Okay, so now that I have your attention... this is a long read... so strap in!
So, over the last week, I have had three different discussions with new riders that I thought I should post up about:
1. Tire pressure
2. Suspension setup
3. Earl!
The first two are somewhat related; the third, not so much. So, here is MC's .02 - though admittedly, it probably isn't worth that much.
Not in order, but I'll start with Earl. Now, I don't care what your favorite is, or why you should choose one brand over another, or even if there is any value to using motorcycle oil over regular automobile oil.
This discussion is about Dino vs. Synthetic. And BTW, not all synthetic is full synthetic (or even really synthetic at all)... ready? Here we go - oh, and for the record - I am not:
A Chemist
A Physicist
A Scientist
Heck, I ain't really even that good of a wrentch... so take these as the looney ravings of an enthusiast...
Hookay - so on to Earl...
I have had discussions with a couple of people recently about Dino vs. Synthetic Earl. Mostly because I developed a nasty leak and couldn't find it for anything. As background... She has never leaked earl and this one ws sudden and annoying! So, I did what any of us would do... I grabbed a beverage (my preference is Chelada!) and got to tearing her down... pulled the inners, the lowers, the airbox and started looking around. Nothing... just Earl... and the funny thing about gravity is that it makes it so where you see the Earl, probably ain't where it is coming from... so, pull up the rubber over the cylinders and I see Earl coming from around one of my valve cover bolts I check and sure enough, I can turn it with my fingers. Anyway, it is the forward center... I don't have a kit, but the one shop I trust (Wheelers doesn't count) did... of timeserts... (much mo' betta than helicoils) anyway, problem solved and I am back out there... except...
still leaking - and worse than before. Again, couldn't find it; so again, up on stands and off with her clothes. Can't find the leak... at least, not until I covered the entire right side of the motor with baby powder and went riding... found where the leak started. And yes got it fixed. But here is the discussion part (day or so before I fixed her):
As I am telling my new rider friend about the leak, he askes me what Earl I run, and I explain that I am running Royal Purple... he proceeds to explain that that is probably my issue and that I am wasting my money on expensive synthetic Earl... and doing damage to my engine on top of it.
Now, the rear tire on his KWAK 636 has chickin strips about 4 inches wide, but I figure maybe he is a mech who can't ride (like me) so I go ahead and bite... "Oh? And why is that?" Man am I really glad I asked... So, NEWB proceeds to explain tha the synthetic Earl eats seals and gaskets and that I am just causing my engine to leak by using it... I learn in the conversation that he uses mobil 1 from the big W, regular auto, type four each. (not my bag, but it is his scoot). He proceeds to explain that the longer I have the synthetic Earl in her, she will leak worse and worse and ...
So, I asked him if I could prefer an alternate explaination and he said sure (BTW, he had not seen Bessie at this point - after I found the leak, she got grounded until I fixed her)...
I suggested that my leak was not weeping seals, it was a legitimate leak - I found the first one, and would find the leak. Bessie is an older gal, so the gasket/seal argument does hold a little water, most of the gaskets and such could probably stand to be changed, based on age and dryrot/brittleness/etc... however, switching from Dino to synthetic doesn't cause leaks by eating seals these days... typically with all the advanced detergents in them, they clean your motor - in someways, possibly too well. Sometimes, the sludge that builds up in your motor actually prevents leaks by filling in nicks, gaps, dryspots on gaskets/seals, serving to mask a potential problem. Switching to a high detergent synthetic will clean the motor and sometimes cleans away the sludge allowing the damage to present itself. Anyway, I did find the leak, it was a gasket issue where one was installed without scraping all the old one off, leaving a gap... pull cam chain tentioner, remove gasket, strip old crap, reinstall gasket and CCT and all is well!
Okay... tires, Guy number asks me what I run Bessie... I explain just I just went with Road 2s... he tells me how the tires are garbage and how I can't expect to flick her around at all with those... I need something better, like Diablos or Qs or something... When I ask why he tells me 'cause they are better and tires make all the difference... can't ride well without good tires. I say okay... I haven't seen his scoot, but he proceeds to explain that he rides and R1. This guy is bigger than I am, so I ask. Pilots he says. So he goes on to tell me how much he loves 'em... (I ran 2CTs as my last set), but then out of no where he says, ya know, sometimes it feels like I am riding a John Deere tractor... So I ask: How often do you check your air pressure? He says pretty regular, every couple of weeks or so... I suggested to him that with the seasonal change, once a week isn't enough... temp changes can drop tire pressure 4-5 psi or more... never mind and sort of leak... tire psi can radically change the performance aspects and handling of your scooter!
Different guy asks me about suspension... he explains that he has twisted knobs and turned dials and it never really seems to get any better... I ask him how much he weighs... he is on a zx-12... he tells me about 230; I explain that he probably needs to get his forks re-springed; he asked me why? I explained that most bikes are set up for the average guy... 180 lbs'ish...
To connect the last two, we checked his tires and he was running 29 in the rear and 19 in the front... WOW... tractor is right! Respring, revalve, upgrade ... bike set up is among the most important of performance aspects and one of the most overlooked...
So, don't care which tires you run, but the best tires out there are only a partial solution...
Anyway, I am rambling ... but it is fun... nothing technical, just something to think about...
MCM
So, over the last week, I have had three different discussions with new riders that I thought I should post up about:
1. Tire pressure
2. Suspension setup
3. Earl!
The first two are somewhat related; the third, not so much. So, here is MC's .02 - though admittedly, it probably isn't worth that much.
Not in order, but I'll start with Earl. Now, I don't care what your favorite is, or why you should choose one brand over another, or even if there is any value to using motorcycle oil over regular automobile oil.
This discussion is about Dino vs. Synthetic. And BTW, not all synthetic is full synthetic (or even really synthetic at all)... ready? Here we go - oh, and for the record - I am not:
A Chemist
A Physicist
A Scientist
Heck, I ain't really even that good of a wrentch... so take these as the looney ravings of an enthusiast...
Hookay - so on to Earl...
I have had discussions with a couple of people recently about Dino vs. Synthetic Earl. Mostly because I developed a nasty leak and couldn't find it for anything. As background... She has never leaked earl and this one ws sudden and annoying! So, I did what any of us would do... I grabbed a beverage (my preference is Chelada!) and got to tearing her down... pulled the inners, the lowers, the airbox and started looking around. Nothing... just Earl... and the funny thing about gravity is that it makes it so where you see the Earl, probably ain't where it is coming from... so, pull up the rubber over the cylinders and I see Earl coming from around one of my valve cover bolts I check and sure enough, I can turn it with my fingers. Anyway, it is the forward center... I don't have a kit, but the one shop I trust (Wheelers doesn't count) did... of timeserts... (much mo' betta than helicoils) anyway, problem solved and I am back out there... except...
still leaking - and worse than before. Again, couldn't find it; so again, up on stands and off with her clothes. Can't find the leak... at least, not until I covered the entire right side of the motor with baby powder and went riding... found where the leak started. And yes got it fixed. But here is the discussion part (day or so before I fixed her):
As I am telling my new rider friend about the leak, he askes me what Earl I run, and I explain that I am running Royal Purple... he proceeds to explain that that is probably my issue and that I am wasting my money on expensive synthetic Earl... and doing damage to my engine on top of it.
Now, the rear tire on his KWAK 636 has chickin strips about 4 inches wide, but I figure maybe he is a mech who can't ride (like me) so I go ahead and bite... "Oh? And why is that?" Man am I really glad I asked... So, NEWB proceeds to explain tha the synthetic Earl eats seals and gaskets and that I am just causing my engine to leak by using it... I learn in the conversation that he uses mobil 1 from the big W, regular auto, type four each. (not my bag, but it is his scoot). He proceeds to explain that the longer I have the synthetic Earl in her, she will leak worse and worse and ...
So, I asked him if I could prefer an alternate explaination and he said sure (BTW, he had not seen Bessie at this point - after I found the leak, she got grounded until I fixed her)...
I suggested that my leak was not weeping seals, it was a legitimate leak - I found the first one, and would find the leak. Bessie is an older gal, so the gasket/seal argument does hold a little water, most of the gaskets and such could probably stand to be changed, based on age and dryrot/brittleness/etc... however, switching from Dino to synthetic doesn't cause leaks by eating seals these days... typically with all the advanced detergents in them, they clean your motor - in someways, possibly too well. Sometimes, the sludge that builds up in your motor actually prevents leaks by filling in nicks, gaps, dryspots on gaskets/seals, serving to mask a potential problem. Switching to a high detergent synthetic will clean the motor and sometimes cleans away the sludge allowing the damage to present itself. Anyway, I did find the leak, it was a gasket issue where one was installed without scraping all the old one off, leaving a gap... pull cam chain tentioner, remove gasket, strip old crap, reinstall gasket and CCT and all is well!
Okay... tires, Guy number asks me what I run Bessie... I explain just I just went with Road 2s... he tells me how the tires are garbage and how I can't expect to flick her around at all with those... I need something better, like Diablos or Qs or something... When I ask why he tells me 'cause they are better and tires make all the difference... can't ride well without good tires. I say okay... I haven't seen his scoot, but he proceeds to explain that he rides and R1. This guy is bigger than I am, so I ask. Pilots he says. So he goes on to tell me how much he loves 'em... (I ran 2CTs as my last set), but then out of no where he says, ya know, sometimes it feels like I am riding a John Deere tractor... So I ask: How often do you check your air pressure? He says pretty regular, every couple of weeks or so... I suggested to him that with the seasonal change, once a week isn't enough... temp changes can drop tire pressure 4-5 psi or more... never mind and sort of leak... tire psi can radically change the performance aspects and handling of your scooter!
Different guy asks me about suspension... he explains that he has twisted knobs and turned dials and it never really seems to get any better... I ask him how much he weighs... he is on a zx-12... he tells me about 230; I explain that he probably needs to get his forks re-springed; he asked me why? I explained that most bikes are set up for the average guy... 180 lbs'ish...
To connect the last two, we checked his tires and he was running 29 in the rear and 19 in the front... WOW... tractor is right! Respring, revalve, upgrade ... bike set up is among the most important of performance aspects and one of the most overlooked...
So, don't care which tires you run, but the best tires out there are only a partial solution...
Anyway, I am rambling ... but it is fun... nothing technical, just something to think about...
MCM
