Tires and a couple of other parts will be in tomorrow.

In the meantime I managed to get a couple of tanks of gas run through, with outside air temperature being between 30 degrees and 72 degrees this weekend while I was riding.

It has the crappy OEM Dunlop on the rear and a Metzeler 880 up front. Both have seen better days, with the rear being much more worn out than the front.

I made an interesting observation. They weren't that bad. It seems that during the hot summer months is when the OEM Dunlop really gets slippery but in these cooler temperatures, feels like a completely different tire. Still not great, but at least I didn't feel like I was about to lose control at every turn, curve, stop, or launch like it did during the summer.

I did have another close call today. I had to make a quick stop, and of course there was the usual almost begging the front brakes to do their job, then I ran over a steel man hole cover I didn't see in time. Well when the front wheel went over the steel, the front brake locked up causing the front wheel to skid over the man hole cover. The man hole cover was probably two or three feet in diameter. When the locked up front wheel passed the cover and was back onto asphalt, it made a loud screeching sound and tossed the front end hard to left so I yanked it hard to the right. That seemed to be an over compensation and it started to go left again. I let go of the front brake and gently applied more back brake. That stood the bike up straight and stabilized, after which I was able to squeeze hard again and bring it to a stop. The car ahead was ten feet in front of me when I stopped, but after all that commotion, it seemed like closer when it was happening.

The basic problem with the rear is it is either locked or free. There isn't enough in between. That is what the four piston caliper will solve back there. The front is simply not enough stopping power. It slows things down, but doesn't grab enough to stop. The six piston caliper up front will fix that because of more friction area, more clamping force, greater heat dissipation, and a more even clamping force applied around the radius of the rotor instead of a small pinched spot. The better tires will augment the brakes, as well as improve ride and handling. The progressive springs and Ricor Intiminators will reduce the harshness if the ride as well as help the front tire maintain better contact with the road which will help braking and handling as well. The stainless steel lines will improve brake feel and performance by replacing the old original hoses which are probably expanding under pressure. I am a approaching this as a total system, and am hoping to achieve synergy.

I have spent a very long time gathering parts for all this, mostly researching, waiting for sales, and of course, dealing with my ongoing numerous health issues. I went by the gastroenterologist office today as a matter of fact to schedule my next check up and blood work. Damn pancreas!

 

Prot, you will find that the tendency for the back tire to lock (chirp with ABS), disappears once you do the Ricor / RaceTech fork mods. When you apply brakes (particularly the front) forces have the effect of rotating your ride forward in a fore/aft plane about its COG. When your front forks collapse during braking, the downward movement at the front results in an upward tendency at the rear reducing friction there. Once you correct your front fork inadequacies, you'll find that your ride stays much flatter during quick stops and your rear tire maintains better contact/friction with the road. My classic rear tire chirp disappeared after the fork mod. I'm not suggesting its not possible to cause premature friction loss and rear tire chirp, if you stop aggressively enough, but it hasn't happened with me since the mod. It happened on all stops done with any degree of urgency prior to the mod.

I often read about calls for improved braking. Though I'm by no means 100% sure about this, my theory is that if your ABS is engaging when you brake, that must be as good as it gets as far as calipers are concerned. Unless I'm missing something, being on the verge of lockup trumps lockup and my OEM brakes will get me to that point no problem. I'll be switching to Lyndall Gold + pads next season. I understand these offer a more controlled grab than sintered brake pads. Maybe BS, maybe not, we'll see.

Enjoy your mods bro. Its part of the fun IMHO.

 

Good to hear about the ricor intiminatirs. I agree that the maximum braking force is just before lock up. Once locked, you lose braking force. These old bikes don't have abs or any of the rest of it, so the thing to do is to make the best mechanical improvements as we can and improve our skills to the point they are tailored to the particular bike we are riding. I am pretty good rider but if I would suddenly ride another bike, there would be a diminished skill due to not being quite as familiar with a different bike.

I always tell my team of doctors to get me good enough to ride, which always makes them smile.

 

My 883 had OEM low mileage pads when I got it, and my first thought about braking was, this thing needs dual rotors, I'd expect better braking on drum brake bikes (had many). Wasn't ready to do that yet, so put some EBC pads on it hoping for improvement. Doesn't need dual rotors anymore, they fixed it. The 1200 was similar, put Lyndall Golds on it, enormous improvement, and I'm satisfied with it now. The tour glide front brakes didn't do much till you squeezed hard enough they would grab, really unpleasant feel and response. The front forks aren't even on it now, but I intend to go back together with braided lines and Lyndall pads, and intimidators and single rate springs in the forks; hope that works, otherwise I'll be looking for better calipers for that one. I use EBC pads on my metrics, always been happy with them, fit all my bikes, but Lyndall doesn't; otherwise Lyndall seems just as good if not better.

 

I ordered them from Dennis Kirk but notice the drag specialties stickers.

 

Probably doesn't matter to most people, but the first thing I do is check the date code,
someone brought a Perelli to me to mount a while back that was almost 4 years old, forgot where it came from.
usually not a problem with a company that moves plenty tires.

 

On my 95 EGC I just bought it Dec 30 and it had a new Dunlop American Elite on the back. Read good things about them. I had a Commander II put on the front as I read even better things about them, amount of miles, handling, etc. I rode it about 70 miles the other day and I can say both tires handled great through the sweepers and tight curves I was riding through. Can't speak for the mileage I'm gonna get out of them yet but I can attest to the lack of mileage I got out of a set of Metzeler 880's I had on my old Wide Glide. Got maybe 4000 miles out of the rear tire and close to 10000 out of the front. Was super disappointed in the rear tire life. Got better than that out of OEM Dunlops but like you, I felt like they had some slip to them. Just throwing my 2 cents in on my luck both good and bad with different tires.

 

Here's the thing about motorcycle tires: when you mount new ones it's a major improvement over what you've been riding on, and will never feel that good again until the next new set.
It's got nothing to do with what brand you buy or or how they made. As motorcycle tires wear down, they start to lose their handling characteristics. They become unreliable and just plain ride shitty. Then you slap on some new skins and the contrast between worn and new is so great it's easy to lose the ability to compare them as new. That's why I don't form an opinion right away about a new brand, nor do I value the opinions of others unless they have worn out a set of a new brand.
So, enjoy your new tires and remember to scrub them off cautiously for the first 50-100 miles.