A chat with a prospective Versys buyer elicited the comment, "First thing i'm gonna do, is get rid of the sh1t tyres". He'd not ridden a Versys but assured me that the tyres were "crap".
So consider this: I have sailed for many years and attest that the boom in cruising as a yachting life style was coincidental with the development of the marine GPS. There are a lot of people sailing the oceans of the world with little real knowledge of navigation, but with a great faith in technology.
And what, I hear you ask, has this to do with motorbicycling on the hard stuff. Fair question! Well, I contend that todays 'crap' tyres, were at the cutting edge of yesterday's technology. And, when they were developed those retro-tech hoops were more than adequate for the likes of say....Barry Sheen (and he knew a thing or two about riding fast and safe).
I may not be a great rider, but I have been at it for 46 years and have never fallen orf...not once; and I once fitted tyres which could never wear out. They were Yokohama nylon cross ply tyres (1968 ish) and were so hard and slippery that if I was ever destined to ride something into the next world, they would have been the tyres to precipitate such a tragedy.
Now back to my proposition. The man who originally said Versys' standard tyres are crap, said it because he wasn't good enough to hold onto his bike when he overcooked it into a bend...or something like that. Now complete the circle....If something goes wrong on the boat and the GPS clags it, the skipper can either blame Garmin or learn to navigate without the aid of the magic box.
I have ridden 7000klms on my Versys, mostly in the mountains, often in the rain and frog. My original tyres (the rear one mostly) are almost buggered and they have let go on me twice. Once in buffalo poo, and even the best tyres can't handle a teflon turd, and once in the rain when I crossed the world's slipperiest yellow line. I ride hard but I ride safe and I think the original tyres are fine for general riding. They take a while to heat up but they are not designed for the track.
And so to the controversy...If you want a race bike buy one, and it should be equipped with suitable rubber. But (to continue the analogy), if you can't sail without a GPS you should'na'orta be sailing on yer lonesome until ya gets better at it!
So consider this: I have sailed for many years and attest that the boom in cruising as a yachting life style was coincidental with the development of the marine GPS. There are a lot of people sailing the oceans of the world with little real knowledge of navigation, but with a great faith in technology.
And what, I hear you ask, has this to do with motorbicycling on the hard stuff. Fair question! Well, I contend that todays 'crap' tyres, were at the cutting edge of yesterday's technology. And, when they were developed those retro-tech hoops were more than adequate for the likes of say....Barry Sheen (and he knew a thing or two about riding fast and safe).
I may not be a great rider, but I have been at it for 46 years and have never fallen orf...not once; and I once fitted tyres which could never wear out. They were Yokohama nylon cross ply tyres (1968 ish) and were so hard and slippery that if I was ever destined to ride something into the next world, they would have been the tyres to precipitate such a tragedy.
Now back to my proposition. The man who originally said Versys' standard tyres are crap, said it because he wasn't good enough to hold onto his bike when he overcooked it into a bend...or something like that. Now complete the circle....If something goes wrong on the boat and the GPS clags it, the skipper can either blame Garmin or learn to navigate without the aid of the magic box.
I have ridden 7000klms on my Versys, mostly in the mountains, often in the rain and frog. My original tyres (the rear one mostly) are almost buggered and they have let go on me twice. Once in buffalo poo, and even the best tyres can't handle a teflon turd, and once in the rain when I crossed the world's slipperiest yellow line. I ride hard but I ride safe and I think the original tyres are fine for general riding. They take a while to heat up but they are not designed for the track.
And so to the controversy...If you want a race bike buy one, and it should be equipped with suitable rubber. But (to continue the analogy), if you can't sail without a GPS you should'na'orta be sailing on yer lonesome until ya gets better at it!