I'm big on mineral spirits, Stoddard or white solvent that side of the pond?
Kerosene with less stink and I think less residue afterwards. I can touch up paint after a mineral spirits wipedown.
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Kawasaki W800
- Thread starter Raymond
- Start date
Kerosene with less stink and I think less residue afterwards. I can touch up paint after a mineral spirits wipedown.
Back from another Cheshire outing and as usual Polly performed faultlessly over the 440 mile return trip.
And as usual, took my M-way avoidance route. Brough, Kirby Stephen, Sedburgh, Kirby Lonsdale, Slaidburn, Clitheroe, A59 then regretfully the M6 through Manchester. The route involves passing over the high moors of the Forest of Bowland, known I think as the Lythe Fells road. Narrow roads, high passes, panoramic views. More cyclists than cars, more sheep than cyclists come to that. If you're on two wheels and not in a hurry to get someplace, it's much better than the M6, IMHO.
Attempted to follow the same route in reverse and this time managed to get lost but hey, it's an adventure right?
However, that rear Kenda tyre, which I have never been too sure about, is getting well worn and was giving me not-a-lot of confidence which is a shame as some of the roads we ended up riding while lost before reaching Gisburn were so twisty. It starts to be hard work on narrow, unknown roads with endless bends, dodgy surfaces and a question in your mind as to whether that rear is going to let go if you ask just a little bit too much.
So replacement tyre or tyres is now at the top of the agenda. Would it be stoopid to replace the rear Kenda - a blocky tyre - with a Roadrider while leaving the front Kenda, also blocky, on the front? It might even be illegal to run that combination, so maybe I need to replace both tyres. Avon Roadriders which I've used for most of the bike's life? Or something different again? Recommendations welcomed!
Another factor, I've heard that Avon is going to stop manufacturing bike tyres later this year, which is a Big Shame.
And as usual, took my M-way avoidance route. Brough, Kirby Stephen, Sedburgh, Kirby Lonsdale, Slaidburn, Clitheroe, A59 then regretfully the M6 through Manchester. The route involves passing over the high moors of the Forest of Bowland, known I think as the Lythe Fells road. Narrow roads, high passes, panoramic views. More cyclists than cars, more sheep than cyclists come to that. If you're on two wheels and not in a hurry to get someplace, it's much better than the M6, IMHO.
Attempted to follow the same route in reverse and this time managed to get lost but hey, it's an adventure right?
However, that rear Kenda tyre, which I have never been too sure about, is getting well worn and was giving me not-a-lot of confidence which is a shame as some of the roads we ended up riding while lost before reaching Gisburn were so twisty. It starts to be hard work on narrow, unknown roads with endless bends, dodgy surfaces and a question in your mind as to whether that rear is going to let go if you ask just a little bit too much.
So replacement tyre or tyres is now at the top of the agenda. Would it be stoopid to replace the rear Kenda - a blocky tyre - with a Roadrider while leaving the front Kenda, also blocky, on the front? It might even be illegal to run that combination, so maybe I need to replace both tyres. Avon Roadriders which I've used for most of the bike's life? Or something different again? Recommendations welcomed!
Another factor, I've heard that Avon is going to stop manufacturing bike tyres later this year, which is a Big Shame.
What size is the rear?
Anymore some sizes are run what you can find. Shinko 705s on the R1200GS I corner pretty hard on those semi dirt tires. The rear is prolly a 3K tire on the heavy 100HP Beemer.
One more pair for you.
Very good point, one of my many failings is that I never (rarely) remember to stop and snap. So here's one from that internet of one of the passes on the Lythe Fells road:What….no photos? How am I supposed to live vicariously through you without photos?
Meanwhile, missing out on this:
Typical stretch of M6, except without the roadworks and queues of lorries.
Living vicariously through me might be a poor life choice . . .
Haha!
I don’t know Raymond, from my side of the fence, it looks like you’ve got a pretty good thing going.If that photo of the road is representative of where you were riding , that’s pretty spectacular! ( The highway looks pretty much like what I’ve got near me ) We are building and spreading at such a break neck pace near me, it’s getting harder and harder to get to open desert without a slog on a major highway.
Representative, definitely. But the route is so varied, lots of different landscapes.
Just looked at the fuel receipts - Polly averaged just over 70 miles per Imperial gallon, so I expect that's about 56 miles per US gallon?
Just looked at the fuel receipts - Polly averaged just over 70 miles per Imperial gallon, so I expect that's about 56 miles per US gallon?
