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Posted by 49Reo
- October 22, 2012, 15:12:27 PMMetzler 880's are my choice for my Drifter; I also run the wide white-walls, more money but look GREAT on a Drifter. If your bike is in storage for that long, I think I would change them anyway; tires don't necessarily need to show wear to be bad; they can start to separate on the inside, (I have had that on automobile tires, always trying for the last usable mile, but change them sooner on my bikes) all that being said, tire choice can sometimes be dollar-driven; you have to be able to afford them.
Also, I have been told that the wobble can be caused by bad or loose steering neck bearings; for now, considering the long term storage, I would be looking at the tires.
Good luck and let us know what you come up with;
Regards and such,
49Reo
Posted by pcarrell
- October 22, 2012, 14:38:16 PMWell, most agree that the original Dunlops pretty much stink.
I run WWW tires, so my choices are a bit more limited. Avon tires are pricey and they wear out a bit sooner because of their soft compound. On the other side of the fence, they make the road feel like it's made out of gummy bears! Metzler 880's are real nice. They last longer then the Avons, yet still have good grip, plus they're pretty easy to find comparatively. I also ran a set of Continental Milestones (Conti's for short) that had nice grip and lasted FOREVER it seemed. I got 14,000 miles out of my rear, riding mostly 2up, and I still have the front on (though it's about time to replace it), and it has nearly 22,000 miles on it. I bought the Conti's because they advertised a harder, thicker sidewall, giving a bit more load capacity, but sacrificing some comfort. I never got to loading them up, so I don't know about that. For comfort, I never noticed them being real harsh or anything. They just last forever!
Personally, I'll probably stick with the Metzler 880's for the near future. It's a nice combination of sticky and long life.
Now if you want to run blackwalls, you have a lot more choices. Maybe someone else can tell ya 'bout them better then me.
Posted by Drift Away
- October 22, 2012, 14:23:39 PMThanks for that. That kinda backs up what a few people have said. `change the tyres` I think the bike has original rubber on it and could do with replacing, that`ll have to wait till next spring with the price of them. Any idea what the best combi is. i`ve heard so many different opinions ya dont know what way go.
Posted by pcarrell
- October 22, 2012, 14:12:20 PMAhhhh! The Vulcan Shuffle!
It's actually pretty common. The problem is cupping on the front tire as it wears. If you listen, when you lean into a turn you'll hear a hum coming from the front. That's the cupping of the front tire. Riding straight, seems like 35-45 mph is the worst usually, there is a shimmy in the front. You can feel it all the way down to parking lot speeds. If you run your hand over the tire you can feel the raised edges on the tire tread.
Think of it as your bikes way of letting you know you'll need tires before long. It seems to show up, then, at least on my bike, it really doesn't get much worse. I just ride it till the tire is needing replacement and the problem magically goes away with the new tire.
Lots of people have tried to solve this basic design issue, with some reporting that DynaBeads help, other suggest fanatical tire pressure maintenance, but I don't know of anyone that's SOLVED it.
Posted by Drift Away
- October 22, 2012, 13:29:42 PMHi all,
Since owning my 800, about 9 months now, i`ve noticed a steering `wobble` at low speed, ie slow moving traffic . its difficult to ride slow behind traffic through town etc and is very difficult to keep under full control.
To give you a bit of background, the bike was taken out of 5 year storage, tested then put on the road.
The tyre pressures are ok, can`t find any thing obvious wrong and never had a problem with slow speeds on any other bike. Any suggestions?
Has anyone ever fitted a steering damper to a Drifter? Is this how Drifters behave at low speed or am I expecting too much?
Any feedback would be much appreciated 