"I'm kinda torn between the 021's and the 016's."Me too. Can anybody who has used both give us some thoughts on this choice? -bg
It was a bit nippy out the other day. Tires were cold and hard. Got a little over 10K miles on the O/D. Mounted 021's about 8.7K maybe? Never did write down mileage between tires. Figure this is the 3rd set on the bike that are played out. First, I burned out the originals, then mounted a set of original take-offs and now the 021's finally showed it's fangs.
I checked pressure and she was fine. The balance is still compliant with the wear. When I took off rolling on cold tires, I could feel the notching sort of wear like stepping, but more in chunks of steps like skipping a few steps you climb the stairs.
That right there told me these were junk and I do not like hanging out the rear end when the pair feels this spent. Even though there is plenty left on both front and rear, my thoughts are the 021's wear just as quick as a set of the lighter weight originals.
You can tell in an instant how heavier the 021's are just by rolling the bike. You get used to the weight after awhile. I run 42/42 psi. The rear tire's center is finally coming around to being flat in the middle. It seems like it took a little longer to wear, since I monitor the rear tire more than I do the front. Again, I can't be certain since I never wrote down miles between tire changes... More of a feel for the little doughnuts knowing when they are finally spent. The speedo tells the story how close an average tire set lasts. And that number to date: 10408/3 = 3469 miles per set.
No matter the speed I slow down from, I use the front brake 100% of the time. If I smack that front patch on the binders super hard, that front tire input jumps right out at me on the phenom. That being the fork chatter at that mph wave area or that wheel slowing down no matter the speed of the bike. You know the 50/45 MPH window where the front chatters or wobbles? You can't figure out if the cause is: Balance/wheel bearings/steering bearings/internal fork bleed off settings/phenomenon kind of chatter my handling problem. You know the worn front tire's center with that step in it? You can see it from the side better. I felt that chatter, tried to catch the speed of that chatter. I saw 40mph by the time I had a chance to process the thought to look.
It was a high speed exit where I need to slam on the brake before I hit the more slippery cement. That is when I felt the chatter of the front end. I felt the same harmonic coming from the forks the other day. This time it was more pronounced and/or I was traveling faster than usual down the ramp. Either way, I learned my lesson about worn out tires; you do not want to stick your neck out without having a fresh round under you.
So ya, I've come to some conclusion that the 021 pull the same mileage ~ Give or take ~ Sets that front tire to oscillate one too many times for me. I'm done with this pair of 021's. The hot rodding has stepped down in the canyon, playing racer. I can no longer throw this bike into a corner with confidence any longer. I'll run fast straight up, but moving from left to right on a stepped tire up front and a flat spot in the center on the back, says no way. In a way, rolling on a cold set of tires can point out how worn out those puppies really are. They sure feel like a tractor tire on a flat surface if I roll down a hill.
What I like about the light wight originals is that if you hit a pebble, she slides on you. With the 021's, you stick more, move less with more weight and that compound they use. I also miss how the bike can loft off bumps with ease, mounting a bit lighter carcass. I might switch back to a set of jump and slide lightweight OEM's this time around.
* Last updated by: Hub on 12/28/2009 @ 10:27 PM *
Tormenting the motorcycling community one post at a time