I forgot about my pinlock. Well worth they money!
Rain riding mods?
- Thread starter fouzilogic
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I had mentioned in an earlier incarnation of one of the "What is your bike's name" threads, that I was at least pretending that's what it meant, though I will swiftly concede it probably is pronounced "Harold" and really means Toaster Oven. lol
Are you going to be the one to tell me I've been calling my baby a manly named appliance, used for heating up garlic bread? How cruel.
Japanese slangs you won't find in a dictionary.
gabi-n: It's one of many variations of "gacho-n." It doesn't mean anything, but this is what Japanese say to express a surprise, shock or disbelief.
gachoon: It means nothing, but you can say it to express surprise.
Mike Cash
New Member
I had mentioned in an earlier incarnation of one of the "What is your bike's name" threads, that I was at least pretending that's what it meant, though I will swiftly concede it probably is pronounced "Harold" and really means Toaster Oven. lol
Are you going to be the one to tell me I've been calling my baby a manly named appliance, used for heating up garlic bread? How cruel.
Japanese slangs you won't find in a dictionary.
gabi-n: It's one of many variations of "gacho-n." It doesn't mean anything, but this is what Japanese say to express a surprise, shock or disbelief.
gachoon: It means nothing, but you can say it to express surprise.
I learn something new every day....
I did a little searching on the Japanese side of the internet, long ago having learned to take foreigners' lists of Japanese slang with a boxcar of salt, and learned why in thirty years I had never heard it.
Apparently it was popular about half a dozen years ago among elementary school children and comes from onomatopoeic speech accompanying images of surprised characters in comic books. It would be like an American child adding 1960s Batman "Biff!" or "Pow!" speech balloons to real life,
Lots of the terms on that page can be found in dictionaries, I would wager.
(A toaster is called a "toaster" here).
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Ha ha! That's awesome, thank you very much for the sleuthing!
It's perfect, I very much prefer a comic book version over some mean spirited or unexpected nasty eel porn connection
johnkrumm
New Member
If you do research and find any good rain tires for the bike let us know. If I want to enjoy it I have to get used to a fair amount of rain riding.
I haven't run them on the NC yet, but the best rain tires I have ridden are Michelin Pilot Road 3's. I have used them on my BMW. They have a new Pilot Road 3 Trail that may impart a hint of unpaved road capability, though some have reported slower handling with them. I wouldn't want that as I like a fast turn-in (which in my experience, the standard Pilot Road 3 has). It seems the only difference is the compound.
The next set I will try are Pirelli MT60's. I will put them on before my trip to New York in late August. My trip to New York last year was when I had both of my broadsides in the rain. There was a brutal wall of thunderstorms that lasted all day. If I get mad enough at the Z8's I will just go ahead and change them out. I already have the MT60's in my shop. If they work well I will stay with them. I probably won't do any for-real research on it - just seat-of-the-pants.
johnkrumm
New Member
Thanks for the Pilot tip. I put them on my "to buy" list, which is growing a little too quickly.
PPWW
New Member
Lee... a quick question if I may... when changing to these Michelins... is it possible to get usual 120/70 for the front, but slightly wider tyre for the rear? I don't know... at least 170/60, or maybe even 180/55?
My "things to buy" list already started to scare me...
My "things to buy" list already started to scare me...
Lee... a quick question if I may... when changing to these Michelins... is it possible to get usual 120/70 for the front, but slightly wider tyre for the rear? I don't know... at least 170/60, or maybe even 180/55?
My "things to buy" list already started to scare me...
Michelin makes both a 170/60 and a 180/55 tire in this series. The NC has a 5 inch wheel which should probably be limited to a 170/60 tire. I would want 5.5 inches for a 180/55 tire. Not sure why you would do it though. The design of a new motorcycle starts with the tires that it will be running. All of the geometry that affects handling is done with that assumption in place. Will 170/60 tires fit? No doubt. There is plenty of clearance in all directions and the wheel is wide enough. Will it be an improvement? Of that I am not as sure. My suspicion is that it will not be an improvement.
dduelin
Site Supporter
With the theme of Z8 wet weather traction complaints you would seriously consider running MT60s in their place? Why - for wet weather improvement?
My logic would be to improve the unpaved road performance. I'd like an 80/20 tire. I don't expect the road performance of a road tire or the dirt performance of a dirt tire.
PPWW
New Member
Wasn't aiming at improvement, just wanted a bit wider rear (ooops, I've just noticed my "tyre" in last post) tire. 170/60 instead 160/60, that's all.
Thanks for the info!
Thanks for the info!
I learned something today. I thought the only difference was the width of the harder compound, not the the compound its self.
It will fit and nothing bad will happen if you don't go past 170/60. You can always give it a whirl. If It doesn't work out, you don't buy another one. If you love it, you have a new favorite tire.
You can expect:
1) It will be taller (will improve ground clearance, decrease leg reach, and increase the sidestand angle.)
2) It will raise your "gearing" towards top end and away from acceleration
3) It will steepen the fork angle giving faster steering, but reduced straight line stability.
4) It will weigh more. Higher unsprung weight will absorb horsepower, make suspension compliance more difficult, and give a generally rougher ride.
5) It will have higher dry street traction but will be more likely to hydroplane in standing water.
6) It will look badass.
There is no way without trying it to know whether these "theoretical" effects will be significant or negligible.
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You are correct. That is what I meant but I oversimplified. And the difference in compound is only for the rear tire. All fronts are 25-50-25. The standard rear is 40-20-40 and the Trail is 10-80-10. Another difference is that the standard tire is Z rated and the Trail is V rated. The final difference being the Trail is offered in a limited number of sizes - mainly the sizes used by the big adventure bikes like the GS, Strom, etc. As far as I know, the NC's sizes are not available in Trail. You could get a Trail rear in 150/70-17 but not 160/60-17. Several people are using 150/70-17 tires in Heidenau K60 and Conti TKC80 offerings. Ideally, a 150/70 tire should be on a 4 to 4-1/2" wide wheel rather than the 5 inch rear which the NC has, but it seems to be working.
dduelin
Site Supporter
I think you are right. Instead of the 20/40/20 distribution of soft and hard compound a PR3 has the Trail has a 10/80/10 distribution. At least that is what my buddy told me after mounting PR3 Trails on his GS. The tread pattern looked the same to me.
PPWW
New Member
Thanks for the extra info Lee.
1) In my case that's a blessing, not an issue.
2) 20 years ago I would bother, now there are more important things than fast accelerating bike for me.
3) and 4) Seem not to be a very big issue and something I should be able to control.
5) Considering the weather where I live (9-10 moths of sun) that's another blessing.
6) Hmmm... let me think.
Anyways... I will not do anything with tires before the time to get rid of old ones comes, but that's very valuable info I'll take into cosideration.
Very much appreciated.
happy
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Hi Lee and the masters here,
I run 80-100kmh in sweeping clean tarmacs 80% of the time.
10% are on twisties up mountain passes, with some sand or dead leaves.
10% are on unpaved roads between villages.
I try not to ride in the wet but over here, fog and mist and dew are common.
Long ago, I love the Tourance tires and I prefer Dual-purpose tires as opposed to what we have received stock (road tires).
So can you advise me, which next set of tires would be good for me?
The Pirelli MT60 (cannot find them here easily) or Metz Z8 or something else?
It is ok for me to have softer tires (better grip) which lasts 1 season and change them out after 5000km or 8000km.
I ride about 6000km per season anyway.
Thanks.
Happy Joe
I run 80-100kmh in sweeping clean tarmacs 80% of the time.
10% are on twisties up mountain passes, with some sand or dead leaves.
10% are on unpaved roads between villages.
I try not to ride in the wet but over here, fog and mist and dew are common.
Long ago, I love the Tourance tires and I prefer Dual-purpose tires as opposed to what we have received stock (road tires).
So can you advise me, which next set of tires would be good for me?
The Pirelli MT60 (cannot find them here easily) or Metz Z8 or something else?
It is ok for me to have softer tires (better grip) which lasts 1 season and change them out after 5000km or 8000km.
I ride about 6000km per season anyway.
Thanks.
Happy Joe
DominusFL
Elite Member
Riding in rain depends on a lot of factors:
1. Is it a light rain?
2. Is it a heavy downpour?
A. Will it rain the entire ride?
B. Will the rain end and you have "time to dry" before stopping?
Living in Central Florida, for me rain is like the old Karate Kid movie, "Rain On, Rain Off". It's sunny most of the time, but we get the strong fast showers (sometimes end-of-the-world-monsoon-strong) that can last 5-30 minutes. Sometimes it rains all day, but that's rare on itself. No one rides here without 'rain gear' in a saddle bag or rear seat. It was part of my decision to get the NC700X, so the frunk could become the "rain gear storage". I also added a larger touring windshield for this reason too.
I travel with the following equipment for rain:
1. Held Goretex Rain Gloves (these are waterproof gloves that breathe and have no insulation, since I don't need to sweat in them too).
2. Frogg Toggs / 1st Gear / RevIt waterproof overpants (I mention three because I've evolved over time, but all three are good, always one in frunk)
3. Frogg Toggs Jacket & Goretex liner for my Mesh Jacket (yes I take two).
4. Waterproof boot covers folded flat
If I am wearing a 3/4 helmet, I put in my frunk a 5-snap face cover that I can put on if it rains. Otherwise (and most of the times) I wear a full face helmet.
In light rain I just throw overpants on and goretex liner inside mesh jacket. I switch to rain gloves pretty quickly as I don't like my regular gloves to get wet. If I know there's 'dry time' before arriving somewhere, I may skip the liner.
In heavy rain I use Overpants, Frogg Toggs jacket, and maybe the waterproof boot covers (kept more for monsoon riding) as the Magnum boots are great, but real heavy monsoon rain will get in anyways.
My riding style obviously adapts for rain, with the main focus being to show down big time for any turns and increase my distance from cars in front of me.
From the two rain rides so far in the NC700X I think the highway rain tires that Honda included are perfectly fine for wet riding. They seem to flow water out very fast and keep their grip even in heavy rain. I would not switch tires just for rain riding.
When storing my helmet in the frunk I find it fits as long as I shove my (very tightly folded) rain gear inside helmet (this only works with jacket liner or frogg toggs, the other overpants are too big for this trick). Rain gloves stay flat at the bottom of the frunk.
If I had to choose in terms of rain priority it would be:
1. Face Cover (full helmet or 5-snap face cover) - no rain on face
2. Rain Gloves (dry hands lower misery level)
3. Waterproof overpants (no one wants wet pants, wet butt, or wet crotch)
4. Finally, chest area, my lowest priority unless it is cold.
1. Is it a light rain?
2. Is it a heavy downpour?
A. Will it rain the entire ride?
B. Will the rain end and you have "time to dry" before stopping?
Living in Central Florida, for me rain is like the old Karate Kid movie, "Rain On, Rain Off". It's sunny most of the time, but we get the strong fast showers (sometimes end-of-the-world-monsoon-strong) that can last 5-30 minutes. Sometimes it rains all day, but that's rare on itself. No one rides here without 'rain gear' in a saddle bag or rear seat. It was part of my decision to get the NC700X, so the frunk could become the "rain gear storage". I also added a larger touring windshield for this reason too.
I travel with the following equipment for rain:
1. Held Goretex Rain Gloves (these are waterproof gloves that breathe and have no insulation, since I don't need to sweat in them too).
2. Frogg Toggs / 1st Gear / RevIt waterproof overpants (I mention three because I've evolved over time, but all three are good, always one in frunk)
3. Frogg Toggs Jacket & Goretex liner for my Mesh Jacket (yes I take two).
4. Waterproof boot covers folded flat
If I am wearing a 3/4 helmet, I put in my frunk a 5-snap face cover that I can put on if it rains. Otherwise (and most of the times) I wear a full face helmet.
In light rain I just throw overpants on and goretex liner inside mesh jacket. I switch to rain gloves pretty quickly as I don't like my regular gloves to get wet. If I know there's 'dry time' before arriving somewhere, I may skip the liner.
In heavy rain I use Overpants, Frogg Toggs jacket, and maybe the waterproof boot covers (kept more for monsoon riding) as the Magnum boots are great, but real heavy monsoon rain will get in anyways.
My riding style obviously adapts for rain, with the main focus being to show down big time for any turns and increase my distance from cars in front of me.
From the two rain rides so far in the NC700X I think the highway rain tires that Honda included are perfectly fine for wet riding. They seem to flow water out very fast and keep their grip even in heavy rain. I would not switch tires just for rain riding.
When storing my helmet in the frunk I find it fits as long as I shove my (very tightly folded) rain gear inside helmet (this only works with jacket liner or frogg toggs, the other overpants are too big for this trick). Rain gloves stay flat at the bottom of the frunk.
If I had to choose in terms of rain priority it would be:
1. Face Cover (full helmet or 5-snap face cover) - no rain on face
2. Rain Gloves (dry hands lower misery level)
3. Waterproof overpants (no one wants wet pants, wet butt, or wet crotch)
4. Finally, chest area, my lowest priority unless it is cold.
Hi Lee and the masters here,
I run 80-100kmh in sweeping clean tarmacs 80% of the time.
10% are on twisties up mountain passes, with some sand or dead leaves.
10% are on unpaved roads between villages.
I try not to ride in the wet but over here, fog and mist and dew are common.
Long ago, I love the Tourance tires and I prefer Dual-purpose tires as opposed to what we have received stock (road tires).
So can you advise me, which next set of tires would be good for me?
The Pirelli MT60 (cannot find them here easily) or Metz Z8 or something else?
It is ok for me to have softer tires (better grip) which lasts 1 season and change them out after 5000km or 8000km.
I ride about 6000km per season anyway.
Thanks.
Happy Joe
Every market seems to be different as far as what is available. As far as the MT60's, I haven't run them yet so I am not recommending them to anyone. They are probably somewhere between heaven and hell, but I don't know yet which one they are closer to. I have also learned that just because a particular tire works well on one bike, it does not necessarily translate to another. I have used tires that I liked on my ST1100 that were horrible on my BMW. Thus far, the only definitive statement I can make is that I thoroughly dislike the Metzeler Z8's on the NC - and this coming from a pretty solid Metzeler fan. The rest? I do not know.
