Shadowfax-ST Blog

My Son had been nagging us to get his bikes to his Aunt's so we surly loaded up his KX85 and CRF100 on the trailer and gave him an afternoon out on an airstrip's apron. He was timid on his Honda fist time round and reluctant to have another scoot so I placed some items out to lay out a circuit around which he happily navigated. His Aunt and I meanwhile blatted around on the '85 and I explored the powerband, which felt like riding the CB1000F the other day; fun but too soon "done that". My Son got quicker; and started to worry me. His circuits got more and more extended and we realised this is because he's still not using brakes! On the return leg to his Aunt's my Son asked when we were going to take Shadowfax out together again. With all this commuting I've had little energy for such treats and my fear factor of falling with him on board is very strong. I just can't imagine crawling over to him if he was hurt through being on the bike with me. ...

Chippings I throttled back out of Droxford to rid myself of a brace of annoyingly slow Micras and noted a vibration at 90, which Honda Portsmouth told me wasn't there. Once home I inspected the rear wheel and found a 1cm sharp pebble embedded in the (new, damn it) rear BT021R. I'm guessing this affected the balancing; well it would, wouldn't it? Soft Rubber The thing is, this rear BT doesn't half seem soft compared to the favoured Pilot 2s. It's training up a bit like a racing tyre, too. To be fair I'm riding a little harder and more quickly than usual / before but these Tyres are meant for that style of ride. I do wonder if that's not a factor (being softer) in picking up stones, though. I'm due a new front soon and need a match for the BT. I just hope these observations aren't indicators of faster wearing, or anything. All the hype on these BT020 replacements suggest they're Pilot2 beating but my feeling is far from that. I was happy with the ...