I forgot to say , even with that "eaten away " frame your bike does look good with those tyres fitted.

Hey CB, I think McTool is correct. Our setups were different from the outset. The damage to the 160 tyre you show is EXACTLY the same as the damage to my 180 tyre with my setup as-purchased! I got my VIN and warrant over the last couple of days, and selected the plate (from a stack they had there) of A1DFN, which I translate as "A1 Deafen" or "A1 Ducati Fan" - both very appropriate!

Everyone I have shown the setup to has said the same thing; "Forget about it, it's fine." But I will take it off the road during winter, and get the rear sprocket moved about 2mm. The rear wheel is completely straight and true according to Duane. This was confirmed by my engineer buddy when I took it out to see him after Vinning.

I can confirm too, that the steering *is* very heavy on the inside bar at *very* low speeds (i.e. walking speed), and that you do really need to push hard on it to stop what feels like a tendency to "tuck in". However at anything over about 10 klicks, it feels just fine.

I have bedded in the brake pads and discs with around 100 klicks of gentle riding, and am extremely surprised by how hard I can push the rear brake by itself, or in conjunction with the front brake. I have not managed to lock the rear, even trying to provoke it. The new front M3 Sportec feels very confidence inspiring. That's as it should be surely? The compound should be light years ahead of the old Michelin.

So, the bike seems to be running very well indeed, and I am EXTREMELY happy with the way it rides. The clutch still makes some horrendous noises, if I am not very very careful with it launching, so I may do somethign about that over winter, if possible. Below are the pics of the thing; and remember, all that's been done is to fit the tyres, and raise the front guard about 8mm.

Profile view with the new 130/60/16 and 180/60/16 tyres. Looks not too bad I think!


Read shot, showing monster rear rubber. Sidestand is stock standard. Lean seems acceptable.


Front wheel showing new stainless discs. Feels good!


How the chain contacts the tyre - only *just*. The "flap" in the upper mudguard needed to be bent outwards a bit.


Chain guard misses tye by about 0.5mm.

7.5 weight oil is supposed to be the go , according to the local guru , and it worked for me

Hi CB

You really did a great documentation and fantastic for all the Paso community. Thanks a lot!

My opinion regarding a few points mentioned in this thread:

I am very sure that Metzler newer produced a 130/60 16, it must be a 130/70 16 (produced for the Honda Fireblade)

In 2006, I bought a pair of the original Michelin (they were still available) with DOT 2004. In 2006 when the tires were not really old and with lots of profile, I could easily lock up the rear wheel when breaking hard at any speed on a try road. Hence, what Mobius told us (an in a way you too) seems to me a could result that this 180 / 60 do not lock up right away under breaking (good news). Sure it would be interesting how the tire behaves in the case it rains.

I bought the 905 Paso from the first owner in 2005 (hence, I am not sure if everything is real original ( even though it looks like almost new). Clearly, the chain and the sprocket had been replaced before I bought the bike. However, in my case, everything seems exactly the way you described it. I did quite a lot of measurements around the bike the last couple of days. I am very sure that I have the 10 mm space to move the chain. I expect problems with the central stand too (but nothing else. I taked to different people (a Ducati dealer, he still has the same bike at home and knows the problems very well) and with two tire companies. Beside the combinations of two tires that are made for very different kind of bikes (however there is not better option) both told me that they see one problem: the gearbox (exit) will face a little more pressure when switching the front sprocket. Both expects told me that this should not cause real problems as long as you do not use the power of the bike all the time.

Two questions:

Was there a specific reason why you but the excenter down again?
I do not have this mutflap fitted as it is on your bike. cf.: viewtopic.php?f=2&t=3872&start=45
Do you expect any problems with the 130/70 Dunlop? The speedo cable is fixed on the front fender with the same attachment that is fixed on your mutflap.

well let`s say they are at least not a special development for a Honda 1800 only.

front
http://www.avon-tyres.co.uk/motorcycle/azaro-st
rear
http://www.avon-tyres.co.uk/motorcycle/cobra

Avon send me a certificate of compliance for this combination. The tires should work well on customs, sport tourers and similar according to them.

G.

Dear Paso 750 + CB

I am not totally convinced that the Avon combination is a matching pair (and other are not).

I talked to Metzler, Dunlop and a provider who sells all the available 180/60 16s.
They told me the same story:
There is no bike that requires a 130/70 16 and a 180/60 16. Hence no road test (as far as they know) had been done to check this combination on a bike (including a Paso). What works best is unknown so far.
There is not a "sport tourer" - similar to a Paso - on the market that needs a 180/60 16 (also not in the past). These tires are only needed for very heavy Harleys and the Honda Gold Wing 1800 (and maybe some custom bikes). It may be nice to have a certificate from Avon (especially for TÜV) - this is an advantage - but that depends more on the corporate governance of that specific producer. E.g., Metzler and Dunlop will only give such a certificate if they had done road testing with this combination on a Paso. Of the record, the person from Metzler told me, that he believes that such a combination is okay if you do not expect racer's condition and are probably better that using Michelins that have been designed more than 20 years ago. He would certainly not use a 150/80 16, even though Ducati Germany gave an okay. But that is just an opinion. Hence, AVON did (also) not do a specific test (at least that would the provider that sells all available 180/60 told me) and it is not a matching pair in the sense that this combinations is used for some other cycle. However, I will talk to AVON to here if this is right or not. The 130/70 16 from AVON, Metzler, Dunlop etc. are made mainly for the Honda Fireblade (which is rather a racer). The tire provider told me, that he personally thinks that differences if you use a Dunlop 130 180 combination or some other company are rather small but again, this is not proven in any way. Am I wrong?

All the best, Hardo

Hardo, I agree. There may be no bike that actually uses these sizes in combination, but at least the tires are from then same company and have a similar character. Hence they, Avon have no problem issueing a declaration of conformity (Unbedenklichkeitsbescheinigung) for this combination.
The decleration of conformity implies no testing of the tires on a bike but is just a confirmation from the manufacturer that they don`t see any problems in using these models together. It will help though getting TÜV approval if all clearances are fine.

Although there is an official approval I don`t think that many will put an AV45 on a Fireblade as that is not a Supersports tire like ie the Avon Viper/VP2 but rather a Sportstourer tire (used ie on Triumph SpeedTriple, Suzuki SV650, Yamaha FZ6, Honda ST1100 etc - in different sizes of course). According to the shape the AV45 is the best combination for the AV72 as it has a round profile. Supersport tires have a sharper profile for quicker steering. Hence such a tire would react quicker than the AV72 which could feel odd.
(I had an AV45 120/70-17 on my Gilera 600 Nordwest with a 160/60-17 AV46 rear. It was a 46hp Supermoto).

At the end it will all depend on how the Paso is ridden. If one just tours a little and only rides occassionaly it probably won`t make much of a difference what tires are used as all roll.
If you push the bike and also ride it harder the importance of good tires will be greater.
I guess we will all be able to say more when we have ridden our bikes for some time and maybe also tried different options of tires.

G.