daily commuter and weekend warrior

shooter114 · Mar 7, 2012

g'day all !

ive got a fe450 that i want to use for daily commuting of approximately 60kms . Aside from this i wouldnt be using it too much onroad as i have a car aswell.

My main concern though is with this unpredicatable brisbane weather is that i can leave early in the morning to clear blue skies and come home to a flooded house in the afternoon. SO i want something that will still grip on wet bitumen roads but that i can use on weekends aswell for riding such as wyralong enduro loops- dry sandy/rocky terrain, killarney rides, muddy/soft terrain and other riding-hard terrain.

Now i dont go flat chat moto style on every track, but still want something that won't wash out offroad and will get enough life out of. Atm im using pirellia scorpion medium compound?! on the front - which arent road/hwy legal. and a dunlop .... whatever it is on the back which i believe is road legal but not a dual sport tyre. I like this combination so far and have only had problems on any sort of terrain when the front has been too flat, so really no complaints here.

I am considering a set of motard rims/tyres as it could become a weekend hobby to take it to the track but would like to know a rough idea of the total cost including a set of adjustable forks before i dive too far into it all.

All info and help would be greatly appreciated thanks !!!

Whitestarz · Mar 8, 2012

Hi mate

I would buy a cheap xr 250 for the week and leave the berg in the shed for the weekend, if not at least bolt on a kush rear sprocket, otherwise you will trash your bearings with all that road use, man my 570 is so hard on ur *** on the road lol

TDIPower · Mar 8, 2012

Ive run Conti TKC80's on my MT for a few years now, On the road i have never had a problem and I tend to whip its *** a lot on the road (done 2 full British winters from wet, snow, ice, nasty roads), on the dirt they have been fine in mud, gravel and over rocks. I would say I do 80/20 road/off road with the bike (2 up fully loaded with camp gear too) Ive racked up 2000miles on a set and they are ready for a swap. Off road Im a bit slower as quite new to it but have been out with guys running them on XTZ750 Super Tenere's too and they worked well for them.

Pete

Bayside Burg · Mar 9, 2012

Motard it for the Street

shooter114 · Mar 10, 2012

Been looking at it with cbr cast alloy rims which have a Cush hub take bout 15mins to change a set back to dirt rims. Should cost round $800 aud to do, so gonna research that a bit . Does look awesome with Cbr rims and could be a new weekend hobby

Is 2000kms good mileage on tyres?! I've always got free tyres from a mate for my mx motos so have no idea lol.

What's the pricing on the conti's sound pretty promising so far although I might research them a bit for off-road use.

shooter114 · Mar 10, 2012

Ah n looking at a new seat, Its killer when ur feeling lazy/hangover n want to sit down. Any recommendations for Australian seat companies ?!

Ruger · Mar 10, 2012

I certainly agree on the seat. I'm a little challenged by the seat height and bought the Husaberg low seat. Both it and the original seat feel like a wooden plank covered in pretty blue naugahide.

Idle · Mar 10, 2012

Bayside Burg said:
Motard it for the Street

Motard it for the dirt! my poor FE only gets ridden if it's going to be muddy.

TDIPower · Mar 10, 2012

not 2000km... 2000MILES!!! thats 3200km I paid about £120 for a set of the TKC's but the rear is a 4.00 x 18 which is about the same as a 120/80 x 18. Im in the UK

Pete

canuck_fe · Mar 10, 2012

i took my 2011 FE450 out for it's first pavement ride today. Did about 50km on secondary rural roads.

it sucks on pavement. i only put a plate on it for forestry road legality reasons, not because i want to road ride...thank god.

tires were hopping, seat is brutal, chain slapping unless your on the throttle (13/52 cogs)...just not setup of street at all, but i'm ok with that.

brian011952 · Mar 11, 2012

I use mine for everything, including commuting. My commute is substantially shorter than yours, but stil I ride it everywhere. My first miles were in October 2011 and I've put 2150 on the bike since then, and it is winter here with snow, rain, freezing temps, and ice. Still, I love riding the bike period. I did install grip heaters, and I've balanced the wheels. Both make a big difference in comfort. Warm hands and a noticeable difference in smoothness and loss of vibration on the road. I run fairly agresive knobbies because my first love is off road riding and every weekend, I try to get the bike dirty. I've learned knobbies are a compromise on the street that I can live with, but street tires in the dirt is not a compromise I can live with; in fact, street tires on the dirt will try to kill you (LOL). Enjoy.

TDIPower · Mar 11, 2012

shooter114 said:
Been looking at it with cbr cast alloy rims which have a Cush hub take bout 15mins to change a set back to dirt rims. Should cost round $800 aud to do, so gonna research that a bit . Does look awesome with Cbr rims and could be a new weekend hobby

Is 2000kms good mileage on tyres?! I've always got free tyres from a mate for my mx motos so have no idea lol.

What's the pricing on the conti's sound pretty promising so far although I might research them a bit for off-road use.

Thanks.... Now you got me looking at Cast rims too!! a couple of things i wasnt sure about with Cast rims, a lot 'look' like they are directional, as the Husaberg has the chain/brake on the 'wrong side' do you thinks it's ok to flip the rims??
Let me know which rims you are looking at, Im going to see a friend who has a vast selection on 1980/90's bikes, Suzuki, Kawasaki, Honda and loads of rims so Ill see what I can measure up on the bike to fit. Turning up spacers isn't a problem I have metal and lathe.

Pete

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daily commuter and weekend warrior

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