Other than straight line braking I don’t know why dual compound sport tires aren’t a thing.
When I raced an SV 650 and GSXR 750 I would use one rear in two days and one front in 3-4 days. This was doing ± 4 practice sessions and 6 or 7 sprint races over 2 days. Most often the rear was trashed by the end and I would have to modify how I rode to stay up. The front would often have enough rubber left but the performance would diminish due to the number of heat cycles in the tire. There are lots of things that go into finding the right tires for your bike and conditions that you ride in but nothing is more important that having a properly set up suspension.
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This may not be true of touring bikes, but for sport bikes almost everyone needs to buy and install the correct springs. Then set up the suspension.
The difference is incredible.
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I don’t want any of you daredevils to miss this opportunity!
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Western Canada - Where ya from?
I put a gazillion miles on bikes - with scars to show for it - on Vancouver Island (Comox Valley) from late 70s til… well, if it STOPS snowing, this upcoming spring…
7? Honda Trail 90 → 77 YZ80 → 79 IT175 → 82 RM125 → 95 Honda XR-250L. Good way to grow up. No maps, no GPS, no phones. Still have the XR250L (and a pristine 87 Vmax) but get about 2 rides a year in. With gas, insurance and maintenance that equates to about $287 per ride… Sigh.
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I used to go with a gal – technically a quad – who was in a wheelchair. She was able to stand up a bit for short spells and had fully regained arm use (with some limited dexterity in her hands – she called them her gimpy hands). Her mom and step dad were both motorcycle riders. I asked her one day if there was any way she’d like to try a short ride. She said she’d love to but her frequent leg spasms would cause her feet to slip off the pegs. I said – “What if we could keep you feet on the pegs?” She said hell ya. The next day I went out and bought a pair of shoes and removed the rubber pads from the footpegs and double heavy velcro’d and bolted the shoes to the pegs under the insoles. I showed up to her folks place and handed her a helmet and coaxed her outside. She looked at the setup and I asked – “So?” A bit to my surprise she was more than keen to go right now! We lifted her on the bike, tied her feet in tight, gave her my leather riding jacket and geared up her head and I then learned - mounting a bike AFTER the passenger is already aboard not a natural feat. I started the bike, put it in gear and once again turned and asked – “OK, You SURE you wanna do this? Because if we crash……” She just replied “Well I’m already broken- let’s GO!” We went for a solo ride first and the next day went out with her mom. She was happy she could go for a ride with her mom. The harder the acceleration, the faster those legs would vibrate (spasm). Other than endless helmet bashing together it was always a very fun ride. Mind you it was always a round trip….
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3 old guys: the driver, the Yamaha FZR1000 (1987) and the Suzuki Hayabusa (2001). The Yamaha is for rides into the mountains, the Suzuki for the Autobahn (high-speed 190 miles/hour - makes fun !).
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Out in the bush in central AB.
OK, OK I gave up and purchased the ideal opposite to my Moto Guzzi V100S. I picked up a Moto Guzzi V7 III STONE 850 TEN. The purchase was really, really fate like.
I bought the bike on 7/11. We have that. When I got my license plate, the DMV tossed me a random plate that reads MGJ67.
The first V7 was offered for sale in 1967. So my comemerative plate is Moto Guzzi January 1967 How’s that happen?
The bike was meant to be mine. The V100S has a friend in the garage.
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I have 10,000 miles on my Moto Guzzi V100S Pirelli Angel GT2 II dual compound tires. I’ll buy them again but I still have to get to the wear bars on the rear! Maybe 1,000 miles more to go. Dual compound tires are a thing with me!
Galen
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Wonderful purchase! Great plate.
The Angels are excellent tires.
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Gorgeous stablemate with a personalized plate you don’t have to pay extra for!
Fortunately dual compounds have always fit my riding style and sport touring preference. Front and rear I consistently get/got about 16K from Dunlop Roadsmarts on my FJR1300 and the R1150RT before it.
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I have Angel GT tires on my Ducati Multistrada. I have tried other tires but the Angels are my strong favorites. I get about 7500 miles out of a pair. Excellent tires!
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Now 16K is REALLY, REALLY good MC tire mileage! The Angel GT2’s are my current top dog’s on mileage. I may get 12K out of them. 11K looks pretty certain at this point on the rear. I change tires at the same time so the front looking good for 14K or so isn’t a thing with me.
I will have to look at the Dunlop road smart tires, too! Great tip.
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The V7 is turning out to be really fun. The heat from the catalytics in each muffler is totally transparent. No real heat from the jugs, either. Strange. This is the “coolest” in the literal sense bike I’ve ever ridden. The V100S is HOT at a stop in town…true to it’s nature it want to go, go and go to remain cooler but even then your feet are in a warm draft from the under neath catalytic box.
With me on the V7, like 140 pounds of me, it is taking awhile to break in the suspension but it’s made good progress in 1,300 miles already. Ya, I ride down the center of my lane on the bumps until I can’t stand it anymore and move over. I just don’t have the mass to get past the initial fork’s stiction most of the time. Can you say stutter over ripples! Things have improved to maybe 75% right now. A 15K mile STONE 850 was super plush on a test ride.
This thing will show my V100S it’s twin tail pipes on tight roads. The engine has massive real world torque real early and pulls the thing like mad. The V100S hates anything below 3500 RPM and will knock the valves in protest to remind you. Or, you can slip the V100S’s clutch in second gear like a motocross bike! I don’t care what the specs say, the V100S is weak down low digging out of a tight corner. The V7 just pulls and pulls, and pulls hard in a smooth advance to red-line.
Sure, the V100S once out in the open will excercise 115 HP. You just have to concentrate with the V100S in a corner. It isn’t a laid back ride, even going straight it says, “hey, we can dart over here in an instant…let’s go!”. The V100S is a Ducati in nature just spelled Moto Guzzi, it lives to rush to red-line in every gear. It is a hyper beast for sure. It needs to be above 4.5K to really get the best out of it. Strange the smaller V7 850 acts more like “big” twin than the V100S’s ~1000 CC’s. The V100S feels like a 4 cylinder bike and you ride it like that.
But this is great, and why I also have the V7. They are complete opposites as to where they want to go fast, and how they go fast. I’m actually a far better technical rider on the V7, and will admit that too. The V100S lifts the front wheel at 4,500 RPM mid corners where it trades it’s milder side for the crazies. I’m not real crazy about that and reign it in. It does have a lot of torque once there!
Got the Oxford Pro Touring heated grips for the V7 and switched 12V relay. GIVI fairing is on and the little diverter at the top to clear my helmet…mostly. All that is left is to ride it!
Galen
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Well written and interesting review. Lots of personality to the beast.
Have you swapped springs on a bike before? I have found this to be well worth it when tuning a bike to me.
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I always wondered about the heat from the heads.
Fun review, Galen!
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I put progressive springs in the R100RT, and those eliminated the spacer above the shorter stock springs. One less thing clunking around in there! The V7 has that same spacer on top inside. Right now the forks are doing OK, so until I get them to be static in performance changes, I’m not sure how far I may need to go. Progressive went to a specialty shop for just a few bikes so they are out.
Most emulsion style forks “clunk” between the top-out spring and the compression spring anyway. You never notice it riding, just pumping them up and down in the garage to test for stiction holding the forks in either direction and not allowing them to return to a neutral spot.
There are some cartridge type replacements that allow you to return to stock if you want to. But…I want street performance not racetrack. As light as I am, even good race suspension with the “light” springs would be brutally stiff. Most stuff is for the V7 RACER model.
The rear shocks are upgraded, KYB if remember, over earlier V7’s and are set forward for a rising rate. But no, they are not electronically controlled or spool valve damper shocks like the V100S! Those sharp ridges do get through, still. No instant damping changes here. We get one side of the ride or the other working but not both. The V7 does 90% well, so to me the right compromise for standard suspension.
This is a $9,200.00 motorcycle. Top level suspension would be one-third the price of the entire bike.
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I find springs appropriate for my weight make a substantial difference in both ride comfort and performance. I ride superbikes (most Ducatis, but I have a BMW S1000RR as well). All benefit from tuning for the rider’s weight in my experience.
My guess is at your weight lighter springs (springs alone, not swapping the entire shocks) would free up the suspension to work better for you. Springs alone makes a substantial difference and are an inexpensive upgrade.
Regardless, enjoy the bike. Great choice!
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