• Ciao Guest - You’ve landed at the ultimate Guzzi site. NEW FORUM REGISTRATIONS REQUIRE EMAIL ACTIVATION - CHECK YOUR SPAM FOLDER - Use the CONTACT above if you need help. New to the forum? For all new members, we require ONE post in the Introductions section at the bottom, in order to post in most of the other sections. ALWAYS TRY A SEARCH BEFORE STARTING A NEW TOPIC - Most questions you may have, have likely been already answered. DON'T BE A DRIVE-BY POSTER: As a common courtesy, check back in and reply within 24 hours, or your post will be deleted. Note there's decades of heavily experienced Guzzi professionals on this site, all whom happily give endless amounts of their VALUABLE time for free; BE COURTEOUS AND RESPECTFUL!
  • There is ZERO tolerance on personal attacks and ANY HYPERLINKS to PRODUCT(S) or other competing website(s), including personal pages, social media or other Forums. This ALSO INCLUDES ECU DIAGnostic software, questions and mapping. We work very hard to offer commercially supported products and to keep info relevant here. First offense is a note, second is a warning, third time will get you banned from the site. We don't have the time to chase repeat (and ignorant) offenders. This is NOT a social media platform; It's an ad-free, privately funded website, in small help with user donations. Be sure to see the GTM STORE link above; ALL product purchases help support the site, or you can upgrade your Forum profile or DONATE via the link above.
  • Be sure to see the GTM STORE link also above for our 700+ product inventory, including OEM parts and many of our 100% Made-in-SoCal-USA GTM products and engine kits. In SoCal? Click the SERVICE tab above for the best in service, tires, tuning and installation of our products or custom work, and don't miss our GT MotoCycles® (not) art on the BUILDS tab above. WE'RE HERE ONLINE ONLY - NO PHONE CALLS MADE OR RECEIVED - DO NOT EMAIL AND ASK QUESTIONS OR ASK TO CALL YOU.
  • Like the new V100, GuzziTech is full throttle into the future! We're now running on an all-new server and we've updated our Forum software. The visual differences are obvious, but hopefully you'll notice the super-fast speed. If you notice any glitches or have any issues, please post on the Site Support section at the bottom. If you haven't yet, please upgrade your account which is covered in the Site Support section or via the DONATE tab above, which gives you full site access including the DOWNLOADS section. We really appreciate every $ and your support to keep this site ad-free. Create an account, sign in, upgrade your account, and enjoy. See you on the road in 2024.

Stuff that happens out there

BrianR

Cruisin' Guzzisti
GT Famiglia
Joined
Mar 5, 2015
Messages
303
Location
In the wilds of Mission BC
As well as having a couple of Guzzis (Stelvio and a Griso), I have a Kawasaki ZX1000 Ninja and a question about tyre wear elicited this answer by a forum member
" I have 6500 miles on the pp5's and they are just about to square a bit. I will take the hand plane and put the bike up on the rear stand, put her in gear and reshape the tires. I have done this with tyres in the past and find that it leaves the tyres good for another 2000 miles without that feeling of going over the edge as you tip into the corner"
WTF is happening out there, any other strange things that riders do? Or is there the remote possibility that I am missing out on an approved technique to equalize out tyre wear? :cool::cool::cool:
 
Have you seen the Worlds fastest Indian, in the movie he uses shoe polish to make his old cracked tires look *New* !
People do a lot of strange things...

There is a Practice of shaving tires to get a shorter ( less deep ) thread block on car tires to get rid of the squirm that a thicker layer of rubber / deep thread can make you feel, Without having to go to a slick.

So this practice applied to a rounder tire that has worn flat in the middle would give it a round profile again, by making it all the same ish thread depth... I guess ?

It would depend on how much thread was left in the Flat middle... if your nearly down to the cords ( or close ) just get a new tire.
If you were to do this as the tire wears to maintain the profile ... ( I’ll let someone else finish the thought ;) )
Maybe that’s an indication the one would need to be Using the Whole tire...
 
I replied to the thread by asking if it was April 1st as I just cant see any logic at all in using a hand plane to reprofile a tyre. Since that response there has been no answer and I really think he was serious.
I once was riding out in the country in the UK and found something in the road and put it in my backpack and about 100 yards further on there was about six guys with bikes (GT250's RD250's and 400's and a couple of Kawi triples). One guy was sitting on his bikes revving it and slipping the clutch and trying to get it to go into gear and work, amidst shouts of "its your clutch, its the gears, the brakes are stuck on". I just happened to be able to produce the chain that I'd found 100 yards prior for him to realize that it had come off and shot off back up the road! Sometimes it is the obvious thing that is the answer
 
Lol, that’s funny.
I don’t know how the Tire Rack “shaved tires” but I imagine the was a machine made for the job and not Bob with a belt sander out back...
I can understand the concept of maintaining the profile, but is it Realy practical ?
 
In my opinion its absolutely fucking bonkers, but I'm too polite to drag out the thread on the other site. When I was a nipper and friends were "fixing" and selling shitty old British bikes a regular additive was sawdust in the engine oil to stop leaks and thats where tyre shaving should go as well
 
People convince themselves of all types of insanity. I’ve encountered people who have done this tire re-profiling stunt too. It’s insane.

There is a reason that funny signs like this appear in garages and workshops all over. We mechanics have to laugh at the situation otherwise we’d have to cry or kill someone...

Never underestimate the stupidity of people.

Never.

59719F22 585C 432A B923 BD67ED7AE152
 
In Land Speed Racing (think Bonneville Salt Flats) it used to be somewhat common to shave your tires. I've had the treads removed (shaved) from brand new tires on Porco Rosso (V7 Sport).
Once upon a time, shaving tires produced a higher speed rating for the tire (for some oem ratings). Some reasons were the lighter weight of the mass of tire was less prone to break the bead at maximum tire RPMs. Also, at maximum tire RPM a shaved tire's surface was less affected by the rotating mass' potential to throw off the tread (yikes!).
Some folks shaved their tires to create different circumferences, thus different engine RPM to forward velocity ratios. Also shift timing vs speed is impacted. With Porco Rosso I finally wound up using a rear tire with a huge tread to get the right roll off.
Nate Jones (LA Ca.) did my shaving. I can't remember exactly what tools he used but there was a very nicely set up jig in the shop. I think using a hand plane would not only be iffy to the tire... but unsafe to the planer.

I checked in the 2020 LSR Rules and Records book and could not find statements regarding shaved tires. Maybe that rule was changed.

Alex
 
I think the phrase "once upon a time" is befitting to the whole issue.
Once upon a time
"Japanese tyres will kill you"
"you cant beat a properly set up drum brake"
"electronic ignition will never replace points for reliability"
"you don't need to lean off a bike at all"
"helmets are dangerous for your neck"
"you'll black out if you go above 15 miles per hour"
"you need to wax bath your drive chain weekly"
All of which in my opinion, and also the fact that I'm unable to find any tyre manufacturer recommending hand shaving, came after
"shave your tyre with a hand planer to get a better profile"
Please bear in mind the person on the other site was suggesting this idiocy for a road bike and one that isn't checked by professional scrutineers before every run!
 
is there the remote possibility that I am missing out on an approved technique to equalize out tyre wear?

The only technique I ever found is called “cornering” but then again, I was born and raised in San Diego and learned to ride on Mt. Palomar.

 
Last edited:
Back
Top