Pressureangle

My Sport came to me from the oilfields of Southern California, with every nook and cranny filled with basically dirty, seasoned road tar. I've used everything trying to rid it of these evil dark bits, and it's clear that until it's stripped to the core I'll live with some of it. That said, the best two cleaners I tried were Westley's Bleche-White (do not let it linger, it's quite caustic) and WD-40. As an act of desperation trying to find something to clean the front wheel and fork ends, I used 'like dissolves like' and it worked. That said, I never got everything returned to new and eventually had the wheels stripped and powder coated and the forks rebuilt and vapor blasted.

FWIW, here's how I solved my tailpack problem on the 1100 Sport; this worked out perfectly. I used heavy velcro on a spare pillion, cut the bag straps and screwed the buckles to the base.

Here's a thread from 2010 about racks. This place never fails to enlighten.

I see @Lucky Phil had a set for sale a couple years ago?

No, I don't have one. I only found Ventura while investigating a rack for my Son's LeMans.

You don't need heat, you need leverage. An impact gun and appropriate *impact* socket is the least difficult, but you'll have to remove the front wheel for access. I did mine with the 'ring spanner' but I do admit to spending some time sussing out angles, access, and holding the bike in place while I applied torque.

I'll disagree, absent someone who can do the math. The rattle gun impacts the teeth, the wrench only applies torque, about 90 lbs-ft. divided by the gear radius. Not an issue.

https://ventura-bike.com/

My deep 32mm; https://ibb.co/XLZZwwq

Oh yeah, the significant bit I forgot was that ZDDP only attaches at high heat, which means your metal bits have to rub hard enough to make the heat necessary for bonding. It works obviously, but the B/Mo doesn't require the heat.

I'll state my understanding here without citation of sources, which I've either buried or failed to save. ZDDP works by attaching ionic molecules to the base metal, creating a boundary layer of ZDDP which is far more durable and scuff-resistant than the base metal. ZDDP is bad for the lifespan of catalytic converters, so they first limited the amount added, then by the SG oil classification eliminated it almost entirely. My recent research into gear oils and greases led also to the knowledge that Boron/Moly compounds are replacing ZDDP as extreme pressure additives, but they work with a different chemical strategy-I'm not sure if they stack up in pores, or attach chemically, but they are an order of magnitude more slippery than ZDDP when in place and apparently do less harm to cats. Don't have meaningful information at hand, but I don't think 'overplating' is an issue as much as the 'minimum required amount' of ZDDP. An old automotive V8 has a lot more surfaces to cover than a V2, and generally holds less oil per surface inch. Meh, the ZDDP content per quart is probably the 'minumim required' balanced with 'least material cost'.

I couldn't find a single sound clip or video with a H-D VR1000 beyond idle. Juicy like the Vincent, more Boom than the Britten.

So the 6 plugs in the spokes of the rear wheel are snug and flush, yay. The other 9 not so much- so I looked online for rubber softening, and I've locked them away in a ziplock doused with silicone spray. We'll see what comes out in 3 days. I have little to work on until my throttle rod comes back. I'll also be exploring making a fender support, as the Sport fender is unsupported behind the forks and my paint is full of cracks.

https://etsi.me/ Everything you were told Duck Duck Go was, but wasn't. No tracking, no data mining, no selling your information to big data. Confidence; High.

I'd hate to think of what it would look like if I did that.

I would think that any coating that goes to the inside is a benefit as it will prevent any corrosion where it attaches. But it's unlikely that any significant amount of material is deposited inside the wheel.

All of mine were plugged; 6 front and 9 rear. The plugs are actually rubber, maybe I'll do some homework and see if I can reconstitute them chemically without destroying them. Also; if Docc's wheels don't have seventeen pounds of road grime in them, they probably don't matter.

When my LM1000 came to me it had the 16" front wheel and was shod with Metzelers (15 years ago, and the tires weren't new) The front end felt totally untrustworthy. After reading a lot of anecdotes, I swapped on a 18" LM3 wheel, with new Metzelers. The front then was extremely stable, but heavy and slow. I ran through 3 sets of tires subsequently, Metzeler x2 and most liked Michelin Pilots. But where it all went right, was while restoring it I put the 16" front back on, added longer rear shocks, dropped the forks in the trees 1/2" and it turned magical wearing Pirelli Road Demons. The Mille GT is wearing some Shinkos, or other no-name tires; they're old, a bit scary looking but not worn. They are very neutral handlers on that bike, with only the slightest tip-in in turns. I do recall on the LM that when the rear center wore, it tended to drift on fast straight roads (which are all I have at home) I always tend to 'sticky' tires, because I imagine I'll go ride some nice roads far more than I actually have opportunity. I think the Tonti is less affected by the profile than the geometry- 'feeling the difference' is not the same big change as setting the geometry correctly. But you *can* feel the difference, where I really never noticed on the Asian bikes I had. The Sport-i is far more sensitive to tire profile than the Tonti, which is a function of tire width probably. FWIW, the Mille GT will get Michelin Pilots if they're still available when the time comes. *the above statements are not paid endorsements, nor are the opinions expressed valid beyond the skull of the author*

While that's probably true, it can't happen without changing the profile at the same time. The definitive answer will never be known because you can't buy identical tires ten years apart; and if you could, I defy anyone to tell the difference while street riding.

I've dealt with MG Cycle since '06, and never had any complaints. That said, All I ask of parts sources is that they send me the correct parts- and in that regard, MGC stands at the top of the hill, in MG specifically and a world apart from the dismal world of classic cars, trailers, and pedestrian transportation. I run a business too (trying to, anyway) and since the COVID ****, it's been infinitely more difficult. I assume MGC is no different, and I thank them for being there.

I had my rims powdercoated, and the hole plugs are...deteriorated. Has anyone found something that works? I'm a little stunned that I can't just jump on Amazon and find something at least close.

My 2010 Chevy HHR gets ~31mpg highway with the tires inflated to 44psi. It doesn't change any, until you get down to about 35- then the mileage slips down to 28-29. It's possible that this is also an artifact of weather, since the only times my tires have been so low on pressure is in cold weather which is rare for me. For both cars and bikes, I tend to the pressure that gives the greatest mileage rather than road feel. I've never had a street bike (that is, never ridden one so hard) on which the pressure had any effect on traction. Anecdotally, Metzeler gave a few of us 'cheater' tires at Daytona '96, after proving that Dunlop was using F1 compounds in DOT molds for their contracted riders. On a 65hp, 450lb H-D 883, there was no physical way to slip those tires; the engineers had us all the way down to 17psi to get them up to the rubber temps they wanted. Simply amazing. And probably not as good as the store-bought tires we all use today.

Until you reach the margin of adhesion, the age of a tire doesn't make a difference in handling. But I've found that Italian bikes- 2 Tontis, the Sport-i, and a '74 Aermacchi 350- are all exquisitely sensitive to tire profiles. I ran 30psi in the front Bridgestone T30 because it had a nebulous, imprecise feel in hard cornering and I wanted more rubber on the road to maximize traction. (it never slipped even once in it's life) The Pirellis I replaced them with had much sharper cornering, but felt drifty on fast straight bits where the Bridgestones were boxcar-stable. I did notice with the Pirellis at the Spine Raid (Tail of the Dragon) that higher pressure, 38psi made fast corner dumping and transitions easier and didn't affect traction at any speed I ride. Also, any new tire has a perfect profile so replacing a tire with any visible wear will make handling changes you can feel. There is some ethereal feel to brand new rubber that defies description, something you sense but can't isolate. Maybe just in the head.

Right, I forget I have the barhopping/10 laps tank. Sexy tho, ain't it? FWIW, I keep about 30psi front/ 32 rear, my bridgestones lasted 7500 miles and gas mileage was average. I don't think it matters much, or at all, with radial tires. I'll explore these Dunlops more deeply once I get somewhere with a curve.

Right on the money. Best I saw on my 10k was ~40, riding 55-65mph. Worst was crossing New Mexico at 85mph, ~30. My fuel light comes on right at about 100 miles with 60 to go. Barely less than half. Annoying and easy to forget after a while.