2020 Rocky Mountain Rally - July 13 - 16

[cabnfvr]

Covid info for Gunnison CO is listed here. If things stay as they are or hopefully improve a little we plan to go.

[Lee]

Covid info for Gunnison CO is listed here. If things stay as they are or hopefully improve a little we plan to go.

Same plan for us.
I'll be a little selective on where we stay on the route out and back.
I wanted to take the Pouder River on the way buy Ft Collins does not look good.
We'll go through the Ne. Sand Hills and if Ft Collins still looks bad we'll drop into Co. over by Walden avoiding interstate as much as possible.

[cabnfvr]

We are going to reserve motels with max 2 story and all with outside room access and individual room a/c. And staying away from hospitals. Check Google Maps. I had a couple of motels picked that turned out to be in county seats with a hospital very nearby. We've routed around those now.

[Bmorganjr]

[Bobby]

It's going to be in a great location.

[Pwoodhouse]

very much looking forward to attending . My only hold up is the Canada US border closure . For now it's closed until June 21'st when they'll announce an extension or opening with some kind of restrictions . I've a desperate need for a road trip !!!!!!

[aviator]

Sorry Bill, I will probably miss all the fun this year.

[Bmorganjr]

Be safe serving our Country Sir

[Lee]

Called my tire guy yesterday and told him to order two sets of Pilot Road 4.
Thought I would try one more set while they are still made.
Current tires are Road Smart 3. I have 8,450 on mine and Debbie has 7,710 miles on hers.
Good tread but not enough for Colorado.
Road Smart 3 would have been $160 cheaper total because of rebates.

My tire.



Debbie

[cabnfvr]

Why not Roadsmarts again? inquiring minds want to know. BTW, if buying today I'd go PR4 instead of Road 5s. The 5s stick well enough but I just don't like the look of the tread.

[Bobby]

Lee, I'm in the same situation. Have Road Smart 3 and will probably switch back to the Michelins. But I still have a couple thousand miles left on mine so will need to arrange to have them changed somewhere between here and Colorado.

[Lee]

Why not Roadsmarts again? inquiring minds want to know. BTW, if buying today I'd go PR4 instead of Road 5s. The 5s stick well enough but I just don't like the look of the tread.

The Road Smart 3 is ok but I always had good good luck with the PR4. Before the Road Smart 3 we had the PR4 back with a Road 5 in the front. The Road 5 front wore faster than normal for both of us so I did not want a set of 5s. As you know I also dislike no thread groove in the center or crossing the center of the rear tire on the Road5.
For us tire wear of the Road Smart 3 and PR4 are about the same.

I did worry a little about wet traction of the front Road Smart 3. After going through two shallow low water crossings, then leaning, both of us had the front slide a little.
There may have been a little slime on our tires but the two riders in front of us did not have a problem. After that we never rode on a curvy road in the rain so I don't know for sure if it was going to be a problem.

If there's no rebate the prices are similar. I was quote $312 a set for the Road Smart 3 and $330 a set for the PR4 non GT.

[MattB]

Lee, i have two sets on account of the Dunlop rebates, and i had the front slide while riding hard as well. I used one set, still have the other as new. If you want stick, get the Dunlop Q3, or Q3+... one word... AWESOME!

[RS530]

[Rob]

[MattB]

[Lee]

When I have never worn out a certain brand of tire I'm pretty conservative on guessing how long they will last.
Crossing Nebraska twice in July heat will eat up a lot of what's left of the tires.
On my tire I have 3/32" tread depth at end of the red line.




Debbie has 2.5/32"



Those spots are at the tire center.

[Bobby]

Mine look all exactly like yours Lee. For what's it's worth i was in the BMW shop the other day and the tech though I had 1500 to 2000 left. So i plan to have them changed out probably in Grand Junction.

[RS530]

Looking at that new tire, sure does give one a little different perspective. A few sets ago, when my buddy changed my tires when I thought they were getting thin, I actually ground the tire up to see how much rubber was left to the cords, more than 3/8 of an inch. Well I was just asking to get your perspective is all. With all the miles you and Debbie have ridden, your one I would definitely take advice from!!!

[Lee]

Bobby I usually waste tires and have new ones mounted at home instead of getting tires on the road.
Seems like the times we have bought tires on the road we end up burning a half day we could be out having fun
The one exception is Texas. One of the places we stay the guy has a tire changer. I have tires shipped to him and have the tires mounted while Debbie sleeps in that morning. She likes that plan

[RS530]

[RS530]

[Lee]

Living in the midwest most of our miles are traveling to the good roads. During those miles we're at a steady throttle.
Accelerating out of a corner and engine braking causes more tire wear, so if you ride mostly in the twistiest your tires don't last long.

[Loggiebone]

[aviator]

I love the road 5s on the XR. Absolutely fantastic, especially so in the rain.

[Lee]

That seems to be normal now
One time we had tires we had not used before and the center of Debbie's rear tire started to tear like you see before the cord shows and her tire was not down to the center most wear indicators.
I traded bikes with her and did a slow ride back to the motel.

[Bmorganjr]

All rooms booked for the pre( dirt bikers)

Later this week I will post the hotels we will be staying at and on what nights throughout Colorado in case anybody wants to pop in