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Since getting a bike again I have looked for a magazine to read on a regular basis and up untill now not really found one.
I happened to come across a mag called Motorcycle Sport & Leisure and I have to say I found it to be really good and interesting with lots of variety.

Number two, took the bike out yesterday just to check her out and I have to say I found the front end to be either vague at slow turns or it sems to drop into slow tuns with quite a shrp action.
Could I ask is it the tyre (different make from the rear) or it is the amount of rings showing on the head of the forks, mine has 6 showing.

All in all the bike was excellent, starting first press after 6 weeks is a good sign.

ok

six rings is too many i fear - very fast riders go to 5.... i have three which is standard i believe

9I think that is likely to be the answer btw)

what tyre pressures are you running - i think most of us run around 36 on the front... some run a tad lower....

what tyres - matched set of carcasses are recommended by most (some brands are produced by the same company on the same carcass)

finally, consider getting the front folks serviced and oil changed

what he said but in addition I would add that I found changing the front sprocket changed the way I approached bends and roundabouts and made the bike feel more avble to ride through them. no scientific basis for this but it just feels better when doing them

you did say unrelated

I have 5 + rings showing. I was out on the Falco the other day and that was feeling unusually vauge at the front. As I got on the gass to balance things out it kept wanting to slide. Turns out that the roads at so slimy at the moment that even when not obviously wet or icy, there is very little grip to feel through the front. With your set up which does give a better sense of what is going on from the front, this might not be a problem but a benfit.

Yes 6 showing is certainly on the more aggressive side but that also depends on what rear ride height you are running and what wheel rims you have too.

I have max rear ride height and 4 rings at the front. This was pretty good with the carbon wheels. Before I fitted them I had the oz rims on and was thinking of pushing it to 5 or more to sharpen it up a bit more (I'm back on the OZ at the moment with my less sporty tyres on them and have stuck with 4 rings as it's winter, the roads are crap and I'm not going to be pushing it).
If I went back to those heavy standard rims I would probably be on 5 or 6 rings with max rear ride height.
All this said, it's a personal thing and different riders like different set-ups.

Tyres play a big part in all of this too .... ask anyone who had a brand new Falco with those unbelievably awful MeZ3 tyres they were delivered with. No feel, wouldn't turn - just confidence sapping.

Pressures are definitely another thing. I wouldn't stray beyond the range set between the values Aprilia suggests and those the tyre manufacturer suggests. In fact I tried hard to like them but never got on with those Aprilia suggested and run those Pirelli recommend.

Mixing tyres front and rear is not really recommended. Some have done it and report it's OK. My take on that is that some combinations work and others don't. Some may be lucky to hit on a combination that works others will not.

Another thing is that worn tyres may be an issue - depending on how they have worn. In some cases they may feel quite bad even when they are not that close to the legal limit.

Finally, as Keith hints, you don't really expect to be getting much grip and good feedback from the roads at this time of year do you? Often they are damp and slimy and even when apparently dry they harbour salty residues etc.

I will lift the front a bit as Alad suggested but I agree that the roads are probably crap at this time, I think there was a lot of dry salt dust on the roads yesterday.

cheers for the comments.

is it easy to lift the front forks or does it require speacialist stuff?

Tonyunn wrote:I will lift the front a bit as Alad suggested but I agree that the roads are probably crap at this time, I think there was a lot of dry salt dust on the roads yesterday.

cheers for the comments.

is it easy to lift the front forks or does it require speacialist stuff?

..... I think you might want to drop the forks (lift the yokes) or you'll end up with more lines (if there are any more).

To do it you'll need to find a way of raising the front of the bike off of the ground. A headstock stand is good. I use an Ulti-pro stand (like an Abba but less awful pop songs) that supports the bike near the middle and then raise the front with a trolley jack. I wouldn't do that if I was supporting from the back of the swingarm.
If you've a couple of hefty mates, maybe they can lift manually?

your right D I was thinking about lifting the bike rather than dropping the forks.

By the way the unmatched tyres are:
Rear Metzeller Road Tec Z6
Front Michelin Pilot road 2

Tonyunn wrote:By the way the unmatched tyres are:
Rear Metzeller Road Tec Z6
Front Michelin Pilot road 2

That's slightly odd combination. Is that the way you got the bike? And which of the tyres appears to be the newest/have the most tread left?

To be honest, both tyres have been superseded by newer versions in their respective manufacturer's ranges, so an upgrade might be an idea.

yep

i would wait till winter is over and sort at least one replacement tyre - so around 2015 then.... may be in june

mangocrazy wrote:

Tonyunn wrote:By the way the unmatched tyres are:
Rear Metzeller Road Tec Z6
Front Michelin Pilot road 2

That's slightly odd combination. Is that the way you got the bike? And which of the tyres appears to be the newest/have the most tread left?

To be honest, both tyres have been superseded by newer versions in their respective manufacturer's ranges, so an upgrade might be an idea.

If you got them with the bike check the date stamp like astrecthed oval on the sidewall

Yes thats how the bike turned up, I think the rear is the newer tyre but I am going to replace both with a pair of pirelli Angels in the early summer.

While I was looking for the lower clamp bolts to see about sorting the forks out I realised that i would have to remove the top fairing, I know the side panels come off and the indicator wires disconnect at a connector, does the fairing do the same?

Tonyunn wrote:Yes thats how the bike turned up, I think the rear is the newer tyre but I am going to replace both with a pair of pirelli Angels in the early summer.

While I was looking for the lower clamp bolts to see about sorting the forks out I realised that i would have to remove the top fairing, I know the side panels come off and the indicator wires disconnect at a connector, does the fairing do the same?

Angel STs are nice tyres - I have those on at the moment as they are better suited to the roads at present than the Rosso Corsas I have on the rims I use in summer.

As for the upper fairing, yes you remove the sidepanels, remove the fixing bolts and as you lift it off, you unplug the headlight connectors.

Thanks D, all I need to do now is sort out a spare few hours and find a way of supporting the bike lifting the front end and bob's your uncle.

The dark months of winter are a great time for wasting hours.

i think that you will be able to slacken off the pinch bolts with out taking the fairing off.... i am a lazy git and i am fairly sure i did not do that when i put the bars over the triple ....

may i suggest that you have a look and see what you can get at with a decent socket set...