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chicken strips/tires-nklr
Posted: Tue Aug 03, 2010 10:53 pm
by Bill
I have recently become acquainted with the term 'chicken strips.' The strips on my current tires are pretty wide. But I'm jumping ahead.
I used to live on Mines Road, outside of Livermore, CA. A few of you know where that is. My commute started with 2 miles of dirt, followed by 17+ twisty miles to town, followed by 15 miles of gridlock. Tire choice really depends on how you use your KLR. The Pirelli MT90s were my favorite at the time. I would leave the street squids in the dust during cornering on Mines Road, only to have them catch me in the straights. Anybody can twist a throttle in a straight line. But I'm jumping ahead again.
Before my BMW met Bambi, I had the chance to try many tires in the course of 87,000 miles of dual sport (mostly asphalt) riding. Although the Avon Gripsters were my favorite, I had the chance to try Pirelli MT60s among many others. I decided to try the Pirellis again, only to have the shop misinterpret my request for MT60s for T66s (as I remember). The T66s were a dual compound tire. Soft on the outside, hard in the middle. During daily commuting, tires were lasting an average of 3-4 weeks, really. Mines Road uses a very coarse asphalt mixture, and the twisties are not to be underestimated. The T66s lasted me a week. Yes, seven days. There were no chicken strips. The outside edges of the tires had worn away to nothing within a week. They looked like a pencil eraser drug across a sheet of paper. The guys at Mountain View BMW looked at me like I was some kind of motorcycle god. I was just riding to my job. I requested another set of Gripsters, knowing they would last a month, more or less.
My A15 only has 35,000 miles on it. It would have more except for wild pigs, years I spent outside the United States, battles with the finance company, KACR failure, and more. I now live in Oregon. I don't think the MT90s are the best tire for how I'm riding today. I just ordered a set of K761s.
The bottom line is this- ride your KLR like you stole it. And try different tires until you find the one that suits your riding style. No one can tell you the 'best tires' for your ride. Chicken strips will be a side effect of my current commute. I will, of course, run the edges down when I can.
Bill
chicken strips/tires-nklr
Posted: Wed Aug 04, 2010 6:11 am
by spike55_bmw
Bill:
I'll be interested in hearing your assessment of the K761. I have them on my higher-mileage KLR (approx 1,500 miles on the K761 at this point). Prior to this, I've run three sets of the MEFO Sport 99 Explorers for the last 22,000 miles.
The K761s are noisy. Glad I have ear plugs in while I'm running highway speeds along side the Jersey Barrier - Wow. Way loader than the MEFOs.
I also noticed that there is less grip when leaned over pretty good. Here in Pennsylvania, there are many hair pin turns on our small mountain roads and I've noticed the both tires, K761s, moving out from under me in an abrupt manner versus the predictable / controlled manner I enjoyed with the MEFOs (could always bring it back from the brink).
The K761s acclaimate you to the 'skirm' on lose dirt / gravel. You're working on the 'law of averages' but you get used to it. Again, the MEFOs were more sure footed but the K761s allow you to work on your power-slides on those gravel roads.
At $50 each, the K761 seems like a decent tire. It'll be interesting to know how many miles they last but I may sell this bike before finding out since I captured a NOS slime green '06 with only 500 miles on it (almost a virgin). Nothing like a second marriage and promising yourself that you won't make the same mistakes, except that main one, another motorcycle.
Don R100, A6F (x2)
--- In
DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, "Bill" wrote:
>
> I have recently become acquainted with the term 'chicken strips.' The strips on my current tires are pretty wide. But I'm jumping ahead.
>
> I used to live on Mines Road, outside of Livermore, CA. A few of you know where that is. My commute started with 2 miles of dirt, followed by 17+ twisty miles to town, followed by 15 miles of gridlock. Tire choice really depends on how you use your KLR. The Pirelli MT90s were my favorite at the time. I would leave the street squids in the dust during cornering on Mines Road, only to have them catch me in the straights. Anybody can twist a throttle in a straight line. But I'm jumping ahead again.
>
> Before my BMW met Bambi, I had the chance to try many tires in the course of 87,000 miles of dual sport (mostly asphalt) riding. Although the Avon Gripsters were my favorite, I had the chance to try Pirelli MT60s among many others. I decided to try the Pirellis again, only to have the shop misinterpret my request for MT60s for T66s (as I remember). The T66s were a dual compound tire. Soft on the outside, hard in the middle. During daily commuting, tires were lasting an average of 3-4 weeks, really. Mines Road uses a very coarse asphalt mixture, and the twisties are not to be underestimated. The T66s lasted me a week. Yes, seven days. There were no chicken strips. The outside edges of the tires had worn away to nothing within a week. They looked like a pencil eraser drug across a sheet of paper. The guys at Mountain View BMW looked at me like I was some kind of motorcycle god. I was just riding to my job. I requested another set of Gripsters, knowing they would last a month, more or less.
>
> My A15 only has 35,000 miles on it. It would have more except for wild pigs, years I spent outside the United States, battles with the finance company, KACR failure, and more. I now live in Oregon. I don't think the MT90s are the best tire for how I'm riding today. I just ordered a set of K761s.
>
> The bottom line is this- ride your KLR like you stole it. And try different tires until you find the one that suits your riding style. No one can tell you the 'best tires' for your ride. Chicken strips will be a side effect of my current commute. I will, of course, run the edges down when I can.
>
> Bill
>
on-line battery source?
Posted: Wed Aug 04, 2010 9:32 am
by landsail@yahoo.com
www.pashnit.com has Motoplat sealed batteries and they have 4 terminals to make accessory connections. I have had good performance with them on my street bikes and will use one on my 07 KLR in the future. Fast service with same day shipping from Calif and Tim Mayhew at
www.pashnit.com where Tim also has over 400 Calf roads reviewed, some of which are dual sport paved access roads leading to dirt. Mark in Nevada.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry