A couple county roads in my area are criscrossed with cracks filled with shiny black tar. I'm not sure if it's my tires (stock Exedras with around 3500 miles) but they're awfully slippery. My rear tire will shimmy back and forth across the patches, sometimes significantly, which is really unsettling if I have no choice but to ride over them in a turn.
Anyhow, I came up on a patch of them halfway through a pretty sharp right turn. My rear wheel slid out what felt like almost a foot, which changed my line enough to put me into the ditch if left uncorrected.
I brought the bike back up as quickly as I could and braked, locking the rear tire on yet another patch of tar. I knew that if I let off the brake I risked a highside, but I still had the rest of the corner to make. The rear wheel regained traction and the bike fishtailed but I got it back under control and came out of the turn safely (only crossing the yellow lines by a few inches).
Does anyone else have trouble with that black tar crap, or is it just me?
I have the sneaking suspicion that any bike other than my GS might not have been so forgiving, and I could be lying in a ditch somewhere. I love my GS. :)
the stock exedra's are crap tyres..try bridgestone bt45's//if u can get em over there.they are the best tyre for the gs.stick to anything... :thumb:
About the tar: Was it the "hard stuff" that seems to be slippery under just about any conditions, or the "soft stuff" that goes gooey in the heat? And was the road wet or dry?
Just gathering data....
Although I haven't actually gotten down on my hands and knees to find out, I think it was that shiny, flexible, rubbery stuff. I found this on a BMW Club site:
Quote
Road Snakes a.k.a. Great North American tar snake
This species is no relation to the limb-less scaled reptiles who slither about through grass in pursuit of prey. However, a road snake's "venom" can be just as deadly. Road snakes were born out of the highway department's attempt to repair cracks in the road surface without giving the road a major makeover. A tar like compound is drizzled into cracks, following their contour in every which direction. The finished effect provides a shiny "snake-like" pattern on the road. These become most deadly when wet or during the summer when the hot strips become soft and slippery. An unsuspecting rider who hits one of these slimy snakes on a deep curve or who attempts to stop on a "nest" of them will surely test their riding abilities to remain upright. I try to avoid these pests at all cost. Best advice is to be aware and "watch where you're walking."
http://www.libmwrc.com/articles.cfm?newsletterID=6
These 'nests' have caused me trouble in both hot and cold weather, dry and wet.
cay,
'round where in upstate ny are you?
I'm just outside of Albany NY, I do most of my pleasure riding around western Albany County and Schoharie County. I hope to make a trek back down through Greene County before they start salting and sanding the roads.
Yah. This stuff is all over the roads up here in NH. Scares the crap out of me. Feels like the bike gets all lose and shaky going around corners with it and I did almost the same thing at the local mall. I was leaning around a corner boardering the mall. All of a sudden my bike got all squirly and I felt like I was just going to wabble and fall over onto my side. I had to come out of the lean and I swun half way into the other lane. If there was a car coming I would have either just dumped it or went head on into another car. Damn evil snakes.