Ring out the Old

I was really hoping to get a season's worth of riding on the original equipment tires that came on the NX. They're the ubiquitous Bridgestone Trail Wings, TW41 in the front and TW42 in the rear. Some folks refer to these tires as "Death Wings" due to their dearth of grip in off-pavement conditions.

When I owned a DR350SE, fellow owners hated them and would remove them, regardless of condition. I was fortunate, my DR350SE came with Dunlop D607s. They howled on pavement but I got good wear and gas mileage out of them. I eventually sourced a second wheel set for some Pirelli MT-21s and replaced the Dunlops with some Kenda K761s. I loved both; the MT-21s were great off-road and even on-road they were good (in the wet, too). The Kendas were pavement only, smooth and quiet.

I digress, I found the Trail Wings to be pretty good on the pavement and got good fuel mileage to boot (~94 mpg). However, at twenty-two years old, the carcass can begin to breakdown which would lead to catastrophic failure. While that's not necessarily bad in the dirt, it's going to be very bad on pavement, worse on pavement and in traffic. So, I opted to purchase some Shinko 705s from Motorcycle Superstore.

I ordered them on Tuesday, June 21, 2011 and received them two days later (!!). I don't care where M.S. is located, that's some fast handling & shipping. What's sad is that the Bridgestone's still look great, there aren't any cracks or splits and there's at least 1/4" of tread depth left. However, I'm not willing to take the risk (on having them fail massively). The Shinkos were $92 for both (on sale as of this writing) which included free shipping. They mounted up easily and the only issue I encountered was that the front Shinko (90/90/-21) is slightly wider at the tread shoulder than the original Bridgestone (2.75-21). This caused some interference issues with the front fender/fork brace. I had to reform it to clear the new tire.

I took them for a spin to scuff them in. I did not notice any difference in smoothness/vibration but they do ride much more quietly. I've seen several reviews, both on M.S.'s web site, on TransAlp.org and on AdvRider. Most agree they're a good value and wear slowly. I would hope they'll last a while and should based on the light weight NX. They have wide, deep sipes which should allow them to clear any mud quickly (although, I doubt I'll have the NX off-road any time soon) and prevent any hydro-planing. The rest of the week is supposed to be warm/hot and dry. So, I'll have ample opportunity to fully scuff them in before extended gravel riding on Saturday, July 2.

Tail like a Peacock

OK, so I have yet to ride the NX is the rain. However, I did ride it, this morning, through the wet. A storm system passed through Chicago-land just before I left for work. The roads were wet enough that water still pooled on the pavement and it had not yet begun to dry. I was pretty surprised by how wet everything was on the back of the bike. I have switched from the Givi Top Case ( I'll discuss why in a future post) to a simple rear rack and a SealLine waterproof shoulder bag. I use an Outdoor Research Dry Sack (25L) to protect the laptop which is strapped on the rear rack. Both the dry sack and the shoulder bag were wet and there was even a spot of the back of the seat that was damp, too. I have to think that the rear bodywork does not do a very good job of shielding the spray kicked up by the rear tire. I may look into adding some shielding now that I know this.

Additionally, the NX still rides on the original equipment tires; Bridgestone Trail Wings. I've heard of these tires referred to as "Death Wings" due to their lack of off-road grip. They seem to be pretty good on the pavement (for 22 year old tires) but they'll need to be replaced if only due to their age. In the mean time, if I can burn them up, I'll feel much better about replacing them.