Behold, a tire
Worn through the center
A thousand burnouts fire
the tread but he doesn’t enter
any corner particularly quickly
far better to straighten up and let ‘er
rip that’s why the edges are still sticky
with the little extrusions seen on the better
tires but also the worse tires if truth be told
they are all pretty much constructed in that way
it’s an artifact of when they’re removed from the mold
click the jump to see the bike and read what we had to say
Of course it has a fender eliminator kit, who the fuck rides in the rain, amirite?
This week on TTAC, brother Bark answered a few questions in a single column, drove all night like Celine Dion, and disrespected auto dealers.
I entertained TTAC readers with a bedtime story of sorts and begged Honda to give the Accord a decent send-off. That last article was remarkably, almost insanely popular; thank you for that.
At R&T I did what nobody else has yet done: took a Fiat 124 Spider Abarth and a Miata Club to the racetrack. I also suggested that you stay away from trucks.
I’m going to spend this upcoming week hanging out with my son — but I will continue to write all the stuff you like and all the stuff you hate and even of that stuff about which you are profoundly indifferent.
IMO the 124 wins solely because it doesn’t have the Mazda “whale shark” styling.
oh, and one other hazardous place to be is in front of a tractor-trailer while descending a grade. Most trucks still have drum brakes at all wheels, and drums are notorious for fading away thanks to poor heat dissipating ability.
Actually the drums on Highway trucks and trailers will catch fire instead of fading. Brake fade is typically caused by boiling brake fluid which doesn’t apply to Highway rigs as A they use air brake systems and B all brake actuation happens outside the drum so heat won’t make them fade. If anything extreme heat makes more friction for better stopping right up until a tire catches fire or the wheel bearings overheat….
“actually,”* there are two types of brake fade:
1) overheating of the brake fluid, which boils and reduces hydraulic pressure (“soft pedal” fade)
2) overheating of the friction linings, which reduces the coefficient of friction between them and the drum/rotor due to out-gassing of the lining’s binders (“hard pedal” fade.)
Air brakes are immune to #1 obviously, and #1 is more common in disc brakes anyway.
all drum brakes are prone to #2, and a drum brake on fire is a drum brake which isn’t going to stop the vehicle. drum brake fade due to overheated linings has been well known for decades.
* next time you want to smugly correct someone by starting with “actually,” make sure you actually are right.
‘Actually’ (sorry , couldn’t resist) .
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I’ve seen air brakes big rigs with paper thin drums , more water in the system than air , flames coming out the brakes as they whistled past my scared shytless butt, hoping they’d get past me before crashing…..
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Brake spring cans can explode when the dufus who last touched it didn’t know how to properly assemble it….
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Brakes can fail in so many amusing ways .
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-Nate
Maybe I should clarify a drum brake on fire. It’s typically the backing plates as well as the bushings and grease in the cams that catch fire. I’ve never seen linings actually burn. I have seen linings stripped off shoes and had a couple of service calls for shoes welded to drums. Theoretically yes brake lining fade is possible on modern air brakes however with the forces involved you are more likely to blow a tire from extreme heat before the brakes actually fade. I certainly didn’t mean to be smug in my correction.
Outstanding job on the R&T article on trucks, Jack. I’ve grown up around them (dad was a service manager at an old-school GMC dealership when they still sold Class 8 stuff; I do a lot of truck component and system design at my day job), and they deserve the utmost in respect. Your closing paragraph was a pleasant surprise as well.
If nothing else, everyone needs to understand the potential impact on safety caused by the talent exodus from the truck-driving industry over the past few years as companies attempt to reduce costs (experienced unionized drivers earn more than a newbie), and that the medical requirements have become increasingly strict as well and have disqualified some of the most experienced drivers. The first aspect is undeniably bad if you’re strictly concerned with safety, and fleet records will soon reflect that (many have already seen an impact, in fact). The second aspect is a bit more complex of a debate (especially considering the physical demands placed on drivers who must also load and/or unload the cargo), but swapping in a younger and presumably healthier driver does not automatically increase safety over an older gent who maybe has higher blood pressure or finally got busted for his colorblindness, but who also has 30+ years of experience.
Bark, your article was eerily spot-on for me. Similar drive for similar reasons with similar exhaustion-induced introspection. For me, it was more like “All the Things You Remember About Yourself While Reading an Article About All the Things You Learn About Yourself While Driving Overnight”.
BTW :
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Riding a Motocycle in the rain isn’t hard nor scary *if* you have decent tires .
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This was a huge revelation to me 20 years after I began riding , finally bought some decent Metzler tires for my old Beemer and was almost immediately caught in a heavy rain storm , the bike remained planted and I was safely able to wick it up to almost 80 MPH and get out of it sooner .
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Wet weather riding still sux tho’.
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-Nate
I was turning in rain and hit one of those patches they use to fix cracks in the rode in a turn and my back wheel skipped. Scared the crap outta me.
@ Scott ;
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‘tar snakes ‘ always suck .
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Glad you didn’t go down .
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-Nate
Thanks. Always a little hesitant in turns when it’s wet out. I’ve wiped out before when i hit some gravel. It’s the nature of biking, you will fall so dress for it. Still love doing it.
The only times I’ve ever fallen were 40 + years ago before I had safety gear…
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Luckily I was wearing a helmet each time , my empty head was protected very well indeed .
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-Nate
I have an Aerostitch RoadCrafter two piece suit - Made in America! - which is just perfect for that. Sunny summer days, not so much…
Nate,
As you came to realize that particular day, certain tires work better on certain bikes, I use Continentals on my BMW K100RT, Metzlers on my R100GS/PD, and the heavy sidewall Harley Dunlops on my geezer glide (basically what each came from the factory with). I have tried different brands, and different types in each brand, but ended up going back eventually. Some I tried were horrible, Michelns on my geezer glide (lousy in rain, too much “squirm” in corners), Avons on my GS (wretched tire overall, wouldn’t put one on a wheelbarrow). I was surprised one time with a Cheng Shin. I was out of town, the sidewall split on the rear Avon on my GS (again) and the Cheng Shin was all the independent shop that came and got me had in stock that would fit. It was cheap to buy, but had decent handling and excellent tread life. Never used another, but in a pinch would again.
Just so ~ .
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My old short frame ’72 BMW R75/5 got really squirrley when I ran whatever brand tires on it , those were well known to get speed wobbles but it turned out it was simply American riders buying wrong and mis matched tires ~ I never had the speed wobble but before the Metzler Lazers I was running Dunlops and letting go of the handlebars at speed produced an unerving oscillation that never stopped….
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In the 1980’s I experimented with Cheng-Shin tires as they were dirt cheap , they didn;t last long and had close to zero grip on pavement , after some *exciting* if not enjoyable rides on them with my then young Son I dubbed them ” self lubricating ” and have avoided them ever since even though their new copies of high end tires are very good indeed .
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I had Avons on my 1937 Harley-Davidson EL KnuckleHead when I lived in Guatemala City in ’75/’76 , they seemed o.K. at the time .
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-Nate
I also tried various brands on my 1974 R75/5 with the same results. I found Continental Super Twins (back then) to work really well. As the bike has been apart for the last 5 years, insert embarrassed face here, I will need new tires when I get it back on the road, Not sure whether I will use the same Conti’s as on my K, or go with Metzlers.
I had tried Cheng Shin’s on my dirt bike a couple times in the 70’s,because as you said, dirt cheap. They wern’t worth the trouble to mount. The one I had to put on my GS was in 98/99 and I looked at it as a “get me the 400 miles home” tire. Like I said, I was pleasantly surprised with the quality versus what I remembered.
Jack, you used to be somewhat involved with Honda, right? Do you know anybody who could maybe be bribed to put together a couple of those V6 stick shift Accord sedans? We could setup a Kickstarter or something. It’ll be like those illicit factory-backed GM racing efforts from the 60s, except way less interesting. Maybe have ’em throw on some of the good headlights while they’re at it!
The sad thing is that at one point I had passwords and credentials to the robots that could have done it… what was I thinking, not running a few out the door for myself!
Compared to the idiot who stole Toyota V6 cylinder heads for their melt value, I would cheer that kind of workplace appropriation.
We had one of those retards too ~ a Driver who made $60K + a year driving a garbage truck but just _had_ to throw it all (medical,dental,eye glasses and retirement) away by stealing first cores , then old radiators , then freshly re cored $1,000.00 + Peterbuilt radiators all dumped for scrap value .
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The scrap guy realized there was a big problem coming his way when the pallet of freshly rebuilt radiators showed up for $75 each , he just set them aside and L.A.P.D. showed up a week later .
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Proof once again that STUPID & greed cannot be fixed .
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-Nate
The worst thing about motorcycling is other riders.
“The worst thing about motorcycling is other riders.”
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For me , it’s always been the other _Drivers_ .
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I realize that the butthead other riders make it so many cage drivers hate us on sight but they don’t go out to try and KILL YOU as the other drivers have done to me so many times and nearly succeeded September 30 2008 , a day I wish I could forget .
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-Nate
Totally agree. Rode 2500 miles last week at speeds up to 160mph, through all kinds of weather conditions, and often with deer jumping out of the woods. Most dangerous moment all week, however, was passing a car on a long straightaway on a bright sunny afternoon. No other traffic or animanls on road. For no reason the car suddenly veered into my lane just as my bike back wheel was passing the front fender of the car. Attempted murder? Probably not. Terminal stupidity? Most likely.
But that R1…unless he slabbed it from Florida to Arkansas and then got a tire change to go rip…
The link about bedtime story seems broken
I’ll fix it, thanks for the heads-up!
Link still broken : http://jackbaruth.com/www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2016/07/no-fixed-abode-ford-windstar-social-strivers/
-Nate
Aarrggh finally fixed it
The only time I’m anywhere near a semi-truck is when I’m passing them at full throttle or, occasionally, when they’re passing me while I coast. If there are already cars hanging out in the left lane beside the semi, I’ll just hang well back until a gap opens. I’d rather just wait than listen to the steady sound of sand and gravel relentlessly pelting my car.
As with merging at unusually high speed to hit a gap in front of congestion, any ticket resulting from these passes would be worth it, for all the years of safe practice.
My buddy’s wife is a nurse. It was not a good night at the hospital when a guy was essentially decapitated in front of his family by a large rock that had been wedged between the dual rear tires of a logging truck trailer. Nothing good can come of being near those things; or brodozers.
I had an uncle who was a long haul trucker. Rail thin chain smoker with a handlebar mustache. He wasn’t the brightest of guys and he eventually killed himself. But he did impart one piece of wisdom with me. DO NOT CUT OFF A TRUCKER, HE WILL END YOU. Advice I follow to this day.
That first pic shows what we call a “chicken strip”.