Recently, the GPZ550 Newsletter is gaining worldwide popularity?
I don’t know how many GPZ 550s exist in Japan, or rather in the world, but there must be quite few…
Probably nobody cares? There’s a high chance nobody’s even looking at it…
But that’s fine because it’s just self-satisfaction (´∀｀*)ｳﾌﾌ
When I buy a used bike, I make it a point to change the tires.
I used to think “as long as there’s tread, we’re good,”
but the Inazuma 1200 I bought previously had wax caked all over the tires.
Since those tires were young in terms of manufacturing date and it seemed wasteful, I degreased them thoroughly,
but when riding and warming up, oil would seep out from inside, and the front and rear would slide terrifyingly.
What’s scary is even in high-speed corners, it would slip and slide …
Like riding in the rain? On a steel plate? That kind of feeling?
Or rather, constantly feeling like I’m being carried away kept happening over and over.
If I crash, it’s all for nothing. That’s how this old guy is learning things now.
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Free bike appraisal and sale with the rumored KatieX! This is the new way to sell (*´ω｀*)
This time it’s just a tire change story.
It has quite a lot of tread and a very voluminous, really cool pattern, I think.
However, the front is a standard bias tire. The rear is a belted bias.
My impression after changing the tires is that Michelin’s casing is unusually stiff, which I found surprising.
I even thought for a moment that maybe I made a mistake.
Well, you can’t really know anything until you actually ride it.
The rear gained a bit more volume and the ride height went up.
After all, pants, socks, and tires are better when they’re new~
Bias tires are also easy on the wallet, so I’m somewhat happy about that.
Recently, 17-inch fat ones cost a ridiculous amount …
I think probably soon
an era will come where everyone switches to smaller displacement bikes and enjoys thin bias tires.
So far, aside from the fuel tank, there are no major issues.
With used bikes, there are often more things you can’t tell until you take them apart. Even if it looks clean from the outside, the inside can be a mess, and you often see bikes that have been somehow patched together.
Individual parts don’t show much inconsistency, so I got the impression this machine was very well cared for.
The cast finish on Kawasaki is amazing.
It’s rare to see? Or rather, this is the first time I’ve seen cast finish preserved this well. That’s Kawasaki for you.
The air valve area is also lightly machined, so I want to use an aftermarket air valve.
Dunlop valve to convert tube tires to tubeless
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This time I’m replacing it with an air valve for Marchesini that was lying around.
I was worried about whether air would go in since it’s a bit shorter, but it worked fine (*´ω｀*)
Michelin bias tires have very little runout
Honestly, there are bias tires that runout so much up, down, left, and right that it’s shocking.
With radial tires, you don’t see that much.
When you change to bias tires, you’ll be amazed when you look at them.
Michelin spins so cleanly, almost like a radial, so I trust it.
Tire selection is difficult because you can’t afford to fail
The price is considerable, and once you put them on, you’re going to use them for several thousand to around 10,000 kilometers.
You definitely can’t easily fail with a consumable like this.
But tires are an important consumable that affects how the bike rides, and I think it’s fun to try various brands.
Sometimes I think it might be a good opportunity to ride hard enough to wear out the tires.
There’s also the option of changing them based on age.
I want to get the registration number by the end of this year
I could register it anytime, but doing maintenance after registration doesn’t feel right.
It’s better to do as much as possible beforehand and then just ride and enjoy it.
That’s how I’m making progress, working about an hour a day, steadily chipping away.
Kawasaki is so old, yet parts are still being supplied, which is incredibly helpful.
You just look up the part number and it’s so much easier to proceed compared to Suzuki.
ポチップ
ポチップ
ポチップ
Free bike appraisal and sale with the rumored KatieX! This is the new way to sell (*´ω｀*)
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