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Spike
| | Posted on Wednesday, June 05, 2002 - 12:50 am: | 
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"A wobble above 45 mph is not due to tire cupping."
Well then it was caused by some other unknown source that just-so-happened to show up around the same time as the cupping and just-so-happened to go away when I replaced the front tire. I was happy with my D205s while they were on the bike, hell, I almost replaced them with another set of D205s, but then I tried another tire.
Seriously Blake, you owe it to yourself as a serious motorcyclist to try another tire.
Mike L.
'99 Cyclone |
Blake
| | Posted on Wednesday, June 05, 2002 - 01:57 am: |
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I tried the Michelin Mac 90's. Didn't notice any difference. Was hoping they would last longer. They didn't.
As to your wobble. That could have been due to wheel balance, steering head maladjustment, rider input, road surface or other factors. Tire cupping ain't gonna make your wheel wobble at 45+ mph though. A tire with a broken belt would though. Was the tire ever patched? |
Spike
| | Posted on Wednesday, June 05, 2002 - 02:42 am: |
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I don't think the tire was ever patched. I bought the bike with 800 miles on it and the tires were in good shape (big chicken strips). Down the center of the front tire there were dips worn in on alternating sides. The wobble was never serious, but when coasting they wiggled slightly, almost like mini-headshake. |
Ken01mp
| | Posted on Wednesday, June 05, 2002 - 10:03 pm: |
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okay, i mean really, how can you say that headshake cant come from a badly worn tire? my front 205, after less than 6k, has more bumps and dips than a monster truck tire, the thing wore for shit, and fast, plain and simple. ill be goddamned if headshake cant come from that.
its not what you know, its what you can prove
Ken |
Blake
| | Posted on Thursday, June 06, 2002 - 12:32 am: |
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Ken,
I didn't say "head shake can't come from a badly worn tire." I said "A wobble above 45 mph is not due to tire cupping." and "Tire cupping ain't gonna make your wheel wobble at 45+ mph."
Sounds like your tire condition is a lot worse than just normal wear/cupping would cause. I've had cupped D205 tires on my M2. Never had a wobble.
Low tire pressure could lead to instability that would permit a wobble. Low pressure would also result in accelerated and abnormal wear.
Spike,
You got 8K miles out of a D205 rear?!! That's amazing! I never get more than 5K. I usually change tires as soon as the wear indicators touch aphalt though. First time though, I rode home from Houston (200 miles) with the chord showing. Now with the track abuse I've dished out, about 300 miles worth, on the current D205 rear, it's about had it. Might have one more session in it, but I'm not going to chance it. Gonna order up some D207 GP's at a bargain price. |
Jim_Sb
| | Posted on Tuesday, July 09, 2002 - 03:42 pm: |
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Interesting thread here.....
I bought a '96 S2 last Oct. It had 3100 miles at the time on stock tires. Huge chicken strips and nubs sticking out all over. That bike didn't get ridden much...
I gradually scrubbed in the tires and wore off the chicken strips and the D205's (which were pretty long in the tooth age-wise) did just fine. Once I hit 6000 miles on the odometer they started to chatter in the corners and I was going through the wear bars and they were basically smooth in the middle. I took the chattering to mean they were starting to reach the limits of their adhesion. Cupping was evident as Blake predicted for worn tires.
So I put on some M-1's in a flash of impatience (long story - but they were readily available in SB). At the time I decided to recheck and reset every suspension setting to factory specs and found out that my fork rebound was set much quicker than Buell recommends and to make matters worse the fork legs had mismatched rebound settings.
The combination of the proper Buell settings and the M-1's made a good bike even better. The M-1's are worn shoulder to shoulder in the rear with a minimal strip left on the front. That's good enough for me. They are unflappable. But with only 2k on them they are already showing significant signs of wear.
I am very interested in trying the D220's next time around; I've read good things about them.
Rear sag is set at the high end of the factory specs on the recall shock and the bike handles & rides nicely.
An aircraft pulls 2 g's in a 60 degree banked level turn. Not sure exactly how that translates to a Buell but I promise you when you're leaned over at speed you are loading your suspension. I certainly can feel it...
As for the high side question, I kinda did one once. Was traveling 45 - 50mph on a side rode on my old GS500E, a cager came out of the trees (no driveway - no warning) on the right side of the road (without stopping, of course). I hit the brakes hard and the rear locked and the bike started to slide sideways. Then, with 2 wheels onto the road the car froze. So I made the mistake of letting off the rear brake. The bike instantly snapped back into a straight line and my arse went up into the sky affording me a nice view of the bars (which I still clung to) from above.
By sheer luck I suppose I landed right smack on the seat and kept right on riding. Ho hum. Hopefully that's a "never again"...
PS. My S2, set at factory suspension specs doesn't grind anything while using all the tread on the rear tire. Ground clearance seems incredible.
Jim in Santa Barbara |
Phillyblast
| | Posted on Thursday, July 11, 2002 - 08:09 am: |
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Jim,
If the S2 didn't have great ground clearance it would grind the pegs on the sidestand 
seriously, though, I've noticed the same thing with my S2. I came back from a ride over the weekend, was cleaning the bike, and noticed I've pretty much worn the tread on the back to the edges, and never felt like I was anywhere close to the bike's limit. Have I mentioned I love this bike? |
Jim_Sb
| | Posted on Thursday, July 11, 2002 - 11:55 am: |
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PB, Yeah, I love my S2 as well. What a bike....
My buddies keep thinking of new bikes for me to "try". I haven't seen one yet that meets my wants like the S2 does....
PS. Even when the D205 tires were worn and cupping I never had a head shake or wobble out of the bike.
I think if I had to sum up the S2's functionality briefly I'd say "canyon carving in comfort"...
Jim in Santa Barbara |
Aaron
| | Posted on Thursday, July 11, 2002 - 11:57 am: |
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To really appreciate your S2, go back and forth between it and an S3.
I know BuellieDan says he likes his S3 better, but he's weird  . I mean normal folk. |
Jim_Sb
| | Posted on Thursday, July 11, 2002 - 12:23 pm: |
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Hi Aaron, LMAO!
My good friend Cafe Bill has an S3 and we're going to do just that soon. Should be interesting since he's got roughly 100hp (?) at the crank versus my 76...
I know this because he leaves me in the dust on the straights, but he has to work to keep up in the twisties...
PS. Best of luck to you on the Salt this year Aaron. If we can sneak up there for a day and say hello to the Elves and the Sportster guys we will.
Jim in Santa Barbara |
Aaron
| | Posted on Thursday, July 11, 2002 - 02:07 pm: |
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Jim, thanks. If you're like me, what you'll notice is that the S2 just feels more planted, more stable, the S3 feels twitchy by comparison. I kinda like that darty, big-dirt-bike feel on the M2 and S1 but on a faired sport tourer? No thanks. The S2 is what a sport tourer should handle like. |
Cafébill
| | Posted on Thursday, July 11, 2002 - 04:12 pm: |
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I fully agree. S2's have always felt far more planted to me than S3's. Unfortunately the S2 bodywork leaves no place for my knees to go, AND I got such a deal on my S3 I couldn't pass it up.  ($5200 for a '98 S3 with PM wheels and just over 4000 miles...) |
Jim_Sb
| | Posted on Thursday, July 11, 2002 - 05:20 pm: |
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Yep. When Cafe Bill last rode my S2 his knee was jutting into the c/f air filter cover. He's just too tall - he probably would need at least a Forcewinder and some S2 rearsets.... Or a booster seat...
My S2 feels incredibly solid in the turns. My Sportster turns in more quickly at slower speeds but at 50mph or higher the S2 turns in more quickly. She's rock solid in the corners and it's very easy for me to adjust my line for obstacle avoidance (rocks) going through curves.
Kinda sad they don't make 'em any more...
Jim in Santa Barbara |
Buelliedan
| | Posted on Thursday, July 11, 2002 - 06:02 pm: |
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Yep!!! I still prefer my S3 for the twisty stuff over the S2. Call me weird or crazy but I like the "twitchiness" of the S3.
You want twitchy? ride my X1 with the rearests!! That sucker makes a right turn every time you exhale, luckily it makes a left turn when you inhale and keeps you generally in a straight line!! |
Phillyblast
| | Posted on Friday, July 12, 2002 - 08:25 am: |
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My vacation last week included a couple of hour + runs at speeds slightly over the posted limit and the S2 was absolutely rock solid the entire time, even in some decently brisk crosswinds out near the ocean. It does feel slower to turn at slow speeds than some other bikes I've owned/ridden, like Jim said, but I'll take that trade. Sucks they only made the bike for 2 years, but hey, I got mine
david |
Cafébill
| | Posted on Friday, July 12, 2002 - 07:04 pm: |
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No, not the air cleaner, the tank shape...  (That's a picture of Jim.) The flared edge of the tank hits right on the side of my knee. Plus the S3 has more legroom for my 36" inseam...
But if the S2 fit me better, I'd have one instead. I love the way the S2 rides and handles... |
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