More Italian Bike Drama

[Marco_Guzzi]

Since my last post I've been thoroughly enjoying about two weeks of trouble free operation. This bike does everything I ask of it...within reason. I just don't ask it to provide face melting acceleration - it doesn't do that, as we all know, and as such, that would be an unreasonable request. And.... that's the last time I'll beat that proverbial dead horse. I've had bikes that did do that, but given all of the other things that this bike DOES do so well, it's proving to be a better and funner experience overall. (Funner?)

The handling is proving to be the most intuitive of any bike I've ever owned and I think that says alot. There must be something to that theory behind the cylinder head angles...laying the weight so naturally into the corners. Am I stating the obvious in a Guzzi forum?

It's also very easy to ride off road. Not that I have anything to compare it to, as I've only ever owned street bikes. The second day after I got it running (see my last post) I took it down some single track, and then down the gnarliest road that I've ever seen - Jones Bar Rd. in Nevada City, California, down to the South Yuba River. I should of taken more pics. It's a rocky & rutted goat trail of a "road". I did have one low speed tip over in a technical rocky section - it sat down gently on the left saddle bag plastic corner and didn't leave a mark or scratch anywhere on the bike. It was pretty easy to pick up. This thing is tough. It's truly made for this kind of adventure riding. Tough. I'm so looking forward to exploring the less traveled roads (and trails) of this great land of ours!

...And that thrumming rhythm of the v-twin whilst cruising the twisty back roads of Northern California... 5th gear at 50-60 mph... it's the sweet spot.

Now on to the real topic of my story...

So there I was, minding my own business, doing about 90 mph on Southbound Hwy 49 when the front end started feeling really light... I thought it was just some strong cross winds, but then it started getting worse and the front end really started to wallow. As I came to a stop at the nearest gas station there was that "womp, womp, womp" sound of a flat tire. I've been riding for 37 years, have owned a bunch of different motorcycles, and never, ever had a flat tire. This Italian Diva - beautiful, sexy, dramatic and demanding! She wants new shoes, what are ya gonna do? Well I guess I've just been lucky all these years, and was probably overdue to experience a flat, regardless of motorcycle brand. I'm just trying to have some fun here.

I thought I might patch the tube and reuse the tire...NOPE! Melted gob of goo!

I'm gonna try out some Shinko 804 / 805s for a little more off-road fun. I've heard good things.

Still thinking about going with the OE or aftermarket tubeless wheels in the future...

p.s. Kudos to the engineers at Moto Guzzi for making the back wheel so easy to remove! It's literally two bolts!

Have fun ya'll, and keep the rubber side down!

 

[GerryAZ]

I think you will like the Shinko tires. My nephew and I rode BMW GS 1250 rental bikes from Anchorage to Portland in late summer 2019. Both were fitted with new Shinko tires before we picked them up. We were skeptical at first (not knowing anything about the brand), but were really impressed with both pavement and dirt handling. We rode in wet conditions on both pavement and dirt (even a little snow) before we got to Oregon.

 

[maverick9611]

i have been using shinkos for the about 3 years. they work very well and the price point is there.
this is the verge2. excellent rain tire

 

[scottmastrocinque]

There are 2 kinds of riders…

Those who have had a flat tire, and those who will!

I am a HUGE fan of Shinko tires. I have them on many of my motorcycles.

You may not want to go so extreme as with the E804/E805 big block tires.

On my Stelvio NTX, I run the 705 Dual Sports and they are a 70% street and 30% off-road type tire that provides excellent road handling and longevity coupled with very good handling in gravel, dirt, and fire roads.

The E804/E805 has big blocks and will offer rather poor handling on the road, as well as they will be LOUD and wear out much faster on hard road.

Just a thought to consider perhaps.

 

[maverick9611]

here is shinko apex's that I had in my concours
got 8000 miles out of em

 

[Larry Malinoski]

90 mph is fast but fast enough to melt an inner tube into a glob of goo?

Even thinking of running it flat for a while, generating that kind of melting heat seems impossible. What the heck?

 

[scottmastrocinque]

90 mph is fast but fast enough to melt an inner tube into a glob of goo?

Even thinking of running it flat for a while, generating that kind of melting heat seems impossible. What the heck?

I thought the exact same thing too. In my whole life of motorcycle riding and wrenching, I’ve never seen that happen.

I am much more suspect of a chemical reaction with either something put inside the tube or inside of the tire inner space.

 

[Larry Malinoski]

I thought the exact same thing too. In my whole life of motorcycle riding and wrenching, I’ve never seen that happen.

I am much more suspect of a chemical reaction with either something put inside the tube or inside of the tire inner space.

Interesting idea. Maybe some kind of product like Slime put into the tube to try and get it to hold air so he could get home. Otherwise no story of sourcing a new tube at that gas station since patching is not possible. Also that mess would maybe be stuck inside the tire.

There must be more to the story.

After decades of riding with inner tubes and mega many flats, including two front tires at speed, the tubeless tire is the way to go. I have seen tubes torn beyond patching but melted …never. Notice the area around the valve stem is like a crocodile while then other areas are melted. Most putting some kind of tire solution in have the stem at the top when they do it. That makes the stuff settle on the bottom.

Fascinating to me.

 

[Marco_Guzzi]

Interesting idea. Maybe some kind of product like Slime put into the tube to try and get it to hold air so he could get home. Otherwise no story of sourcing a new tube at that gas station since patching is not possible. Also that mess would maybe be stuck inside the tire.

There must be more to the story.

After decades of riding with inner tubes and mega many flats, including two front tires at speed, the tubeless tire is the way to go. I have seen tubes torn beyond patching but melted …never. Notice the area around the valve stem is like a crocodile while then other areas are melted. Most putting some kind of tire solution in have the stem at the top when they do it. That makes the stuff settle on the bottom.

Fascinating to me.

There are 2 kinds of riders…

Those who have had a flat tire, and those who will!

I am a HUGE fan of Shinko tires. I have them on many of my motorcycles.

You may not want to go so extreme as with the E804/E805 big block tires.

On my Stelvio NTX, I run the 705 Dual Sports and they are a 70% street and 30% off-road type tire that provides excellent road handling and longevity coupled with very good handling in gravel, dirt, and fire roads.

The E804/E805 has big blocks and will offer rather poor handling on the road, as well as they will be LOUD and wear out much faster on hard road.

Just a thought to consider perhaps.


View attachment 26168

View attachment 26169

Yes, I am torn between the 705s and 805s. One very nice thing about these tires is how affordable they are, which allows for some experimentation. My brother is running the 805s on his Super Tenere and he has also run 705s on it - he said he hasn't noticed much difference on the road, though he has noticed the advantages off road. I do like that knobby look too!

 

[Marco_Guzzi]

Check this out /twotyres.co.uk/faq/can-i-run-heavy-duty-tubes-on-the-road/ - maybe the previous owner was running a heavy duty tube? There was also a liquid stain on the rim around the valve stem hole, so it could have had some slime or other sealant product previously installed.

All I know is that I'm seriously considering converting these wheels to tubeless... gotta make a decision soon and get back on the road ASAP!

 

[scottmastrocinque]

I understand!

Just know that big block knobbies will have terrible traction on the street and they will wear very quickly and as I said, they will be noisy at speed.

Enjoy!

 

[Marco_Guzzi]

I understand!

Just know that big block knobbies will have terrible traction on the street and they will wear very quickly and as I said, they will be noisy at speed.

Enjoy!

The voice of reason! You've got me leaning towards the 705's.

 

[scottmastrocinque]

LOL

Ask me how I know this! (I tried it once on my BMW F650 GS. They looked cool but the downsides I mentioned, were pretty much a big bummer.