Avon Cobra 150/80/17

Mittzy said:

I guess the bridgey riders must be some kind of cult!!

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Not a cult thing at all. I went for the BS purely on performance posts on what other riders have posted NOT price so much. I like the BS and find the shape of it is better suited for corners because there is more tyre on the road. The guy at the tyre shop today asked me why I was not replacing the Metz with another Metz, I told him that I was not really happy with the performance of the Metz front or rear, he then tells me that the Metz tyre we get on the NEW bike are already up to two years old. And that they have started to go hard. He also said that BS will not warrant a BS tyre on a rocket ( don't know why) and if something was to go wrong with the tyre causing an accident he ( the tyre fitter) will not be covered and could be sued for installing an unsuitable tyre. He also mentioned that BS may be working on releasing a suitable tyre for the rocket. Having said that I am still happy with the BS.[/QUOTE]

My friend of friend of a friend says the same thing re tyres being old. Factory buys in bulk and sometimes store them to ensure smooth production run on top of manufacturers doing the same then a month or 2 to ship and who knows how long on a showroom floor - especially in a small market like Oz. Apparently a similar story with batteries......so there you go, straight from the broken telegraph.......

mr hunt said:

My friend of friend of a friend says the same thing re tyres being old. Factory buys in bulk and sometimes store them to ensure smooth production run.......

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Not so sure that is the case, when I visited the factory with Mittzy we had their stock system explained to us and it seemed that it was closer to 'just in time' than years of stock laying around. Hopefully Mittzy will have a take on this.

Let Me Know

I live approx. 250 miles north of the District of Corruption. I'm afraid that you'll have to take in the star-spangled titties while you are there.

I've been to the wall... had a good cry there. It's very poignant.

Travelling the I95 corridor is not something I relish, however if you think about swinging northward during your turnaround, LMK! There are alternate, easier and more scenic ways to get from here to there.

Mittzy said:

After contemplating hanso's post (#17) I decided to take the front wheel off and drive it to the tyre shop cos it was raining, so it is still shinny new. When the weather clears I will break it in.

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Just reading this reminded me of something I like to do when I get new tyres, because I always take my wheels of my self and take them in to get done Except when way from home and then I always check that wheels are correctly reinstalled and I also ask them to clean the tyres with prepsolv (wax and grease remover) or if I have taken the wheels in I do myself and I recommend it to any one to keep I tin at home, after I refit the wheel to bike I get a large rag and soak it in prepsolv then thoroughly clean the the surface of the tyre that contacts the road, you would be amazed how much release wax is still on tyre when dealer gets them.
After a really good clean there is very little breaking in needed as you have removed the slippery surface

Good advice if you can get at the tires prior to mounting.

I usually find an open parking lot and perform a good number of figure eights and circles at varying degrees of lean and speed in order to start the scrub-in process before I hit the open road to do more of the same for about 25-50 miles.

Does anyone here know how to utilize the load rating index numbers properly in order to ensure one's safety. Some say to combine the front and rear tire ratings to ascertain max load (including the bike's GVW) under max recommended inflation. Others say to go by each tire's rating individually. If it's the former I have no worries going with the Exedra Max 130 up front with its 62 (580 lbs.) rating, because the rear Max has a LI of 86 (1,160 lbs)! BTW, heavier bikes like the Harley Ultra are coming through from the factory with 130s rated at about 65, I think.

A good idea if you're taking wheels in is to mark direction of rotation on the discs with marker pen. Don't assume the fitter knows which side the rear disc is on or which way the 'spokes' point on the front.

CanberraR3 said:

A good idea if you're taking wheels in is to mark direction of rotation on the discs with marker pen. Don't assume the fitter knows which side the rear disc is on or which way the 'spokes' point on the front.

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while that is not bad advice, most bike mag wheels have arrow somewhere on it (I have not checked on the Rocket) but even so my local tyre fitter uses a talc (or other non wax or non greasy type) chalk to note the direction as per the existing tyre and I would have thought any Professional tyre fitter would do likewise.

TriumPhil said:

Good advice if you can get at the tires prior to mounting.

I usually find an open parking lot and perform a good number of figure eights and circles at varying degrees of lean and speed in order to start the scrub-in process before I hit the open road to do more of the same for about 25-50 miles.

Does anyone here know how to utilize the load rating index numbers properly in order to ensure one's safety. Some say to combine the front and rear tire ratings to ascertain max load (including the bike's GVW) under max recommended inflation. Others say to go by each tire's rating individually. If it's the former I have no worries going with the Exedra Max 130 up front with its 62 (580 lbs.) rating, because the rear Max has a LI of 86 (1,160 lbs)! BTW, heavier bikes like the Harley Ultra are coming through from the factory with 130s rated at about 65, I think.

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that is something that has always made me think but I would say it would be that if you took your bike to a weigh bridge and only put the front wheel on it the reading (plus a bit for when you get on the brakes hard) would be roughly what the loading should be
Just my opinion, not claiming that it is right but what makes sense to me

To me, that does not make a lot of sense since there is much more (virtually the entire weight of the bike and its contents) weight shifted forward on hard, emergency braking than with normal braking. thanks for the input, nonetheless!

Somebody must know the definitive answer!?

hanso said:

while that is not bad advice, most bike mag wheels have arrow somewhere on it (I have not checked on the Rocket) but even so my local tyre fitter uses a talc (or other non wax or non greasy type) chalk to note the direction as per the existing tyre and I would have thought any Professional tyre fitter would do likewise.

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I did say if you're taking the wheels in. Sometimes...........