Z1000SX New Brake Pads

On Monday evening I fitted a new set of front brake pads to Helen’s Z1000SX. Although the old pads probably would’ve lasted the tour we thought it best to change them anyway.

As usual the OEM pads are a stupid price so we opted for the vastly cheaper and according to others much better Brembo SA pads. The ones for the SX are part No. 07SU27SA. The pads were very easy to change and look very good quality. Hopefully it will be dry on Saturday so that she can try them out and get them bedded in.

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Ducati Test Ride & Tyre Scrubbing

Even though our tyres had already been fitted during the week we decided to still visit Ducati Manchester on Saturday so that Helen could test ride the Multistrada. We had the pleasure of initially scrubbing our new tyres in on the fantastic M60 with it’s current 50mph average speed cameras. Helen picked up the Multistrada and I decided to stay on my bike as they have nothing I am interested in riding.

We then  jumped back on the M60 and headed for Glossop. It was really busy at the end of the M67 so we used the sneaky way through Broadbottom and Charlesworth. We then had a good run down Monks’ Road to the junction with the A624. We then headed back through Glossop and joined the B6105. We then followed that to the A628 and then joined the A6024 and headed over Holme Moss to Holmfirth. From there we joined the A635 and headed back over Saddleworth Moor to Greenfield. From here we headed back to the M60 through Ashton-under-Lyne and then followed the motorway back to Ducati Manchester. We handed the bike back and then headed home via the M60 for lunch.

Helen didn’t like the Multistrada at all here’s what she put on Facebook about it: It was horrible! Seat was comfy & it turned OK but far too many negatives for me. Too upright, too vibey & lumpy feeling, right hand went totally numb after 15 minutes, felt like my feet were slipping off the pegs, didn't seem that fast, felt an effort to accelerate, screen height meant I was looking through it rather than over it which was distracting. Just felt like a chore riding it & was really agricultural. Not for me. Horses for courses though - John Deere have a lot of fans LOL!

After lunch we headed out again to do some tyre scrubbing over our local loop on Saddleworth Moor and Rishworth Moor. It is a great local route for us to test things out very quickly. The Michelins are miles better than the Metzlers that came on the bike. The rear seems miles more planted and the bike wasn’t moving around at the rear like it did on the Metzlers. The tyre wear pattern is also a bit revealing. The rear on the Metzler was worn right to the edge on both sides but the front was quite a bit off the edge. Whereas the rear on

Michelins wasn’t worn right to the edge (couple of mm short) but the front was worn considerably more to the edge. I’m not a tyre expert but I would say the wear on the Michelins is better for grip than that revealed on the Metzlers.

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New Tyres

Helen and I had booked in with Matt at Bike Tyre Services on Saturday morning for a new set of Michelin Pilot Road 4’s, for our upcoming tour. While we were waiting we had decided to take out a Ducati each for a test ride as Ducati Manchester is opposite.

However Matt phoned up during the week and said that he had been offered a VIP package to attend the TT Superbike Race on Saturday. He said it was too good to miss for him and so as to not let us down, he would come and collect both bikes one at a time and take them back to his workshop in his van. We couldn’t really argue with that and just goes to show why we use him and will continue to do so. So as of Thursday evening we now both have a new set of tyres to scrub in. Michelin also have an offer on at the moment for £25 back on a set of tyres as well.

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