Round 5, FOAK: 1982 Kawie KZ550 C3 LTD Restoration Options

This is fun. I simply ask the technical questions and the rest of you
good souls log on and start swearing....

1st: I just used Slime and if you use the recommended amount then it
WILL NOT cause an imbalance.

2nd: The Slime treatment did not seal the leak this time and I will
replace the tire, look around inside, and replace the valve and report
back.

Ques: The proper tire is 100/90x19. I tend to buyer larger tires than
standard because it simply enlarges the diameter and offers more patch
to grip the road. The is for cars. Should I go one size larger?
110/90x19 or any other size? My intuition tells me to keep the
original size.....

What say ye, FOAK? <as I duck for cover>

 

That's because TOG is a self-important asshole. He's been that way
ever since the other chaps at the boarding school rode him rather
roughly...

It's not a good idea to mess around with changing tire sizes for a
number of reasons.

1. If you mount a wider tire than standard on the rims you have, the
tire sidewalls may be closer together than is optimum for the wider
tire, so it will "crown" in the center, IOW, the cross-sectional
profile will be rounder than optimum, so you can't use all of the tire
when you lean over. This is especially noticeable with rear tires,
since you want to be able to lean over until you feel a distinct
*edge* of the tire at maximum lean angle. Front tires have a more
radial cross-sectional profile so you never feel the edge, you just
run off it and the front tire washes out, which is what you want it to
do.

2. If you install a larger diameter tire, it will lower your cruising
RPM slightly, and you might need to downshift to a lower gear to climb
a hill or fight a headwind.

3. Larger diameter tires also raise the center of gravity of the
machine slightly and change the steering feel slightly too.

All that said, if I found that a manufacturer offered an attractive
110/80x19 tire, I would check out their technical specifications
section to see if it would fit on my original rims properly and still
be the same diameter as the 100/90x19 tire.

 

Yes, do that. Mismatched tyres can set up some odd handling effects.

 

Stick with your 100/90 19. I dunno about the LTD but the standard Z550
felt fine with a Brdigestone BT45 in that size.

Come to think of it, my wife reckons the 100/90 19 Continental Avenue
front tyre on her bike is as good as the BT45 it replaced & I liked it
because it was cheaper than the BT

 

The decision to use a BT45 might depend on how much the owner rides in
the wet.

California has a dry, semi-mediterranean climate (read: almost north
African) most of the year and I don't ride in the rainy season any
way.

BT45's are a rain tire, in my estimation, and they are too squirmy
because of the
deep rain channels that allow the tread blocks to move around.

 

Update: I used a large bench vise to break the beads on the tire.
Worked reasonably well, prying the carcuss of the rim was a treat.

Only obvious problem was that this skin had been on the bike for
10 or 20 years. The rim was embedded with rubber scum. Used
paint stripper to remove the rubber and polished the entire bead with
a rotary buffer.

Does anyone know the DOT date codes for tires? That's "tyres" for TOG
and it seems that tire ratings may be nearly universal nowdays.

Biker Dude

 

I wanted to make sure that some of the small areas of corrosion were
removed along with the traces of embedded rubber. Don't want any
chance of a leak from the bead area.

It's a front tire and I don't think there's any chance of it spinning
on the rim.

It did get me curious about tires, tire ratings, etc., I looked up
some info such as speed ratings, sizing. In a metric world it seems
that tire diameters are measured in inches. Weird.

 

Utter nonsense. Unlike you, I use them regularly. On my third set on the
K.

And they're dual compound tyres: hard rubber on the centreline for
straight motorway running, and softer rubber on the sides (which don't
get used as much) for cornering.

And their rain channels are no deeper than any other

 

<Nods in agreement>

Makles sense.

In any case, chromed rims are fairly highly polished and smooth, and
tyres don't generally slip on those.

 

We started out with the English system, so we have wheels defined in
inches and speed ratings defined in miles per hour, and I have no
problem whatever with that.

It's hard enough to understand the language of engineering using the
English system, without complicating it with a system where it's easy
to be in error by a factor of 10, 100, or 1000.

Remember the American Mars probes that failed because of a problem
with a conflict between the English system and the metric system?


The metric system is a French conspiracy to undermine the Americans
and British with confusing units. It looks logical at first, and then
you discover absurdities in the basic units.

Like, anybody can understand inflation pressure in pounds per square
inch,
they deal with canned items that typically contain about a pound of
whatever.

You can get a general idea that an ounce is 1/16th of a pound, but
nobody ever talks about tire inflation pressure in terms of ounces per
square inch...

But the pascal, as I recall, is the basic pressure unit of the metric
conspiracy
and it's approximately equal to the weight of an annoying French fly
sitting on a postage stamp in a vacuum.

Is that insane, or what?

 

One set was enough for me. I need more consistent grip.

 

Silly little girl, you use slime BEFORE YOU HAVE A PROBLEM...sheesh.

 

AH but you don't ride in the rain you uneducated goat raper. The
BT45's do well everywhere BUT mud, sand and ice. Yeah, I've actuall
done all that...

Now dear "hating yorself because you are homosexual" Krusty. **** offf
you don't know shit from shinola boy.

 

Oh you are a wit...less.

 

I've had them on a Z550, VFR750, Pegaso, CB900F, second set on the
Laverda and we're run them on the Bonneville as well. Can't say I've
ever noticed them being squirmy in the 50000 plus miles I've done on
them in the last 10 years plus.

The only reason we tried the Conti's on the Bonneville was that they
were on special offer.

They do last well.

Probably why I keep buying them.

 

Abusive people will often blame the person they’re abusing for the
abuse, and thus the problem remains unresolved causing accumulating
hurt, anger, feelings of inferiority and worthlessness to remain and
exponentially increase over time, tearing down the target’s self-
esteem, and eating away at her spirit.

If this pattern exists in your relationship, you’ll not only be
saddled with the hurt the other person caused you by doing or saying
whatever hurtful things they did, but you are also left with the BLAME
for their behavior and/or consequences of their behavior. To an
abuser, the fact that they did or said it — AND the fact that it hurt
you is YOUR fault. Abusive people never accept any responsibility for
their own behavior or the consequences of it. They blame the person
they’re abusing and, due to the dynamics of these types of
relationships, the target will often accept the blame, and may even
begin blaming themselves for the abuser’s behavior, too.

 

little man upon the stair wrote:
....

Seems sane to me - he has to sit if there's no air.

 

On a sports bike, you might. But they're not sold as sports bike tyres.

I see you've snipped the 'rain channels' bit. Why?

 

Not always ;-)

 

Reincarnated from a donkey in a previous existence, Keith amassed much
fixed karma as a soldier serving evil intentions for personal profit.
He was misguided by defiled mentations of "patriotism. Keith will
spend eons as a hell-being, before given the chance to be reborn as a
human being with the possibility of becoming enlightened...

May flowers fall gently from the sky and create a field of beauty
which will attract the Sangha...

Snippets of wisdom from "Engaging in Bodhisattva Behavior" by
Shantideva, a 7th century Buddhist scholar, who was influenced by the
prasangita-madhyamaka viewpoint

Chapter 6. Showing Patience

(1) Whatever generosity,
Offerings to the Blissfully Gone and the like,
And positive deeds I've amassed over thousands of eons -
One moment of hatred will devastate them all.

(2) As no negative force resembles anger,
And no trial resembles patience,
I shall therefore meditate on patience,
With effort and in various ways.

************************************************************************************

(42) Previously, I must have inflicted
Such pain on limited beings,
Therefore, it's fitting that harm comes to me,
Who've been a cause of violence toward limited ones.

(43) Both his weapon and my body
Are the causes of my suffering.
Since he drew out a weapon and I a body,
Toward which should I get enraged?

(44) Blinded by craving, I've grabbed hold of a painful boil
That's shaped like a human and can't bear to be touched,
And so when it's bruised,
Toward what should I get enraged?

*********************************************************************************

(47) Incited by my own karmic behavior,
Those who hurt me come my way,
And if, by their actions, these limited beings should fall
to the joyless realms,
Surely, wasn't it I who have ruined them?

(48) Based on them, my negative karmic force
Is greatly cleansed, because of my patience;
But, based on me, they fall
To the joyless realms, with long-lasting pain.

(49) Since I'm, in fact, causing harm to them,
And they're the ones who are benefiting me,
Why, unreasonable mind, do you make it the reverse
And get into a rage?

(50) If I have the advantage of wishing to be patient,
I won't be going to a joyless realm;
But although I'm safeguarding myself in this way,
What happens to them in this matter?

(51) And if I were to harm them back instead,
They wouldn't be safeguarded either,
While my other bodhisattva behavior would also decline,
And, consequently, those having trials would be lost.

(52) Because of its being immaterial,
No one can destroy my mind, by any means;
But because of its obsessive involvement with my body,
It's hurt by suffering in connection to the body.

(53) Yet) Insults, cruel language,
And defaming words
Don't hurt my body,
So, why, O mind, do you become so enraged?

*********************************************************************************

"Sticks and stones will break my bones, but names will never hurt me"
--- Shantideva Upsaka, 2009

Om! Shanti! Shanti! Shanti!