[Nadular]

It was sunny and a balmy 23 degrees in upstate NY today. As I don't put away my bike for the winter, I look for days like this to get my Kat out and give her a 20 or 30 minute workout. The roads are dry and clear of snow, but caution was the word with patches of ice here and there (it was 56 yesterday.) I geared up in layers that made me resemble a skier and let the bike warm up for a good 10 minutes. I live in a tract that means lots of turns before I hit a main road. On the 3rd one, doing about 5 mph, the bike slid out like I hit an ice patch. But, there was NO ice! The only things I can think of are that maybe there was some salt dust that was enough to start a slide or the cold rubber of the rear tire wasn't grippy enough for any leaning turns.

I went down and slid for maybe 6 feet and that much only because the fall caused me to goose the throttle. I got a bruised knee out of the deal, the right side of my Kat's fairing has some ugly scrapes and my right front turning signal lens is basically gone (signal still operates.)

hmmm....the wife is calling me to help with dinner so I will end this here...any thoughts?

 

[jaydog19833]

Maybe you had some water on your tire the night before and it froze on the rubber? I don't know.

 

[prekarious1]

How old was the tire?

Cold rubber is bad just about anyway you want to look at it.

 

[Freakinout]

Cold rubber... cold (and possibly wet ground) is all a bad combination. All it takes is hitting something slick (water, ice, oil) with a cold tire and you'll be in trouble.

 

[Nadular]

How old was the tire?

Cold rubber is bad just about anyway you want to look at it.

That's part of my misery....the bike was still in the crate from the manufacturer till I bought it in July. The tire only has 3600 miles on it. 'S not my first time in the cold either...I used to ride my Kawasaki all year 'round too. That's why this was such a surprise.

*sigh* live and learn......

 

[Freakinout]

That's part of my misery....the bike was still in the crate from the manufacturer till I bought it in July. The tire only has 3600 miles on it. 'S not my first time in the cold either...I used to ride my Kawasaki all year 'round too. That's why this was such a surprise.

*sigh* live and learn......

The stock tires on katana's are crap-o-licious. That could be part of your problem.

 

[LayinLo]

I agree,
stock tire + cold= recipe for disaster

 

[prekarious1]

if nothing else, now you got a reason to get a custom paint job on there. New tires would be the first thing though. With that many miles you should of had them scrubbed in enough that the only major factor there was the cold. You said the road was dry but did this happen in an area that was in a shadow by chance?

 

[Nadular]

if nothing else, now you got a reason to get a custom paint job on there. New tires would be the first thing though. With that many miles you should of had them scrubbed in enough that the only major factor there was the cold. You said the road was dry but did this happen in an area that was in a shadow by chance?

No shadows....no ice....nuttin' that I could see other than some salt residue in the grain of the road. Not in a pile, sorta like in the cracks and crevices of the asphalt, outlining the gravel that makes up the road surface. That section of road was open to the sun for the whole day, too.

How many miles should you get out of the stock tires?

 

[prekarious1]

Don't think I have ever gotten more than 3k outta stock on any bike, but thats just the way I ride also

 

[Gixxerdale]

Don't think I have ever gotten more than 3k outta stock on any bike, but thats just the way I ride also

At 3000 miles mine look like worn out race slicks. Only once did I get 4000 miles out of a tire. Twisties, torque and horsepower are hard on tires. :roll:

 

[Nadular]

I am pretty sure I will need tires next summer...there's alot of tread left. But I won't be getting stock :!:

Here's a couple of shots of the worst of the damage.....

 

[Freakinout]

I'd replace the tires before you try and ride too much, no reason to mess around with something as important as those. A 150/60/17 and a 160/60/17 both fit on the newer kats ( I believe).

The fairings aren't too bad, it might be fixable, I've seen amazing things done with ABS plastics in the last few years. If not you might be able to find an ebay one and get it painted to match the bike. Replace the bar end, replace the brake lever, and maybe replace the mirror, I can't tell if the mirror is really that bad from the pics.

 

[Nadular]

The mirror wasn't bad really...

Would I get that plastic surgery from a regular body shop?

I did find some stuff on ebay, but most was more scraped up than mine.

I don't know how well this pic shows the scrape on the motor...

 

[Freakinout]

A good body shop should be able to fix that fairing without an issue. Its like using bondo, but its a ABS plastic filler.... a good body technician shouldn't have any problem with that. The motor scrap looks bad, but the cover is replaceable and you should be able to smooth the other metal out and recoat it with some rattlecan-engine paint.

 

[Nadular]

Well, Freak, you have been a fount of info. Thanks for your input, dude.

I will let you know how it turns out....I am gonna curb the impulse to ride when it's that far below freezing...at least till I get better rubber on her.