KevinQ
Member
I'm kinda torn. I'm in the hills of Western PA and I ride a bit agressively. I'm not looking for the quietest or most compliant ride. I need something that can withstand a bit of abuse from heavy bike piloted by a giant manchild.
What did you do to your R18 today?
- Thread starter TodkaVonic
- Start date
Ulrich
Well-known member
Like I said ... just my 2¢ ... I think I add most of my miles by going back and forth to work
David R
Well-known member
I flog mine when want to. Its a fine made machine. Its a HOOT to ride, no matter where.
David
24,000 mile service today (my self)
Scott Semone
Well-known member
Any pictures of the tire's condition?
The front does a bunch of work on these with the weight and long wheelbase especially with spirited riding on our Appalachian's tight and twisty roads.
KevinQ
Member
The center line on the front is 1mm, maybe 2mm deep. The rear is pretty well smoked up the middle. It's not like I don't lean...the chicken strip are as thin as I can possibly make them. I've rubbed the engine guard in turns and my peg feelers are so far gone that I'm close to scraping away peg rubber.
Attachments
Yup, they are FUBAR.
If you don’t mind me asking, what is the brand you currently have?
If you don’t mind me asking, what is the brand you currently have?
KevinQ
Member
Bridgestone Battlecruise
Ahhh, that is the same I have. I hope mine last a bit longer than that.
Thr R18 is a great "roadster" and a much better handling bike than many give it due credit for and it looks like you're getting nice even wear front and rear. Sooner or later you are limited by running out of tire and/or ground clearance and it appears safe to say you are "at the limit" of this bike's design platform. I seriously doubt you will see that much more mileage/tire life from any other options in this category and if so it will be a great find, but likely at the cost of handling so I'd recommend caution when testing at maximum inputs. Wear rates for tires among riders are almost useless as everything from heat cycles, load, temperatures, pavement drag factors, types of riding and maybe most important how smooth v. heavy the rider inputs are as to acceleration, braking, etc. I'd say it looks like you're having a blast on your 18 and while most wear factors will be consistent for much of your riding your inputs will likely be the real factors in +/- mileage rather tire manufacturer.
Cheers
With that male visitor due here this summer down under (el nino....) my R18 got a Merlin Chigwell jacket (ventilated/mesh and armoured but still sorta cool)..... in black off course....
It arrived without the wife knowing.... so it never happend.
I'm not sure how I'll get all the bug guts out of the mesh front though.... probally will pull up and have a wasp cloud around me..... mmm... he comes the "Wasp rider....."
It arrived without the wife knowing.... so it never happend.
I'm not sure how I'll get all the bug guts out of the mesh front though.... probally will pull up and have a wasp cloud around me..... mmm... he comes the "Wasp rider....."
Last edited:
My roads and tires are much the same.... front wears almost to the edge.... the rear not so much.
Got a Nelson Rigg Hurricane RiggPak Crash Bar/Tail Bag SE-4005
www.nelsonrigg.com
Hurricane RiggPak Crash Bar/Tail Bag
Hurricane RiggPak Crash Bar/Tail Bag New Products LIFETIME WARRANTY Waterproof roll closure with quick release buckles Made from heavy duty UV-treated PVC Tarpaulin material All seams are electronically heat welded Fits most crash bars, luggage racks and seats Read More Below
www.nelsonrigg.com
Attachments
David R
Well-known member
Interesting. I got 9,000 miles out of the original Michelin front tire. 9,000 out of the next one exact same tire.
I got 19,000 MILES out of the rear. Michelin commander III.
Put Dunlap American Elite white walls on. Wearing fast so far.
David
I got 19,000 MILES out of the rear. Michelin commander III.
Put Dunlap American Elite white walls on. Wearing fast so far.
David
Cu Dubh
Active member
Always have washed my GS... when it rains! Other than that I wash/polish/wax 2x/year or if it went into storage. Did that twice, once for a deployment & once when moving across country..Having had a pair of R18’s … something I’ve never done! I washed it! Yep, I’m a GSA guy.
estoma
Well-known member
Splendid. Salt of the earth. What is that you are riding in your avatar (profile picture)?... today ... nothing really just out ridin' and seeing some of my rowdy friends
View attachment 11522
View attachment 11523
View attachment 11524
Ulrich
Well-known member
'66 Shovelhead ('The ol' Girl) built her myself from a box of parts ... many Moons ago
estoma
Well-known member
You are a big guy - you look comfy there. I would have thought you need more leg space than the R18 affords us. I am just under 6 foot and my legs protest just under an hour on the seat.
I built a '69 Kawasaki H1 Mach III out of a box of parts while I was a student. I would service bikes, synchronize carbs, set timing and points with a strobe light and dwell meter (almost unheard of back in '76 in South Africa) to earn money for a new crank, pistons & rings, a secondhand set of expansion chambers and various other odds and ends. That took almost three years and I had to sell my tired old RD350 at the end to pay for clutch plates, tires, K&N's, chain & sprockets, painting, clip-ons, chrome-plating the expansion chambers and a rev counter, I think. It went like the clappers between the lights and up to around 120mph. I embarrassed many a CB750 and Z900 with it, as long as we did not venture out onto open roads. It sounded like a symphony at full tilt with those open expansion chambers. Truth be told, though, it was a PITA most of the time, given the narrow power band, and often hard to start. The Mikuni cards would easily flood if you forgot the fuel petcock open by chance. I cracked the frame twice up front and once behind the engine and ruined numerous swingarm bushings, as a result of pulling wheelies. I subsequently stopped that sh1t on road bikes. I owned both a CB750 and Zee 900 afterwards (-:
The H1 was a 500cc two-stroke triple, kid brother of the H2 750cc triple. The early ones, like mine, had a distributor on the righthand end of the crank (not often you see that on a bike) and drum brakes front and back - double leading shoe up front. Mine looked a lot like this one, except it had clip-ons and a green-on-white paint scheme. The expansion chambers seem identical to those I had, probably the same brand too but I cannot recall what that was. Two-stroke oil tank under the RH side cover.
(photo courtesy Revzilla)
I built a '69 Kawasaki H1 Mach III out of a box of parts while I was a student. I would service bikes, synchronize carbs, set timing and points with a strobe light and dwell meter (almost unheard of back in '76 in South Africa) to earn money for a new crank, pistons & rings, a secondhand set of expansion chambers and various other odds and ends. That took almost three years and I had to sell my tired old RD350 at the end to pay for clutch plates, tires, K&N's, chain & sprockets, painting, clip-ons, chrome-plating the expansion chambers and a rev counter, I think. It went like the clappers between the lights and up to around 120mph. I embarrassed many a CB750 and Z900 with it, as long as we did not venture out onto open roads. It sounded like a symphony at full tilt with those open expansion chambers. Truth be told, though, it was a PITA most of the time, given the narrow power band, and often hard to start. The Mikuni cards would easily flood if you forgot the fuel petcock open by chance. I cracked the frame twice up front and once behind the engine and ruined numerous swingarm bushings, as a result of pulling wheelies. I subsequently stopped that sh1t on road bikes. I owned both a CB750 and Zee 900 afterwards (-:
The H1 was a 500cc two-stroke triple, kid brother of the H2 750cc triple. The early ones, like mine, had a distributor on the righthand end of the crank (not often you see that on a bike) and drum brakes front and back - double leading shoe up front. Mine looked a lot like this one, except it had clip-ons and a green-on-white paint scheme. The expansion chambers seem identical to those I had, probably the same brand too but I cannot recall what that was. Two-stroke oil tank under the RH side cover.
(photo courtesy Revzilla)
Last edited:
Ulrich
Well-known member
Good on you! I started riding on Zündapp, Herkules and DKW 2 strokers .... always had to do my own wrenching cause we I didn't have the cash to pay a stealership ... I came to this country a long time ago because I saw this movie when I was young
And I wanted a ride like that sooo bad ... so I started like this
and end ended up with the 'Ol' Girl' she has Delcron cases .. stock internals (minus the 'A' grind Andrews Cam) a S&S 'Super E' a 'Primo Rivera' belt/dry primary and all the bits I could wrestle up .... and that is what is in the pic ... 'Black Shovel Paul' took that pic riding down the '97 through Oregon ... unfortunately Paul is no longer with us ... 'Ride on Paul!' ... anyway and now I am back to German alloy ... and I'll be damned if I let corporate shenanigans (thank you Irish for that beautiful ... descriptive word) spoil that for me ... I have always subscribed in the philosophy of "Only dead fish drift with the current'
.... and I sure as $hit should stop posting drunk ...but it hasn't rained in 3 1/2 months here and it finally did ... so I am sitting on my back porch posting and playing with my wet stinky dog ... life is F...g GREAT! FTW ride on!
So I installed hellwig bars today. Not real hard but just tedious. Not sure it was worth the money or time until I sat on the bike when I was done. Night and DAY better comfort. I’m 5’10 185lbs for reference. Sitting position comfort is much better. Reach comfort is much better. I will say I have shorter arms. I have to run tall bars on all my mx bikes.