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A Tire Thread

nord said:
Ok,thanks.
How do you think changing from bias ply to radial will change handlling..?.
I ride a v7 racer.
Thinking about maybe going from 100/90-18 to 100/80-18 front tyre to get a quicker steering.
Click to expand...

The question is can you find a radial to fit on the rear? If you can't don't mix radial and bias. We don't want to scrape you off the road.
 
I thought the bike steers quick enough.
Some people are bringing the fork tubes up 10mm in the triple trees to quicken the sterring. I haven"t tried that yet.
 

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I get quite a few track days in during the summer and thought on one of these trips I'd take along my V7R one day. I need some input on a better griping tire, any ideas?
 
Not a lot of choices with the bias ply tires. Most of us only have experience with the awful Lasertecs and the much better Sport Demons. I was thinking I might give the Pilot Activs a go next time around.
 
Never had an issue with Bridgestone BT45's on a Cali Stone.
An early morning shower left the track damp, a dry line appeared but the sports bike wooses hogged that with their 180 sticky radials, so I passed them round the outside on the damp patch with my skinny conventional cross plys. :lol:
 
Pirelli Sport Demons are said to be the stickiest, but with a correspondingly short life. The Pilot Actives are favored too, as Pokeyjoe said. There's also Continental Go, Avon Roadrider, and Bridgestone Battlax.

I want to stretch out my rubber for a few more months, and then I'll be in the market too.

Joe
 
Thanks very much for the input, looks like I got some homework to do.
 
I like the pilots. They seem to give me decent bang. I wouldn't really use anything else for track use..
 
Modern tires like the Sport Demons will do very well at a track day. If you are approaching any serious lap times and/or are looking to do so, get a real "Race" tire like Avons AM22/23; http://www.avonmoto.com/products/non-dot-race-tires -- Options are limited due to your rims sizes, but they are out there. There might be other brands too, I'm just not in the vintage race tire loop these days. They are a hard find, but worth the effort. Not recommended for street use.
 
I used a radial combo on my Thruxton with the same rim sizes as the V7, going up a tire size both front ant rear:

Avon Storm 2 Ultra 110/80R-18 on the front and Avon AV46 Azaro 140/80ZR-17 on the rear.

If the rear clears, this could be a great solution on the V7, too. Additionally, if you had cast wheels like on Stone, you could run these tubeless... I'd try this if I had a smallblock for sure; on the Thrux this was great upgrade and did not have any ill effects.
 
The Avon AM22/AM23 race tire is a good choice for at track tire. I have been using them on my Thruxton for 8 years. It is a modern race rubber that does not heat cycle. I typically get 10 races days using 2 sets per year, yes I run a tight budget. They are labeled for track use only but I have used the take offs on the street.

The OEM Sport Demons on the 2013 Stone seems to work quit well once you figure what pressure to use. They survived 2 track days quite well. I started using 30f/30r psi but dropped the front to 29 to cure the front chatter issues. Have fun
 
The Bridgestone BT45 (two compound on rear) works fine on my Breva.
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Akos, the Bridgestone dual compound is a candidate for my next tire because the theory is great. Long mileage + stickiness in one tire.

How has it worked for you?

Joe
 
I love them. The first set takes ~12.000 km only on street use. The second ~3.500 on track and ~5.000 on street. But they could have been used ...
 
Does anybody know if you need a bead breaker to change a tire on the V7R? I know that the Sport Demon tires are "tubeless" which normally would be beaded but since in this instance are mounted on spoked rims with a tube, I wasn't sure if that means they aren't beaded.

Also, the cause of the flat is a bit mysterious. I rode the bike into the garage and the next morning the tire was flat. But this is not a slow leak that might have gone unnoticed. As soon as air is put into the tire it immediately leaks out around the base of the valve stem. There is no way I could have ridden the bike into the garage with such a leak and not noticed. The tire as far as I can tell has no damage. This seems to me as though the tube must have somehow just ruptured. Does this seem plausible?

Also, when ordering a tube (assuming that's what I need to do), is it just the same size as the tire?

Thanks,

Jim
 
Whether tubed or tubless you need a bead breaker. My recommendation is to remove the wheel and have a shop check the leak. The tire should be marked in relation to the valve stem and the tube and internal carcass inspected. Something like a staple could have worked it's way into the tire gradually working its way to the tube. Other possibilities are the tube was pinched/folded on install and it just took time to fail.
 
If it's spoked, it's tubed. Only the cast '13 Stone is tubeless.

Changing a tire can be challenging. While it can be done, I'd say save yourself the headache and just pay a good shop. Should be ~$40 + tube if you carry the wheel in.
 
That's what I did a few months ago, took the wheels off and carried them into the local shop. They were apprehensive about the Guzzi shaft drive.

There's a few tutorials out there for removing the rear wheel. I've got one on Flickr.com (Spline Lube) but my tablet is hungup right now. So I cannot paste it.
 
I know this may sound stupid but maybe check that the valve stem core is fully seated? If it backs out then the tube won't hold air. It is an easy thing to check and does not involve removing the tire from the bike. You can get a valve stem tool from any auto parts store for very little cost.
 
Zinfan said:
I know this may sound stupid but maybe check that the valve stem core is fully seated? If it backs out then the tube won't hold air. It is an easy thing to check and does not involve removing the tire from the bike. You can get a valve stem tool from any auto parts store for very little cost.
Click to expand...

I was thinking that too until he said "As soon as air is put into the tire it immediately leaks out around the base of the valve stem."
 
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