Open discussion about accessory weight & value

[winddown]

2 hours ago, Tenerider said:

Interesting observation on tire pressure - Ray Ride4life preferred 1.7/1.9 bars, exactly what you're running. I was always a bit anxious about getting so low. Probably without any reason, so I'll give it a try.

 

lol, I went out the other week with a neighbor who bought a T7 too, I knew he wasn't much on tire pressures so I asked before we left, he said he was running 22/30.  22PSI ! That's a bit low isn't it I said?  I think he got the pressure from riding a smaller bike a couple of years before, anyway he was happy with it and we road a spirited 150km on dirt and tar before we fueled up for the ride back.  Back was all tar so he pumped the front up to 29psi.  Those were the stock tires, but if he can get away with that!  What the hell hey.

[DT675]

2 hours ago, Tenerider said:

Interesting observation on tire pressure - Ray Ride4life preferred 1.7/1.9 bars, exactly what you're running. I was always a bit anxious about getting so low. Probably without any reason, so I'll give it a try.

 

Try it!  I also run much lower pressures than OEM recomended.  Its so much better.  Compared to the pressures I run, full 30+ PSI pressure feels like the bike is riding on marbles.  I've ran as low as 18 psi off-road with the T7.  But I think that is a little low for sealed roads (for heat reasons) so I typically run 22 psi now.

 

When I was racing woods I ran 12 psi on my race bike. 

[Tenerider]

2 minutes ago, DT675 said:

 

Try it!  I also run much lower pressures than OEM recomended.  Its so much better.  Compared to the pressures I run, full 30+ PSI pressure feels like the bike is riding on marbles.  I've ran as low as 18 psi off-road with the T7.  But I think that is a little low for sealed roads (for heat reasons) so I typically run 22 psi now.

 

When I was racing woods I ran 12 psi on my race bike. 

I once lowered pressure to 1.1 bar/16 PSI in severe mud (see above) - and had the front tire indeed creep a bit. 1.7 bar doesn't sound much higher, but in fact it's almost 60% more!

[Jayzonk]

On 12/8/2023 at 8:52 PM, mcbrien said:

I too am older, 65 and retired. I basically ride back roads and fire roads. I had a 1200 Tenere that I loaded with accessories and crash protection.

In 75.000 miles I never really had a crash. I fell over a couple of times. Never really hurt anything.

This bike is getting no extra crash protection. Painted stock skid plate with black Rino Liner. Until I give it a good whack, I'm keeping it. I've added

full exhaust, windshield adjuster, grips, brake pedal, shifter linkage, pegs, center stand and plug for heated gear, Lithium battery. I hope the exhaust

and battery help offset weight of center stand. Wish someone would produce a titanium or aluminum center stand!

Love the idea of keeping things light.  Just wondering how your panniers are mounted?  It looks slim, tidy, and light.  But they also appear close to the exhaust pipe and the back wheel.  

[SpankyPineapple]

I go minimal required to do what I want. That way I don't chase after every gram, but don't let it get too fat. If I wanted to pack a ton of crap, I'd have got the Super Ten, GSA, 1290, even an Africa Twin. I like the lightness and nimbleness, especially in the dirt and I want to retain that. Rackless luggage is great for that. Aluminum protection is a good balance between weight and strength. My bash plate has only actually scraped once or twice, but has eaten a lot of loose rocks thrown up. Don't need steel for that. Same with crash bars. Heated grips are essential and are marginal weight over stock. Lightweight tools are nice if you can find and afford them. Lightool, motion pro titaniums, etc. Biggest weight savings possible though for me is going on a diet. I am by FAR the biggest and heaviest accessory attached to the bike... 

[Jayzonk]

Good for you for recognizing the need for weight loss.  I used to do a lot of triathlons, and my slowest event was the cycling.  I went on a diet and dropped 15 pounds and my cycling went up in speed by 1.5 or 2km (I can't remember).  All of the struggling I did to try to cycle better and the answer was in personal weight loss!

[NeilW]

10 hours ago, Tenerider said:

Interesting observation on tire pressure - Ray Ride4life preferred 1.7/1.9 bars, exactly what you're running. I was always a bit anxious about getting so low. Probably without any reason, so I'll give it a try.

Airing down does change the grip. When I did a review of the Shinkos, I rode a 10 mile off road section filled with various sections of mud and gravel and then aired down to the Yamaha recommended lowest 29/29 and ride in my tire track back 10 miles.  My subjective evaluation was a 15-20 percent increase in handling at 29/29. Worth the hassle if riding several hours of off road but for less than that I would consider airing down a hassle. With tubeless now I don’t go below 31/31. 

Edited December 17, 2023 by NeilW

[mcbrien]

Just clean it off and spray. It's not going to come off.

[Tenerider]

5 hours ago, NeilW said:

Airing down does change the grip. When I did a review of the Shinkos, I rode a 10 mile off road section filled with various sections of mud and gravel and then aired down to the Yamaha recommended lowest 29/29 and ride in my tire track back 10 miles.  My subjective evaluation was a 15-20 percent increase in handling at 29/29. Worth the hassle if riding several hours of off road but for less than that I would consider airing down a hassle. With tubeless now I don’t go below 31/31. 

Sure, I'm well aware of the benefits. It's just remarkable that two guys come to the same conclusion for ideal tire pressure with Anakee Wilds

 

By the way, especially with tubeless tires you could run lower pressures than with tube type ones - simply because you won't risk pinch flats. But I guess you're worried about the bead seating?

[BikeBrother]

So lowering the tire pressure is to loose weight too? Haha.

My philosophy is what you dont need, take it off. Adding only useful parts, like i have a centerstand, good for changing tires. Nowadays i use softluggage to keep weight down,  but important is the  balance, not to high mounted. I used to travel on a Dr600 with aluminium panniers and a superstrong mounting rack, 34 l fuel, 6 liter water, tools, camping gear etc. Fully loaded ~250 kg, heavy but good balanced. So my T7 feels even light compared to the DR.

[random1781]

7 hours ago, BikeBrother said:

So lowering the tire pressure is to loose weight too? Haha.

Went through a city once where a local business advertised airing up with nitrogen for some reason. Nitrogen is technically lighter than oxygen, so you could add some buoyancy to your T7!

[Tenerider]

1 hour ago, random1781 said:

Went through a city once where a local business advertised airing up with nitrogen for some reason. Nitrogen is technically lighter than oxygen, so you could add some buoyancy to your T7!

Helium is more expensive and even lighter - bling factor AND buoyancy!

 

Hydrogen will give the best buoyancy of course, and the biggest bang in case of overheating tires.

[Ede-DE]

On the other hand in case of too much weight you'll find reasons for different parts...

 

 

[mcbrien]

There are 4 bolts underneath rear seat that's suitable to hold brackets for Liteweight luggage. Just remove bolts from

underside of fender and get creative.

 

 

[random1781]

56 minutes ago, mcbrien said:

There are 4 bolts underneath rear seat that's suitable to hold brackets for Liteweight luggage. Just remove bolts from

underside of fender and get creative.

 

 

Are those brackets steel?

[mcbrien]

7 hours ago, random1781 said:

Are those brackets steel?

Yes. I've been using this setup for several years with no issues.

[OK185]

On 12/17/2023 at 4:06 PM, DT675 said:

 

Try it!  I also run much lower pressures than OEM recomended.  Its so much better.  Compared to the pressures I run, full 30+ PSI pressure feels like the bike is riding on marbles.  I've ran as low as 18 psi off-road with the T7.  But I think that is a little low for sealed roads (for heat reasons) so I typically run 22 psi now.

 

When I was racing woods I ran 12 psi on my race bike. 

 

Fully agree on the tire pressure. There is some ppl on youtube who keep saying to just run road pressure on ADV bikes, beceause they are too heavy, it won't make a difference etc.

For me I found riding on road pressures, especially on the stock STR, makes the bike pretty much unrideable off-the-road. It feels like you are just sliding around and about to lose the front in every corner. And if you go down to 1,8 bars it's suddenly so planted and stable. 

 

I also ride MTB and tire pressures are a big thing so I'm not surprised. It seems there are so many riders who get offroad tires like the TKC80 and Anakeed Wild, and then proceed to run them at 2,3/2,5 bar, which completely defeats their purpose. Running pressures this high will never give you that confident feeling offroad in my opinion. 

[DT675]

Right.  I also ride fat tire MTB where a 1/2 LB makes a big difference!