burnbender
Member
I have a R1150R that seems to eat tires for sustenance. My suspension was shot so I took advantage of the MOA market place and purchased a set of shocks off a Rockster with only 25000 miles. My shocks had 43000 miles.
I am aware that most riders say to scrap OEM shocks and upgrade to Wilber or Ohlin. Not being able to so at this time I took the cheap out temporally. My old shocks were like pogo sticks so I had to dial up the damping and preload to excessive levels. I also realize that doing so was a great contributing factor to my tire woe's. The last 2 front tires I put on this bike cupped, I mean really cupped. I live in Illinois and most tire dealers I have spoken to say this is the primary reason for bad cupping. The only place I've ridden that had worse roads was Akron Oh. The replacement of the shocks has improved the ride greatly. I feel reasonably confident that they will get me through the rest of the season. I plan on attending the Falling Leaf Rally in a month and purchased a set of Michelin PR 4 GT tires.
Now to the real reason I am boring you all. I am a big guy, just sub 300# with system cases and a Givi trunk, so I inflate for 2 up with luggage according to the specs under my seat. 37 lbs front and 42 lbs rear. I recently rewatched a video by the infamous Chris Harris, I think he is very informative and fun, and he says to ignore BMW specs and inflate the front to 42 lbs and the rear to 44 lbs to get the best millage. Last year at Falling Leaf I was cornering to the best of my ability on those wonderful twisties to the point my toes started to drag. I am looking forward to trying again with really good tires and ok suspension. Any feed back on TP would be greatly appreciated.
I am aware that most riders say to scrap OEM shocks and upgrade to Wilber or Ohlin. Not being able to so at this time I took the cheap out temporally. My old shocks were like pogo sticks so I had to dial up the damping and preload to excessive levels. I also realize that doing so was a great contributing factor to my tire woe's. The last 2 front tires I put on this bike cupped, I mean really cupped. I live in Illinois and most tire dealers I have spoken to say this is the primary reason for bad cupping. The only place I've ridden that had worse roads was Akron Oh. The replacement of the shocks has improved the ride greatly. I feel reasonably confident that they will get me through the rest of the season. I plan on attending the Falling Leaf Rally in a month and purchased a set of Michelin PR 4 GT tires.
Now to the real reason I am boring you all. I am a big guy, just sub 300# with system cases and a Givi trunk, so I inflate for 2 up with luggage according to the specs under my seat. 37 lbs front and 42 lbs rear. I recently rewatched a video by the infamous Chris Harris, I think he is very informative and fun, and he says to ignore BMW specs and inflate the front to 42 lbs and the rear to 44 lbs to get the best millage. Last year at Falling Leaf I was cornering to the best of my ability on those wonderful twisties to the point my toes started to drag. I am looking forward to trying again with really good tires and ok suspension. Any feed back on TP would be greatly appreciated.