Clovis...I'm so sorry to hear about the lowside but am very glad you're none the worse for it. Thank goodness you were wearing the gear.
I noticed someone mentioned Q2s in the thread, is that the tire you're using? I've heard over and over they don't do well when they aren't up to temperature so I've avoided them even though they're inexpensive. I rode all winter on Michelins in temperatures down the 30 degrees and never had any grip problems. The temps you were riding in were NOT cold enough to put you down. That's just plain ridiculous and I'd never buy whatever tires are currently on your bike if that's what caused it.
Dang, Clovis. Glad you're ok. You need to stop riding with that darn pug in your saddlebag!
I ran Q2's all last winter. The only cold tire issues I had were after jumping on the bike first thing in the morning (sub 40F), while leaning, while using too much throttle, while hitting painted crosswallks/manhole covers. I'm not an expert but I think any tire would've broken loose in the same scenario.
89 EX500 RIP
06 R6S RIP
03 R6
Thanks Gary!
I've been running Q2s all season and very happy with them. The Q2s were praised for their quick warm up ability.
We rode past the spot again yesterday. It wasn't as far out as I remember. The first corner up Bear Creek leaving MOCO.
Cold tires are my best probable guess all though someone gave me 2 scrapped pennies (which I still have) and said those we were on top of one of my scrapes (on the road). Maybe I hit those but it seems like a one in a million chance.
No biggie - I was able to click off 600 more miles after the slide (200 that day and 400 yesterday).
I credit it all to my gear.
I think I saw Clovis around 8AM that morning. We were on our way up Pikes Peak for a run and I saw you guys meeting at the Acorn gas station. Glad you're ok!
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I should clarify that it wasn't the outside ambient temp (all though Sunday was a cooler day) but the tires themselves were cold. I rode the 100+ miles to MOCO as a "warm up" but waited around for a little over an hour before it was time to leave.
wait when did you go down grim
No tickets YET this year *Knock on wood*
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LMAO It wasnt broadcasted as it was while going 10mph down a dirt road.
My wife and i were going to the Ren festival and were taking the dirt road to park up front. There was a group of teenage girls that were walking directly in the center of the lane so i honked my horn and revved the engine/ Well the majority of them moved over but one of them like a fucking deer literally jumped in front of me and was within a foot of me running them over. So i grabbed the front brake the front slipped out from underneath me. slamming the bike onto my right leg and launching my wife a good 4 feet. we both had full gear with the exception of riding pants but did have jeans on. The wife got a good bruise on her knee and my right hand would have been destroyed and had tons of gravel in it if i didn't have gloves on. To top it off the group of fuckheads just walked away while the bike was on my leg. People across the road ran over to get it off of me. Next time im gonna hit anyone who gets in front of me!
This was back in June i had the bike painted within three days of it happening!
This still makes no sense to me. Street tires don't have to be warmed up like track-only tires. I always chuckle when I see guys go side to side trying to "build some heat" in their street tires. Street tires last so much longer than track tires because they don't heat up as much and go through such dramatic heat cycles. This is all designed in to the rubber compounds. You should be able to take a corner at street speeds on a "cold" street tire and not fall down go boom. Track tires are softer, are meant to run on lower pressures, and build heat much quicker. They also hold heat longer which is why tire warmers work.
If it was the tires that caused your crash, I'd shy away from that model in the future. Just my .02. If it was gravel, oil, etc. then that's just a hazard that sometimes jumps up and bites us and you're either going to get lucky or not...
From what I understand Q2s are great on the track where they can build heat quickly and retain that heat. I've heard a lot of stories of street riders going down because of them being "cold". Too many for me to feel comfortable with.
I may have been something else, like I mentioned, cold tires are just my best probable guess. There was no panic, target fixation, gravel or other road debris that I noticed (besides the aforementioned lucky pennies).
I didn't feel hot going into that corner but we're getting off topic here. Focus man! Focus! The topic is why getting good gear should not be put off.
For what it's worth I otherwise love the Q2s. My only complaint has been the tire life so I'm going to try Road 3s next.
Faster, faster, faster, until the thrill of speed overcomes the fear of death.
~Hunter S. Thompson
89 EX500 RIP
06 R6S RIP
03 R6
Street tires will perform horribly if cold... They do need to be "warmed up" in order to be aggressive on them, just like track tires. Because you dont heat them up universally like race tires you CAN have cold edges and that can cause big problems, especially on a colder road. The quickest way to completely heat up a street tire is through rapid acceleration and deceleration in a straight line. It is a myth that going side to side heats them up and for motorcycle tires (because of their construction) it does not help in "warming".
Before dropping into the canyons I do go side to side. Probably more for piece of mind but my goal is to remove any debris that as collected and stuck to the outer edge of the tire, especially if leaving a parking lot.
Last edited by Ezzzzy1; Tue Sep 6th, 2011 at 03:19 PM.