Tue Oct 14 23:46:39 1997 - Message No. 1551
From: MZ

Subject: Tyres, setup


>Hi Guys !
>
>
>I have a question. Does anybody drove with road tyres ??? I did try but
>the choice was half unsuccessful for my @.
>
>As i drive generaly only on roads, I decided to try road tyres. Then I
>let the T66 and enduro 4 for a new pair of Metzelers.
>I choose teh Me33(lazer) for the front and the Me55A for the rear. The
>reult was very strange. The front wheel began to vibrated slwoly but
>more faster i drove bigger were those vibrations. This  behavior began
>to be very dangerous on the mountains roads. (I'm writing from
>switzerland, we have a lot of nice and high monutains. Have a look in
>the ATIC guide tour...). For the rear on the contrary, the Me 55 A gives
>a good feeling and the result is perfect.
>
>In anycases, i changed the front for a Michelin T66. And yet i'm driving
>with a mixed Tyres. Its a good consensus.
>But i wanted to know if somebody tried some others solutions about road
>tyres ????
>
>Thanks for your patience and see you on the road..
>
>Alex from Geneva.
>
>
>
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Mezzeler Enduro3, 4 and Bridgestone

I have tried many different tyres mainly on the Transalp that I had and I
have talked about the subject with the guys on our club, so here's my input:
First of all you must know that here in Greece the tyres you put on your
motorcycle are completely your choice. By that i mean that there are almost
no law restrictions and those that exist don't apply since the chances of a
policeman stopping you and checking your tyres are next to none! Also, Greek
roads are much more slippery than the once in the rest of Europe and so most
moto riders here are very carefull about wich tyres they put on their bikes.
So:
Michelen T66: All the guys on our club changed them as soon as they had the
monney to do so. They are the worst tyres i ever had on a bike!
Mezzeler enduro 3: They are the most popular here. They are the best
consensus betwin road and off road driving and they provide good grip on the
road and they are not too bad off road.
Mezzeler enduro 4: Best on road tyres so far, with competition only from the
bridgestone TW. Only problem is that they are too "on road" tyres with
almost no grip to mud or sand or similar sitruation. I was able to take my
bike uphill on a muddy road once wioth Enduro 3, when a friend of mine who
is a much better driver and a former competitive enduro driver got stuck in
the mud! However they are almost as popular as Enduro 3.
Bridgestone TW: A friend just got his brand new XRV750 '97 with the
Bridgestone tyres on. He is very happy with them and although he only has a
short experience they seem to be a bit better than Metzeler Enduro 4 he had
on his previous XRV750 on road (they seem to loose grip later but more
suddenly than Enduro 4). Also they look like they can handle some off road
driving better that Enduro 4. A bit early for conclusive oppinion though.
Dunlop trailmax: I was very happy with them on my Transalp, but a friend and
member of our Africa Twin Club wasn't. In fact he throw them away within a
month! So we have different oppinions here.

Personally I stick with Mezzeler Enduro 3.

ATs come in Greece with Michelen T66 or Bridgestone TW



Hi @-fans!

I'm owner of an @ '97 (Michelen T66 tyres). This summer we rent a BMW GS100
(Mezzeler Enduro 4 tyres) and spent ten days in the Italian Alps.

And here the results:

Tyres:
Michelin T66: constant Grip at dry roads, acceptable grip at wet roads or
offroad. The rubber sould be harder in the middle and softer at the end
;-). The tyre is the money worth. The
ME4: A good tyre on the road. I didn't take care of the tyres, because the
bike was rent, but after 3.000km in the mountains, there was still a lot of
rubber; good durability. BUT: The tyre needs a warm temperature. Rain,
temperatures below 10 degrees made the GS undriveable! Too much power at the
first gear, too much wheel spin on the 3rd gear. I've about 120.000km
experience, but it was NO fun to drive the GS at this conditions.

Setup of the @:
Moveing the fork bars (Standrohre) a little bit (2-2,5cm) through the fork
connectors  (Gabelbruecken)
Advantage: better feeling in the curves, like You could touch the asphalt in
the curves. But disadvantages with the big windshield at a speed > 150 km/h.
Don't forget to give the rear spring more preload, because last week I
touched the asphalt with the engine protection!
Changing the Tyre dimension:
Rear wheel dimension 150: Gives You a more constant feeling in fast curves
Next front tyre should be a dimension wider - I'll mail You the results.

I'm sorry, that the quality of the @ was reduced in some things - switching
from fuel on to res takes too long especially while overtaking :-( . Also
the shocks have been changed to cheaper non adjustable ones.

@ vs BMW 1100 GS.
GS better quality, more expensive, but you get more for the money. Fuel
injection would be something for the @. @ better in small curves, slippy
roads and offroad.


Waiting for the 1000cc-@

Markus.





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