| Author | Message | ||
     Dave |
New tire purchased that was manufactured in '98 (498). Valid concern or am I getting spun up over nothing? What say you? DAve | ||
| Jmartz |
Odd, given the expectation of sales and new models, but it isn't like rubber deteriorates in storage over a 5 year period. Could that date be the model inception? | ||
| Dave |
Front Metzeler 498  DAve | ||
| Jmartz |
I can't explain it, other than perhaps it got lost in the main warehouse in germany. | ||
| Andrewb |
Rubber does deteriorate, even when stored properly. Your tire looks like it has the protective coating still on it. It might be "greasy" even after a gentle scrubbing in. What's your butt worth?? | ||
| Mikej |
but it isn't like rubber deteriorates in storage over a 5 year period Yes it does. But I don't know if you should be concerned. I do know that if I bought a bike that sat for 5 years I'd be considering seals and tires. Proper storage would include absense of sunlight, conservative temperature swings, and controlled humidity. Ask any serious rock climber if they'd totally trust a brand new rope that sat in the back of someone's dark basement closet for 5 years. Ask the Metzler people if there's any concern about it. | ||
| Dave |
I can't believe we don't have someone on the board that manufactures tires.  Thanks for the comments and thoughts so far. Metzeler says; "Shelf life for a m/c tire is 5 to 7 years. your tire is only 4 years old, ride on!" In addition, Metzeler's tire warranty is not based on manufacture date as some others are. ANdy...the people I ride with will have to tell ya how much my butt is worth. hahahaha DAve | ||
| Jim_Sb |
Dave, I hope you got a great deal on that tire. Tires, as the guys have said, do deteriorate over time even when properly stored. But if Metzeler says it's got a 5 year life, I'd get that thing on the bike and wear it out by then. Having said that, tire technology is changing rapidly. The new stuff is awfully good. Just a thought for the future... | ||
| Dave |
Jim, Metzeler said it has a 5-7 year shelf life...not a 5 year life. Big difference. Thanks for the thoughts...still valuable input. Bob L tipped me off to the manufacture date so I'm looking for something solid to rationalize with the dealer. Just getting my ammunition. Some folks will toss a tire with a puncture in the tread (as evidenced by recent posts) but I'm comfortable riding with one of those mushroom plugs. Peace of mind is part of it but I want to deliver a fact based argument. DAve | ||
| Jim_Sb |
Dave, I hear ya'. But we all ride differently. I do push my tires enough that I want good ones. On some of the roads we ride if your tire gives out at the wrong moment it'll be a long way down the mountain... | ||
| Andrewb |
Dave, I mounted up a old stock ME88 (metzler) on my friends panhead 2 years ago. He got about 3 days out of the tire before it turned hard and greasy. I thought he was full of it and test rode the bike, he was right. The tire wouldn't hold the pavement when taking mild cruiser type, sweeping, laid back, type of corners. He paid $50 for the tire and tossed it the next week. | ||
| Jmartz |
What would be a reasonable asking price for a set of good condition PM wheels? I will soon receive my new Marchesinis and won't be needing the PM's anymore. | ||
| Mikej |
The rear tire on my S2 is age-old, but still has good tread. It is going this season before the season starts due to it's age (was on the bike when I bought it and I have no idea how old it is). A fact based argument is no where near as fun as an argument based on hyperbole. | ||
| Awgrimm |
Jose- Stick the PM's on eBay and see what you get! I would think they would go pretty easily and for a good price. -Brad | ||
| Jmartz |
Awgrimm: Thanks for the tip. | ||
| Roc |
Can anyone tell me the process for removing the rear wheel on a Firebolt? I've ordered a service manual but it is not here yet. Thanks | ||
| Mikej |
A guy in our local BRAG club said he removed his slightly different that is recommended in the manual. I didn't pay attention to the conversation, and I don't own an XB, so apart from that I know nothing. Just a heads-up that there appears to be an alternative method. | ||
| Blake |
Roc, I'm going from memory but the main thing is that the rear axle has a slight taper fit that allows you to simply loosen it a dozen turns to gain slack in the belt. From there you should be able to see if/how the brake caliper needs to be removed or pivoted and remove the axle entirely thus dropping the wheel. It is supposed to be a piece of cake, no spacers or nuts to worry about. | ||
| Toastertan |
Hey folks: I've got a 98 S3T and need to replace the front rotor because it's chattering like a Chinese monkey. EBC Pro-lite has been recommended and it appears they have a solid and floating model. Anyone out there have an opinion (yikes!!) on the two and experience with them. A guy at the dealer has the solid and says it's a more consistent stop. Stephen and Rain Dancer | ||
| Dave |
ANother alternative Stephen...did you consider the 2000 and newer rotor & carrier? Like $106 DAve | ||
| Toastertan |
Thanks for the post Dave. I saw the banner at the top of this list and wondered about that. Is it floating? I will call my local dealer today and get the scoop. Stephen | ||
| Ara |
Toastertan: Your rotor is rattling because the little wave washers in the bottons have flattened out. All you really need to do to stop the rattling is replace the wave washers. Of course, there's always the "While I'm There" theory of motorcycle maintenance. For the same reason I'm considering Braking's wave rotor, but I haven't heard anything either positive or negative about that new design except that it's quite a bit lighter than the standard rotor. Russ | ||
| Court |
Sir Toaster: Depending on how you want to handle this, you could start by just replacing the carrier/rotor attachment hardware. Have your dealer order the following for you: 6 - 6512Y Screw 6 - 45164-96Y Drive Pin, brake 6 - 6563Y Spring Washer 6 - 6201Y Washer 6 - 6543Y Washer 6 - 7260Y Locknut 1 - 99570-98Y 1998 Buell S-3 Parts Manual* 1 - 99489-98Y 1998 Buell S-3 Service Manual* * You SHOULD alread have these, if not, this is the time to buy them. Total price of the parts should be minimal and this should do the trick. Court | ||
| Lornce |
Dang you Court! Stephen, go the whole enchilada... An send me yer old rotor....  Lornce | ||
| Henrik |
Back to my S2 front caliper question: Buell at the time used an odd bolt spacing (go figure ) so nothing off of an UJM will fit directly. I think it would be possible to make a spacer/bracket that would allow me to use a different brand of 6-pot caliper. So ... can anyone recommend a good 6-pot caliper off of a recent model sportbike (I'd prefer to buy the caliper from a salvage place). Of course there is the aftermarket, but I haven't heard many comments about the current crop of stuff. Is anyone running an aftermarket 6-pot caliper? Good? Bad? Price? Will it match my 5/8" master cylinder?? Henrik | ||
| Josh |
Henrik, I thought that was a rebadged PM? | ||
| Henrik |
Josh, It is - but according to Tat, the bolt pattern is non-standard; made for Buell only. Unfortunately only a few manufacturers make pads for these, and the ones available (can't get Ferrodo's these days??) aren't great, especially with the Y2K SS rotor. Besides, the caliper flexes a bit in the middle, where it's "secured" with a tiny bolt. So I'm looking for a reasonably priced solution that will take current pads. Preferably a single disk solution, but I'd be up for trying a set of good 4-pot calipers as well. As long as I don't have to mess with the master cylinder bore - can't get a different bore, when the clamp also needs to fit 1" bars you see Henrik | ||
| Josh |
I'd think they'd use the same as they'd used on the RS/RSS bikes with the PM caliper. Yeah it might not be an industry standard bolt pattern but certainly an off-the-shelf PM pattern. (Which wouldn't help you much). Anyway, how 'bout finding something close (bore-wise) and having a shop machine an adapter like they sell to put the '00+ calipers onto older Sportsters. Didn't people use to race S2s? Wonder what they used. Or you could have one of the brake companies put new pads on your old shoes but that might not be cost/time effective. | ||
| Bomber |
Henrick . . . .all the mastercylider clamps I've seen have more than enough meat to remove 1/8 from the diameter . . .. shouldn't be hard at all (I can see the fixturing on the mill table in my head as I type) . . . . just more decisions to make, yes? | ||
| Dave |
Metzeler Z4 tire followup... I called the place I got them from. They had a bit of a hard time believing the tire was 5 yrs old but a picture put all that aside very quickly. The one fella I was talking to said they got a mess of calls one time because a regional Gold Wing paper ran a story on tire dates and goofed it. He also mentioned he has some customers that want racing tires no more than 6 months old. He was extremely amazed that a tire sat in the system for 5 yrs. He had me send the tire in question back to him and they're sending me a new tire. They're covering all shipping fees and apologized for the inconvenience. Genuine customer service with great prices. (Apparently no catch) DAve http://www.ronayers.com/main.cfm |
