Well guys on request of Alex I'm here to tell you my fall and one of the most important things ive probably heard in accidents.

Most casual riding motorcyclist whom go down, usually wreck right after the change of new tires.
- Break the tires in completely including edges
- Get a feel for different tread designs, I could sure tell the difference and its awkward at first.
- Cold nights = cold rubber....less traction, ride easy to warm them up

I dont think that could be stressed enough because I believe that is what happened in my case. First of all I'd like to say break them in and make sure they are broken in all around the tire before trying to ride them hard.

Story: I was pulling out of work around 9:30 at night so ofcourse it was pitch black outside. Coming out of the parking lot I could have been going no faster than about 25 so speed wasn't an issue, but it was roughly about 38 degrees that night and had been for a few hours. Most of you probably know temperature also has a big affect on them.... jsut remember to ride easy and warm the rubber up before going out :wink: I was bundled up and the cold didnt bother me at all but I believe it did affect my new rear tire. Not only was it cold but the outside strip on both sides of the tire still had on the slick coating (which is on all new tires). Now I had taken a trip the weekend before for about 340 miles but most of it was straight road so it had clearly not broken in yet.

With those two factors it seemed as i started to drop it in the lean, I could feel the tire begin to slip. (I have kicked out the rear a few times when riding hard and recovered fairly quick but this was different, I knew I was going down) As I was going down and the rear spun out my hand must have slipped on the throttle and kicked it harder because the bike continued to spin a few yards past where I stopped rolling. Well being on a busy street my first thought was to jump up and get out of the road but as I looked around and luckily no cars on my side I picked her up and pulled over inspecting the damage. Other cars saw me wreck and failed to stop and help....which kind of sucks but no harm done I was fine.

Both break levers were jacked and the rear was stuck so there was no chance of riding it home. All in all the damage wasnt too bad, the way I fell my bars caught the road before the tank did so I got lucky. Anyway later that night we also found chain lube residue on the tire from spraying the chain the night before. I dont believe that had anything to do with the fall based on where it was at but u never know.

Glad you are okay. How did you get the bike... wherever it was you took it? Tow truck, friend with a flatbed?

Naw, got my dad to come pick me up in his pick up :D

Thanks for posting this up, as it clearly contains an important lesson. Here is where I wish some of our more experienced members would chime in and tell us about a good way to break in new tires in order to avoid a spill such as this.

Other than that, I'm glad to hear you walked away from this with minimal damage to yourself and the bike. Stay safe.

Thanks for posting this up, as it clearly contains an important lesson. Here is where I wish some of our more experienced members would chime in and tell us about a good way to break in new tires in order to avoid a spill such as this.

Other than that, I'm glad to hear you walked away from this with minimal damage to yourself and the bike. Stay safe.

Call it lazy, or whatever anyone likes to call it. Sure way for breaking in new tires is fine grit sandpaper and some elbow grease.

Just my 2 cents

NISxMO - I always hate to hear of someone going down. Glad you're OK.

Call it lazy, or whatever anyone likes to call it. Sure way for breaking in new tires is fine grit sandpaper and some elbow grease.

Must my 2 cents
I always thought if you wanted to go that route a scotchbrite pad and some diluted simple green, followed by two plain water and scotchbrite rinses, would be the way to go.

I have also heard, but do not know if it's true, although it does make sense to me, is that there is also a "run in" period needed, at speed, to fully seat the tires on the rims. :idonno

I am interested in this as I'll eventually need new gums. the Pilot Roads are still going strong though. Only about 8k miles on them so far. :D

Thats pretty interesting seetrout, Im not sure but between me and my dad we change our tires ourselves and that could be a strong possibility.

After the wreck I did sand the rest of the edges and can already feel the difference around corners...less slippage.

This is pretty much all that Michelin says:

Ride conservatively for the first 50 to 100 kilometers (30 to 60 miles) after installing a new tire.

During this period, gradually increase lean angle until the mold release compound is worn off the tread, and avoid sudden braking maneuvers or panic stops.

After 100 kilometers, the tread area should be completely free of any shine

Glad you are okay. How did you get the bike... wherever it was you took it? Tow truck, friend with a flatbed?

My guy at the Honda store told me of another of his customers having spilled a CBR. There were people around when he spilled, and they called the police and such. This guy was carted off in an ambulance and a tow truck came for the bike. The guy was treated and released from the hospital and headed directly to the Honda store to check on his bike. The tow operator had just arrived, with the bike on a flatbed. To the owner's (and the Honda guy's) horror, the tow guy pulled a lever on the truck and slid the bike off.

Sscrrrraaaaape!

As the story goes, the tow guy had pulled the bike up onto the flatbed with the winch.

Sscrrrraaaaape!

The guys at the Honda store said the tow operator did more damage to the bike than the spill did.

dang thats a little rediculous... I wonder if there is anyway to get payment for that? Remind me if Im still concious to never call a tow truck :) then again Im in that honda club thing and they will come pick you up for free I believe and probably know how to handle the bikes.

In my younger, dumber days, I had a little run-in with law enforcement on a bike. I had just revived it from an 18 yr coma, and decided a little spin down a back road was in order. Plates? Nah, I'll be right back... :banghead Long story short, not only did the flatbed bend my shift lever, one of the cops at the station had the nerve to tell me that after I was "removed" from the scene, he rode my bike, and actually bitched that the clutch pulled too hard! Funnier still, when I paid the $105 impound and got the bike back the next day, the clutch lever was broken! :?

I had heard that you should be careful about riding on a new set of tires especially the first 100. I didn't really think the glaze story really was a likely concern, but I was careful anyway,

The second or third tire I replaced was a Dunlop 404. A saftey sheet said to be careful of the new tire because is rides so much different than the old tire. This makes sense to me. The rear tire gradually wires flat in the middle and you gradually adjust to the characteristics of the flat tire. Then with a new tire on the rim, even if prep'd, it is still round and leans different. The way the bike leans into a corner can catch you off guard. Same thing with the front tire except it wears on the sides (If you ride the twisties) It becomes high in the middle and flat on the sides. If the tires are a bit slick with that new tire 'glaze', then you are in double trouble entering a curve. Seems like a bike falls into a curve on new rear tires compared with the flattened out old tires.

For what it's worth. Just allow yourself a few curves to get a feel for the new (sudden ) lean angles.