Passed through to the Darkside

[Sin City Stan]

Took the bike in Tuesday for a CT and a heat shield install. Got it back yesterday morning. CT took a half hour. The factory povided heat shield/delflector took the rest of the time. They actually had to call Kawasaki to get additional time OKd for the install. The top two screws in the radiator bracket were frozen. Ended up drilling them out.

The bead set with 50 PSI. Dydnabeads were installed.

As for the new 205/65/16 car tire, it replaced the stock "stone"(6500 miles). The installer inflated it to 34 PSI even though the work order said 40 per my instructions. I was in a hurry and figured I would air it up at home.

Big mistake. I had to take turns very slow or the rear end would start sliding out from under me. Couple that with 20 MPH winds gusting to 40 made the ride home tentative.

Got home and checked the air pressure and it was 34 as stated. Aired it up to 40. Put the GPS on the bike and went for a short ride. The GPS and speedo were always within +1 or -1 so I called it "dead on". With the winds I really didn't push the turns.

This morning on the way to work it was still windy but not as bad as yesterday. Each turn I came to I pushed a little harder. The rear end stayed put. I'm not taking turns as hard as before as I'm still in the break in period for the tire but I'm comfortable that the tire will stay underneath me now.

Observations:
The tire is almost an 1 1/2" taller and I actually noticed the 3/4" higher seat. Turning is a little different. Slight turns are about the same. But when turning there seems to be a point where extra turning pressure must be excerted before the lean angle can be increased. Once you hit and go past that point the amount of pressure to maintain or increase the lean angle is less. Going past that point has been a little unnerving for me because of the initial problem with the rear end sliding out, although I'm about past that now.

I also noticed the ride was smoother on a short patch of rough road I travel and the tire does not follow grooves in the road.

I'm going to have fun with this.


205/65/16 Goodyear Assurance Fuel Max