What did you do to your V11 today?

[p6x]

2 hours ago, LowRyter said:

You can keep those high buck Michelins after my Greenie ate up a rear in <4k miles, ridiculous for sport touring tires IMO.  I'll stick with the Dunlops for half the cost and double the mileage.  

The Road? or the Pilot Sport?

What Dunlop model?

I seem to consume the front tire faster than the rear....

[p6x]

2 hours ago, Scud said:

I've never had that experience on any motorcycle. I usually replace both tires when the rear is worn, because there is only about 20% or so remaining on the front. Maybe have a think about your tire pressures (I run 34 F and 38 R) or check your suspension or steering bearings. Or maybe you are doing a lot of hard braking?

I check my tire pressure before any outing, no matter how brief the run is planned to be. I inflate a few psi above nominal. I have a very precise air gauge.

I like to brake late when I am in the twisties; but I have not done a lot of that compared to the usual highway/city stuff. I had a Pilot Sport 2 front; @LowRyterseems to say they don't last...

[LowRyter]

Pilot Road 4 IIRC, Greenie rear center channeled in less than 4k.  It's a 170 size, the engine has torque if not power.  Now I've had good luck with earlier Pilot Roads on my Bandit, about 7500 same as any other tire & it's got lots of torque and power.  Still not worth the cost IMO.  My brother gets about 4k on his Pilots on his 1600 Beemer, about one big trip for him.  I said that's nuts for a touring bike.

Dunlop Road Smarts 3 and 4.  I'm riding them on my Ducati as well.  They handle nearly as well as my Rosso III Pirellis that came with that bike.  

[LowRyter]

1 minute ago, p6x said:

I check my tire pressure before any outing, no matter how brief the run is planned to be. I inflate a few psi above nominal. I have a very precise air gauge.

I like to brake late when I am in the twisties; but I have not done a lot of that compared to the usual highway/city stuff. I had a Pilot Sport 2 front; @LowRyterseems to say they don't last...

I'm a trail braker and in the twisties I try to rhythm ride and use my throttle and gearing.  I don't like to go into any corner fast, especially when I can't see through the corner.  Go in slow and out fast.  It might different on the track.

[p6x]

2 minutes ago, LowRyter said:

I'm a trail braker and in the twisties I try to rhythm ride and use my throttle and gearing.  I don't like to go into any corner fast, especially when I can't see through the corner.  Go in slow and out fast.  It might different on the track.

I am old school; I don't brake while leaning. I usually hard brake and throw the bike into the turn. But as you pointed out, you can't really do that on open roads.

Next time I am at the Three sisters, I will attempt to record some videos.

[docc]

Yah: poignant - "Trailing >off< the brakes" . . .

[p6x]

15 hours ago, LowRyter said:

To each is own P6X.  As I said, I usually ride in a manner where I use my gearing & throttle in the twisties.  I wouldn't brake really hard on the street. 

The concept of trail braking is to slow the bike in straight line and then slightly drag the bake into the apex.  That way the tire is still loaded so you can add more braking if you encounter the unexpected and otherwise you can smoothly transition the throttle after the apex, sometime dragging the brake while you're adding throttle. 

Downshifting and then rolling off the throttle (not completely, only proportionately and smooth) is more for rhythm and this is a similar approach to trail braking but you're using the rear and letting engine braking "balance" you.  This isn't "coasting".  

I've never understood the MSF thing where they say brake in a straight line and then throttle into the curve.  The slowest part of the  curve is the apex, not the entry.  I think that's been debunked, certainly by Ienatsch and even some MSF instructors that got in too hot. 

 

I was reading some reports about MotoGP riders having different styles of riding. The old guys used to brake very late and throw the bike into the curve. Such as Andrea Dovizioso.

As you pointed out, guys like Francesco Bagnaia who keep speed and manage to corner the bike have better results. I agree with you that the late braking has grown long in the tooth.

The problem with old guys like myself, is that I practiced when I was 16 and when I try to do it again today, it comes back naturally and I have to think to do it differently and it puts me off the rhythm, and I make mistakes. Plus, back then the brakes were drums; they were "slowing" you more than "stopping" you. I am still learning to modulate my front braking.

[R.I.P. Mikko]

The big reason was tire tech. If you look at the tires in use, in todays world they are cartoonishly narrow. Guzzi mitigated that with the linked braking system. Idk how old you are…. I’m 50 and most all of what I rode was high performance.

I don’t use the rear much if at all on a Guzzi. There’s more then enough weight on the rear tire and you certainly won’t over power it. 
Suspension set up is key with a bike that has this kind of weight distribution.

[p6x]

Here's something interesting, French accent included with Sylvain Guintoli. You can see that running a standard bike against SS and SBK, you can still factor... a bit.

 

[Gmc28]

16 hours ago, p6x said:

I check my tire pressure before any outing, no matter how brief the run is planned to be. I inflate a few psi above nominal. I have a very precise air gauge.

I like to brake late when I am in the twisties; but I have not done a lot of that compared to the usual highway/city stuff. I had a Pilot Sport 2 front; @LowRyterseems to say they don't last...

I put the Fobo brand tire pressure bluetooth whizmo’s on my Duc, which talks either to your smart phone or a small monitor you can put on your bars, and after some annoying learning curve items got ironed out a couple yrs ago, I’m now quite fond of the setup,  and would like to do it on the Guzzi’s.

Part of me says more gear/tech/clutter needed, but I came to like the tire pressure monitors and now miss it on the bikes that dont have it.  There’s that nagging feeling sometimes about maybe having a low tire… or is it just a hot tire on hot pavement, or does my suspension just feel a bit different today, or am i hallucinating, or about to dent my rim?  Maybe it’s just me, but i get that way sometimes on most things with tires… mountain bikes, cars, dirt bikes, street bikes, where you’re wondering if maybe you have a flat. A quick look at my tire pressure readout, or even just a confirmation that the “alert” hasn’t shown on the Lock Screen on my phone means I’ve got psi where it belongs. 

The stiff walled ADV tires especially don’t show low pressure nearly as obviously as softer sidewall tires, so on more than one occasion i started off ok with verified good pressure, later got that feeling about maybe something being amiss, glanced down quick and everything looks ok, only to then get to next stop and realize I’ve got a flat, or worse that it’s flat and that last rough pavement i hit dented my rim.

[KINDOY2]

I just ride the bike and have fun......works for me.... 

 

 

[Gmc28]

Seems like “what did you do to your V11 today” here has turned into “how do you ride your v11” on this latest entertaining tangent….   All good riding/moto talk.   To add the the chorus of opinions, I don’t ride the Guzzi to “win”, just to enjoy.  Trail braking done right can be “pretty” and is faster, and fun when done right and “gettin’ the lead out”, but “momentum management” (aka older style) sure feels more natural, seems probably a little easier on equipment (maybe, depending the usual variables), and appeals to those who learned that way many moons ago.  LIke a skiing slalom/race step vs Jean Claude Killy’s french/parallel skiing…. Well maybe thats a bad example because Killy won a ton of races in his day, and while he wouldn’t do well today against modern racers if he stuck to that old style, it sure was sweet to watch, and to “do”.  

Vive la difference!  (No, I’m not french, but that felt right…)

[p6x]

9 minutes ago, Gmc28 said:

I put the Fobo brand tire pressure bluetooth whizmo’s on my Duc, which talks either to your smart phone or a small monitor you can put on your bars, and after some annoying learning curve items got ironed out a couple yrs ago, I’m now quite fond of the setup,  and would like to do it on the Guzzi’s.

Part of me says more gear/tech/clutter needed, but I came to like the tire pressure monitors and now miss it on the bikes that dont have it.  There’s that nagging feeling sometimes about maybe having a low tire… or is it just a hot tire on hot pavement, or does my suspension just feel a bit different today, or am i hallucinating, or about to dent my rim?  Maybe it’s just me, but i get that way sometimes on most things with tires… mountain bikes, cars, dirt bikes, street bikes, where you’re wondering if maybe you have a flat. A quick look at my tire pressure readout, or even just a confirmation that the “alert” hasn’t shown on the Lock Screen on my phone means I’ve got psi where it belongs. 

The stiff walled ADV tires especially don’t show low pressure nearly as obviously as softer sidewall tires, so on more than one occasion i started off ok with verified good pressure, later got that feeling about maybe something being amiss, glanced down quick and everything looks ok, only to then get to next stop and realize I’ve got a flat, or worse that it’s flat and that last rough pavement i hit dented my rim.

Well, coming from the 70's, I don't miss any technology because at the time I was invested into motorcycle riding like it was a crusade, I did not have it. As with everything else, you don't really care if you did not know what it was.

But tire pressure is very important and I am willing to check Fobo.

I have so far not experienced a flat with my Guzzi, however had plenty of them with my cars. I am going to purchase Fobo for my Porsche 911.

So thanks!

[p6x]

22 minutes ago, KINDOY2 said:

I just ride the bike and have fun......works for me.... 

 

 

And there is nothing wrong with that!

[Tomchri]

TT 100, K81, and no worrys, like KINDOY2 says. Of topic yes, l'm out.
Cheers Tom.

Sent fra min SM-A525F via Tapatalk