Tire Life

[dlaing]

My last question, unless anyone else weighs in on tire recommendations................Would I be breaking any Guzzi Laws or will she even run if I tried to install non-Italian tires on it?

1064 lashes with spaghetti al dente!

But seriously, that is completely up to you.

FWIW, the shock absorber and Bridgestones are not made in Italy.

 

I have a bias for Pirelli but Metzeler are clearly of the same quality.

IMHO a good handling tire, a good rain tire, and a long lasting tire are the three most important criteria.

 

For my money, good options are the Pirelli Strada or the Metzler Z6.

 

For sportier riding the Metzeler M3 appears to be the ultimate.

What is the corresponding Pirelli tire to the M3?

 

I just tried a Pirelli Diablo which was great, but the mileage was lousy.

It probably compares to an M1, which is my next tire....expecting lousy mileage...

[antonio carroccio]

Have never heard one of this speaking...

[ponti_33609]

Ok....lot's of great info. I thought my last question before. I have done no more than fluids on my bike. When changing tires (I read some other threads), do you guys that do not change them yourself go to:

 

1. Tire Guy

2. Motorcycle Shop

3. Guzzi Shop

 

Anyone have "bad" issues going to a non guzzi shop or one that doesn't do shaft driven bikes? Is this a concern?

 

Thx,

Bob

[Guest ratchethack]

FYI -- Here's a pair o' Cheng Shins doing wot they were designed for:

[dlaing]

Ok....lot's of great info. I thought my last question before. I have done no more than fluids on my bike. When changing tires (I read some other threads), do you guys that do not change them yourself go to:

 

1. Tire Guy

2. Motorcycle Shop

3. Guzzi Shop

 

Anyone have "bad" issues going to a non guzzi shop or one that doesn't do shaft driven bikes? Is this a concern?

 

Thx,

Bob

At first I went to the Guzzi Shop but the tires installed were too expensive, and the Guzzi shop is a little far away.

I then went to a a non Guzzi shop that sold tires for great prices and saw that they jacked the bike at the QuatD, that soon after had a crack discovered in it. They also let the brake lines dangle over the exhaust.

Since then I have pulled the wheels myself and taken to the nearest motorcycle shop with a tire changing machine, where they charge me $20 if I bring in the tire and $15 if I buy the tire from them, plus $2 disposal fee

[dlaing]

FYI -- Here's a pair o' Cheng Shins doing wot they were designed for:

Metzelers in action, 1942.

I wonder if Metzeler ever used forced labor?

[raz]

Not sure of how many International laws I am breaking by putting French or German tires on an Italian bike ...

Metzeler and Pirelli are more or less the same company nowadays. The complete story is of course longer and more complicated

 

Last I knew, Cheng Shin [aka "Cheap Sh!t"] tires were Taiwanese.

Taiwan is a province of the Republic of China

 

[raz]

Ok....lot's of great info. I thought my last question before. I have done no more than fluids on my bike. When changing tires (I read some other threads), do you guys that do not change them yourself go to:

 

1. Tire Guy

2. Motorcycle Shop

3. Guzzi Shop

 

Anyone have "bad" issues going to a non guzzi shop or one that doesn't do shaft driven bikes? Is this a concern?

 

Thx,

Bob

I would use any of them (i.e. the cheapest or the one that have my wanted tire in stock), but pull the wheel myself like dlaing. Also, a friend suggested to me that you should always remove the old counterweights yourself beforehand, since some morons will remove them with any sharp tool he happens to have handy and without the slightest care about the rim and painting.

 

If you don't pull the wheel yourself, you should check afterwards that the shaft is put back together the right way (not that it has to be pulled apart, but a professional moron may not know that) and if you do it yourself, ensure you know about it!. I didn't have a clue about that. When I learned about it (in this thread), I could of course confirm that the shop had put it together in the worst way possible

 

Remember that about the only thing constituting a 'professional' is that he gets payed. Perhaps with your money.

 

Edit: I'm not saying all professionals are morons. But I've had a more than fair share of that kind.

[Skeeve]

Taiwan is a province of the Republic of China

 

Well, Taiwan ROC pretty much just goes by Taiwan these days: the PRC still claims they're a rebellious province, but nobody outside of their own borders believes them - we're all aware of where the legitimate govt. of China fled after Mao's goons started getting the upper hand in their power grab.

 

I'll shut up now lest this devolve into another political fracas.

[Ryland3210]

Amongst the many references to Pirelli, Michelin, Metzler, and Dunlop et al, every once in a while, I hear of someone quite happy with Bridgestone's longevity and good performance. e.g. 7 years, and hardly broken in! How many miles was that? I didn't catch it somehow.

[callison]

I generally have gotten 7500 miles on any set of tires on my Guzzis. YMMV.

[Ryland3210]

I generally have gotten 7500 miles on any set of tires on my Guzzis. YMMV.

 

I would be very happy with that. The Metzler M1's that came with my bike were wiped at 3800.

 

What have you been running?

[dlaing]

Well, Taiwan ROC pretty much just goes by Taiwan these days: the PRC still claims they're a rebellious province, but nobody outside of their own borders believes them - we're all aware of where the legitimate govt. of China fled after Mao's goons started getting the upper hand in their power grab.

 

I'll shut up now lest this devolve into another political fracas.

Too late....

As a result of Nixon's Ping Pong Diplomacy, a newspaper's headline read:

"They got Taiwan, we got egg rolls."

 

When the going gets tough, everybody treats China as if Taiwan was under its dominion.

 

Since the ROC lost its United Nations seat in 1971 (replaced by the PRC), most sovereign states have switched their diplomatic recognition to the PRC, recognizing or acknowledging the PRC to be the sole legitimate representative of all China.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_status_of_Taiwan

 

Powell told Hu: US opposes Taiwan independence

(Xinhua)

Updated: 2004-10-25 15:05

 

US Secretary of State Colin Powell emphasized, during his meeting with Chinese President Hu Jintao, that the United States will unswervingly pursue the one-China policy and oppose any action aiming at "Taiwan independence".

 

 

Chinese President Hu Jintao ® shakes hands with visiting US Secretary of State Colin Powell in Beijing October 25, 2004. Xinhua

 

President Hu said he appreciated the United States' reiteration for many times that it adheres to the one-China policy, abides by the three joint communiques and opposes "Taiwan independence".

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2...tent_385511.htm

So much for not believing China...

[Baldini]

........ just under 4,000 miles on it. The tires appear fine (penny in the thread). How long would a set normally last? Not sure what normal driving would typically yield....

 

They may have more miles in em but they're the only thing twixt you & tarmac. Even just gently bimbling about, sh*t happens & it doesn't matter what else, if your tyres let go, it can be the difference between a "blimey that was a bit close!" & an "oh NO".

 

& as Ratchet says, we never had it so good for tyres.

 

KB

 

ps: AS FOR THE POLITICS - CAN'T THAT STUFF BE LEFT OUT OF TECH THREADS, & KEPT WHERE IT'S CLEARLY LABELLED - JAAP EVEN CREATED SUCH A PLACE .... check it out, There's a thread there already just for this sort of stuff...

[Ryland3210]

They may have more miles in em but they're the only thing twixt you & tarmac. Even just gently bimbling about, sh*t happens & it doesn't matter what else, if your tyres let go, it can be the difference between a "blimey that was a bit close!" & an "oh NO".

 

& as Ratchet says, we never had it so good for tyres.

 

KB

 

ps: AS FOR THE POLITICS - CAN'T THAT STUFF BE LEFT OUT OF TECH THREADS, & KEPT WHERE IT'S CLEARLY LABELLED - JAAP EVEN CREATED SUCH A PLACE .... check it out, There's a thread there already just for this sort of stuff...

 

It's always hard to argue against taking the safest possible approach, but then we wouldn't be riding high powered motorcycles in the first place Personally, in my mind, there's always the challenge of optimizing the trade-offs among the cost, safety, longevity, and performance factors. And then there's the fun of it all.

 

My attempt to create a political thread in banter worked for a while, until foul language had to be censored and it became too personal for Jaap to tolerate, so he locked it. Let us hope people are more civilized if another one is started. It's someone else's turn to try. I don't want to become Mr. Political Thread. I only did it for the purpose of attracting this kind of thing away from "Technical". I'm grateful for Jaap's patience and his deletion of off topic debates when they consume too much space in technical threads.

 

There is a middle ground, where an off-topic converation is sparked within a technical thread. I think that's OK, if it's kept short AND provided the parties voluntarily move over to Banter as soon as the first counterpoint is made.