| Author | Message | ||
     Dinobike |
Odd tire question maybe... I have to ride across a large grassy field to park my S3T, and it sure seems squirrelly when the grass is the slightest bit damp. Is there a tire you could suggest that is suited to short off-pavement rides, and the occasional dirt road? I am not into pushing my bike anywhere near its limits on twisties, the track, or at high speeds. I often find myself on back country roads that are none too smooth or stable surfaced. An example would be when the road surface is treated with stone chips and oil, or there is sand and pebbles from runoff, potholes, fairly smooth dirt roads, etc. Thanks for any tips. Hal | ||
| Blake |
Pirelli Scorpion? Or are you wanting even more off roadish? | ||
| Reepicheep  |
Ditto what Blake said. When I saw the Scorpion I thought "probably a decent street tire with some clever tread pattern that looks cool". I doubted it would feel any different then any other street tire. But on a gravel construction site road (literally just thick gravel) I found myself going quite a bit faster with confidence, and on one unplanned grass excursion, the bike didn't fall over... going into the grass I was thinking "there is NO way I can save this", but I did. | ||
| Outrider  |
The Scorpion's and their equivalent's from other manufacturer's are 90/10 tires and work quite well on dirt roads and much worse. Yet, your bike will still move around under you. Your problem is that wet grass is a slippery surface condition, almost like a dusting of sand on asphalt, and even knobbies may not penetrate the soil for your desired level of traction. As for occasional dirt or even deep gravel roads, I find most street tires quite adequate unless you really want to run them at dedicated dirt bike speeds. Then, my greater concerns are the lack of a Bash Plate and the classic "Gravel in the Belt" syndrome. My suggestion would be to add the Scorpion's at your next tire change as they work well as an all round tire. However, in the interim you may want to read up on off road riding and get the feel of your bike moving around under you as that isn't going to change much. | ||
| Reepicheep |
It was noteworthy to me, as I had to move the Cyclone around the yard now and then, either to get around a parked car or to move it to a better place to wash it. Even slightly damp grass, and those Dunlop D205's would not move the bike at all, it would just sit and spin. I expected traction to be low, but did not expect it to be virtually zero. | ||
| Dinobike |
I've been riding mostly dinosaurs (hence Dinobike)since 1970: rigid frame Harleys, 45's, BMW R60, Ducati 1972 GT750, and most recently a Ducati E900 Elefant. It had all the modern stuff....lights, brakes, power, and could handle fire roads, Cape Cod beach roads, open fields etc but I wasn't ready for an "expensive to maintain Italian gal" I guess. I have been eyeballing Buells for a few years, and it seemed the ideal marriage of a modernized dinosaur heart, and a cutting edge chassis. I picked the S3T because it is the Buell closest to what I want in a bike. Now if they could put a Buell motor into an E900 chassis! So far I love it, and the only improvement I would like is a little more traction (and some shallow bag covers). I don't plan on doing the GS1100 trip on the S3, because it...ain't one! Hal | ||
| Dinobike |
"Gravel in the belt syndrome" sounds scary...expensive. Are belts more susceptible to damage than a chain drive is? Any chain drive converted Buells out there? Hal | ||
| Outrider |
Dino...have ridden my X1 in lots of dirt and gravel road situations and have yet to have a problem. However, I have not removed the belt guards like so many Bueller's do. There should be plenty of chain conversion info in the Knowledge Vault for you to peruse. Other than Hal's race bike kit, the only chain conversion I ever saw was Newfie's and it is really well done. Concerning the Scorpion's, with your riding experience, they should do what you are looking for and provide excellent grip in the twisties as well. I had two sets of the Michelin T-66's, which are quite similar to the Scorpion's, on my KLR and ran them had on and off road in the canyons, mountains, deserts and wet/dry riverbeds of So Cal for years without a hitch. The only pucker factor was on wet grass and when doing water crossings with an algae growth. Whoops, forgot about deep sand and mud. That wasn't any fun either and a more aggressive tread would have helped. LOL |
