New tires (again)

["Paul Steinbacher" <psteinbacher@xxxxxxxxx>]

The 207's are on the bike now. I have to say that when removal and
installation of the wheels gets to be old hat and you don't need the manual
for even torque values....you are changing tires entirely too much. Initial
around the block ride makes me think the 207's will be right in between the
BT57 (very quick turn in) and the Michelin MX90's (kind of lazy turn in). We
have a ride scheduled tomorrow and I'll provide some further feedback on
handling. The Michelin's lasted a total of 6,957 miles, the front had lots
of tread left but was unusable from a standpoint of cupping; Rolling the
bike around a parking lot felt like traversing those ridges on the road
sides to alert you running off the roadway and using the brakes hard set up
quite a vibration in the front end. Mirrors were totally blurred when this
happened.

A few tidbits I noticed when changing the tires:

1. Someone said the wheel could be removed without touching the pannier
brackets. It can, you will probably loose some paint on your wheels though.
(I've been thinking about doing something different anyway).

2. The replacement Triumph stainless exhaust can weighs 11 pounds versus
12.5 pounds for the stock.

3. The rear wheel weighed 21.5 pounds on removal and 24 pounds on
installation. Don't know how much of that is due to worn tire and difference
in Michelin versus Dunlop.

4. The front tire weighed a whopping 25 pounds on removal and 28 porky
pounds on installation!! Just get yourself a 25 pound weight and try tossing
it up and down at the same rate your suspension was going across that last
set of bumps (lots of that here in PA). Guess I don't really want to be a
suspension engineer anymore. Sure makes me wonder what the bike would handle
like with a set of those carbon fibre wheels I saw at the NY show last year.
3.5 pounds for a 6.5 inch rear!!! Has to be a real revelation, did not have
the courage to ask price though.

Some things I noticed on the trip:

1. This is one seriously great motorcycle.

2. It needs a better horn.

3. The horn button does not fall readily to thumb in a panic where you
really need it, especially with heavy gloves. I'm having trouble finding out
why, seems easy enough to find when I try to figure it out.

4. The mirrors change position by themselves, especially on, you guessed it,
the roads in PA. On one particularly poor stretch of road I had to readjust
the right one about every 5 miles. It moves down and in to the point where I
can't really see following traffic.

5. The turn signal switch could be improved to provide more tactile
feedback. Lots of time I can't tell by feel if I have canceled the signal.
Tried a BMW lately, you may not like the layout but there is no doubt about
what you have done.

6. The turn signal and high beam indicators need to be brighter, they are
very difficult to see when the sun is coming over your shoulder.

7. It could use a better (alternate) seat for those of us interested in
serious travel (the bike does this well) and not interested in a cowl.

8. It could use some alternate handlebars from the manufacturer. BMW and
Harley are making lots of money doing this.

9. One of my bags started leaking about half way through the trip and I have
not been able to figure out where the leak is yet. Of course the last BMW I
had, BMW told that they were not intended to keep out water, so I feel
pretty happy that these did so well and I just have to isolate the current
problem.

All of this is pretty trivial stuff that it would be nice if Triumph would
consider for improvements on some future version, and maybe make it
retrofittable to our bikes if we would care to upgrade. After something over
14,000 miles I have to say that this is really the best bike I have owned to
date and unfortunately I've been one of those people who seem to get new
bike fever on a yearly basis.

Sorry for the length of the post.

Paul & Dee Steinbacher
1999 Sprint ST
1997 Buell M2


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