGage | | Thor | | | | Reg. Date | : | 14/07/2009 | | Posts | : | 3,155 | | Location | : | Grand Rapids, MI, United States |
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| | Posted : 07 Apr 2012 - 22:10 Post title : Re: Ashamed..... (Re: davetac1) | | | Dave,
I do not have ABS, but I wish I did. I changed my rear brake pads at 15,000 mile, but they still had half the pads left. I always brake using both the front and back brake.
Concerning the back brake lockup, it never happened until I mounted the exedra Max tires so i think it has to do with the harder center compound.
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| | | thanks4thefish42 | | Set | |  | | Reg. Date | : | 11/11/2010 | | Posts | : | 269 | | Location | : | High Springs, FL, United States |
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| | Posted : 07 Apr 2012 - 23:06 Post title : Re: Ashamed..... (Re: rod2625) | | | Good luck with the new hip. I have one now for 5 years and I don't think about it much other than how lucky I am to have gotten out of that pain and the ability to not have to ride a Can AM Spyder
I started out after the replacement with a Shadow 750 due to it being so nice and light.
Take care with the big beast Thunderbird that you don't undo your new joint. I used to think a hip joint was something you smoke or a great place to go and listen to jazz!!
I had the same experience with about 200 miles on the bike and find myself on I95 in heavy traffic in the rain (it was a sunny sunday when I left) You could see that oily crap that rises up after a long dry spell and the first rain. Cars were sliding all over but my bike was planted with the Metz's. Are you saying that your wear is less than 1mm on the rear or that you have less than 1mm left till they are bald?
Take it easy and try not to push the bike up hill to often.
| Other rides
Kawasaki Vulcan 900 LT
Suzuki Boulevard S50
BMW R90/6-Luftmeister fairing
Calling upon my years of experience, I froze at the controls. ~Stirling Moss
| | Post edited by thanks4thefish42 on 07 Apr 2012 - 23:30 |
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