Vintage style tires and freeway grooves

[Gregoir]

When I ride my 1969 R60US on the freeway it feels fine at 70mph except on sections where grooves have been cut into the pavement parallel to the direction of travel. It starts to feel wobbly and dicey. The tires I have are old style looking and also have grooves parallel to the direction of travel as opposed to more modern styles which have more diagonally angled cross treads. It's a very unsettling feeling on an otherwise nicely riding bike. I imagine others have encountered, tried and found solutions to this problem. Any suggestions on alternate tires that come in sizes that would fit the old rims ? or other solutions to the problem ?
thanks,
Greg

[crazydrummerdude]

I'm using Metzeler 880's (completely different treads), and I have the same problem every once in a while.

..the thing that really sucks is every concrete lane around here is like that, and every freaking fast lane is concrete.

The road is usually cut like that in 3 sections down the length of it (it's as if the tool that cut the grooves is only 1/3rd the width of the lane, so they have to go back and do it 2 more times), and I treat my 1 lane like it is 3 in itself. I stick to a certain section of grooves, because the wobbling happens in the transition between sections.

Just ride a wheelie so you're only wobbling half as much.

[kbasa]

Yep. You've just gotta relax and let it do its thing.

[lkchris]

The Metzler ME33 was a revelation in its day. Bet it's available in your size.

[26667]

fwiw, when I moved to CA from IL some years ago, my '82 R100 had Conti Twins mounted. The CA rain grooves were a new experience and quite "entertaining" to say the least. I switched to Metzlers (ME 88 and Laser front, if memory serves) and the grooves were much easier to deal with. I've also noticed in recent threads on the forum here that lots of guys like the way Avons work w airheads.

[bobh41]

I can "feel" them, but there is no sense of loss of control.

On the newly cut pavement - about to be resurfaced - the ride gets a little squirrelly, still manageable though.

I find if I shift my weight forward a little the little squiggle I get tends to quiet down.

[ccolwell]

The Metzler ME33 was a revelation in its day. Bet it's available in your size.

This will solve 90% of the problem. In the meantime, grip the tank with your knees and let the bars wiggle around.

[crazydrummerdude]

This will solve 90% of the problem. In the meantime, grip the tank with your knees and let the bars wiggle around.

Hmm. I tend to pull the bars towards me more..

[Gregoir]

Thanks for the suggestions. Looking into the tires suggested. I haven't quite mastered the wheelie to the point of being able to cover endless miles of grooved highways on one wheel. It is not an uncommon sight to see on the freeways of Los Angeles though. Hollywood stunt riders on their daily commute? I don't know but I've witnessed it multiple times. Maybe it's the grooves.

I've only been in L.A. a few months, does anyone know of a good motorcycle shop in the area that knows and works on airheads?

[Gregoir]

This will solve 90% of the problem. In the meantime, grip the tank with your knees and let the bars wiggle around.

I'll try that. As I recall this technique worked well with a girl I used to know.