Hi all, first-time poster - long time reader. I am seeking some advice on new tyres. Last week I took my SV650 into the bike shop for a new set of tyres. When I picked it up the mechanic warned me to "take it easy as new tyres can be slippery". I thanked him for his warning and sage advice and hopped on my bike and rode it 20m to the nearest interseciton and stopped at the stop sign to turn right. There was nothing coming from either direction and so slowly eased the clutch out to pull forward into the middle of the road. As I got to the middle of the road the back wheel suddenly lost traction and slid out to the left. As I instictively turned into the slide to try to correct it the bike jerked back to the left, flipping me off over the front and onto the road with my bike crunching down next to me on it's left side. The road was dry and there was no visible oil etc although I wonder whether the white painted centreline caused a loss of traction. It felt like all of sudden I was riding on ice or soap or something. I picked myself and my bike up and wheeled it to the side of the road where I regained my composure before doing the walk of shame back to the bike shop to book the bike in for repairs. I honestly don't think I could have 'taken it any more easy' than I did pulling out of the intersection unless I was to get off and walk the damn thing home. I use my bike for commuting and have never been into any sort of stunts or wheel spins etc so please don't think I was some sort of idiot who tried to drop of burn out or something - I simply pulled out from the intersection and the bike whipped out from under me. I have now made an insurance claim wth the cost of repairs almost reaching the cost of my insured value of $5K and so running the risk of having the bike written off...but I loved that bike and don't want to lose it!! Can any of you experienced and knowledgable bikers out there advise me of where I stand in terms of any responsibility from the bike shop to ensure that my bike can actually be ridden on new tyres? or whether there is some reason that I am misssing that caused this to happen? The bike shop response was great in the sense that they checked I was ok and offered me short-term loaner bike, but I am still left wondering how this can happen and what I could have possibly done to avoid it. I have been riding for about 5 years, had my full license for about the last 3 years and have had the SV650 for about 2 years and never had any issues with it.
One thing that I also wonder about is that originally the bike shop owner quoted me for Conti Road Attack 2 tyres which I was happy to buy, but then when I arrived to pickup the bike he told me that they were unable to get the Road Attack tyres and so upgraded me for free to a much better and more expensive tyre - which he called a Z8 ?? I figured I was getting a great deal so thanked him for the upgrade. Could this have been why the tyres reacted the way they did?? Any replies would be greatly appreciated. The bike shop have been helpful to date and I hope the insurer doesn't sink my hope of getting my bike back.
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