Michelin Road 5 end of life review

Front Michelin Road 5 @ 10,400 km

Rear Michelin Road 5 @ 10,400 km

Tyre choice can be a contentious issue as it's so dependent on intended end use and personal preference in terms of "feel".  Add in the other relevant factors such as tyre pressures, weather conditions, ambient temperatures, road surface, bike suspension and geometry, all up weight etc and decision-making can become overwhelming.  

Since retirement in 2008, we've lived on NZ's Coromandel Peninsula which is a road rider's paradise with highly technical twisty roads (look up the Coromandel Loop on YouTube!) with a road surface mainly composed of a coarse chip surface on the western side and smoother seal on the eastern side.  During that time, I've owned a Honda Blackbird, Triumph Street Triple, Suzuki GSX-S1000 and a KTM 790 Duke.  For the last 10 years, I've also been heavily involved with NZ branch of the UK Institute of Advanced Motorists.  Being fully retired also means that commuting has been taken out of the equation as riding has just been for fun and advanced rider mentoring with IAM.  What I'm getting at is that for a good many years, I've ridden a number of bikes under pretty much identical conditions with different brands and types of tyre which is useful for comparative purposes.

There are numerous tyre reviews in this blog but summarising, my preference has been for sport touring tyres as I ride in all weather conditions and cover up to 20,000 km a year.  The Suzuki and KTM came equipped with Dunlop and Maxxis pure sport tyres respectively and they were awful things for my intended use.  Firstly, in colder or wet conditions, it was nigh on impossible to generate sufficient heat for decent grip.  I had some butt-clenching slides when riding appropriately to the conditions and both bikes were also equipped with traction control.  One was when the front end let go and that was seriously scary.  The second factor is the life of a pure sport tyre.  For the environment I ride in, both brands of tyre were stuffed by 3500 km!  A good way of going bankrupt over my annual distance.  As long as a tyre delivers around 10,000 km, I'm a happy camper.  Actual tyre price is irrelevant as  performance (longevity and grip) is the only consideration.

In more recent years and in terms of sport touring tyres, I've used the Metzler Roadtec 01, the Bridgestone T31 and the Michelin Road 5.  All of these tyres gave the grip I was looking for over a wide range of weather conditions but it's worth mentioning where there were notable differences. 

The Roadtec 01 was a good tyre and the full review is HERE .  Two sets fitted to the Suzuki with the same result. Excellent grip in all conditions and a good life.  The rear hoop retained its profile well but the front noticeably started to lose its shape from about 7000-8000 km onward, developing flats on the outer part of the tyre. (A triangular or wedge profile).  Undoubtedly, countersteering and the type of roads I ride on contributed to this but the bike also had good aftermarket suspension set up by renowned guru Dave Moss so the front end wear characteristic was a little disappointing.  I should have replaced the front earlier than my normal habit of replacing both at the same time.

I also had Road 5's on the Suzuki.  In terms of performance, they delivered everything I wanted, including a faster turn-in than the 01's due to a sharper profile.  Unfortunately, I had a series of punctures including a destroyed rear hoop at 2000 km. I'm fairly certain that it was sheer bad luck as opposed to a tyre shortcoming but as I sold the bike not long afterwards, a longer term evaluation wasn't possible. However, I have occasionally seen comments from other owners around the world about "above average frequency" punctures.  Just something to file in the back of the mind.

After buying the KTM 790 and the poor experience with the OEM Maxxis pure sport tyres, I tried a pair of the Bridgestone T31 sport touring tyres as they had good reviews. Hmmm..... do motorcycle magazine reviews truly reflect everyday road performance over a representative period of time?  I suspect not.  Again, grip was satisfactory in all conditions but the front tyre developed a pronounced triangular/wedge profile from about 6000 km onwards.   At 8500 km, the profile was so bad that handling was adversely affected and both tyres were changed for a set of Road 5's.

The T31 front tyre at 8500 km

The Road 5's on the KTM have just clocked up 10,400 km and although it would be possible to legally squeeze more out of them before reaching the wear bar indicators, I'll get them replaced as soon as the 320 km round trip to my dealer can be made.  In a nutshell, they've been absolutely superb.  Outstanding grip in all conditions and equally importantly, they have pretty much retained their profile throughout with no noticeable loss in handling.

Front profile @ 10,400 km

In the following photo, the roughened part of the tyre is the outer soft compound and the wear bar indicator is about 0.5mm below the tyre surface.  The tread block with the sharp entry just to the right of the indicator is lifting slightly due to tearing.  This is occurring round the full circumference of the tyre but is so minor that it doesn't affect the handling.

Front tyre wear at the junction between the softer edge compound and harder centre

The rear tyre shown below has retained an excellent profile throughout the 10,000km+ life. If more time had been spent on straighter roads, the expectation would presumably be for a less-rounded profile.

Excellent profile at 10,400 km

In the photo below, a small amount of raised "feathering" can be seen in the soft compound at the rear of the large rain groove.  It doesn't affect the handling at all and has only become noticeable in the last 1000-2000km.  The most likely cause is less than optimal rebound damping as the OEM White Power shock on the KTM doesn't have the adjustability features of a high end one such as Ohlins, Penske, Nitron etc.  Nonetheless, the bike handles superbly and as the feathering is minor, no action is required at present.  For normal road riding, front tyre pressure is around 34 psi and the rear is 37-38 psi.

A small degree of feathering on the rear of the large rain groove

In summary, the Michelin Road 5 delivers everything required for the type of riding I currently do and the next set will be a straight replacement.  There are relatively few poor tyres on the market unless we buy some virtually unknown dodgy brand in pursuit of false economy.  I'd go further and say that most of us (and most certainly me) will run out of talent long before shortcomings in any of the major brands become apparent.  The real trick is to figure out what type (not brand) of tyre you need in the first place.  However, as I hope this blog post shows, there can be considerable differences in how long tyres of the same general type (e.g sport touring) lasts overall and how well they retain their profile.  I'm just glad that the Road 5 is a perfect fit for the KTM and the type of riding I do.

Oh and by the way, good suspension will really extend your tyre life.  I fitted a top of the line Penske on my Blackbird plus upgraded fork internals.  Gained nearly 2000 km from a set of tyres.

A breakthrough - at last!

In my April post HERE ,  I shared some thoughts about keeping mentally and physically active as we age.  My particular priority was in having sufficient back-up interests as my motorcycling decreases.  I'll be retiring from my official role as an Institute of Advanced Motorists Examiner at the end of the year and it will only be social riding with IAM after that.  A few months ago, Jennie suggested that we think about getting a classic car to have some fun outings together.  She complains that I see far more interesting parts of the country when I'm out on the bike than when we're doing routine journeys in our everyday vehicles.  Fair point and with the extra time becoming available and the prospect of limited international travel for quite a while, it sounded like an excellent suggestion.  

I quietly started looking at "classic" vehicles that might interest both of us and not break the bank, not require mega-hours of restoration or be a nightmare to keep running.  As with the bikes I've owned, emotional appeal was incredibly important.  Regular readers will remember my almost impulsive purchase of a Suzuki GSX-S 1000.  Outstanding performance and totally fit for purpose but it had no emotional appeal. Contrast that with my current KTM Duke 790 which makes me laugh every time I throw a leg over it.

Initially, there was a massive amount of reading to be done, not wanting to be sucked in by a car's looks, only to find that keeping certain models on the road is a nightmare in terms of reliability, rusting or a host of other things.  At least with not using salt on the roads in NZ, corrosion from that source wasn't going to be an issue.

Bloody hell!  Who would have thought it would be so hard to spend money?  I showed Jennie the Reliant Scimitar GTE.  She thought that it was as ugly as sin which was really disappointing as I've always loved it.  Well, that went well as an opening gambit, didn't it?

Scimitar GTE - ain't going to happen! (file photo)

Perusing other classic vehicles for sale in NZ, I came across an early restored Mini Cooper in British Racing Green with a white roof.  We owned a Mini back in the 70's and did my own maintenance (including a complete chassis swap) so I thought this might appeal but the paint job was dismissed as boring, sigh....    She loved this one though:

1990's Mini Cooper (Trademe)

My turn to not be thrilled.  Red cars don't do much for me unless it's a Ferrari but the real killer was a Union Jack sprayed in metallic paint on the roof.  Very professionally done I'll admit but having the prospect of mates and strangers alike making Austin Powers jokes at my expense was not something I looked forward to so that was a non-starter too on my part.  

We also had several other non-starters for various reasons, including GT 40 and Cobra replicas.  The final one, which also disappointed me most was a completely restored NZ-made Lotus 7 clone.  Here it is:

Dixon Saracen - drool, dribble..... (Trademe)

In this instance, Jennie loved it too and with what I took to be a wistful smile, added that in her teens, her first "proper" boyfriend had a genuine Lotus 7.  I was careful not to ask for further details but thought that we were onto a winner, whatever nostalgia the car conjured up.  That is, until she had second thoughts about now being in her 70's and her potential inability to enter and exit it with a semblance of dignity whilst onlookers were present.  After the crushing disappointment and a droopy bottom lip on my part for a day or two, I conceded that she had a valid point.  I probably wouldn't be immune from that either.  Bugger.....

It was beginning to look like the quest for a classic car which we both liked was doomed and then karma stepped in.  We recently completed some theory training for new IAM Observers (mentors) and followed it up with their first practical assessment.  It was a fantastic day out, starting in dry, overcast conditions and ending with heavy rain and slippery roads.  A great challenge which everyone got through very well indeed.

Getting ready for the training ride - Rob, Bruce and Trevor

Some more bikes and Scott

A mid-point debrief with Tony and Andy - rain setting in

Scott, Bruce and Rob starting their mid-point debrief in the rain

I'd already considered an MGB thanks to an excellent YouTube channel HERE and it so happened that two of the Trainee Observers were serving police officers and one of them had been allocated to me for the day.  Over lunch, we were chatting socially and Trevor happened to mention that he owned several bikes and classic cars.  One of his cars was an MGB and he suggested that this might be a consideration.  My close friend Rick in the UK had also recently mentioned an MGB so when I got home, the For Sale pages of various NZ websites were perused.  First up was a beautiful MGB RV8 roadster, an exceedingly rare beast with a 3.9 litre Rover V8 powerplant.  Sadly, a phone call revealed that it had been sold - more disappointment and more scanning - this was getting rather dispiriting.  Ditto with other adverts where reading between the lines implied, "Expensive bit of crap - needs massive amounts of cash and time".  A few days later, another internet scan revealed an MGB GT for sale and what's more, it was only an hours' drive away!  Jennie also liked the idea of an MGB GT - yayyy!

A call was made and yes indeed, it had only just been advertised and would we like to have a look at it that afternoon?  A quick trip down the coast and to say that we were impressed would be a gross understatement.  The long-term owner had put his soul into the restoration a few years back, never takes it out in the rain and it was close to flawless.  The engine bay was so clean that you could have conducted major surgery in it!  It was imported from the UK in the 1980's and subsequently underwent a full restoration with a bit of modernisation such as electronic ignition and Spax adjustable rear shocks. Expensive durable K2 twin pack paint as well, matched to the original factory Blaze Orange colour - as good as it gets!

The engine bay - clean, or what???

The rest of the car was similarly immaculate and the time spent restoring and maintaining it must have been a genuine labour of love.  Brian, the vendor, is older than me and was looking to downsize his property and belongings but it must be painful to let such a beautiful car go, even if it does only get used on infrequent occasions.

1972 MGB GT 

Rostyle wheels - a "must-have" in the 70's

Clean, original interior, stainless kick plates

Jennie would have preferred another colour option than Blaze Orange. She calls it Karitane Yellow (a Kiwi euphemism for baby poo)  but that wasn't going to stand in the way of our ownership.  I love it as it's so 70's and you certainly wouldn't lose it in a busy car park!  To cut a slightly longer story short, the deal was done on a handshake and we will shortly take posession of a beautiful classic car.

In an interesting coincidence, our 49th wedding anniversary is this week and the MG was made 49 years ago in 1972.  In another weird coincidence, Jennie and I take part in a fortnightly "pub quiz", teamed up with our neighbours.  They couldn't make it the evening after we sealed the deal on the car so we teamed up with another couple who have a holiday home near us.  Turns out that the husband is the Treasurer of the MG Owner's club in NZ - that's karma for you!

Going back to the original intent of having another fall-back interest when I finally stop motorcycling, plus adding to the things that Jennie and I can do together right now; it looks like we might have nailed it.  Owning a classic car does require a certain level of commitment which should keep me busy although I hope that most of the time is spent driving it, not working on it!  However, all sorts of incidentals which go with classic British car ownership are now starting to crop up.  Imperial spanners and sockets for starters as most of mine are metric.  The Garage Elves seem to have spirited away my decades-old timing gun and I gave the axle stands away decades ago  Then there's lubricants suitable for older vehicles, yada, yada, yada ....  Hopefully, exciting times and adventures ahead!

To finish on a lighter note,  I’ve owned a pair of Gerbing electrically heated gloves for 4 or 5 years now and they’re far superior to heated grips for winter riding. Unfortunately, some forgetfulness on my part saw me subsequently buying another pair from Revzilla whilst trying to fly under my Chief Financial Officer’s radar.

I’d applied some leather conditioner to them and as it was a cold, miserable day, I put them in a slightly warmed (but turned off) oven to assist with the absorption.  I then wandered off to do other stuff and they were rediscovered by Jennie well after she’d switched on the oven to prepare dinner.  I thought that her comments directed at me were remarkably restrained given the amount of smoke that emanated from the oven.  A novel twist to the term "heated gloves".  The pork cutlets still tasted ok though………

Charred Gloves, anyone?

Enjoying summer

 As previously mentioned, life in NZ has been close to normal since mid-2020 with the exception of on-going basic C-19 precautions and the odd community case which has been effectively dealt with.  From a motorcycling perspective, it's been business as usual with hot summer days and minimal rainfall - wonderful (apart from our garden suffering with the drought)!

Last Sunday was a scheduled get-together for the central north island region of the Institute of Advanced Motorists.  The format varies depending on who turns up.  Potential new members can have a 1:1 assessment, we can take existing members for a coaching session or simply go for a social ride.  It also happened to be the IAM national AGM in the south island and a number of our regional members were heading for that, so uncertain what we were going to do.

The meeting point was in the city of Hamilton, 160 km from where I live so it was up before sunrise to get ready for the 2 hour trip south. Staggering out of bed, this was the view from our deck to get the juices flowing in anticipation of a great day on two wheels.

Dawn over Coromandel Harbour

A bit of a mental debate about which jacket to wear .  The forecast was for 29 C later in the day which is a bit warm for my full leather suit.  Dawn temperature was 16 C, so the choice was to wear a mesh jacket with the liner removed - shouldn't be too cold even with wind chill.  Hmmm...... big mistake and wish that I'd packed a light wind-proof jacket as the temperature dropped to 11 degrees at one point as I rode inland to the south.  It certainly affected my concentration for a while but it soon warmed up as the sun rose.  Silly mistake not to be repeated!

A pleasant breakfast at a Hamilton cafe as others trickled in from around the central north island, including 3 potential new members from the Bay of Plenty.  One was a member of the Patriots NZ Defence Force motorcycle club on his Harley Davidson, plus partners on an MT-09 and a GSX-F 1000F.  Lovely to see ummm... "mature" riders on sporty hardware :-) ! Due to most of the mentoring team being down south at the AGM, the decision was made to make it a purely social ride through twisty Waikato province back roads out to the Nikau Caves cafe for lunch.

Breakfast at the Coffee Club - Chris, Libby, Ra, David, Barbara and Scott

Libby and Ra ready to roll

Scott, Chris, Barbara and David waiting for the photographer to pull finger and get on his bike

Chris, who was leading the ride had planned a really scenic but challenging route through back roads with minimal time on significant public highways - sheer magic!  I volunteered to be Tail End Charlie to keep an eye on things from the rear and connected to Chris by helmet to helmet comms.

Around 100 km of almost continuous bends!

The route was an absolute cracker and a smooth approach to attack the bends to make good progress rather than on and off the throttle and brakes - we would have been stuffed in no time!  The new riders in the group fitted in seamlessly and really enjoyed both the scenery and the riding.  The Harleys performed really well in the slower tight stuff despite their conservative geometry, using their low down torque and engine braking to good effect.  Of course, attitude and skill far outweigh what sort of bike you ride. The Duke 790 was in its element - it ain't called The Scalpel for nothing!

Biking heaven!

Arriving at the Nikau Caves cafe car park in high temperatures

Drone shot of the cafe (source: Google)

With plenty of space both indoor and outside, the Caves cafe has long been a popular destination for motoring and motorcycling groups.  This time, the Mercedes car club were there.  Good food, great company - what's not to like?

Lots of rehydrating and adding calories after a hot ride

Our region covers the best part of 50,000 sq km and the IAM members live at all 4 points of the compass within it.  The decision was made after lunch to return to the village of Te Kauwhata to fuel up and then go our separate ways home.  I still had a fair bit of fuel so would say my goodbyes when the rest stopped for gas and I'd stop closer to home.

Within 5 minutes of setting off from the cafe, my ride took a turn for the worse when I was stung twice on the back of the neck by a wasp.  It really hurt and a few choice expletives were sent over the comms airwaves.  Hard to keep up the concentration when it feels like someone has stuck a knife in your neck and 2 hours to get home for some antihistamine! Must add some to my medikit.  I always wear a tube scarf irrespective of weather since being stung years ago but this little sucker must have crawled into a gap between my scarf and the back of the helmet.

Being distracted by the pain, I forgot to gas up for the last leg of the journey where there's no fuel available.  Noticing a rapidly dropping gauge,  I started short shifting, wondering whether my mobile phone would work in the numerous black spots on that stretch of road if it was necessary to get Jennie to bring a can of gas.  All was well in the end, getting home with a splash of fuel still visible in the bottom of the tank.  Handy information for the future, knowing that the fuel gauge is fairly reliable and that I can squeeze nearly 300 km from a full tank if I can control my right wrist. All in all, a wonderful day out with just over 450 km covered on some superb roads.

Just to add a nice finale to the day, I got a call from a mate saying that at the AGM down south the previous day, I'd been awarded lifetime membership of IAM "for services rendered" in establishing the Central North Island chapter 4 years ago.  Incredibly moved and honoured to receive it although at the moment, it doesn't sit all that easily.  It feels wrong to be honoured for something which has had such an impact on the way I ride and which has lengthened my riding career by a good margin.  Paying it forward to help others is the least response, given the massive personal benefits.

Beauty and the beast

Learning new skills

A number of motobloggers, me included; have made recent posts with some degree of philosophising about life in general, thanks to the nightmare of 2020.  Call it a mental recalibration about priorities, if you like.  I've certainly been thinking about "where to from here" more than usual, probably because I'm 74 this year.

Learning new skills is always uplifting, no matter what the subject matter.  Sometimes it's a matter of necessity, sometimes just for fun.  I've long wanted to go back to uni to attend U3A (University of the 3rd Age) lectures for senior citizens in philosophy, archaeology or similar; simply out of interest in doing something different.  My last formal academic stint was a postgrad diploma in quality assurance systems back in 1990 which was necessary for a major company project but bloody hell, it was terminally boring!  Unfortunately, where we live now involves a 4 hour round trip to the nearest university campus to attend U3A courses so attendance would be a real hassle.  On-line courses just aren't the same.  Back to the drawing board for something new and enjoyable then....

Regular readers will have seen the previous post which included a bit of garden landscaping whilst lockdown and its aftermath was in full swing.  Construction of a flight of steps and a decently-formed path through part of the garden was really enjoyable and also showed that with a modest number of woodworking tools, it was possible to get pretty good results with a bit of thought and planning.  Our eldest son thought he could leverage the newly-acquired skills and enthusiasm to his advantage and asked me to build a 1600mm x 1100mm substantial gate between the garage and fence at his house.  He's flat out with a young family so it would be good to help him out.

Having never built a gate before, the wondrous YouTube was consulted and there was a great "how to" video by local hardware chain Mitre 10. Some of the rebating involved the use of a dropsaw which I don't have.  However, careful use of my circular saw and a razor sharp chisel was a great substitute once I'd got the idea.  Didn't have big sash clamps either but a pair of vehicle ratchet tie downs were a perfect substitute - yayy!!!

Getting the frame square

Next step involved getting the angle-brace installed which was the trickiest part of the entire construction.  Each end had to be precisely cut into opposing corners, with a rebate in the centre for connecting to the centre brace.  Again, great learning watching the carpenter on the video on how to mark it up before cutting.

Adding the vertical facing boards

Cutting the facing boards and screwing them in place was a piece of cake apart from my mental math quantity calcs letting me down and having to return to the woodyard to get an extra length of board, sigh......

A bit of filler in the screw holes and it was time for priming and painting - here's the finished article, minus the hinges which were on order at the time.  Crikey, heavy duty stainless steel 125mm broad butt hinges are expensive - nearly NZ$90 for 3 of them (US64, 46GBP).

Just about worth their weight in gold....

The finished article minus hinges

All that remains is to trailer it to the city of Hamilton and install it with a decent latch.  A very satisfying first-time project, particularly in learning new techniques which are transferrable to future projects.

I also managed to fit in a very pleasant 450 km day on the KTM taking a serving police officer out for his Advanced Roadcraft Test.  Andy is a member of the Commercial Vehicle Safety Team, ensuring that road transport operators meet their legal obligations.  He just rides for fun as well as being an ex-road racer and active trials rider.  Theory test first which he aced 100% - 80% is required to pass.  Then it was out onto the road to assess his riding in motorway, city and country road environments; with him giving commentary about what he was observing and how that was impacting on his riding.  It was a close to flawless ride in surprisingly challenging conditions with high temperatures and a fair bit of tar bleed-through.  The latter called for a fair degree of vigilance on narrow, winding country roads.  Both of us thoroughly enjoyed the day and returned home in a fairly knackered state.  Good hydration and a mesh armoured jacket made it more pleasant than it would have otherwise been.

A delighted Officer Andy and his immaculate Africa Twin

Whilst being an IAM Examiner is really enjoyable on days like this, it's rather less fun on cold, wet days.  Part of the problem is that I live a long way from where most tests need to be conducted so it makes for a lengthy day in less than pleasant conditions.  As a nod to my age and a whole load of post-Covid mulling things over, I'll be retiring from an active IAM role at the end of the year but still plan to occasionally ride socially with them to maintain skills.  As mentioned earlier, it's quite a healthy thing to take on new challenges and learn new stuff!

  

The KTM 790 at 18 months - a progress report

 

A hooligan machine if  ever there was one!

An IAM friend of mine who has owned multiple European and Japanese bikes recently said, "There is a special corner of Hell reserved for MV and Moto Guzzi owners who can expect the full dealer workshop maintenance experience".  It was a tongue in cheek retort to someone he knew questioning the reliability of KTM's.  Indeed, several of my friends formed the shape of a cross with their fingers when I announced the intent to buy a Duke 790.  I guess that it's a widely held belief with some substance that Japanese bikes are generally more reliable than European or American ones but what's it really been like to own the 790 since March 2019?

Let's start by saying that I was aware that KTM's had a bit of a mixed reputation before I bought one but the test ride was so exhilarating (HERE) that I just had to own one.  I've rarely laughed out loud inside my helmet but I did multiple times on that day. 

RS 10 hypersport tyres on the demo bike taking a hiding on coarse road chip

The 1500 km review with all the early accessory purchases is HERE and there have been multiple other posts about various bits and pieces.  However, after 18 months ownership and 15,000 km, I thought it might be useful to pull together some thoughts about real life ownership over that time.  The distance covered ought to have been nearly twice that, but that's what C-19 and two eye surgeries do for you!

I needed a bike which had good performance plus excellent handling more than outright power and speed because of where I live in the countryside and also my IAM work.  It needed to be light because of my age - 73 next month for a bit of future-proofing and it's filled the bill perfectly.  Leaving aside all the rational reasons, I also wanted a bike which had a bit of "mongrel" in it! 

HANDLING. In a word, outstanding.  Light weight and steering geometry makes cornering effortless.  It's not called The Scalpel for nothing.  It's very forgiving too.  If corner entry speed is a bit too high, just lean it some more - no drama. That's all that needs to be said apart from noting that good handling also noticeably reduces fatigue on a run.  Ditto for ergonomics with respect to fatigue - my ageing body needs all the help it can get and the KTM is close to perfect for me.  Tyres naturally have a bearing on handling and the OEM Maxxis pure sport tyre get a black mark.  They were fine in the warmer, drier weather when I first bought the bike but as soon as it got colder and wetter, grip reduced dramatically.  A front end slide saw the Maxxis removed at a little over 3000 km and replaced with Bridgestone T31 sport touring tyres.  An excellent all round tyre with plenty of grip in all conditions.  However the front hoop was badly losing its profile at 6000 km although the rear was fine. I suspect that countersteering to maintain good progress on the twisty roads where I live contributes to that. At 8000-odd km, they were replaced with Michelin Road 5's which have been genuinely outstanding, no matter what the conditions are like.  They have currently covered 4000 km and are in great condition.  The other great feature is the turning circle.  Immeasurably better than my last 2 bikes and ideal for narrower roads without having to do a 3 point turn or even worse, having to step off it due to a misjudgment!  (Ummm...... I did this a few years ago on my 2009 Street Triple which had terrible lock.  Almost made it.....)

Rear Michelin Road 5 @ 4000km

BRAKING. The stock brakes and pads were ok (the word "adequate" springs to mind) but I fitted EBC HH pads during lockdown as I knew from fitting them to previous bikes what sort of performance gain to expect.  They delivered the expected performance but I suspect they exacerbated an issue which I'd noticed before they were fitted.  At low speeds (say <20 km/hr), gently applying the front brake creates a slight snatch like the pads are grabbing then slightly letting go.  This becomes more pronounced if more lever pressure is applied.  Sticking a magnetic dial indicator on the forks and checking disc runout revealed a couple of things.  The front right hand disc has a runout of 0.07mm.  This is within the manufacturer's tolerance of 0.1mm but the difference between high and low points is only just over 90 degrees.  The front left hand disc has a runout of 0.13mm which is outside tolerance and the difference between high and low is approximately 180 degrees apart.  

RH front disc with dial indicator

A trip to my dealer a few days ago led to the service manager describing the slow speed braking performance as "aggressive" and he is following up with KTM to get the disks replaced under warranty. I should add that at higher speeds, the brakes perform perfectly and I automatically compensate for the deficiency at the lower speed.  It still needs addressing though. (Update:  New rotors fitted under warranty)

THE ENGINE AND TRANSMISSION.  An absolute delight and proof that you don't need a big capacity bike to go fast in most road conditions as it's the power to weight ratio that has a lot of relevance until aerodynamics takes over.  The 790 has plenty of torque but the quickshifter is a really useful tool for keeping the bike in the right rev range.  I use the quickshifter on downshifts all the time for engine braking in combination with the throttle to keep things smooth as opposed to relying on the brakes.  It gets used less on upshifts as it requires reasonably large throttle openings to make smooth changes and I tend not to wring its neck on most occasions.  With the stock muffler, the engine sounds great too with a decent bark and a few pops on a trailing throttle.  No intention to fit a louder muffler as I prefer not to draw attention to myself.

The only slight downside experienced to date is a very slight misting of oil from the cam cover rubber seal at the camshaft ends.  It's nowhere annoying enough to have it fixed properly until a future service requires the cam cover to be removed.  A temporary fix has been to paint flexible sealant along the join at those points and it works perfectly - no more misting.

Sealant painted on part of the cam cover joint

Setting chain tension is complicated by the fact that I have an ABBA stand which lifts on the swingarm pivot rather than a rear paddock stand that lifts on bobbins.  The KTM method is to measure clearance between the underside of the swingarm and the top of the chain whilst on the paddock stand.  I can't use the official method so I do it with my neighbour sitting on it.  In his everyday clothes, he weighs about the same as me fully kitted in riding gear.  All a bit complicated but it works out ok.  Not that impressed with the Chinese OEM chain but will probably change it for a DID brand fairly soon.  It gets lubed with either Maxima Chain Wax or Tirox teflon spray every 500 km or thereabouts using the excellent GREASE NINJA.

ABBA stand with attachments to lift both wheels at the same time

FLEXIBILITY.  The multi-option rider modes/traction control have been particularly useful for the mix of country and town riding.  Sport or Street modes are my preferred options on the open road and the performance increase and throttle response is particularly noticeable compared with rain mode as you might expect.  However, apart from its obvious use, I find rain mode useful for making the bike less snatchy on low throttle openings for city work in dense traffic.  I've never even bothered to use track mode with all the sub-options such as anti-wheelie and launch control.  I find that 6th gear is almost superfluous for the conditions I ride in.  The national speed limit is 100 km/hr apart from some rare stretches of expressway.  At that 100 km/hr, 6th is almost like an overdrive and I only tend to use it on long, straight roads where a constant speed can be maintained.

FUEL CONSUMPTION.   How long is a piece of string?  You don't buy a 790 for economy.  However, because of the relatively remote location where we live and that much of my riding involves 500km+ days, I wanted a decent range out of a tankful.  On an average ride, the instrumentation shows around 4lt per100 km.  Checks against my GPS suggests this is a little  optimistic.  I've never pushed my luck in the name of getting an absolute reading but think that a range of 270 km is pretty safe on most occasions.  Maybe 300 km if you're taking it really easy.

LUGGAGE CARRYING.  Touring on the 790 wasn't a significant criterion when considering the purchase.  There are accessories available involving bolt-on steel racks etc but I wanted to keep the minimalist, clean lines of the standard bike.  A slim rear seat pack is all I use to carry tyre repair equipment, a medikit, a few tools and documentation for my role as an IAM Examiner.  For a 6 day tour last February (HERE), I added a 10 litre yachting dry bag and a backpack which were perfectly adequate.

Travelling light for a 6 day tour

CYCLE PARTS.  The standard of finish is quite impressive.  The paintwork is as bright as the day it was bought and there's no rusting on any of the bolts or other steelwork.  I installed R&G anti-slip film where my knees touch the tank for additional protection.  The bike gets washed using an ordinary car wash 'n wax or the excellent Muc-Off  motorcycle cleaner.  I find cleaning the bike is quite therapeutic and if I'm in need of extra therapy, the paintwork might get a coating of Mother's carnauba wax on the odd occasion.

R&G  grip/paint protection kit

HEADLIGHT.  I thought it would be adequate for nighttime riding where there was ambient light such as street lights.  It's actually much better than I supposed and is fine for maintaining a decent speed in the unlit countryside.  The spread of light also lights up a wide angle which is good for spotting things off the road.  I've done 5 Iron Butt (NZ equivalent)1600 km in under 24 hour rides on various bikes and would have no qualms about doing one on the 790.

No complaints at all!

Lighting up the countryside

SERVICE COSTS.  First service at 1000 km involved an oil and filter change, diagnostic computer check and a general check round the bike.  It cost NZ$279 (260 AUD, 183USD, 134GBP).  Second service at 11000km involved an oil and filter change, check and clean air filter, software upgrade, replace frame bolts under warranty, and a general check round the bike.  It cost NZ$314 (292AUD, 206USD, 161 GBP).  This was a little less than my naked GSX-S 1000 and think that it was pretty reasonable.  The dealer I use involves a 320 km round trip.  They're aware of the travel time involved and always go out of their way to turn the bike around as quickly as possible.  (Boyds in Hamilton for Kiwi riders). 

IN SUMMARY.  I've banged on about it before but to get a match made in heaven, a bike has to meet the technical needs of the prospective owner and appeal to to their emotions.  I found this out first hand when I bought the GSX-S 1000 almost on a whim.  Great performance but surprisingly, I found it bland and a bit lacking in character.  Perhaps that's a slight pointer to the differences between the majority of Japanese bikes and those from elsewhere, particularly Europe.  The 790 gets patted when I walk past it in the shed.  The Gixxer didn't.  It's worth repeating what someone said to me when I had narrowed the choice down to the Duke 790 and the 765 Street Triple R.  "It's not the way the coin lands that decides for you, but your reaction to the way the coin lands that will tell you the decision you want to make".  Those words actually made the choice a lot easier than it would have otherwise been.

Having set the scene, the KTM still makes me laugh every time I ride it and it more than meets my specific technical needs.  The relatively minor issues (call them "character traits") listed in this blog post in no way significantly detract from the immense enjoyment I've had from owning it. Most of the time, l can ride it fairly sensibly, but it really does encourage immoderate behaviour *grin*.  Trying to be dispassionate, if I was looking at a new bike today, it would still be the KTM 790.  Can't express it any better than that.

Coromandel Peninsula where I live - riding heaven!

Fun and frustration

Summer (meteorologically speaking) starts in NZ today and in our neck of the woods, the weather has been glorious for the last couple of weeks with temperatures in the mid-20's C or a bit above.  Perfect for motorcycling.  Truth be told, we could do with a spot of the wet stuff as cracks are appearing in the garden.

A week last Sunday, I took part in a social ride with members of the Institute of Advanced Motorists from our region.  We all converged on the tourist town of Rotorua, known for its bubbling mud pools and geysers.  However, it wasn't to see the natural wonders.  A Rotorua resident called Sue runs a sideline business called Plugz 4 Lugz making custom moulded ear plugs.  One of our members had arranged for her to run a production line for our members.

About 4 years ago, Sue had made some plugs for me because off the shelf plugs always seemed to work loose and weren't particularly effective - must have weird ear canals.  The plugs which Sue made were just fabulous but were getting a bit ratty with use so it was time for new ones.  The plain ones actually improve the quality of bike-to-bike comms by reducing wind noise.  She also makes them with in-built speakers.  The round trip for me was a little over 400 km but we all know, it's about the journey, not the destination.

Bikes lined up in Sue's driveway

It was really well-organised with Sue working round everyone and injecting coloured silicone of their choice into ears and leaving them for a few minutes to set.  Once that was completed, we all headed for lunch at a local cafe whilst Sue trimmed the plugs and sealed them with a clear coat.  A thoroughly enjoyable ride and great to catch up with members from various parts of our region which covers some 40,000 sq km.

Sue, with Rex waiting for his plugs to harden

Nice, pristine ear plugs

That was one of the fun bits, now for a frustration.....

Doing a job at home (hanging out the washing actually!) and I noticed some odd-looking "floaters" in one eye which had just appeared.  To cut the story short, we ended up making a 350 km round trip to an eye specialist who diagnosed a small retinal tear which bled into the eye and it was fixed with laser treatment which took all of 10-15 minutes after a thorough examination.  Only pain was to the wallet.  There was one lighter moment though.  In the hope of helping with the diagnosis, I sketched what the floaters looked like and also took a graph of my blood pressure over the last year in case it had any relevance (it's pretty good for my age by the way).  When I handed them over, the specialist put her head in her hands and said, "Are you an engineer?"  I asked her how she knew.  She replied that her husband was an engineer too and he once took along a spreadsheet when he visited his doctor.  I replied that it seemed  like a perfectly normal thing to do which caused much laughter and eye-rolling between Jennie and her, sigh.....

Having got that out of the way, the next job was to take an IAM member for his Advanced Police Roadcraft Test.  It involved sitting a theory paper, then taking a practical ride of nearly 2 hours covering city and expressway work, followed by a spell on rather challenging country roads.  It also involved him giving commentary of what potential hazards he was observing and how that was impacting on his actions.  I'm happy to say that it was immensely pleasurable for both of us as he absolutely aced the test - a considerable compliment too to his mentor.  To see the massive improvement in riding skill and personal safety since him joining IAM last year is more than ample reward for doing what I do.

Bruce at the end of his Advanced Test

An interesting observation which won't come as a surprise to adventure bike riders......

Bruce rides a Triumph 1200 Explorer.  One country road on the test was exceptionally twisty with limited sight lines and the sealed surface was pretty rough.  The torque of the 3 cylinder motor coupled with compliant suspension meant that he could safely maintain great progress in those conditions.  On the Duke 790 with sport-oriented suspension and less torque, I was having to work a lot harder than Bruce.  I rarely use my quickshifter for up-shifts but was certainly doing so on that part of the ride to get constant drive out of corners.  Clear proof that a well-ridden adventure bike is quite a weapon, especially on less than optimal road surfaces.

The final frustration was that on the way home from the test, my eye started bleed internally again.  Negotiating the twisty coast road with effectively one eye called for a fair bit of care through losing my depth perception.  Yet another 350 km round trip the following day to the specialist with Jennie driving.  So much crap in the eye that the specialist couldn't make a diagnosis.  A further trip is scheduled in a few days when things have hopefully settled down.  Not a smart idea to be driving or riding in the meantime but Jennie has a few menial tasks lined up to keep me out of mischief.  Let's hope that I can continue my motorcycling career for a while yet!

Going Full Circle

Voluntary community work seems to be particularly strong in NZ, almost to the point where it's part of the national psyche and long may it continue! Jennie helps at the local historic gold mining museum and as regular readers know, I volunteer with the Institute of Advanced Motorists.  IAM started in the UK and is based on the UK Police Roadcraft training system which is taught for both bikes and cars in several countries.  Passing the Advanced Roadcraft Test is arguably the highest civilian riding/driving qualification in the countries where it is taught.

The Police Roadcraft "bible"

The journey to raise my mediocre riding standard by joining IAM has been documented earlier in the blog.  Firstly by passing the Advanced Test after 8 months of blood, sweat and tears, then going on to train as an Observer (Instructor) which took a further year and enables me to "pay it forward" by helping others.  I'm currently Senior Observer for my region of NZ and spent last weekend in Auckland helping to start a number of riders who have passed their Advanced Test on their journey to becoming Observers themselves.  Hence the reference in the post title as going full circle!

It really is one of those rare occasions in life where there is no downside whatsoever.  I get to ride my bike in the company of people who care about their riding and want to continually upskill.  It also forces me to maintain my personal standards as I get retested every two years!  When I first became an Observer, it was Dan Bateman from Team Oregon rider training in the US who said to me, "Remember that you will forever be known differently now. It is a tremendous responsibility to always reflect the proper ideals” .  He was absolutely on the money, but the benefits have been enormous, not the least being my own enjoyment of riding having increased immeasurably.

Anyway, back to the weekend.....

Chief Examiner Philip opening proceedings

The two days consisted of presentations by experienced Observers on the technicalities of how to observe both good riding and improvement opportunities in a rider's skill set and how to succinctly incorporate them into debriefing the rider and giving them a  detailed written report focussing on both the things they do well and improvement areas to practice.

Some of the attentive participants, sweating on what was to come!

Interpersonal skills are also an essential element of being a good Observer in order to positively engage with the people they are mentoring - humility, patience, being constructive and so forth.  Absolutely no place for egos in IAM NZ and that quality is reinforced and treasured by everyone.

Observer Richard covering some of the interpersonal skills

Theory is interspersed with practice rides, where Observers become the "new" riders being assessed and build in subtle errors into their riding.  The Trainee Observers practice observing what riders do well and areas for improvement whilst giving directions over comms.  Having to remember key items in the ride to discuss later whilst maintaining their own standards is far from easy!

Nervous grin from Trainee Observer Hayden as he prepares to observe my riding!

This is my favourite part of the course where Trainee Observers are filled with panic, trying to remember all the positives and improvement areas ready to complete a coherent report on return. Every one of them makes the same comment - so much information to process in addition to maintaining their own riding.   Most of the immediate feedback at ride end is actually rather colourful and involves words that won't bear repeating on these pages. Being called a complete bastard was one of the milder things I've been labelled on previous courses - all in fun of course.  Takes me back to when I was in the same position and what I thought of my mentor!

Trainee Observer Tessa debriefing Steve

At the end of the 2 day course, each Trainee is allocated a permanent Observer mentor who is responsible for coaching the T/O through a series of training modules in real life training situations. The modules are only signed off when the T/O demonstrates repeated mastery of that particular module.  In practical terms, it takes up to a year before reaching the standard required to sit the full Observer Test.  The Test itself  takes the best part of the day.  A written test to check knowledge of the NZ road rules and the Police Roadcraft system - 80% in both sections required to pass.  Next is a one hour assessed ride in motorway, city and country environments to ensure that the Trainee Observer has maintained his or her personal skills.  They are required to give a commentary of their situational awareness and how that is impacting on their riding.  Finally, they are observed conducting an assessment on another rider for around 1 1/2 hours in a range of environments, demonstrating advanced techniques to the trainee if required then conducting a debrief and writing the formal report.

Riders from Auckland and Wellington in deep discussion

If it was easy, it wouldn't have the reputation that it does and riders wouldn't have the level of quiet pride that they do in both achieving a huge personal milestone and having a real impact on road safety.  It also has a spin-off into life away from motorcycling in terms of personal conduct and interaction with other people.  As mentioned earlier, there has been no downside whatsoever to becoming a member of IAM and hopefully, will allow me to enjoy motorcycling well into my 70's.  Not too bad for someone who could be described as a bit of a hooligan until a few years ago!

Finally, one of the riders who joined IAM a year ago has written a blog about his experiences, warts 'n all.  Rob rides a Suzuki Hayabusa and was already what might be described as an experienced rider. Very well written with refreshing honesty and a lot of humour. The first blog post is HERE .  Newer posts can be accessed by clicking on Newer Posts at the bottom of each page or through the archive.  Rob passed his Advanced Test at the start of this month and has now started on the road to becoming an Observer.  Another turn of the wheel!