Motorcycle Test & Tech
"draggin' knees & rippin' T's"
|
Motorcycle Test & Tech "draggin' knees & rippin' T's"
|
|
|
Continental Cont-Trail Attack tires!
There are very few magazines that test tires under extreme conditions, anyone can test tires in the dirt on a sunny day, anyone can hop on a bike and ride around town and report back the tires are great, we test tires under as many different conditions as we are exposed to and this weekend was no different. The channel 7 Mega-Doppler plus morons told southern California that it might be a little wet this weekend but for those of us living above 3,000 feet were treated to a freak snowstorm that dropped 4 inches of snow. What a great way to test a new tire on Project QuickSilver, our 2008 BMW R1200 GS-A. I spent about an hour at Brown BMW early in the morning so I could get out on the road Saturday and put some miles on the new tires Continental sent us. I am sure they (nor I) had a clue as to what would transpire later in the afternoon as I wound my way home up the Cajon Pass to Oak Hills at 4300 ft elevation. As I got closer to my destination I kept a close eye on my DIC (digital information center) which among other things tells me the ambient temperature (which was dropping fast) and as I crested the top of the pass it was at 37 degrees! Not being anywhere as well trained as the meteorologists at channel 7 I was still able to recognize snow when I saw it and hustled home as I was ill prepared to be out in the white stuff.
The next three miles were certainly interesting and as I rounded the last corner for home and hit the muddy, snowy path leading to my driveway, I got off the bike and punched in the code to open the gate (which by the way cannot be done with gloves on) as I pulled in my daughter Ashli snapped this pic:
Now for the best part, I am actually still getting ready for the tire test, the wife and I are leaving on a 900 mile round trip to NorCal. So I will be updating this story when I return.
Building an Inter-Continental BMW Continental ContiTrail Attack Tire Test
Confidence is important when riding a motorcycle, this is especially true when duking it out on the freeways with vehicles that are two, three or ten times your size. Confidence comes in various forms, confidence in your bike, your skills and your equipment, the last thing you want is to second-guess your choice of tires. I recently had the opportunity to test a set of tires that from the moment I eased out into traffic aboard our newest bike “Project QuickSilver”, a 2008 BMW R1200 GSA initially shod with Continentals knobby DOT tire the TKC80 it was readily apparent this was a different bike than the one I rode to Brown BMW in Pomona for the tire swap. Before I get too deep into the meat and potatoes of the story lets take a minute and talk about our Teutonic steed, the 1200GSA. According to Wikipedia: The BMW GS series of dual purpose off-road/on-road BMW motorcycles have been produced from 1980 to the present day. The GS refers to either Gelände/Straße (German: off-road/road) or Gelände Sport. GS motorcycles can be distinguished from other BMW models because they have longer travel suspension, an upright riding position and larger front wheels – typically 19–21 inch. Both the R1150GS and R1200GS are available in an Adventure version, which adds a larger fuel tank, lower gearing and upgraded suspension to make it more suitable for long trips with heavy gear and supplies. The opposed two-cylinder "boxer" engine provides a comparatively low centre of gravity. This strongly contributes to the ability of these 1000 cc-class machines to travel on dirt roads and trails. The distribution of torque over a broad RPM range coupled with the relatively wide power pulses inherent in a long-stroke two cylinder motor provides consistent and predictable traction on loose road surfaces. As with the airheads, all oilhead GS models are shaft driven. However, the front suspension was changed from conventional forks to the Telelever, developed by British company Saxon Motodd, which uses a control arm to eliminate dive under braking. The GS is a popular choice with adventure motorcyclists and travelers. There are also a number of owners clubs dedicated to the bike. There is a strong aftermarket of accessories for the GS range which includes aluminum luggage, saddles, shock absorbers, screens, lights and GPS mountings.
In 2004 the R1150GS Adventure was made more popular after being used by actors Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman in their journey Long Way Round, which involved riding from London to New York by going east across Europe, central Asia, Alaska, Canada and the USA. They continued their association with the GS when Boorman used an F 650GS during his 2006 Dakar Rally attempt (documented in the book and TV series Race To Dakar), and in 2007 when both used the R1200GS Adventure in their journey Long Way Down, in which they rode from John O'Groats at the northern tip of Scotland, to Cape Town at the southern tip of Africa. Both the R1200GS and the F650GS were featured in the BBC TV series The Hairy Bikers' Cookbook, ridden by chefs Dave Myers and Si King. Rush drummer and lyricist Neil Peart used an R1100GS for a 14 month long 55,000 mile self-healing trip, documented in the book Ghost Rider: Travels on the Healing Road, that he made in the late 90's following the tragic deaths of his only daughter and wife. Peart also used the R1200GS with an 1150GS as a backup on his 2004 motorcycle trip between gigs on Rush's 30th Anniversary tour, a trip he documented in the book Roadshow: Landscape with Drums, A Concert Tour By Motorcycle. On 27 July 2007, the BMW R1200GS and R1200GS Adventure reached a production record of 100,000 units since its launch in 2004, making it the most popular BMW motorcycle.
So that now that you have a better understanding of the bike let’s talk tires. For all intents and purposes the GSA is an off road motorcycle that is street legal, hence the reason it came with knobby tires from the factory, the knobby tire however is poor choice for spending 90% of your time on the road. I was surprised at the level of street performance the TKC80 provided on the street as none of my previous motorcycles had knobby tires on them so riding a huge bike on the freeway with knobs was new to me. I figured if Continental can build a knobby that will allow for a high level of street performance why not try the new Dual Sport tire, the ContiTrail Attack? I had a perfect reason to swap out the rubber on the beemer, the wife an I were going to take “Project QuickSilver” out on a 800 mile round trip from SoCal to Merced, ride 90 miles to check out Corbin’s facilitythen over to visit BMW of Santa Cruz County and then home, definitely not a knobby friendly trip. So back to Pomona where my tire test would officially start and out onto Mission Blvd, weaving my way through mid-morning Saturday traffic toward the 71 freeway north up to the 210 freeway 30 miles to the 15 freeway north to the top of Cajon Pass, all freeways have light traffic with light cloud cover, temps are in the 50’s all is right with the world. That lasted 20 minutes, by the time I got to Interstate 15 north there was some fairly serious cloud cover and it started to sprinkle, in and of itself that wouldn’t be bad however the temperature dropped from 52 to 40 degrees in ten minutes and by the time I got to the bottom of the Cajon Pass near the CHP truck weigh station it was 38 degrees!
In the space of five miles and five minutes the rain had turned to snow and the temp was 33 degrees. I know I told the Continental guys I would give the Trail Attacks a good test but this was crazy, I was ill prepared for riding in the snow (as if anyone is prepared to ride in the snow on a bike) and I was on brand new tires. Most tire manufacturers will suggest at least a one hundred mile break in period before really pushing the tires to their limits, less than fifty miles on a new set of tires I found myself in a position of testing my limits and confidence in my equipment and I have to say this tire test is off to a great start. While snow and mud are not what the new ContiTrail Attacks were designed for they didn’t do too bad, and as I pulled into my driveway I marveled at the fact I made it home in one piece. I did not get a chance to ride again until Tuesday and after installing the requisite amount of Ride-On CHS high speed tire sealant in the new tires I took the GS out to the freeway to put a few more miles on her before loading up the panniers for our trip. From the Ride-On website: Commercial High Speed™ Formula (CHS™) is a revolutionary gel that helps balance tires and turn them into self-sealing tires using fibers that are six times stronger than steel. CHS™ helps tires maintain their pressure up to 500% better than untreated tires. Properly inflated tires that are balanced run cooler and last longer. Less flexing, bounce and fatigue equals longer tire life - up to 25% or more! The CHS™ formula is designed for use in medium and heavy trucks, tractors, trailers, buses, roll-offs, street sweepers, tanker trucks, or any commercial vehicle that travels at speeds in excess of 30 mph.
In the past I have installed Ride-On in everything I own that has tires on it, the product works as advertised and doesn’t ball up and ruin expensive wheels like that green crap. It should be noted that our BMW has a DIC (digital information center) which displays tire pressure, during our trip which included some high speed running with 90 degree ambient temperatures the tires never got so hot as to rise more than 1psi more than when cold. Thursday morning we loaded the bike and climbed on setting our sights on Merced figuring we could probably make it about six and half hours. Kristen and I headed north up the 395 from Victorville to the four corners where we would take the 58 through Mojave and into Tehachapi, that part of the trip would allow us to test the Trail Attacks in high winds as the crosswinds blowing across the freeway for the next two hours would cause me to lean the bike at a 20 degree angle and up to 35 degrees when the 40MPH winds gusted making me wish for the first time in my life my motorcycle had a seatbelt. The best way to descried how it felt on the new tires was like riding on gummy bears, I never felt nervous about grip and always felt very surefooted. When we left the house it was 50 degrees and when we blew into Tehachapi (literally) it was 40degrees and with the wind-chill it felt more like 30! While sitting in the parking lot of the gas station we met a couple of BMW owners one of whom is a regular on the ADVRider website (nice meeting you Duke) and a few non motorcycle owners who simply wandered over to check out the huge bike and ask questions about it and us.
We left Tehachapi and arrived in Bakersfield where we traded wind for a weird odor which neither of us could quite describe and when we asked about it during a rest stop the locals said “what odor”? North out of Bako (as the locals call it) we headed up the 99 freeway and didn’t need fuel until Tulare where my tummy started to rumble and we figured this would be a good time to fuel ourselves and the bike. I gave the bike a once-over taking particular care to note the condition of the tires and we were off again with our final destination only an hour and a half away. Kris and I arrived in Merced without incident and met up with one of her friends who happens to be a BMW guy from when Moby Dick was still a guppy. After a great dinner we retired to our hotel and called it a night, Hollister beckons in the morning and I couldn’t wait to check out the Corbin factory 80 miles west of us.
In order for us to get to Hollister from Merced we needed to take a the 152 which is very scenic route that winds its way past the San Luis Reservoir state recreation area and eventually leads you to Casa De Fruta, a local rest stop with a wine tasting room, restaurant, rides and you guessed it a fruit stand. After filling up on fruits and nuts (this is California) we hit the road.
We rode into the parking lot of BMW of Santa Cruz County and after perusing the parts area and looking at the various bikes both new and used picked up a Wunderlich throttle lock and front fender extender. During our exchange with the parts counter guy we learned that directly across the street was a great Mexican restaurant called Cilantros where we could feed the beast and drink ice-cold Corona’s and margaritas.
Sadly our friend Mike couldn’t stay, as he wanted to get home before it got too dark, the 152 is not a friendly place for motorcycles at night he explained, too many drunks heading home from the recreation area. We wished him well and he headed toward Merced, we lit out of Watsonville and headed toward Salinas about 20 miles south where we would spend the night.
Kris and I hit the road after a hearty breakfast of crappy pancakes, lousy over easy eggs and weak coffee (I was smart enough to bring a Monster) and pointed the big bike south down the 101 to the 198 cutoff which would take us to interstate 5 south. The 198 between the 101 and the 5 is the very definition of 65 miles of bad road, perfect for the torque monster GSA and with the ContiTrail Attack tires well broken in and ready for the twisties I changed the setting on the ESA from comfort to sport, downshifted and told Kris to hold on tight.
It wasn’t long until we came up on slower traffic and when we had the opportunity we put them in the rearview mirrors and continued our assault on the tarmac, at one point I came up on a bike whos rider was in full leathers complete with knee pucks and passed him on the outside in a sweeping right hander, by the time he realized what was going on we were a memory and after another 20 seconds I couldn’t even see him in my mirrors. After 60 smiles of unbelievable fun we found a Starbucks at the end of our twisty run and Kris and I shared an ice cold chocolate frappathingo (I am not a Starbucks person therefore I don’t know the lingo)
I took a few pics of the Conti’s noticing there were no chicken strips left on the rear tire, smiled to myself and headed over to the gas station to tank up one last time before superslabbing it to Los Angeles down the 5. Kris had a great idea to stop at Abe’s Deli in Northridge where you can get the best roast beef sandwich west of the Mississippi and a couple of black and white cookies and in two hours we were home.
As I pulled into the garage taking stock of the last three days, the new friends we made, the scenery we took in and the 868 miles we chewed up I was satisfied with my tire selection for this trip. The ContiTrail Attack tires are an excellent match for a large (in our case humongous) dual sport bike, granted most of the riding we did was on asphalt or concrete but we did get to ride a bit of dirt while looking for some photo locations and while certainly not a knobby the Trail Attacks did very well in hard packed dirt, with a light sprinkling of loose dirt and rock on top. After all was said and done the Contis were an excellent tire choice for the type of riding we did all weekend, I was never worried that we might run into a situation where the tires wouldn’t do what we needed them to do. I was surprised and impressed at the same time at how far I could push the tire and at no time did I lose traction or even feel like I was going to. The Trail Attack tire gives a good feeling to the front of the bike allowing for a greater amount of input from the rider, road feel is transferred in such a way that makes you feel as though you are a better rider and in my case that is a good thing because every time I go for a ride I like to think I am getting better and that feeling gives me more confidence in my ability to push the bike that little bit further and a little bit harder. If you are in the market for a good set of Dual Sport tires for your bike and spend the majority of your time on the street this a serious tire worth looking into.
For more information visit the Continental website at www.conti-moto.com
|
|
Copyright 2005-2008 Dual Sport Bike Test, a division of Finishlinewest Inc. Site last updated: 03/13/2008 03:48:43 PM |
Yes Virginia there is a Santa Claus and he rides the unstoppable BMW R1200 GSA!
Taking a breather in Tehachapi, after 2.5 hours of high winds the author needed
a rest.
The author and his better half.
Casa De Fruta parking lot.
A HA! the elusive GPS and power cord.
TA's after 600 miles.
Our buddy Mike the BMW guy, yes that is his new Harley.
The Trail Attacks with just over 1000 miles on them.