nklr - motorcycling magazines

[RobertWichert]

A friend of mine who rides a little 350 dirt bike (orange kool-aid colored) swears by Pirelli MT 43 trials tires on the back only. He runs 8 psig, so that's out of the question, but he says they are great. Anybody have any opinions on those for the KLR? It doesn't need to be based on using them, just any old opinion is welcome. Let's go! Robert Wichert P.Eng. LEED AP BD&C +1 916 966 9060 FAX +1 916 966 9068 ===

[Fred Hink]

I have sold a few of these MT43 Trials tires. For a performance tire they are good at what they were designed to do. These are not the same bias ply trials tires we know from the 60s and 70s. These are radials designed to run very low air pressure on trials bikes and designed to be run at slow speeds and have lots of side wall flex. For a trials bike, this is what you want but this won t work on a heavier bike at higher speeds or with a heavier load. I m not a fan of these tires for all around use for several reasons. They have good grip on harder surfaces but they lack grip on loose surfaces like sand or mud. If you are wanting one tire to do everything, this isn t the tire. If you are riding mostly on hard surfaces or gravel roads, this tire will be fine with more air pressure but there are already lots of other tires in this same category.Where I live we have lots of sand that approach a hard rock climb. You need enough bite in the sand to be able to climb the rocks. This tire isn t the best for this type of riding. I m not sure how a radial trials tire would handle on pavement. First you would need lots more pressure than the 4 or 5psi they were designed to run and then with more air that would defeat the purpose of having a soft sidewall that flexes. Most trials tires will have a very squared off tread and wide contact patch. This is good for straight line traction but not so good for traction in turns. You have to understand where tire recommendations usually come from. They are from the guy that has a worn out bald tread and going to X brand with new tread. Of course there is going to be a positive feeling to this new tire. If the guy was comparing one brand of trials tire to another brand of trials tire that would be one thing but mostly you are going to hear about someone with a worn out dirt or dual sport tire comparing that to a new trials tire. This is like comparing apples to oranges. Tires like most anything else on your bike is not going to last for ever and it is fun to experiment with different options just to see how they work and maybe you will find something that you like better. So I say if it interests you, go for it. Fred http://www.arrowheadmotorsports.com From: RobertWichert Sent: Saturday, March 2, 2013 8:55 AM Cc: DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com Subject: [DSN_KLR650] Warning - Tire Thread - Trials Tires A friend of mine who rides a little 350 dirt bike (orange kool-aid colored) swears by Pirelli MT 43 trials tires on the back only. He runs 8 psig, so that's out of the question, but he says they are great. Anybody have any opinions on those for the KLR? It doesn't need to be based on using them, just any old opinion is welcome. Let's go! Robert Wichert P.Eng. LEED AP BD&C +1 916 966 9060 FAX +1 916 966 9068 === [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Desert Datsuns]

I wouldn't think Trials tires are built for highway use. They're designed for the dirt, on bikes that weigh half what the KLR does. I assume you'd run into the same problem as knobbies, where the tread comes off after sustained highway speeds. Ryan Phoenix, AZ RobertWichert wrote:

> > > A friend of mine who rides a little 350 dirt bike (orange kool-aid > colored) swears by Pirelli MT 43 trials tires on the back only. He runs > 8 psig, so that's out of the question, but he says they are great. > > Anybody have any opinions on those for the KLR? It doesn't need to be > based on using them, just any old opinion is welcome. > > Let's go! > > Robert Wichert P.Eng. LEED AP BD&C > +1 916 966 9060 > FAX +1 916 966 9068 > > === > > > > No virus found in this message. > Checked by AVG - www.avg.com http://www.avg.com> > Version: 2012.0.2238 / Virus Database: 2641/5642 - Release Date: 03/02/13 >

[Jud]

I still subscribe to MCN, but only rarely do I do more than leaf through it. I seldom look at Motorcyclist. I probably spend more time with my one hardbound issue of Peterson's Motorcycle Sport Book, from about 1964. I like Peter Egan's writing, and have ridden with him on several occasions. That gives me a bit of a rooting interest in CW, but even so, I only pick it up occasionally on he newsstand, and seldom buy it. At one time, I had years of Classic Bike, The Classic Motorcycle, and Classic Motorcycle Mechanics, in cardboard magazine files. All had been read cover to cover. Then I had years of the BMWMOA News, the Guzzi newsletter, the Morini Club's excellent newsletter, a stack of the Sears Allstate Motorcycle Owners' Club news, the Twin Cities Norton Owners' Club newsletter and much, much more. Now, all that is left of any of that is a small stack of the Czechoslovak Motor Review, scattered issues dating from 1956 to 1962. Now there's some reading that holds up over time. The problem with the commercial magazines is that after thirty or forty years, the novelty begins to wear off. The articles begin to repeat themselves. The specification of all the new models begins to lose the importance it once had. I have pretty much all the bikes I need, and many more than I can maintain. Then, too, the internet now consumes more of the time I used to devote to magazines.

--- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, Lourd Baltimore wrote: > > I used to subscribe to Motorcyclist, Cycle World, and Motorcycle Consumer News. > > Since we've moved to the UK I also pick up Motor Cycle News (MCN), a weekly paper. > > > Then we had kids and my reading time has been severely curtailed. > > I decided to drop two from those three.. This at first seemed like a difficult choice, but I noticed over the last few years I started to...dislike Motorcyclist. > I just got the feeling that it was all flash and no substance. And it all seemed to coincide with their current editor. My biggest peeve with that periodical was the > editor's response to reader letters. Just flippant and condescending with nary an ounce of cleverness. > > On the other hand I feel that the quality of Cycle World has greatly improved. It was never lacking before, but the aforementioned adventure bike comparison, following world developments in motorcycling, Peter Egan motorcycling love stories, Kevin Cameron elaborating on engineering, and even the editors column are good reading. > > Motorcycle Consumer News has been a great rock-steady read for years. Many held reservations about their change from black-and-white to color, but I think it's better now and has not lost any quality. The articles on medical motorcycling and hypothetical hazardous situations are a good aspect of this magazine that serves to remind you that the rider is the most important component of any motorcycle. > > MCN helps me keep up on the industry, racing, and politics every week along with some great reviews and comparisons. The classified section allows me to indulge an unhealthy motorcycle acquisition fantasy. > > I decided earlier that I would cut out two. In the end I cut Motorcyclist and only pick up MCN if the front page tickles my eyes. > Did Motorcyclist get worse? Did Cycle World get better? Am I just getting older? > > What other motorcycling rags do you guys read? > > I'm always looking to add more to 2-foot-high stack of unread bike stuff... > > Josh > . > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] >