A couple months ago I was out, and an older guy came over to have a look at my machine. He lamented his riding days briefly and then asked if I would give him a burnout. I get that he missed his rebellious youth, I really do, but I still had to ride home on those tires and they were pretty worn down to start. I respectfully declined unless he was willing to give me a couple hundred bucks for a new set of tires. He also respectfully declined.
This is all sort of beside the point, but I am going to tell you about some tires. Avon's tires are growing steadily in popularity. I just helped put a set of these on a friends bike, and I was quite impressed with the tread style and depth. The Storm line is designed for climates where you may encounter a good bit of rain with a super-rich silica compound, inverted front grooves, and enhanced aqua flow on the rear tire. All this means is that the tires will provide a lot of traction while that deep tread channels the water away.
The variable tread won't give you a wobble and prevents stepped wear and cupping. According to Avon, their Reactive Footprint technology allows the contact area to deform for safe leaning and long tire life.
If you live in a desert and don't have much of a chance of running into wet riding conditions, these are probably not the right tires for you. You'll pay for the quality and climate specific engineering, but that's not much of a surprise. If these suit you, pick up a set and go ahead and burn out those old tires if you like.
Find this Avon AV56 Storm Tire:
Find this tire on eBay:
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Avon Storm 2 Ultra Tire Combo 120 70 17 200 50 17 US $291.98   Auction Ends: 28d 13h 47m Make it yours... |
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AVON STORM ST AV56 MOTORCYCLE TIRE REAR 150 70 18 R US $184.06 Auction Ends: 29d 13h 11m Make it yours... |
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AVON TIRE STORM ST AV55 MOTORCYCLE TIRE FRT 110 70 17 R US $152.04 Auction Ends: 21d 7h 54m Make it yours... |
I've discovered that there are entire forums devoted to motorcycle seat cushions. People get into heated debates about what brand is best to keep your butt comfy. We certainly live in a weird world.
I'm so embarrassed. I went to a party last weekend where bikes were parked around a bonfire providing a great place to sit and have a beer, but I couldn't pack everything on my bike. This is pretty surprising for me because I pride myself on being quick with a bungee, but I had to defer to a friend with a car to bring the food. Shameful. I've put off using a tank bag because I really like my paint job, but I don't like it more than my independence.
Talking about chain tools seems... wrong. I have a shaft drive and I love it. I really, really love it. Chains do, however, offer a lighter machine and a greater degree of personalization when it comes to function. With a chain, knowing how to care for and adjust your bike's bits puts you in control. If control is what you want, then you should know how to maintain the chain right down to the rivets.
Air, fuel, oil, spark, and hate; these are the things that make a motorcycle run. The last one is up to interpretation, but I've found you have to hate it just a little or it will abuse you. Everything must be in the right balance.
It has rained every day, save one, for the last couple weeks. I love my oiled leather, but it can't take this much, so out comes the rain gear and luggage covers. You can save yourself a few minutes with waterproof luggage, like these PVC bags.
Upgrading from a 250 cc to a 650 cc bike has some serious benefits, and unexpected drawbacks, as recently learned by a friend. When you can finally get up to the speed limit on the expressway, you nearly get blown over backward. Your options are hang on, lean in, bulk up those back muscles, or buy something to fight physics with physics. Not all of us want a windshield, but a backrest doesn't sound half bad. It'll give you something to brace your back against and, if you're one of those folks who's been wearing a back brace to ride, you can probably ditch that too.
Motorcycle security systems have run the gamut from no-tech to high tech, but the Digital Guard Dawg is the first product ever to offer advanced "Personal Recognition Technology" in a motorcycle security system. This technology is similar to systems featured on some luxury cars, but it was designed and developed specifically for motorcycles.
My ex-boyfriend, who shall remain un-named but whose name rhymed with Bill, had a stunning Springer Harley Davidson that he liked to customize. And he liked to do the customizations himself. He was mechanically sound, but not all the aftermarket parts he bought were as sound as he was. So when he tried to replace the stock Harley turn-signals with tiny cat-eye chrome turn signals from an unknown manufacturer, he had nothing but trouble.
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