yesterday i came home from work for lunch and decided to polish up the RR b/c it was such a nice day out. i also got this new tire cleaner that you spray on the side of the tire to give it that glossy showroom floor look. being the idiot i am....i sprayed a bit much and got some of it on the treds. i figured i'd leave it for an hour and it should be all good to ride back to work.....BIG MISTAKE! as i was leaving my parking lot...i was leaning into a turn and next thing i know...i'm watching my bike slide accross the parking lot....

soooo....yeah......needless to say...i need some new fairings...a new rear brake lever (mine is bent...still works...just outta shape)....

well...this is my first real fall i'd say....even though i was only going like 8mph.....but very damaging to the pride...at least i'm pefectly fine...with the exception of a huge scratch on the visor of my helmet...some dirty pants...and a small scrape on the right shoulder of my jacket.

i rode to work today and the tires are still kinda slick, but i'm trying to take it easy. i'm thinking during my lunch i'm going to get some sandpaper and sand down the edges of the tires (good/bad idea???) to get rid of the slickness....

 

use brake cleaner instead or sum kindda non greaser should work if not buy sum used track tires from your local shop for $100

 

The dealership recommends a wire brush, Cause your supposed to take it easy the first 300miles of the bike cause the tires are still slick from the factory mold. He said to take a wire brush and scrape across it all and get it good to go. But remember you are literally scraping (or sanding) off miles of life from your tires. So if you can find another alternative i would do it.

 

sorry to hear about your spill. that sucks! glad you're okay. post pics of the damage if you can.

 

brake cleaner would be the worst idea ever... that stuff will eat the rubber. hit a parking long and do some braking/ accel runs to warm up the tires... heat cycling them is what really gets that release agent out... anyway, heat em up, and then lean on em a little bit at a time... take it slow and you'll be fine... I broke my tires in by doing this in a big parking lot down the street from my house... lower the pressure in them as well, it'll help them heat up faster. I run 36 front, 42 in the rear, right now I have it down to 32 in the front and 34 in the rear to scuff them in.

 

so...i'm guessing that a degreaser wouldn't work then either?? i think i'll take sodamninsane's advise and just get the tires heated. thanks a lot guys for the fast responses

 

I use Honda Contact/Brake cleaner every time I clean my chain (and rim) and it drips all over my rear tire...the rubber never gets sticky or changes in the least bit...unless it's microscopic? The rubber handle on the tooth brush I use is an other story though...

 

ok so I'll admit I've never sat there with a bottle of brake cleaner, poured it on a tire to see what would happen... but stuff eats everything, thats WHY it's brake cleaner... if you really wanna use a degreaser I would go with something like simple green diluted in water or something like that...

and fretless, according to honda's description there brake cleaner "won't harm plastics, rubber or painted surfaces" which seems a bit strange to me. Is it chlorinated?? Some brake cleaners are, some aren't.

 

i know what you are talking about, its not the fact that its a new tire, it was the tire gloss. never use that stuff. i did on my first bike and i felt the tire slide alot. i reccommend just washing your entire tire surface and side walls the same as you do the rest of your bike. and even then it will still feel like a new tire until you put a few miles on the edges.

 

I would wash your tires with dish soap.

Sorry, but I've always thought shiny sidewalls is kinda gay.