new tires...less vibration?

[kevdog3019]

Just got new rubber on the front and rear and took a long ride today. WOW...what a difference with smoothness and vibration. I had them grease the shaft when the rear came off, but I would assume that won't cut vibration at all. Put Pirelli Diablo's on. Formerly had mismatched front and rear (Dunlop rear and Metzler front). Not certain why things are SOOOO much smoother now, other than maybe they were way out of balance before (front especially). My right hand would always go numb after a short while, and no issues today. I'm really liking this bike now. I was almost considering to sell since it felt so industrial and rough compared to my Breva 750. I had to be "in the mood" to drive it, however, this thing is amazingly smooth now and a joy to run. It's a good day! Anyones thoughts on why it's so much smoother would be appreciated? I've only had this thing one year and put one new rear on before.

[guzzi jon]

dial it in and its the among the most civilized of guzzi's. i have mistral pipes, modded airbox and fbf cross over, but the key is proper tuning, then with a PCIII dynolinking the sucker. It is the smoothest, most perfect running bike around

[richard100t]

Its kind of like buying a brand new pair of hand tailored shoes after running in worn out sneakers. I have Pirellis on my v11 & they are far better than the stock tires that came with the bike as new. I've heard good things about Metzelers & Michelin Pilots as well.

[WitchCityBallabio]

My bike had Metz RoadTec's on it when I got it. They were okay but not great IMHO. I also put on a set of Pirelli Corsa Diablo III's and I would have to say they are probably the best street tire I have ever driven. Excellent tracking through corners, quick and responsive, and they seem to heat up pretty quickly. I have 1500 fairly agressive miles on them and they seem to be wearing well too.

 

Someone suggested that perhaps I had a different perspective on them because the Ballabio's bars are higher, but it sounds like you also find them to be an improvement on the LeMans too.

[dlaing]

Anyones thoughts on why it's so much smoother would be appreciated?

Wheel balance is most likely.

Or maybe when the shaft was lubed they re-aligned the alignment marks

You might be able to tell by the frequency of the vibration and whether it occurred more from velocity or accelleration.

I presume shaft caused vibration would be more pronounced durring various throttle loads and would be at a higher frequency than wheel vibration.

Not sure how shaft vibration would compare to engine vibration in the various gears, but some gearhead might enlighten us.

As far as I know wheel imbalance vibration frequency and strength (amplitude) increases with speed.

Pulling in the clutch at speed of vibes is usually a good test, but you can't test now

[Dan M]

Just got new rubber on the front and rear and took a long ride today. WOW...what a difference with smoothness and vibration. I had them grease the shaft when the rear came off, but I would assume that won't cut vibration at all. Put Pirelli Diablo's on. Formerly had mismatched front and rear (Dunlop rear and Metzler front). Not certain why things are SOOOO much smoother now, other than maybe they were way out of balance before (front especially). My right hand would always go numb after a short while, and no issues today. I'm really liking this bike now. I was almost considering to sell since it felt so industrial and rough compared to my Breva 750. I had to be "in the mood" to drive it, however, this thing is amazingly smooth now and a joy to run. It's a good day! Anyones thoughts on why it's so much smoother would be appreciated? I've only had this thing one year and put one new rear on before.

 

Dave makes a good point about the shaft being put back in alignment if it was off before. Vibration from the shaft would increase with vehicle speed but engine speed should have no effect. There are a few reasons new tires make a difference too, and sometimes they work together. Uneven wear, flat center wear will cause the bike to vibrate and weave at speed. Balance changes as they wear too.

New, balanced tires that are perfectly round make all the difference>

[rocker59]

My bike had Metz RoadTec's on it when I got it. They were okay but not great IMHO. I also put on a set of Pirelli Corsa Diablo III's and I would have to say they are probably the best street tire I have ever driven. Excellent tracking through corners, quick and responsive, and they seem to heat up pretty quickly. I have 1500 fairly agressive miles on them and they seem to be wearing well too.

 

Someone suggested that perhaps I had a different perspective on them because the Ballabio's bars are higher, but it sounds like you also find them to be an improvement on the LeMans too.

 

I think that was me. I didn't like the Pirelli Diablo Corsas on my Nero Corsa. It steered slow.

 

Other people with Ballabios, Cafe Sports, etc. seem to like them.

 

The only difference in the bikes is handlebars vs. clipons. I believe that the higher amount of leverage achieved with the tubular bars makes the Sports "steer quicker" than the LeMans-series bikes.

 

I'm currently running the Z6 Roadtec and really like them. I may try the Diablo Strada next. I'm using the Nero Corsa for sport-touring, otherwise I'd be running something like a Bridgestone BT-014 or Michelin Pilot Power ...

 

I really like the BT-014 on my Sport 1100, but they only last a couple thousand miles.

 

As to the original poster, yes, it's amazing how much difference a new set of tires makes on a motorcycle !!!

[kevdog3019]

Thanks guys for all the input. I think it is a combination of wear and balance. It feels much more stable while cornering as well. I realize flat spots and wear in general will highly affect lean from a fluidity aspect. It's the cats meow now in all respects. I'm looking forward to my trip down to through the Blue Ridge in a couple weeks. Loads of twisties!