Re: Are Grippy Tyres a Solution For My Problem.

Query Approved

How many kilometres have the tyres done? You probably have developed a fear of riding and braking. You need to simply practice braking to get over that fear.

Re: Are Grippy Tyres a Solution For My Problem.


What tyres?
Were all the crashes in the dry? Or wet?

Re: Are Grippy Tyres a Solution For My Problem.

Your fear is nothing but loss of confidence due to recent falls. You can overcome this fear by riding more and more, take it easy and slow, don't test your limits and you'll be fine.

Now the tires I presume are 14K kms old (As old as the bike) and has 3 punctures at the rear. Its safe to assume that there will be plenty of grip and road life left in the tires as they usually last about 30k Kms (on an average). So the tires are not a problem, you are just overthinking. Again, ride just as before but take it easy, you will get your confidence back with time. My guess is that you either going in too hot and then braking hard resulting in loss of grip.. or you are using improper braking techniques. Watch some tutorials or read it on xbhp itself. There is a whole thread dedicated regarding braking. Improve your skills and techniques and you will get your confidence back as you much more miles on your bike.

Regarding the tires losing air pressure. My rear tire is 4 years old and has 7 punctures and it still holds air. I check the air pressure every 2-3 weeks and the air pressure is down only 3-5 points even after 7 punctures. This means that one or more of your punctures were not repaired properly and they are losing air. Make a good bubbly shampoo solution and check if there are any more tiny punctures and cracks from where the air is leaking. Make sure that the old punctures are not leaking as well, if they are get them re-repaired. Also check the valve of the tire, from where you fill the air, the tiny pin in the middle of the valve body gets loose over time and leaks air, get it tightened and cleaned (Dust accumulated in the valve body also leaks air).

The above checks will fix the air leaking issue and I think that the tire should serve you good enough for much more kms. If you still don't get confidence in the tire, replace them with suitable new ones for the sake of peace of mind.

Re: Are Grippy Tyres a Solution For My Problem.

All in Dry Condition trying to avoid collisions.
Its the TVS Remora 130 section tyre, done 14K kms now.

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True That Ankey, I am Contemplating on changing the Tyres to get some peace of mind, though many have suggested a tyre can last upto 5 punctures. I don't want to risk it having. Moreover recently i bumped into the braking thread from then on sticking on to its valuable lessons, though i am still in the process of learning them correctly. As Tenhut suggested in the braking thread I have shifted the braking more towards front brakes and using the rear in case i need more braking power. And definitely the confidence drop is hurting me badly on the crucial judgments while riding. Whenever I brake in, there is tinge of fear and I also do sense the slip in the tyres.
My cousin is a seasoned rider he did suggest me that a bike losses its character once it goes through a series of hits or damages, the Front Forks were bent earlier a I got it repaired, may be they also need to be replaced to new ones. What do you guys suggest?

Re: Are Grippy Tyres a Solution For My Problem.

Brother, the 5 puncture rule holds true for good roads. In road conditions like India where construction material, garbage and other little is randomly thrown around you will have to replace the tires every year. As long as the punctures are far apart from each other and are plugged and repaired properly you can use them without any problems. As I told you my tires has done 25K kms with 7 punctures, all of which were properly plugged and they don't lose any air, so I will continue to use it till it provides me good grip.

Now, I understand that your tires might not be providing enough grip for you and that is a valid reason to change them. Check out the revz-s series and masseter series from MRF, they are really good and provide excellent dry as well as wet grip.

Regarding the bent forks, the most common way to judge any fault is to have an experienced rider take the bike at about 40-50 kmph and them leave the handle bars. If the forks are bent or warped, the bike is going to tilt to one side repeatedly. But this is not exact science, as the rider's body compensates most of the time and keeps the bike true on its line. For more detailed results regarding this you will have to take it to service center and have them checked. If they are still bent and non repairable, replace them as well.

Re: Are Grippy Tyres a Solution For My Problem.

What condition are your brake pads in (front and rear)? If they're worn down to metal, the brake feel is going to be radically different compared to new. Check the pads/shoes on both wheels, make sure they still have good pad material, and (for mechanical/drum brakes) make sure they're adjusted properly. If you're down to the rivets (or worse, the metal plate), your brakes will be unpredictable and could lock at any time under braking. I can't count the number of times I heard the sound of metal-on-metal coming from the brakes of bikes in India. Pads wear out quickly too, and need to be monitored and replaced regularly.

Note that if you have worn your brakes down to metal, you're going to be spending some money to fix it. The rear drum surface is built into the wheel, so you'd need to replace the whole rear wheel. If it's a disc-brake system, then you'll just need to replace the damaged disc.

Re: Are Grippy Tyres a Solution For My Problem.

I have not checked the Disc brake condition but the pads were replaced in at 9K kms not sure about premature wear, the rear disc was overhauled last service at 12K. I will check them again, do you have any idea of Front Forks, one of the tube leaks mildly, minute oil traces on it and I wipe it off whenever I notice them.

Re: Are Grippy Tyres a Solution For My Problem.



Yeah. That. Thats a shit tyre.