Hi,
Here I am again with the latest evolutions of my soco cafe racer.
I changed the tires (for bigger ones 😉 ) and painted my brake calipers.
I also changed discs and pads, redid the brake fluid and also the fork oil. As a result, the 4 wheel axle bearings were replaced.
Make way for images that will say more than word :
The tires are Pirelli Angel City in 100-80-17 for the front and 130-70-17 for the rear. I've seen Michelin Road Classics of the same dimensions on a Maze custom super soco (french preparator /customizer) and they also look pretty good (a bit more old school cafe racer in style, but my Pirelli tires were already ordered, too bad it will be for the next time).
Regarding the brake calipers, I used the fluorescent yellow Foliatec kit n°2184.
The kit is sold with 1x brush (I didn't use it), 2x brushes for painting, 1x small jar of white primer paint, 1x small jar of neon yellow paint, 1x small jar of hardener (kind of varnish to mix with the paint to harden the paint) and 1x spray cleaner.
Regarding the painting, I had to hurry a bit (it rained all the time I could take care of it, so I did all that in the living room, for 4 days). So I cleaned the stirrups well (it takes a long time), then I directly put the primer on the black stirrups (2 coats but I should have put 3 better), then I painted with the hardener/paint mixture. I put 3 coats (from my experience, the coats probably too thick on my part took a long time to dry, more than a day and more!).
For the rest I had the idea of ​​making a seat cowl shell but there I hesitate.
Awesome!!!Â
Did the 130/70 17 fit in the original rear fender without modifications?
Regards
Hello @PAk_sp,
Yes, the rear tire 130/70/17 is mounted without modification (juste my fender is cutted for better style and a minimum protection for shock absorber).
It's ok for for the passage of the belt, rear plate support, arm and fender, all pass OK.
For info, my belt is 15mm (opposite 12mm origin) for better resistance and longevity (it pass just, 1mm more and doesn't mount).
Same for front tire, no problem for mounting 100/80/17 directly.
Hey @seriousmanfr, did you have any issues with the tube in the rear, given the Pirelli Angel City is a tubeless tire? I mean like a hard time fitting them in and any road vibrations, or needed balancing. I want to get those for the rear but the shop is saying I may have a lot of problems... 🤷🏻♂️
@rodd ... allow me to chime-in and share my experience seeing as seriousmanfr hasn't responded to your post for a while now. I hope you don't mind. I too have installed the exact same Pirelli Angel CT tyre specs on my TC-Max.
To begin with, I found it harder to unmount the Cordial rear tyre compared to the Cordial front. So it was also hard to install the Pirelli Angel CT 130/70-17 not because the tyre was wider... but I suspect that my rear rim was slightly oversized from the factory. I don't know if this is just on my bike, or if all rear spoked-style rims are the same as mine. The reason I decided to change my tyres is that my rear Cordial was out of round - such that my bike's rear end would vibrate and wobble when I rev my motor (with the rear raised-up on a bike stand). The new Pirelli Angel CT installed with the original inner tube works fine with no vibration or wobble now (the wheel has also been balanced with sticky weights).
However the slightly larger dimension of the Pirelli Angel CT will affect the performance somewhat - which may equate to a disadvantage, OR may prove to be an advantage - depending on how you use your TC-Max and the topography in the area where you ride. The diameter of the rear tyre in particular should be around 14mm bigger (and your axle will be slightly higher off the ground). If your speedometer has been giving you erroneous readings - supposedly 5kph faster than your actual speed, then the slightly larger Pirelli could very well correct this error (assuming that our speedometer gets its signal from the motor RPM, which I still haven't confirmed if it does). You may also lose a little bit of torque during windy or uphill situations - but if you never take a pillion passenger, then this may be negligible, seeing as the TC-Max was meant to cope with that extra weight.
Just like any opinion posted on the web, results may vary - so proceed at your own risk should you decide to go this way.
