Kawasaki Concours Forum
The C-14, aka Kawasaki Concours-14, the new one :) => The Bike - C14/GTR 1400 => Topic started by: PlaynInPeoria on August 26, 2013, 10:46:50 AM
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I hit a really rough RR crossing with some speed and a full load including passenger Saturday and a slow leak started in my rear tire then, best as I can figure. I can't find anything in the tire, but I have yet to spray it and look hard. So I have some work to do tonight.
I was leaving a small town on a back road, accelerating briskly and saw the sign that said "this crossing will be closed on Date X and Y". Having worked on the RR, I know that the only reason they close crossings is to repair them, and they only repair them when they are rough, so as that thought processed/I approached the crossing rapidly, then only had time to roll off. There really should have been a sign, it was brutal and snapped my girlfriend's neck. We have Sena's and I didn't even have time to tell her to brace for impact. If they knew the crossing was that bad, they should have posted a warning sign of some sort. Had we gone down, I would have definitely looked for some recourse, as the crossing appeared smooth from a distance and it was a known dangerous condition with no posted warning. I look for dangerous conditions but this was not obvious in the slightest, it blended right in. I guarantee any car that was low to the ground would suffer damage, as the crossing was much lower than the road surface.
Several questions:
1) Has anyone every got a slow leak or flat from a bump? I have not.
2) Another topic, later in the day, I noticed the tire pressure dropping and we parked a restaraunt (still a long way from home) and I made a note to look at the pressure when we got out. But after keying on/starting the bike, you have to ride a bit before the tire pressures show up in the display Why is that? Pressure sensors don't need to travel to sense pressures. At least the ones I work with don't. There is some sort of qualification processing going on that delays the display.
3) I have always wanted a roadside tire patch/reinflation kit, something small but functional, can anyone suggest one?
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1, Nope.
2, It's my understanding that the sensors inside of the tires go into a low/no power state in order to save on the batteries. Once they spin up the sensors wake and start transmitting again.
3, I use a Slime compressor and a sticky rope kit.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000ET9SB4/ref=wms_ohs_product?ie=UTF8&psc=1 (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000ET9SB4/ref=wms_ohs_product?ie=UTF8&psc=1)
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000ET525K/ref=wms_ohs_product?ie=UTF8&psc=1 (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000ET525K/ref=wms_ohs_product?ie=UTF8&psc=1)
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Yes. You may have bent the rim.
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:yikes:
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2) you have to ride a bit before the tire pressures show up in the display Why is that?
Because otherwise the sensors would be active and depleting the batteries 24x7. There are motion switches in the sensors that are not activated until the tire spins up to X RPM. The sensors then wake up and starts transmitting the information until the switch senses no motion for X minutes.
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Ok, that makes perfect sense. It'd be nice to know if you need air before you leave the garage. Yes, I know what a tire gauge is. I tried to put the bike on the centerstand and spin the tire but got a traction control error because the rear was spinning and the front wasn't, I assume.
Turns out it was a staple in the tire. I put a jerky plug in it. Oh, I 'win' in the Pirelli Angel GT mileage contest. The tire has 3900 miles on it and is nearly toast. It's not an A spec and I didn't know the tire pressure was supposed to be 42, so I believe I wore it out entirely too quickly. Will be mounting an A spec and paying way more attention to the tire pressure. Perhaps my throttle hand might have had something to do with it?
(http://www.solarnavigator.net/films_movies_actors/film_images/Austin_Powers_Mike_Myers_as_Dr_Evil.jpg)
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I use a Slime compressor and a sticky rope kit.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000ET9SB4/ref=wms_ohs_product?ie=UTF8&psc=1 (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000ET9SB4/ref=wms_ohs_product?ie=UTF8&psc=1)
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000ET525K/ref=wms_ohs_product?ie=UTF8&psc=1 (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000ET525K/ref=wms_ohs_product?ie=UTF8&psc=1)
That look pretty slick. I used the sticky rope thing to plug it in the garage, I suspect it will be ok. Honestly, I couldn't get it in very deep (insert joke here), maybe only half way. I took it back out and reamed it again with the reamer, but between the size of the sticky rope and the tackiness of it, it was not going in. I considered hitting it with a little contact cleaner but that would defeat the purpose. I am gonna replace the tire anyway over the winter if not sooner, so it was a good learning experience, as I have never deal with a flat on the road before.
Thanks!
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snip...
Turns out it was a staple in the tire. I put a jerky plug in it. Oh, I 'win' in the Pirelli Angel GT mileage contest. The tire has 3900 miles on it and is nearly toast. It's not an A spec and I didn't know the tire pressure was supposed to be 42, so I believe I wore it out entirely too quickly. Will be mounting an A spec and paying way more attention to the tire pressure. Perhaps my throttle hand might have had something to do with it?
You didn't know that the air pressure is supposed to be 42psi? :o
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Ok, that makes perfect sense. It'd be nice to know if you need air before you leave the garage. Yes, I know what a tire gauge is. I tried to put the bike on the centerstand and spin the tire but got a traction control error because the rear was spinning and the front wasn't, I assume.
Turns out it was a staple in the tire. I put a jerky plug in it. Oh, I 'win' in the Pirelli Angel GT mileage contest. The tire has 3900 miles on it and is nearly toast. It's not an A spec and I didn't know the tire pressure was supposed to be 42, so I believe I wore it out entirely too quickly. Will be mounting an A spec and paying way more attention to the tire pressure. Perhaps my throttle hand might have had something to do with it?
Any chance that maybe you could post a pic of your rear tire? I'm curious to see what it looks like at 4000 miles because we're taking a trip to Tennessee in a couple weeks and I'm at 1500 miles on my Angel GT's now. I'm hoping I can get at least another 3000 out of them for the trip.
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You didn't know that the air pressure is supposed to be 42psi?
I read the owner's manual from cover to cover but did not catch that. Alas, had I known it, I would have set it that way. I am far from a perfect human, just ask my ex-wife.
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Any chance that maybe you could post a pic of your rear tire? I'm curious to see what it looks like at 4000 miles because we're taking a trip to Tennessee in a couple weeks and I'm at 1500 miles on my Angel GT's now. I'm hoping I can get at least another 3000 out of them for the trip.
I'm at work now so I can't post a picture but imagine a very worn out tire?
I suspect you'll be fine as long as you do a better job of monitoring tire pressure. You couldn't hardly do a worse job than I did. I honestly think I am the poster child for wearing out a tire. Between tire pressure 'issues' (ahem), heavy throttle usage and not having an A spec tire, I really set myself up to fail.
Also, I got 4600 out of the BT-021's. Assuming you got more, you're prolly OK?
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how about a picture of your ex-wife? :P
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That look pretty slick. I used the sticky rope thing to plug it in the garage, I suspect it will be ok. Honestly, I couldn't get it in very deep (insert joke here), maybe only half way. I took it back out and reamed it again with the reamer, but between the size of the sticky rope and the tackiness of it, it was not going in. I considered hitting it with a little contact cleaner but that would defeat the purpose. I am gonna replace the tire anyway over the winter if not sooner, so it was a good learning experience, as I have never deal with a flat on the road before.
Thanks!
I cover mine in rubber cement and it also acts as a lubricant as long as you don't let it dry. I've now used sticky ropes on the side of the road 3 times. Success every time.
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The rubber cement is a great idea, lubes when wet and sticks when dry.
As far as pics of my ex-wife, let me save you some trouble. Back in her day, she was a lovely lady but time is kind to none of us. She has a sweet personality though?
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I'm at work now so I can't post a picture but imagine a very worn out tire?
I suspect you'll be fine as long as you do a better job of monitoring tire pressure. You couldn't hardly do a worse job than I did. I honestly think I am the poster child for wearing out a tire. Between tire pressure 'issues' (ahem), heavy throttle usage and not having an A spec tire, I really set myself up to fail.
Also, I got 4600 out of the BT-021's. Assuming you got more, you're prolly OK?
I got 8200 miles out of my front stock Stones and 10,000 out of the rear. :P I then put Angels on and got a touch less out of them. I forget exactly how much I got on them, but replaced them a bit early because I felt the traction had lessened more with the mileage so I changed them early and put on some PR3s. I could have gotten more mileage out of them I'm sure, but I sort of hate to slip. Initially the Angels were amazing. I got them because they seemed to need a shorter time to heat up and worked better when the temperature was lower. I was riding a lot during the Winter here in Pittsburgh. They are a great tire but I just thought they lost too much grip as the miles went up. They also seemed a lot like the original Stones as far as turn in goes once the miles racked up. I'm loving the PR3s so far.
42 PSI works well for this bike and give the best tire mileage. I have no problems in the twisties at that pressure and that is basically all I have around here. I'm lucky in that regard. :D
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+1