Page 3 of 20

Re: good morning from Vancouver!

Posted: Wed Oct 19, 2011 10:22 am
by jstark47
Islesfan91 wrote:so they got enthusiastic and delivered the bike on saturday (I may have told them it was okay).
Ummm....... OK, I might have a concern here. Did they ride the bike to your home, or did they trailer it there? Here's the thing: it's a new bike, so it has new tires. New tires often are coated with "mold release compound". It makes them slippery and they don't grip well. Mold release compound gets scrubbed off tires with the first few miles of riding. If the dealer rode it to your house, or if it was demo'd a bit at the dealership, it's probably OK. But if those are really truly virgin tires...... it's not necessarily a good zone for someone with only noob skills to be in.

So how many miles does it have? If those tires aren't scrubbed in yet, do you have an experienced rider friend who could take it for a spin and scuff them up a bit? Hate to see a noob get taken unawares by slick new tires - heck, I've seen it happen to experienced riders who should know better.

Re: good morning from Vancouver!

Posted: Wed Oct 19, 2011 10:32 am
by Islesfan91
jstark47 wrote:
Islesfan91 wrote:so they got enthusiastic and delivered the bike on saturday (I may have told them it was okay).
Ummm....... OK, I might have a concern here. Did they ride the bike to your home, or did they trailer it there? Here's the thing: it's a new bike, so it has new tires. New tires often are coated with "mold release compound". It makes them slippery and they don't grip well. Mold release compound gets scrubbed off tires with the first few miles of riding. If the dealer rode it to your house, or if it was demo'd a bit at the dealership, it's probably OK. But if those are really truly virgin tires...... it's not necessarily a good zone for someone with only noob skills to be in.

So how many miles does it have? If those tires aren't scrubbed in yet, do you have an experienced rider friend who could take it for a spin and scuff them up a bit? Hate to see a noob get taken unawares by slick new tires - heck, I've seen it happen to experienced riders who should know better.
it was delivered by trailer, has only 13km on it and the dealer did tell me to take it easy on it for the first 100km or so to make sure the tires were broken in. I like your idea though, I may ask one of my friends to take it out for a ride and help me break them in. I honestly have no idea how slippery new tires would feel since I have nothing to compare it to (yet)

if I was practicing what I'm going to learn in the course on my bike with those new tires, how much of a concern would it be so I have an idea?

Re: good morning from Vancouver!

Posted: Wed Oct 19, 2011 11:15 am
by ceemes
Islesfan91 wrote: I like your idea though, I may ask one of my friends to take it out for a ride and help me break them in.
:spaz: PICK ME!!!!!!PICK ME!!!!!!I'LL DO IT FOR YOU!!!!!!PICK ME!!!!!!PICK ME!!!!!! :spaz:

Re: good morning from Vancouver!

Posted: Wed Oct 19, 2011 11:50 am
by Islesfan91
ceemes wrote:
Islesfan91 wrote: I like your idea though, I may ask one of my friends to take it out for a ride and help me break them in.
:spaz: PICK ME!!!!!!PICK ME!!!!!!I'LL DO IT FOR YOU!!!!!!PICK ME!!!!!!PICK ME!!!!!! :spaz:

you're close enough that I might :)

Re: good morning from Vancouver!

Posted: Wed Oct 19, 2011 1:19 pm
by blues2cruise
....and if one of the pals drops it? :devil2:

Re: good morning from Vancouver!

Posted: Wed Oct 19, 2011 4:59 pm
by Islesfan91
They die. A long and painful death ;)

Re: good morning from Vancouver!

Posted: Thu Oct 20, 2011 3:57 am
by Islesfan91
day one of the classroom sessions done. I have a terrible habit of falling asleep in every work meeting (not a joke) but stayed completely awake for the class, so I guess if you are interested in something it does make it easier to pay attention :)

small class, just 6 of us and only 5 will be taking the riding portion, so that should hopefully mean more time from the instructors while on a bike. Enjoying it despite the very late nights including the almost an hour drive home.

two more classroom sessions and I get on the bike! (their bike)

Re: good morning from Vancouver!

Posted: Thu Oct 20, 2011 6:18 am
by jstark47
Islesfan91 wrote:it was delivered by trailer, has only 13km on it and the dealer did tell me to take it easy on it for the first 100km or so to make sure the tires were broken in. I like your idea though, I may ask one of my friends to take it out for a ride and help me break them in. I honestly have no idea how slippery new tires would feel since I have nothing to compare it to (yet)
Yeah, that's the problem with them telling you to "take it easy". You have no basis of comparison to know what "take it easy" means. People at dealerships do and say some amazingly dumb things sometimes.

The other thing is as a noob, if a wheel squirms or kicks out a bit when cornering, you might panic and overreact - the overreaction would be what's going to dump the bike. A more experienced rider would be expecting new tires to slip, note it, and just slow down a bit.

If you have friends who are experienced, safe riders (not squids), just have one scrub the tires in. It only takes a few miles. Whenever I pick up a bike at the dealership after new tires, they're well scrubbed in by the time I get it home........ but that's just me! :devil:

Re: good morning from Vancouver!

Posted: Fri Oct 21, 2011 9:07 am
by Islesfan91
have completed two nights of classroom sessions now, with the last one tonight then we start the parking lot sessions tomorrow. Very excited for those (although the weather report is showing lots of rain this weekend)

I'm not sure what I'll do about scrubbing the tires yet, the instructor has offered to have me bring it to them any time after the classes and they'll do it,but that's an hour drive away and I'm certainly not taking the bike that far when I start riding it next week. I'm going to stick in my quiet area and just practice what I'll learn this weekend and decide what to do about the tires next week.

I'm exhausted from the late nights and early mornings but can't wait for tomorrow

Re: good morning from Vancouver!

Posted: Fri Oct 21, 2011 9:50 am
by jstark47
Well, there's the old sandpaper option........ (people have actually done this.)