Tales from the Emporium

[NordieBoy]

Prepping for Clubman Class on the weekend.
Only rule is it must have a trials rear tyre.
This one is quite old and been patched and strung and each knob base is cracked but we'll see how it goes.

God I hate pulling off a tyre in perfect condition
It just gives me another chance to stuff up the bead/tube when putting it back on.


Dunlop d801 (superseded by the d803 in 2006 or so)...





The advice from the trials rider was to "bung it on, do a short burnout, pull it off and put it back on the other way around".

Fcuk that.

It's on and staying there 'till it's dead.

[warewolf]

Started out with 18hp at the rear wheel

Ended with 22 or so.

Nice... 22% or so is "a useful increase" as Pops Yoshimura was said to say.

[NordieBoy]

Trialling the trials tyre...

Went up the Maungatapu to the summit this evening.

Started out at 24psi in the rear and even then you can pinch the sidewall and the rest of the tyre moves. The blocks are made of chewing gum and there's no way this thing will be any good at all.

Very smooth on the seal and onto the gravel and still very smooth. No great difference when it crosses over the centre line from grit to hardpack.
Went down to 18psi at the bottom of the caretakers hill and headed off.

Nothing really to report. Very smooth. Smooth on the hardpack, smooth across the stream, smooth through the gravel after the stream, smooth up the first hill, smooth on the damp clay, smooth down the damp, rocky slope, smooth on the rocks by the river, smooth over he rough shale up to Horse Bridge, smooth on that first track section on the left, smooth through the muddy holes, smooth all the way back down...

Just very smooth.

You could look down and see the tyre deforming over everything.

Even did the challenge loop by the motor camp and the mudhole was, yes, smooth.

Even tried a little wet grass burnout. Epic fail
It just hooked up and drove...
Looked back and no evidence of said droving at all.

This thing has been patched twice. Once for a hole and once for what looks like a 44 magnum exit wound. All the knobs are cracked severely, but they're all still there.

I'm getting an MT43 for this bike as soon as I can.

I think it really suits my riding style.

Will be interesting to see how it goes in Hira in the winter.

[Ocean1]

Started out at 24psi in the rear

Fuck, that's about 5 times what it's designed for.

If you're running a tube try it at about 10psi. You do need to remember it's there when you're on rocks but the low speed traction more than makes up for it. Worst feature is the tragic roll-off on high speed hard corners.

And that particular one's well past it's best, as you well know, expect much better traction from a fresh one.

[NordieBoy]

Fuck, that's about 5 times what it's designed for.

It's also not designed for a 120kg bike and going over rocks at 50kph.

I don't do high speed. Even when racing...

Just testing at the moment, seeing what pressures do what and where...

If the MT43 behaves it'll have to cope with getting down to the Rainbow on the seal, through the Rainbow, Molesworth, Altimarloch, Taylors Pass, Blenheim to Pelorus and then the Maungatapu to home without issue and minimal pressure changing. ie Staying at 18-20psi.

The way it behaved, I'd go down to 16 or maybe 14psi if I wasn't going to go fast(er). But I don't need the extra traction 10-12psi would give (yet).

It got good (smooth) traction even through sections where I'd be winding it on scrabbling for grip with the knobblies spitting stuff out the back.

If it's going to be fine Sunday, I'll be riding it over to Riwaka for the next round of the South Island Trials Champs.

[Ocean1]

It's also not designed for a 120kg bike and going over rocks at 50kph.

Mebe not. However, that's just about 150% of a trials bike mass, 130% of the weight they were when that tyre was current, and that translates to about 12psi for your machine. About what I used to run in a tubed perelli trials tyre on an XR250. I'd drop that to a minimum of 8psi at the slightest excuse, (no rocks).

Edit: that same tyre on my KT250 would be at 4psi.

[NordieBoy]

Rode the Maungatapu this evening in the rain. It was brilliant...

Tried the 801 at 15psi this time, I went off a few side tracks that I would have had issues with knobblys and it coped very very well...

Have I mentioned it's very smooth?

Got some water pics though. Lots of rain in the flash...

[NordieBoy]

Shane did the Maruia trail ride on Sunday.
Did the first lap on the Husky WR250 with knobblies and some sections were a bit... slippery...

Next lap was on the KDX200 with trials rear.
The slippery stop bank, wasn't anymore and some of the root infested uphills could be got up that he couldn't on the Husky.

I think we may have a convert

He's also of the opinion they'd work well on a cross country as long as it wasn't a farm based one. Too much grass and deeper dirt.
Places like Hira and other forestry track based ones would be great.

Been looking but it looks like no one has an MT43 in stock at all

Got a pair of Shinko 705's on the way for the TT for less than $200 all up

[umopom]

Had a day with Steve & Nick Oliver last weekend playing with Shercos & Montessas - they run trials tyres down to 5/6psi for events and 7-9 psi on faster sharper stuff. Fun day and Doug now wants "a mountain bike with an engine" !!

[NordieBoy]

Had a day with Steve & Nick Oliver last weekend playing with Shercos & Montessas - they run trials tyres down to 5/6psi for events and 7-9 psi on faster sharper stuff. Fun day and Doug now wants "a mountain bike with an engine" !!

But if they rode out to Ben Nevis like that, it'd melt like hot butter

I've got about 200 odd km on this old one and not much wear to be seen apart from one trailing edge of a single knob tearing off.

Did the Maungatapu to the summit again this afternoon. Tried a few of the side tracks including the last one on the right near the top.
No problems at all.

[Eddieb]

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Mo...-370552598.htm

$4900

[NordieBoy]

That looks like shit.
If you're going to change the looks, at least do it tastefully and not just remove body panels.

Unlikely it's got Brembo's either. They are Grimeca's.

[NordieBoy]

Found out why the TT headlight wasn't too outstanding coming back on Monday evening...

The high beam was trying to get through the soot...

[NordieBoy]

Right. Time to see what's up with the mighty 6v 3 cell battery.
The horn and blinkers are a bit dodgy at low revs without it...

Voltage across it is good, charging voltage is fine when the engine is running.
Ah ha! Voltage drops to 0 when the blinkers are on and the engine is off!
Pop the caps on the battery and have a look. Oh, no acid...

No acid at all...
Weird. It's all gone out the overflow. It's only been on it's side 3 times. Once with Padmei up in Hira for 10 sec or so, once at home for an hour or so replacing the kick start and once for a minute up Ben Nevis.

They're expensive little buggers too

[ajturbo]

buy a gel bat.. it wont leak