Yeah, mine was pearl white and silver, it was a great bike for sure.....Wow! that was a lot of miles in two weeks, I don't think I could do that now. The Goldwing is the machine for that kind of riding.
Thanks fellers. An Italian stallion!! It's a beast. More techno-wizardry than I'll ever learn. I already dragged kick stand with my wife on the back. It's very confidence inspiring, the Ohlins work well
New shoes for my TLS this week. They are here. I've been running Michelin pilot powers ( original and then 2ct) for gee, I can't even recall, maybe since those came out? Think these are toast? Lol The front is worse, They look better than they are in reality. I ran metzeler m1's when they were new for a couple of years. That was years ago. Tire technology sure advances rapidly. Every 2-3 years tires get radically better. I went with metzeler m7rr this time. I've heard great things about these since they came out. I nearly went with Dunlop qualifier 3's, but those are more suited to track use, and are less than ideal for roads that are imperfect. That's supposedly where these new m7rr's shine. New front New rear
I routinely change tires with cords showing. Sat I changed a front from a viffer that looked like he did a nice burnout on it. You'd be amazed @ what people run 'em down to.
Oh yeah, I've seen that too. I just won't run them down that far. The tires certainly don't perform like they do when there's a lot more rubber. I definitely get more squiggle moments when tires are like mine are now, even on dry roads.
So many heat cycles and they give up traction. Key is to find the tire that grips great through the life of the tread (for your riding style and bike). I ran Metz Z6's for quite a while on the VTR. They were great for 75% of treadwear, then they'd give up. Switched to Bridgestone bt023 rear and bt016 front. Yahtzee! The Hawk loves 'em. That 016 front is a dandy of a doughnut!!
I never really liked bridgestone tires. Personally. I've tried them on friends bikes, but those bikes were always better with different brands of tires, be it metzeler, pirelli, Michelin, all but Dunlop. It's all personal preference, of course, and there's always tradeoffs. Grip vs tire life. Unless you like changing tires all the time, you have to find that happy medium.
The back tire is on. The new front will go on Thursday , but I have to drop it off tomorrow night so it can be done at the shops leisure. I like the 190/55-17. Stock was a 190/50, but I've run 180/55 , the 190/50 , and the 190/55 the past couple of years. That 190/55 really turns in nicely, like the 180/55, but has more meat on it for getting low .
I almost switched to Metzelers last year. Having trouble getting away from Pirellis...I hate them when I have to buy them, but love them on the road. Currently have a Diablo Corsa on front and Diablo II on rear. I am trying to get more than 3.5K out of the rear (Corsas). The Corsas' traction is unbelievable for a street tire. Always have to trade off something though....grip/wear/ride/handling/price. Pleased so far with the Diablo II. Please update us on how the Metzs work out for you. I was considering the M5 & Z8. Not as good of scenery as some...but I got out for about 80 miles last week.