Ace cafe adventure bike day 20.03.22 - Dark side spotted.

[pichulec]

I have been in Ace cafe yesterday, there was Adventure Bike day.
Look what I spotted.
I heard about it but seen first time ever. Not convinced.... Bike was very neglected, I could see brake fluid in rear reservoir with the color of tarmac....

[UK_Vstrom650]

I suspect that's very dodgy with insurance... when I had my old cruiser, Avon tyres USA promotes a slightly wider rear tyre as a 'stage 1' upgrade in the USA, but when I asked Avon UK if I could do it, they said no as UK law is different & I'd have to use the standard size tyre which they were developing. Try telling your insurance company you're putting a car tyre on the rear...

Out of interest @Kwackboy, would that pass an MOT in the UK?

[Mr Nick]

Shouldn't pass as a solo motorcycle as unsuitable tyres are a major defect as far as I understand it from the manual.

5.2.3. Tyres

Spare tyres are not included in the inspection, but you should tell the presenter if you notice a defect.
Size and type

The aspect ratio of a tyre is included in the size marking. For example, a 170/55R17 has an aspect ratio of 55%. On motorcycles with twin front or rear wheels, check that each tyre on the ‘axle’ is the same size and structure.

Examples of an unsuitable tyre are:

    a sidecar or car tyre on a solo motorcycle - sidecars may be fitted with either car or motorcycle type tyres
    a tyre specifically designed for front wheel use fitted to the rear wheel
    a bias belted tyre fitted to the front with a cross-ply tyre fitted to the rear
    a radial tyre fitted to the front and a cross-ply or bias belted tyre fitted to the rear.

[pichulec]

UK_Vstrom650, I have spoken to the bloke and he said it is passing MOT, but I rather doubt it will pass it in the random garage.

[UK_Vstrom650]

Interesting. So 'passes' an MOT but illegal if police stop you (vehicle unroadworthy), and likely to void your insurance in the event of an accident.

This is one of those just because you can, doesn't mean you should.

That rear brake fluid colour makes me want to change it for him 

[kwackboy]

  must handle real bad .. !!

At first glance I thought it was a race wet , which would fail as an unsuitable tyre , his car tyre would be in the same category.

Definitely wouldn't pass that , whoever did must have got a sneaky £50 in a brown envelope..!!

[The Doctor 46]

I've read about car tyres on bikes somewhere before, that's not a one off. I know how it feels to ride twisty B roads with a squared off rear tyre, I can't imagine how crap a car tyre would feel but for maximum distance a car tyre seems to work best. I'll never ride far enough to suffer a ride like that, I would rather walk........... Still, I haven't tried it. It might be something I could get used to but I doubt it.

I have been to an an edventure bike meet at the Ace. I saw some genuine adventure bikes and some ridicules things with everything including the kitchen sink bolted on. All the gear but no idea. I met some real adventurers though who had some great tales to tell. Well worth a visit in my opinion. 

[V-Twin]

Yes its a fantastic place the Ace Café.
Been there many times on the Kawasaki ZRX meets.
Some very interesting over modded bikes, but not for me.

[graingerblaze]

Some good videos on the matter:





Nope, that's one mod I won't ever try 

[Gert]

The bike in the pix of the first post, is certainly not a garage queen and looks well travelled. For all we know, that rear tyre may have been the only suitable size that was readily available at that point in time, to allow a journey to continue. Waiting for a specific tyre could be a major upset, especially if touring with a group of riders. Without all the facts, one can only speculate. I do understand that regulations differ from country to country.

[Mep]

I've seen the FortNine video about the tyre. I'm surprised to actually see someone using a tyre like that.

[mr_diver]

The bloke in the later video makes some massive and wrong statements about the r&d in the tyre industry and the industry in general.

[Mr Nick]

Of course the Chinese put more R&D in their £50 car tyres than any bike tyre makers do...

[Holmsey]

And everyone says my bike is filthy