Hydraulic oil story ends happily

[kleopapas]

Dear All,

You may recall my post a while back in which I mentioned how I came off my TA on the M23 when I drove through some hydraulic oil that a lorry was leaking. Thanks to the Police and the Highways Agency, the lorry company did not contest my claim and they coughed up the £800 to repair my bike. In addition, I am receiving another £500 for damage to my clothes, helmet and gloves. Finally, the insurers sent me to a Harley Street specialist to assess my injuries and to reach a reasonable settlement figure. There is one immediate priority to be addressed just as soon as I get me hands on the cash and that is - tyres. The Bridgestone Trailwings my '07 TA came with are utterly loathsome. I do a daily commute of 30 miles and in the wet I feel like a fat bird walking on an ice rink, in stilettos. They are in my view totally unsuitable for city roads and on the motorway the vibration above 60mph is unbearable. I am thinking of swapping the BTs for the pure street tyre of Bridgestone, the BT45s. As always your feedback would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks, Kleo

[sproggy]

Glad to hear you've got that sorted, and relatively quickly too.

Regarding tyres, they're a very personal choice, but I wouldn't let Deathwings put you off the idea of dual-purpose tyres - they're universally agreed to be about the worst mainstream dual-purpose tyre for any bike.

I'm running Anakees and although they're good in the wet and dry they're squaring off more quickly than I'd expect (lots of two-up motorway miles commuting to and from work) so next time I'll go for the Continentals that everyone seems to be raving about. I've also used Tourances and D607's for tens of thousands of miles and been happy with both on BMW GSs (D607s are slightly better IMO), but haven't used them on a TA. I'm sure I heard someone claim that Tourances don't suit the TA, but maybe they just didn't suit the rider.

It's hard to go wrong, really......unless you have the Bridgestone Deathwings. Why do you want to stick with Bridgestones (BT45s)? There are plenty of other options around. Ask 10 people and you'll get 10 different recommendations so it's up to you really.

[flipfly]

Glad to hear it's getting sorted.

I would highly recommend the Continental Escapes. They have an of roady pattern but transform the bike. Nice quick but stable steering, tons of grip and relatively inexpensive.

The Trail wings are thoroughly ****e my friend. Honda should have shot the guy that decided any bike was deserving of that abomination of a tyre.

Tourances work on big trailies (I use them on my 1150GS) but our Transalp had a trailwing on the front and a tourance on the back when we bought it. Got no confidence with either. Changed to Escapes and the bike is a seriously good handler now.

[wheeliebin]

Glad the story ends happily, sorry, missed the begining.

I'd say the vibration you're suffering isn't the tyres, I'm running on the standard Sh1tstones without any problems.

[24ftlb]

I swear by the dunlop 607's but they are sodding expensive, but are 98% road tyres and grip like limpits. This time round Ive fitted a new pair of avon gripsters. I got a pair for less than 1 rear dunlop and they rock. 83quid for the pair from busters.

The bike feels like its digging in when you thrape it round a roundabout. I feel im getting more feedback as to what the tyres are doing than i did with the dunlops.

Reason for not replacing dunlop rear was just shear cost of the tyre.

Paul

[sproggy]

I'd say the vibration you're suffering isn't the tyres, I'm running on the standard Sh1tstones without any problems.

True - more likely to be unbalanced wheel/tyre combo or a slightly warped disk. I'd suggest getting the balance checked but if you're changing them anyway there's not much point.

[CC Baxter]

Glad to hear justice was served, stock Trailwings are awful. I threw a pair away with less than a thousand miles on them, I made no attempt to sell them because I wouldn't wish them on anyone! All tyres mentioned are may times better than what you had, but tyres are a personal thing. Tyres are all about confidence and the right pair for you will be the best money you ever spend. buy something you believe in and you should be happy.

[FatFergie]

Finally, the insurers sent me to a Harley Street specialist to assess my injuries and to reach a reasonable settlement figure.

Good news! I hope I don't sound like a stick in the mud but exercise caution with your personal injuries. If you reach a settlement and then find that you have more injuries than you at first thought it's basically tough.....It's possible to put off that part of a claim in this country ( Ireland) for a time.

I liked tourances but I think it's so much down to personal choice that my advice is largely irelevant. I didn't think trailwings were that bad either but I wouldn't buy them again because they wear so fast.

[RainMan]

Delighted to hear that things worked out for you, as regards the tyre question I've found the anakee's unbeatable in the wet, and as it's always wet here (Ireland) I've had ample opportunities to test them out in such conditions. The downside has already been highlighted by sproggy and that is they wear extremely fast due to the soft sticky compound, 4,000 miles and that's your lot, as a result I change mine with every service, I consider this a small price to pay for solid grip in the wet, but then again I rarely do motorway riding, so there may be a better option, like others have said, it's a very personal choice.

[kleopapas]

Cheers RM, the Anakees sound like a good option for the wet but would the Bridgestone BT45 not be better seeing as though they are a more street tyre than the Anakee which is still a dual purpose tyre?