Charlotte Loop - March 6th, 2010

Not much of a report here, I'm just trying to make sure I keep up with our rides this year.

Earlier in the week we put some new tires on the FJR.  The Metzler Z6's that were on the bike when we got it had seen better days and honestly I wasn't overly impressed with them.  It's not that they were "bad" tires, they just didn't hold up very well, after a little more than 4,000 miles they were toast.  I decided to try a dual compound tire made by Michelin that they call the "Pilot Road 2CT" or PR2 for short.  This tire is constructed with a more durable rubber compound in the middle, center part of the tire for increased mileage and a softer more 'sticky' compound on the sides to provide better grip in turns.  Bryan has had a set of these on his bike for a few months and likes them, so Julie and I decided to give them a shot.  New motorcycle tires are known for being a little slick when initially installed so we decided to take advantage of a warm Saturday afternoon and go for a short ride to get the tires a little worn in and put them through a couple of heat cycles.

Bryan came home for spring break on Friday the 5th and naturally brought his bike with him.  He forgot to bring extra contacts with him and said he needed to run some errands around Charlotte so we decided to ride through the country down to his house to get what he needed, run his errands and grab a bite to eat.

We headed out on Hwy 8 south and picked up Hwy 47 south in Albemarle, which we rode basically all the way to Charlotte.  Bryan was hungry (ain't he always?) so he led us directly to the Firehouse Sandwich Shop on what is now called Bruton Smith Blvd.  They have some of the best sandwiches I've ever had so it was a treat for me! 

After lunch we followed Bryan to the other side of Charlotte so that he could drop off his rent check, only to discover that the office wasn't open and they didn't have a mail drop box.  College kids... You'd think he would have known that. ;)  From there we jumped on I-77 and I-85 and rode back to his house so that he could get the things he had forgotten to bring with him.  Once accomplished it was getting a little late in the day so we decided to just jump on I-85 and get on back to the house.  Interstates are not my favorite ways to get around on a motorcycle, but at least by doing so we were able to get some heat in the tires as well as a few miles which was after all the game plan.  The afternoon shake down and errand running ride also netted us another 150 miles for the year. 

We'll take it.

Bruce