What up boys? Your thoughtS are appreciated.

Fishbein said:

By the way. Been to Spain 3 times and had a blast each time. Great place. Could I plan a motorcycle trip with my wife thru Spain?]

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How's your Spanish? - Once you get into real Spain (away from tourist areas) you'll need it.

If it were me - I'd plan to use the State run Parador hotels. Many are converted (with respect to their history and region) historical buildings. Generally the staff are bi-lingual at a minimum. Some are VERY difficult to book in high season (notably Granada). My sister in law does a lot of weekend-ing in them. We're starting again. If you plan to - Sign up as an "Amigo" - free parking and breakfast.

There are thousands of miles of good bike roads. And should you really need to cover some distance fast the Autopistas are not bad generally. Most of Spains motorway network was subsidised by the EU so that bloody foreigners can get to their holiday homes faster (so they can spend their money here). Off motorway the going can be very slow as most pass through villages. But more picturesque. Spain becomes VERY large then though. I'm sure we can find you some fun roads to ride.

Bike hire - this I'm less sure about. I know it's possible but I'll have to look for places. Not something I've ever looked at.

Great tips I'm pretty fluent in Spanish (just need to get used to the diferent accents. Had trouble in Madrid initially but understood fine down south. They always understand me. These state places are not pensions? I stayed in those. I rented a car once and rode from madrid to Valencia and little towns aroun there e.g. Alzira. Another time took the bus from Granada to Cadiz y sanlucar de barrameda and saw the horse races on the beach. Also did costa del sol. Amazing seafood. Worth the ride?


QUOTE=barbagris;399203]How's your Spanish? - Once you get into real Spain (away from tourist areas) you'll need it.

If it were me - I'd plan to use the State run Parador hotels. Many are converted (with respect to their history and region) historical buildings. Generally the staff are bi-lingual at a minimum. Some are VERY difficult to book in high season (notably Granada). My sister in law does a lot of weekend-ing in them. We're starting again. If you plan to - Sign up as an "Amigo" - free parking and breakfast.

There are thousands of miles of good bike roads. And should you really need to cover some distance fast the Autopistas are not bad generally. Most of Spains motorway network was subsidised by the EU so that bloody foreigners can get to their holiday homes faster (so they can spend their money here). Off motorway the going can be very slow as most pass through villages. But more picturesque. Spain becomes VERY large then though. I'm sure we can find you some fun roads to ride.

Bike hire - this I'm less sure about. I know it's possible but I'll have to look for places. Not something I've ever looked at.[/QUOTE]

Navigator said:

Mine also tracks like a rail and has not diverted from that through several tire changes, all Metz', to include new front calipers. I've experienced tracking problems like you now have but they have all been with chain bikes with the cause being rear wheel alignment. This normally doesn't apply with shaft driven bikes. Just by the process of elimination, if things like checking torque, tire balance, and rotor runout doesn't resolve it, one must assume that it is a problem in one of the tires.

It would also be interesting to see if one of our front calipers is grabbing more firmly than the other. I lubed the pistons and all of the mating surfaces per the R3 manual when I replaced my pads, finding that everything was bone dry. Just a thought.

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Hi Mike ! If I may add my 1 cents worth. I think even if you had one caliper grabbing harder it would not cause the bike to drift as a lot of bikes only have a disc on one side.

Fishbein said:

Great tips I'm pretty fluent in Spanish (just need to get used to the diferent accents. Had trouble in Madrid initially but understood fine down south. They always understand me. These state places are not pensions? I stayed in those. I rented a car once and rode from madrid to Valencia and little towns aroun there e.g. Alzira. Another time took the bus from Granada to Cadiz y sanlucar de barrameda and saw the horse races on the beach. Also did costa del sol. Amazing seafood. Worth the ride?

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The Paradors are simply a great way of seeing History and inter-spaced with travellers in mind - pensions are naturally MUCH cheaper.

Many are old castles, stately homes or royal "stopover" places converted to hotels. There are some new buildings but I give those a miss. Food is always top notch quality wise. Normally a balance of "generic" and regional specialities. BUT I confess I'm wont to pop out on the search for a good local restaurant (normally cheaper and more - well - Spanish)

I'm more in inland fan - as I'm allergic to Fish/Seafood.

If you have time to plan and will be looking south - Then plan and reserve a night in the Granada Parador. You will be residing inside the Alhambra palace complex. This is shut to the public at (iirc) 7PM and you (as a guest) have it all to yourself pretty much.

Thanks!


QUOTE=Fred F.;399551]Hi Mike ! If I may add my 1 cents worth. I think even if you had one caliper grabbing harder it would not cause the bike to drift as a lot of bikes only have a disc on one side.[/QUOTE]

I hit the Alhambra in 1987 - totally amazing! Didn't know you could stay there.

barbagris said:

The Paradors are simply a great way of seeing History and inter-spaced with travellers in mind - pensions are naturally MUCH cheaper.

Many are old castles, stately homes or royal "stopover" places converted to hotels. There are some new buildings but I give those a miss. Food is always top notch quality wise. Normally a balance of "generic" and regional specialities. BUT I confess I'm wont to pop out on the search for a good local restaurant (normally cheaper and more - well - Spanish)

I'm more in inland fan - as I'm allergic to Fish/Seafood.

If you have time to plan and will be looking south - Then plan and reserve a night in the Granada Parador. You will be residing inside the Alhambra palace complex. This is shut to the public at (iirc) 7PM and you (as a guest) have it all to yourself pretty much.

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Just to report back - I think now that the tires are worn a bit (& maybe from a service too), the bike does not have the same problem or at least it's a lot less noticeable. Fish

Thanks for all the help.

I had a bad experience with two different front Avons on my Boss Hoss. They felt out of balance but were perfect on the balancer. The problem came to light when visually checked while spinning them on the balancer. There was a noticeable "crook" in the tire which was the problem. This happened TWICE ( AVON AM21s ) over the 55K miles I had on the bike. This was at least five years ago and am hoping it is a non-recurrent problem since I am looking to get Avons with my next tire change.

Fishbein said:

My stock Bridgestones lasted about 6500 miles, then my Metzlers went 7000 miles, so now I decided to try the Avon Cobras. After maybe just under 400 miles I love the Cobras: they hug the corners and seem angled for twists yet feel stable on flats (they lean quick though w all that weight).

The bike seems to ride great w the Cobras; however, when I take my hands off the handlebars the bike immediately veers to the left (no matter the grade of the road I.e the road could lean right and the bike still veers left pretty quickly). Also get some vibration at low speed. Bike feels fine riding (hands on bars).

Called the shop that put on the tires and they say doesn't sound like improper balancing but more like a bent stem. The only other thing I pointed out to the shop when getting tires was that Rivco risers looked slightly uneven, but shop said was just how they clamp on I.e. Should not affect performance. Thoughts?

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It's the TIRES! All fine before the change....now a problem? It's the TIRES! It's not the forks, it's not the brakes..it's the tires!!
You just talked me out of an anticipated change from Metz to Avon. I've had two out of round fronts with Avons on my Boss Hoss before but was willing to try again. No more. The Metz tires are excellent and I've never needed a balancing weight....never in three tire changes!
This should say something about this company that makes ONLY motorcycle tires!
Not any longer willing to change now. I'll stay with the Metz tires!

I like my Avon up front and excedra max on back..dyna beads in both..