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Tubeless tires are cake to change, but I hate dealing with tubed street tires. Dirtbike tires aren't too bad once you get the technique down. I'm sure its the same way with tubed street tires... But after changing two sets on my 625 I'd had enough lol. Left it to the experts on the 690. Local shop I got the tires from charges 20/wheel off the bike so not terrible.
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Jun 27, 2013 19:49
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| # ? May 24, 2024 06:17 |
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needknees posted:Tubeless tires are cake to change, but I hate dealing with tubed street tires. Dirtbike tires aren't too bad once you get the technique down. I'm sure its the same way with tubed street tires... But after changing two sets on my 625 I'd had enough lol. Left it to the experts on the 690. Local shop I got the tires from charges 20/wheel off the bike so not terrible. I change my own tubed tires, it's not so bad. I wouldn't pay someone 30 dollars to do 5 to 10 minutes of work on my own motorcycle. For that price I can buy the tools and change my own tires as much as I want.
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Jun 27, 2013 23:11
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Thanks for the info guys, I'll definitely at least try it myself next time. Needknees, post a ride report after you get settled in on those conti attacks. Everywhere I've read, and I think reelbiglizard mentioned it, was that they were really great but they just wear out quite quick. In related tire chat, just want to mention that just because you're riding a big dirt bike it doesn't mean your tires will 'hook up' with traction when you transition from concrete -> grass... especially when you hit the throttle  Pick the bike up, clean out the peg full of grass and dirt, hope no one saw you, and off you go.
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Jun 27, 2013 23:43
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Pilot powers on supermotos for life
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Jun 28, 2013 03:05
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Jim Silly-Balls posted:Pilot powers on supermotos for life This man knows what's up. Cheapie tires crew reprazent.
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Jun 28, 2013 03:08
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Jim Silly-Balls posted:
fixed!
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Jun 28, 2013 03:35
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SV's use 160's though. Those rub kinda bad on most DRZ's I've seen unless you dish you wheel out to the right or something. I guess it doesn't really matter in the long run but it kinda chews up that left side.
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Jun 28, 2013 03:44
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JP Money posted:SV's use 160's though. Those rub kinda bad on most DRZ's I've seen unless you dish you wheel out to the right or something. I guess it doesn't really matter in the long run but it kinda chews up that left side. Pirellis are narrow 160s and fit just fine.
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Jun 28, 2013 03:50
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I figure this is the best thread for this: I've been riding my new 690 to work the last few days since I got it all papered up. Yes, it owns incredibly and I am surprised I have not gotten a ticket yet. My issue is re-learning to corner on it, especially at low speed. Coming from my Sportster 883, it's a whole new devil and I feel like I must be doing something incorrectly, as the bike seems to be fighting me a little. Everything tells me that I should be able to shred corners in cheatmode with this thing, yet I find myself swinging much wider than I used to on the Harley. On the 883, I would do the slow-look-lean/countersteer-roll and it just fell nicely into the corner with minimal lean. With the 690, I have to push the bars much harder and I find myself counter-leaning aggressively to make corners I previously just casually leaned into. The front tire also seems to want to turn into the corner like a car, which seems wrong for countersteering. Is this just a matter of getting used to a new bike/higher center of gravity/weight/smaller tires/etc? I took a ride up my favorite curvy hillclimb this afternoon and I crossed over the double yellow a few times on corners that never bothered me before  . I assume this is because I was never able to really accelerate uphill into them before and am carrying a higher entry speed? I also feel the rear slipping out on small bumps in corners, and while I know that is A Cool Thing it still freaks me out and makes me think I need new tires. I'm writing most off it off to learning an entirely new bike/riding style, but I'm open to noob sumo pointers regarding body positioning and such.
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Jun 28, 2013 05:06
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It takes a little while to get used to being so high up with big wide bars in my experience. Coming from a harley it's probably not so different but from a sportbike the difference is night and day. You may just need to get used to a more nimble ride. If the handling is really that slow you could try raising the forks up in the clamps but that's something you may wanna look into later. You wanna be counterleaning during really slow parking lot maneuvers. You can crank the bike over pretty far that way and turn quite sharply. Same thing with really aggressive turns. You can either go sportbike style with the knee out and your body hanging off or dirtbike style where you sit forward on the seat with your rear end on the opposite side as the way you're turning with leg out while you push the bike down. I find the latter more comfortable mostly but that's preference. It's hard to trust the bike not to slip when doing this but you'll get used to it.
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Jun 28, 2013 05:12
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The Royal Nonesuch posted:I figure this is the best thread for this: Tire pressures? Are the tires flatspotted or old and lovely? Also, yeah, try getting weight really forward, try and sit on the gas cap, and make sure you're not stiffarming the bars, keep your elbows loose.
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Jun 28, 2013 07:23
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The Royal Nonesuch posted:I'm writing most off it off to learning an entirely new bike/riding style, but I'm open to noob sumo pointers regarding body positioning and such. Yeah, check your tire pressure. Even then, I can't imagine a motard with even low pressure to feel less nimble than a Harley. The motard riding position is a bit more forward than a cruiser - scoot up to the tank/side-panels and grip them with your legs. Having a nice, loose, athletic stance on the bike with your legs supporting your weight is key for not giving crappy input to the bars. Also, are you sure you feel your back-end stepping out on bumps and stuff? It's really not normal to be losing traction that often during normal riding. Dong riding, maybe.
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Jun 28, 2013 20:13
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Z3n posted:Also, yeah, try getting weight really forward, try and sit on the gas cap, and make sure you're not stiffarming the bars, keep your elbows loose. Weight forward was the key for me going from the Vstar to the Ulysses.
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Jun 28, 2013 20:15
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I find lightly dragging the rear brake also helps in low speed maneuvers like u turns in parking lots and stuff. I think most of it is mental but it should help settle the rear suspension a little as well. Combining that with counter lean feels really comfortable. I'd check your tire pressure. For some reason I can feel low pressure very easily on a sumo but on a sport bike it's harder for me to tell. Low front pressure makes it very sluggish to turn.
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Jun 28, 2013 20:26
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Newbie question...I'm going to pick up a 2008 WR250R tomorrow a couple hours away. The guy selling sent me a video of the biking idling. I know it's hard to tell from a video, but I was wondering if anyone wouldn't mind me emailing them the video and telling me if it sounds alright. I don't know if it's just the video or normal but it sounds like the exhaust sometimes misses a beat. It's really subtle and I don't have a ton of experience with bikes. Single cylinder engines are noisy in general but should the exhaust sound perfectly in beat or is it normal for them to have a quick stutter? You'd have to hear the video to know what I mean, like a said it's extremely subtle. Uploaded the video http://youtu.be/87NkCoEIaQA Moonbloodsflow fucked around with this message at 08:19 on Jun 29, 2013 |
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Jun 29, 2013 08:15
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The tires are three year old Bridgestone Battlax BT090(F) and BT021 (R) with ~3200 miles on them. They don't seem to be squared off or flatspotted at all; the rear looks to be in great shape and the front is a little more worn/aged in appearance. Everyone posted:Tire pressure!!1 Right, so yesterday was my first day off from work since I got the bike registered and I had some time to adjust/clean/lube the chain and check the tire pressure. First off, what I thought was just jerky sumo throttling turned out to be an extremely loose chain  . No wonder I was having issues coming off stoplights and through corners. What a difference. The tires were a bit low, and it corners muuuuch better now.Note to self: don't be in such a goddamn hurry to ride that you don't take the time to check basic things 
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Jun 29, 2013 15:30
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Any tips on lowering the drz400 seat height a tiny bit? I was thinking about maybe getting the gel seat but I'm not sure. I'm not super picky about comfort as I've had seats made of 16 gauge steel and yoga mat before. Definitely valuing cost effectiveness over comfort.
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Jun 30, 2013 02:34
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The Corbin seat is lower but I found it terrible, always forcing me balls-forward into the tank. I hear the oem gel seat is even worse. I really like my current SeatConcepts seat a lot and they make a low version, but maybe try to get used to not flat-footing the bike? Its really not that bad after a while
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Jun 30, 2013 03:03
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I just ordered a Seat Concepts seat, and it's supposed to be an inch lower than stock. I'm not particularly tall, so I'm looking forward to having both my feet touch at stoplights.
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Jun 30, 2013 03:17
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robotsinmyhead posted:I just ordered a Seat Concepts seat, and it's supposed to be an inch lower than stock. I'm not particularly tall, so I'm looking forward to having both my feet touch at stoplights. HA I can't get both feet on the ground when stopped. Or both wheels on the ground when moving 
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Jun 30, 2013 04:58
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ChewedFood posted:HA I can't get both feet on the ground when stopped. I have trouble keeping both wheels on the ground whenever I'm near my bike. (see broken left mirror for evidence)
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Jun 30, 2013 05:09
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The Royal Nonesuch posted:The tires are three year old Bridgestone Battlax BT090(F) and BT021 (R) with ~3200 miles on them. They don't seem to be squared off or flatspotted at all; the rear looks to be in great shape and the front is a little more worn/aged in appearance. Be careful with that chain tension... if you're new to sumos or dirtbikes in general you have to remember they run significantly looser chains than most sportbikes/streetbikes due the the fact they have so much suspension travel. If you're running at what most streetbike riders would consider "normal" chain tension you've got it way too tight. It will bind as the suspension reaches full compression. It's always better to have a chain that's a little loose than one that's too tight.
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Jun 30, 2013 05:19
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needknees posted:Be careful with that chain tension... if you're new to sumos or dirtbikes in general you have to remember they run significantly looser chains than most sportbikes/streetbikes due the the fact they have so much suspension travel. If you're running at what most streetbike riders would consider "normal" chain tension you've got it way too tight. It will bind as the suspension reaches full compression. It's always better to have a chain that's a little loose than one that's too tight. Yeah for sure - I checked the manual and there is also a little sticker on the swingarm showing how to measure the 5mm gap/slack you're supposed to leave. The slack was significantly more than that before I adjusted it. Good point though, thanks.
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Jun 30, 2013 05:54
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I think I'll probably drop the preload/height in the back a tiny bit because I'm not very heavy. I can tiptoe it fine, so I really don't care for now. A Seat Concepts order might be in my future though, the second gen low seat looks pretty awesome for the price. The guy I bought it from was like 6' 2" so I think he probably cranked the preload a bit and raised the back.
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Jun 30, 2013 06:02
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Anyone interested in a 2007 KTM 690 SM with about 13k miles in good shape in socal?
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Jun 30, 2013 13:21
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Christoff posted:Anyone interested in a 2007 KTM 690 SM with about 13k miles in good shape in socal? Yes, me, a week ago before I bought one after looking for months  Out of curiosity what are you asking?
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Jun 30, 2013 17:19
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Not sure If I don't get $5,000 I'll probably keep it. Needs new tires and has some scuff from being backed into but is otherwise in great shape. I know $5k is probably a bit steep but riding season is coming so we'll see.
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Jun 30, 2013 17:33
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Yerok posted:I think I'll probably drop the preload/height in the back a tiny bit because I'm not very heavy. I can tiptoe it fine, so I really don't care for now. A Seat Concepts order might be in my future though, the second gen low seat looks pretty awesome for the price. The guy I bought it from was like 6' 2" so I think he probably cranked the preload a bit and raised the back. This might seem obvious, but google some coupon codes before you check out. ADVRIDER.COM saved me like $15 on the order.
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Jun 30, 2013 17:47
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Christoff posted:Not sure If I don't get $5,000 I'll probably keep it. Needs new tires and has some scuff from being backed into but is otherwise in great shape. I know $5k is probably a bit steep but riding season is coming so we'll see. Coming? In socal?
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Jun 30, 2013 18:08
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SaNChEzZ posted:Coming? In socal? In the warmer states, I always figured riding season started in September and lasted until around late May.
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Jun 30, 2013 18:22
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Well I mean regardless of the good weather people still avoid riding outside of summer
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Jun 30, 2013 18:35
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SoCal seasons revolve around mud & flood, fire & drought.
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Jun 30, 2013 19:59
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If I check the weather and there's more than 10% chance of rain that's a non riding day. Can't be bothered to get wet, the good part is that's only the case 4 or 5 times a year.
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Jun 30, 2013 20:31
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I love lip reading an unmistakable "what the hell is that thing?" at a stop light or overhearing a father tell his son, "I think that's a bike special made for gravel roads." I hate my constant urge to dick with suspension clickers.
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Jul 1, 2013 05:26
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Some girl yelled at me that I looked "gay as gently caress" on my DRZ out the window of her lovely car. My jacket's kinda short I guess, but jeez. I just did a wheelie and flipped her off.
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Jul 2, 2013 00:32
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If you didn't videotape it I don't believe you actually did it.
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Jul 2, 2013 00:36
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It was a lovely wheelie, and I didn't flip her off while doing it. So don't worry, even if I had my gopro it wouldn't have mattered.
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Jul 2, 2013 00:38
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The only attention I ever get on the DRZ is from random people wondering how a dirtbike is street legal or from people turning to look because it's loud. I think they expect a harley or some big bike and then it's just me on a little supermoto. That being said I've had way more people admire the DRZ than my R6 and WAY fewer encounters with cops on it. It's nice not feeling like you're under intense scrutiny when a cop is next to you.
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Jul 2, 2013 00:47
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Some guy offered me $4,850 for my KTM, argh bittersweet  I listed it without a real intention of selling it's going to be sitting around for the next year+. I'd like to do a West Coast bike trip in the future...we'll see what happens.
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Jul 2, 2013 23:25
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Christoff posted:I listed it without a real intention of selling Why do people do this?
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Jul 3, 2013 00:26
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