mbdean

I think that settles it. Guess I'll be giving SWmototires a call this week for the Pilot Powers. Given my riding style and confidence level on the 11XX, I would hate to even imagine what could happen if I went to a tire with less traction than what I am using now. On the 11XX I have run BT057 - 3600 miles, 2x BT056SS - 3000 miles each, BT010 - 1500 miles, and 3x BT012SS, 3000, 3000, and 2000 miles. On the Superhawk that I used to own I ran D207s - Greasy like a light switch on the track when they get too hot - and M1 Sporttechs - not as bad as the D207 but still kind of slippery when hot. On the RC51 I had D208s - better than the D207 - and now on the second set of BT012SS. The current set has about 300 road miles and 4 track days on them with about 2mm of tread left - probably only good for two more track days. One final Michelin question though, I've heard in the past that when Michelins slide they let go all at once. True or False? The BT012SS slides extremely gradually which lends itself very nicely to letting the rear drift - even on the track on my RC. Any useful comments on the Pilot Power's sliding personality? Thanks again!

Its time for new tires again on my '98 and I'm hoping to get some recommendations. The last three sets have been BT012SS and I've been very happy with their performance. However, I've been running 30psi front and rear and the current set is bald at not quite 2000 miles. Plus, since I've been running the lower pressure there is a tendency for front chatter with hard braking. Most of my riding is in twisities on my commute and tends to be quite aggressive, so traction is vital. But I would like more durability. So, I am thinking of either the Pilot Road or Pilot Power. Can anyone offer any good advice from their experience with these tires regarding chatter, traction and durability? Thanks in advance for your help.

When I first installed my Dynojet kit last spring I thought it was a bit lean. Basically, there was a flat spot between 3500-5000 rpms - after that it accelerates very strongly. This flat spot, as I call it, was almost a "sputtering", but not quite. Anyway, I raised the needles a notch and thought that fixed it. However, at the same time warm spring weather suddenly started - "suddenly", as it does in the mountains. Regardless of the reason, the problem was fixed. However, in the last couple weeks cold weather has returned - and so has the flat spot. My questions are these: 1. Have any of you 97 or 98 owners who have installed jet kits seen this problem? 2. My diagnosis is that the bike is running lean. In warm weather - with the air less dense - the problem goes away. But in cooler weather it returns. Any thoughts or disagreements with this diagnosis? 3. Anyone have a different diagnosis? 4. Hey Pace! As another carburated Blackbird owner living and riding at high altitude, have you seen this problem? Anyway, looking forward to your responses, and "Happy Riding" to all!

So Pace, What jetting are you running now with the better exhaust?

Gotta agree, although I think it has more to do either with cleaning the rotors or getting fresh fluid in the lines. I just put the BT012SS tires on my '98 and on first ride the brakes were probably 50% better than when I took them off. I have noticed on other bikes that when the pistons are compressed the fluid that returns to the reservior is nasty looking. Maybe we should all be changing our brake fluid with each tire change?

Well, that explains it. Thanks for all your responses. I realize now that the reason I don't get better mileage out of my tires is because I am a big guy on a big bike but I ride it as though I am a lightweight on a light bike. In other words, I ride it like a sport bike and dragging knees and sliding rears is just part of my normal riding. Just don't tell my bird she's too heavy for the kind of riding I do. I wouldn't want her to get self conscious. Anyway, I will post my impressions of the BT012SS tires once they are fully scuffed and dragging pucks or pegs. Supposedly they are the replacement for the BT56SS which I liked better than any tire I have used so far. Come to think of it, I wonder how the Blackbird WOULD do as a sport tourer. Afterall, there have been some IBA Saddlesore certifications earned on this bike. My biggest day yet has been 450 miles and aside from it being a huge loop with lots of twisties I felt pretty good at the end. 1000 miles in 24 hours? How about in 12!!!!!?????

I read these tire posts and I wonder if the numbers are being grossly exagerated. how on earth are you people getting so many miles out of your tires? I commute on my bird and have about 30 miles of twisties each day. I don't do burnouts, wheelies, or drag racing, but even so these are the mileages I have gotten with my tires: BT57 - 3300 miles BT010 - 1800 miles D207 - 1700 miles BT56SS - 3600 miles As I write I have side wear bars front and rear on the BT56SS and will likely throw on some BT012SS tires tomorrow. So, what am I doing so different to trash my tires up to four times faster than some of you (7000+ on BT010???????)

Pace Yes, I got the 134's from Performance Cycle. After all the confusion I thought the 134's came with the kit. But I ended up getting every size down to 128 in my pursuit of goodness. Glad you found a sweet spot. Do you run at Bandimere? I tend to be more of a twistyholic myself. In fact, yesterday I played hookie from work and spent 4 hours at Second Creek with my Superhawk. Always good to burn off some adreneline and calories while grinding pucks down to the leather.

Hey Pace, Yeah, OK, you were the guy on the bird with the red and black full suit who I saw at about 5:00 on Wednesday, August 20. Small world, huh? Where do you live in Conifer? I'm not far from the Green Valley Grill, but will be moving out to Burland Meadows in October. Anyway, I am running 134 Mains which I purchased from K&N but are made by Dynojet. They were having a massive sale last spring and I picked up the kit for something like $35 if I recall correctly. I didn't see Blackbird jets listed on the K&N site anymore, but dynojet.com has them as well as mawonline and I'm sure many others. One thing to be aware of, though, is that according to dynojet and factory and cobra and others a jet is not a jet is not a jet. In other words, what dynojet calls a 134 has absolutely no bearing on what factory or Honda call a 134. I am running the needles with the clip on the fourth groove from the top (one groove lower than recommended). While the stock jets certainly do not have additional grooves it is worth noting that when compared to the dynojet needle there is a distinct difference in the needle profile. Also, I would be a bit concerned about placing many shims under the stock needles since you are adding additional weight to the slides which I believe could aggravate the poor throttle response you describe. Also, if you are running stock needles then you are probably also using the stock springs which are significantly stiffer than the dynojet springs - further compounding the throttle lag. The dynojet instructions recomended the 134's for stock exhaust and airfilter at sealevel. However, after many iterations it became apparent that the K&N filter was beginning to flow much better and that the 134's were running considerable leaner than they would with the stock airfilter - lean enough to work well at Colorado altitudes. I found that for given jet sizes raising the needles had the most immediate effect on eliminating flat spots and throttle lags - up to the point where the midrange got way too rich and fouled the plugs. It was also worth noting that moving the clip only one groove did not have a large effect. It is as though moving a single jet size is a medium adjustment while needle position is fine tuning. It sounds like I am running an identical setup to your bird with the exception of the dynojet kit. Should you have the bucks to spare I suggest you go get a dynojet kit, copy my settings, adjust the pilot screw per the instructions (taken into account the high altitude adjustment recommended in the factory manual, of course), and enjoy the whopping midrange boost. You will be very pleased! Of course, should you go this route and find a better setting I would love to hear about it.

Question #1: Yes Question #2: Yes I use a yard stick against the tire to visually confim that the tire is parallel to the chain.

Fraid I'll have to take "the fifth" on that one.............. Unless you're Muslim

With a relatively new and properly inflated front tire I can ride for literally miles with my hands off the bars and no hint of any shake. But if the tire is worn or not inflated to the correct pressure the the front shakes like a pubescent belly dancer.

Holy shit, you live in Conifer? So do I, although I am planning to move to Bailey soon. I thought I had seen another bird "up the mountain".

What pipes are you running? With stock pipes at 8600 ft I am running 134 mains with the clips at fourth from the top. During my iterations to get it right I ran into many flat spots, etc, usually accompanied by some amount of sputtering - too lean. Here's the basic pattern I followed: Install some mains with needles on the third clip. If you have soot lower the needles. If you still have soot lower them again. If you reach the bottom of the clip go down a jet size. But if the bike sputters or has a flat spot, raise the needles. If it still sputters go up again. If it still sputters go up a jet size. Please note, though, that I found the bottom needle position to be virtually worthless since it ended up fouling the plugs regardless of the jet size used.

I did the dynojet kit and kept the stock pipes on my '98. After the seventh settings change I got it down to 45 minutes from seat off to seat on, so it really isn't very hard to do at all. Mileage wise I went from 200 miles before the low fuel light comes on to 175 miles before the warning (of course, this presumes sane and not blatantly illegal speeds - spend extended time in the triple digit range and your mileage may vary, alot!) And regarding performance, the two most noticable improvements are that the throttle response is much more crisp and instantaneous, and that the "top end afterburner" now ignites around 5000 rpms instead of the previous 6500 rpms. Also, although I don't have the dyno numbers to prove it, the acceleration seems to be improved throughout the range, but especially from 5000 to about 7500 rpms. Another, more aesthetic improvement relates to the K&N filter I installed. It really changed the sound of the bike under hard acceleration. Its really cool and alot cheaper than pipes. But BEWARE of the K&N out of the box. They put WAY TOO MUCH oil on them and you should clean off the oil and reapply a very thin coat. Otherwise you will find that as you run the bike for the first 1000 miles or so, the filter will gradually breathe better and make your mixture gradually more and more lean. Trust me on this! Over all, my rating of the jet kit mod is that it is definitely worth doing, but it can be very frustrating and requires alot of patience to finally get it right! One final word of advice, if you are going to do this mod replace all the carb phillips screws with allen screws. Otherwise you will be stripping phillips heads after about the third or fourth iteration.