Stelvio to get new tyres
April 28th, 2010
Dropped the Stelvio off at Haywards this afternoon for a new set of tyres. Im going for a set of Michelin Pilot road this time. Never run with Michelin before so it’ll be an interesting change. The Stelvio’s 19″ front wheel kind of limits the choice and I prefer to keep back and front the same so ive got to go with the Pilots.
Whilst the bikes in the garage they are changing over the drive shaft boot. This is a precautionary change because the original one has started to perish and I’d prefer to keep the drive shaft clean and water tight. They are also looking at the exhaust can which has started rattling at low rpm. Its got so bad that I can hear it when im moving over the noise of the exhaust note. Ive asked them to check out the 3rd segment of the fuel level on the dashboard because Ive not seen it light up once even aftr a fill up. Its not the end of the world but as its meant to work I’d prefer to get it resolved now.
The garage have kindly lent me a Moto Guzzi 1200 Sport 4v for a couple of days whilst they do the work. Ive owned a 2v version in the recent past so it was good getting back on a familiar bike. The engine which is the same as the one in the Stelvio really goes nicely in the 1200 Sport. Its torque really comes in to its own when you want to accelerate out of a corner or over take traffic. Its got a cracking growl to it too, again just like the Stelvio. I did find the peg position a bit weird for the 1st few seconds because the saddle to peg distance is a lot shorter than the Stelvio. Wasn’t anything to worry about though. I’d love to have a sport in the garage again one day. In a way, the 4v version is what the original 2v version should have been from day one.
Anyway, the Stelvio is coming back tomorrow. The weather forecast is terrible. Just what I need with a fresh set of tyres on the wheels…
UPDATE: Haywards were let down by their tyre supplier in the end so Ive had another set of Pirelli Scorpions fitted. They did a good price for me so they’ll do for another 4/5/6000….They exhaust can was swapped out too. They found a couple of faults with the original. Firstly the catalytic converter had failed inside. They pulled it out and sent me on my way… I got home with the same rattle and I can tell you now I wasn’t impressed.. So back I went and this time they spotted that the heat shield was rattling against the outer wall of the can so it was a complete unit swap out. So no more rattles for me. Just got to run those tyres in now.
