Bike was telling me something

[Bones]

Riding to work the other morning I noticed the handling felt a bit different from normal, didn't worry much about it and just put it down to having too many wines the night before. That afternoon going home it still felt strange, and thought tyre pressures must be getting low, so next morning checked them at the servo and although they were a couple of pounds down were nothing to worry about.

Going to work that morning it felt worse like there was something loose somewhere, and was letting go of the handlebars to see if they wobbled, looked down at the front wheel to see if it was buckled, wriggling and pulling the handlebars etc..trying to work out what the problem was because it gave the distinct feeling there was something wrong with the front end.

That afternoon I ran a spanner all over the front end, checked the front tyre to see if there were any buldges etc.. and found nothing wrong, so thought I better check the back wheel while I'm here, and as soon as I spun it noticed three different spots where canvas where showing and thought, nah surely not, that can't be the problem, it's the front playing up not the back, but parked it up anyway until I got new tyres on it.



I wanted Avon Azzaro's, but the shop I went to said they had no rear tyres in stock, but had Avon Roadriders to suit, so I got them instead.





Wow what a difference, I had Pirelli sport demons on before, and although I never had a problem with grip, I never liked the way they squirmed and wriggled riding over imperfections in the road. No such problems with the Avons, they ride smooth, don't follow grooves in the road, and the bike seems to handle better in corners.

If the bike wasn't handling like it was, I'd be none the wiser about the tyre and could've blown out while travelling at speed down the highway with passenger on board with disasterous results, so take notice if something dosen't seem right, it could save your life.

                                                                              Tony.

[ken65]

gday bones,         
                 i too replaced my  parelli's  (10 years old with no wear) and put on the avons, although i put the 17"storm 2 ultra on the front
and the 16" asaro-st on the rear . After taking it a bit easy for awhile i noticed a lot of difference the 1st squirt up mt mee,  as sunshine coast darran said they tip
in much easier and gave me some more confidence ..  they were $100 dearer than the parelli's but worth it. next time i'll shop around a get a better price, plus they are wearing well.         

  ken

[stua1959]

Got my Avon Azzaro rear, storm front from JakeWilson.com USA for about $280 delivered to Brisbane. Arrived in 5 days. Have done about 12000 km mainly highway and the rear is just starting to square off. Front still looks pretty good

[ken65]

wow, i payed $450 fitted and the tyre bloke insisted on  me bringing in the wheels off the bike...
he wouldnt give me a discount either saying there wasnt much in it for him, although i insisted they do it,
  it took them about an hour and a half...also they bent the chain guard that hard , the chain rubs on it,
i wont go back there.... i will google jakewilson,   thanks stua

ken

[Bones]

That's a good price Stu, and good mileage so far as well. I got mine from 2wheel tyres at Blacksoil for $380.00, would've preferred radials, but I'll see how these Roadriders go. I'll be happy if I can get the same mileage that your getting. The Pirelli's were toast at just under 9,000 km, back one at least, the front still had tread but was starting to wear uneven on the edges.

                                                           Tony.

[Capn Ron]

I too, got almost exactly 9,000 km (5,500 miles) out of the rear Pirelli Sport Demon.  Love those tires and have another set ready to go on....but the spare (stock) wheels I bought for my '92 are already mounted up with the Roadriders with 80% tread remaining.  I think I'll give them a try for a while.

Cap'n Ron. . .

[stua1959]

I just checked Jake Wilson and the price for Avon Azarro / Storm combo is now $329.98 USD or approx $356 Aussie sheckels delivered. I must have bought them when the exchange rate was better but its worth keeping an eye on them because they sometimes have specials on superseded tyres. Jake Wilson is one of the few US dealers that will send tyres OS. I ordered them on Sun, arrived Fri

[Bones]

Finally found the real problem for the bad handling, I've got a gearsack rack fitted with I think a 35litre Topbox and the other afternoon pulled in to the pub to get a cask of wine and other necessities, and found going home with the extra weight the bike was an utter pig to ride.



Getting home and unloading I noticed the topbox had a lot of play and looked down to see the whole left hand blinker assembly where the bottom gearsack brace is connected moving and realised the mount had broken from the frame.





All that weight with the broken mount made the topbox shake and transferred all that shaking to the front end. After I got the new tyres, I took it for a run minus weight from workbag etc.. and noticed an immediate improvement and assumed the tyres fixed it, but going to work after that with workbag noticed it still wasn't as it should be, especially on rough roads.

A session with the welder fixed it and now it's finally back to normal.

                                                                        Tony.

[Capn Ron]

I had the the same tab break off the rear subframe on mine...  I was carrying well over 100 lbs of gear in three Givi hard cases for 17,000 miles...I'm surprised that's all that broke!  A quick shot with the welder and it's stronger than new! 

Cap'n Ron. . .

[Harvy]

HI Tony......yeah my tabs broke on the last day coming home from Jindabyne - its the second time I have welded them back on (note to self - DO NOT carry so much weight on the rack!).

Harvy

[fintip]

Same, twice. I finally drilled into the subframe and bolted the tabs in. Huge improvement, don't know why that wasn't done in the first place at the factory. Also gives you slight adjustment option if desired.

[ribbert]

Well, seeing as how everybody else is posting, me too. Same symptoms, low speed wobble, nearly took out a few cars lane splitting. The other side broke a few years ago.



Noel

[mz_rider]

I posted this pic a few years ago but it's worth repeating. I strengthened the mount with a strip of stainless steel over the frame tube. You should do this if you have a rack fitted. The mount was only intended to support an indicator.

[Bminder]

I think the problem you Aussies are having with your tires is you're spelling tires wrong. 

[ribbert]

I think the problem you Aussies are having with your tires is you're spelling tires wrong. 

What problem? We had the biggest gathering of FJ tyres, including a few ring in tires, in forum history. 



Noel