New Tires Are Warm and Fuzzy

Don't you love the little fuzzies sticking out on new tires? They're like bubble-wrap, I just can't wait to get rid of all of them. So satisfying.

So last night I picked up the Triumph from Phoenix International Motorsports. I am very impressed with the service I got over there. When they encountered a small problem, they called to let me know rather than waiting until I showed up to pick up my bike. They actually called me to let me know my bike was ready. Nice!

The old tires were Pilot Roads. I hated them with a passion after the first week. They weren't sticky enough in curves, and it took too much muscle to move the bike around. They were a detriment to my riding confidence. On the upside, they lasted darn near forever.

The new tires are Pilot Road 2s. They've got a new multi-compound makeup which means they're hard in the middle and soft and sticky on the edges. Frankly, I was a little nervous about them, but the parts manager told me that even guys on all-out supersport bikes like them.

I have to say, the Triumph is a whole new machine. I'm so tickled. In curves, I start to lean a bit, and then hit the sticky part of the tire and the bike just dives into the turn and spits me out, confident and happy, on the other side.

It was rainy today, and I didn't want to test the traction of brand new tires in the rain, so I took the Vespa to work. I'm very much looking forward to getting out and wearing down the chicken strips on my new tires, though.