Upsizing a tire usually results in -

1. Reduced acceleration
2. Reduced fuel efficiency

It also may result in -

1. Increased road grip
2. Better looks (depending on owners' choice)

Usually, sports bikes are not fitted with fat tires like cruisers because they need to be flickable.

I am not aware about Duro Arrow tires so can't comment on its merits / demerits.

I changed from IRC to Pirelli Sport Demon (only for the rear) with 140/70/17 and grip is brilliant under dry conditions.

Check the air pressure. If its too high you will have lower grip but better tire life and vice versa. The grip levels could also be due to the compound used in the tire. If the compound is soft like in the pirelli, then grip will be good in dry conditions but lower when wet. Hard compound tires will not grip very well in dry but will perform in wet.

Most importantly, tires take almost 300 kms to break in so if your tires are new, take it easy and don't ride the bike aggressively till they wear in well.

P.S. Never heard of this Duro Arrow brand so not sure if it's the culprit.

edit - i found no difference in acceleration and top speed between the 130 profile IRC and 140 profile Pirelli. Handling though has improved drastically with the pirelli. The IRC used to feel a bit squishy when cornering hard.

I found 130 Pirelli far superior than 130 IRC. Since I have not used 140 size, I can't comment on that.

So this means Pirelli is better than Stock IRC 100% .... but my concern is that ..... will it be good on wet roads?.... since its monsoon season .... will Pirelle perform better than IRC??

I had used 150 section tyre in the past. It was a touring tyre so heavy one. But I didn't faced any problems except a lot more grip than we want which will make a drag. Flickability also reduced because of that heavy tyre. Otherwise it was a good one. Ninja is enough powerful to take 140 or even 150.

Never heared about Duro arrow. Is it a 140/70 or something like 140/80 or 140/90 I think that tyre is the culprint. Ninja demands and deserves better tyres. The quality of the tyre compund has a major role in its grip. I think that tyre is a local hard compound one. Next time change to better ones like Pirelli, bridgestone or Dunlop.

btw, how much Duro costed you?

Pirelli is better in any condition. The real difference is in hard cornering and high speed riding. In normal road conditions IRC is also good and you can't find the difference between them. Pirelli will skid less in under hard braking compared to IRC.

My opinion is stick to IRC for some time because it is not bad either, it is a good one actually but tires like pirelli and bridgestone make it inferior compared to them.

Yes........

it was around 3k, it looked great and seemed to be made of a soft compound, just like the ones on the r15, but since then it has become hard, also, does the profile of the tyre matter? i mean the IRC was 130/70, this one seems to have a taller sidewall, does tyre profile affect overall performance? acceleration etc? My bike felt quicker earlier, almost as flickable as the r15, but now it feels rear heavy, my bike sports Pirelli Sport Demon up front, stock size. I never put more than the recommended PSI in the tyre (pillion rides are rare). Can you guys recommend me the best performing tyre make and model, one in 140 section, the other in 130? Your help would be greatly appreciated.

Mumbai-Jammu-Mumbai

Hi,

I'll be riding from Mumbai to Jammu over the next weekend. Plan to reach Jammu on the third day. I need your suggestions on the following :

- Route to be followed, i would like to avoid getting into Delhi.
- Any Spares to be carried,
- Possible locations for a overnight halt.

As per my plan i would not like to ride more than 800 kms per day.

Also Which will be a faster way , NH-8 or Nh-3 till Indore and then turn towards Ajmer from there on......?

How is the traffic while leaving early morning towards surat....?

All suggestions / feedbacks are most welcome.
Please do add in case i've missed out on any important thing.

I recently rode on my ninja from Pune to various places in Rajasthan.

Both NH3 and NH8 are awesome.

1. You need not go upto Indore on NH3. You take a turn from Mhow. . . go towards Nagda and continue on this road. Road is super smooth with absolutely nil traffic Dhule onwards. One patch of around 25 km is bad near Neemuch.

I have travelled on this road till Ajmer and road is fantastic. You can do whatever speeds you want to without any issue.

You can aim for Ratlam / Chittorgarh for your first night halt. We did Pune - Ratlam in around 12 hours with ample breaks.

2. You can take NH8 as well. Smooth road but with more traffic.

Instead of travelling till Ahmedabad, you should take a right turn at Baroda, go via State Highway to Godhra - Modasa and join highway to Udaipur. I have also travelled on this road. Even the state highway is 4 lane with divider. Google map link for this road - Mumbai, Maharashtra to Udaipur, Rajasthan - Google Maps

You can aim for Rishabhdev / Udaipur for first night halt. Rishabhdev is cheaper and has a hotel bang on the highway. We did Udaipur - Ghodbandar (Thane) in around 12 hours with a lunch break of 1.5 hours and other small breaks.

Me and my fellow ninja rider did not need absolutely any spare parts during the ride. Also please keep in mind that there is only 1 PBK in Rajasthan (Jaipur) and no PBK in MP.

I suffered from a bent alloy while on tour and had no option but to keep riding for 2000+ km on bent alloy as it was not available anywhere in Rajasthan.

Try to get phone numbers of Bajaj service engineers looking after those regions.

As Adity mentioned earlier, Pirelli 140 is a great buy! I have earlier used it on my Fz, and grip was superior in both wet and dry. I hardly ever fishtailed on my Fz with the pirelli onboard.

However I am currently using Dunlop Tuffgrip 140/70, and have found similar results. Pirelli is currently out of the market, and IMHO Dunlop is the next best thing, unless Michelin comes out with something in the next few months. And yes, no difference in top speed, acceleration etc. My baby still flies like crazy, and sounds crazier with the Corsa onboard

P.S - y don't you post up some pics of ur Duro Arrow tyre?? Will give us a better idea of what you are dealing with here!

bro can u post pic of your tyre
P.s a lil off topic but i have few question since i have paid full amount of the bike (they said i would get my bike today but wen i went there they said there are slight delay and delivery will be done on 2nd of next month )i have few extra cash in hand(15k). since i dont want to waste my money on useless thing i am asking your advice. here are some option

1)Pirelli Tyre front and back (Rs-5700)
2)Alpinestars SP-X Gloves (Rs-4300)( i have Alpinestars T-GP Plus Air Jacket and i didnt bought the gloves cause i thought i normally dont wear gloves... but my friends recommend to do so..)
3)Kraftewerk Shorty Levers: Gold (Rs-4000 or should i go for Pazzo Levers which cost Rs 1066?)
4)TBR air filters ( Rs-4500)
5)Zerogravity Wind screen (Rs -5000)
6)Haris Grips Green color (Rs -1500)

[QUOTE=trustvishwas;831816]There is some good news to all Ninja owners (for that matter all owners of liquid cooled bikes) who are worried about cleaning all the mud off their radiator in this rainy season.


That's a cleam radiator.... Is it just by a regular water and tooth brush cleaning.... ? Cant make much of a difference between a new and old, except the few bent fins....

[QUOTE=trustvishwas;832471]I recently rode on my ninja from Pune to various places in Rajasthan.

Both NH3 and NH8 are awesome.

Thanks Vishwas, i think i'll prefer the NH-3 rather than getting stuck in traffic on NH-8. And the road till Indore is in pretty good shape, and route 79 doesn't needs any description, i think good will be an understatement. I think i'll be able to hit pretty decent average speeds on this route.

I'll just be carrying a tank bag and a tail bag.

Called up the Service engineer after reading your comment, my grips are getting replaced under warranty. Dint knew that even rubber is covered under warranty, i had given my feedback to Kawasaki Japan and Kawasaki Thailand about the grips getting bulged out / swollen / loose, while i was test riding the bike for them in Bombay... i hope they've taken back the feedback to their R&D.

Best Route for Jaipur - Jammu

Which is the best route for going towards Jammu, while coming from Jaipur...? Need to avoid traffic and also getting into Delhi.....?

Jaipur-Rewari-Rohtak-Jind-Sangrur-Barnala-Jalandhar-Pathankot-Jammu

or

Jaipur-Rewari-Rohtak-Panipat-Karnal-Ambala-Ludhiana-Jalandhar-Pathankot-Jammu

took my bike out after almost a week,idled for 5 mins and started riding out slowly,maintained normal speed for around 5 kms, and then started ripping slowly.After around 15 kms,felt the bike was very sluggish,had to shift down twice and accelerate to overtake,was very very sluggish.
then tried ripping again at higher rpms in lower gears and the sluggishness was gone.
Tyre pressure was normal,fuel light had just started to light up.
what could be the issue???