Author Topic: How is your bike on TARsnakes? (Read 4068 times)

754 · « **on:** July 06, 2016, 01:00:12 PM »

Mine does not handle well to begin with.
However. On the tarsnakes. It gets really sketchy.... Like the tar actually. Moves over or something..how do your bike feel on them.?

Desert-SOHC · « **Reply #1 on:** July 06, 2016, 01:27:17 PM »

"Wiggley" to say the least on the snakes. There are a bunch of them on my onramp to the highway. The problem is they make them so frikkin big and with the heat there soft....hate'em.

flybox1 · « **Reply #2 on:** July 06, 2016, 01:43:42 PM »

Funny you mention this. Weekend before last I was out riding with some friends.
Warm day, and LOTS of signs out for MC's to be careful of these on about 20 miles of backroads.
We all hit this stop sign, and made a right turn. I followed the first bike and BOTH of us, seconds apart, fishtailed.
Neither of us came close to going down, but it was slow going for a bit.

They suck...that's what they do.

BobbyR · « **Reply #3 on:** July 06, 2016, 02:07:54 PM »

I would check your tire pressures. A tar snake will cause a wobble, but it should self correct. If the road is nothing but tar snakes that is another matter like grooved road. They can be unsettling, but it should take nothing special on your part.

Bailgang · « **Reply #4 on:** July 06, 2016, 02:15:20 PM »

Riding straight on them may make it wiggle a bit but I try to avoid them in a turn. The other weekend while riding with my wife I hit a turn and the tar snake was right in my preferred line, I wasn't pushing the turn hard at all but it still made the bike feel like it was ready to washout from under me momentarily just enough to make a certain part of my anatomy pucker up.

Bailgang · « **Reply #5 on:** July 06, 2016, 02:19:26 PM »

Quote from: BobbyR on July 06, 2016, 02:07:54 PM

I would check your tire pressures. A tar snake will cause a wobble, but it should self correct. If the road is nothing but tar snakes that is another matter like grooved road. They can be unsettling, but it should take nothing special on your part.

Good point. The rear tire at the time had seen it's share of miles and the tread was getting square and once I got home a quick inspection showed the chords starting to show on a tiny spot. The bike got parked and it has a new rear tire on it now and the bike feels much better.

BomberMann650 · « **Reply #6 on:** July 06, 2016, 02:28:17 PM »

I launched a complaint with thurston county roads over this exact same issue.

The response i got from management was a tired put "oh well, we have budget constraints".

To which I replied, "put up sign before someones insurance agent comes lookin to sue for personal and property damage!"

FunJimmy · « **Reply #7 on:** July 06, 2016, 03:32:25 PM »

In a word, "Inconsistently". They're as unique and individual as riders.
Recently applied snakes have a greater impact on trajectory than old ones.
Some tar snakes are fine but others scare the poop out of me.
Worst is when they're wet followed closely by excessive heat.
Maybe a steering damper is in order.

BomberMann650 · « **Reply #8 on:** July 06, 2016, 03:33:32 PM »

Steering damper wouldn't stop a rear wheel slip :/

That was the spookiest left turn I'd ever made.

Kevin D · « **Reply #9 on:** July 06, 2016, 03:48:42 PM »

Tar snakes cause severe pucker, but no dumps of any sort yet.

eigenvector · « **Reply #10 on:** July 06, 2016, 03:57:38 PM »

I've found it depends on the tire not necessarily the pressure.

On my 70/30 tires for my 1200 GS, nothing really phases it even at highway speeds and those are at 40/45 psi. When I was running Anakees - at faster speeds it got wobbly. When I commuted on a BMW F800 GT, the Pilot Road 3s hated tar snakes - like I had a semi-tank slapper in the rain. That was also my experience with PR3s when I owned a Tiger 1050. Otherwise the PR3s were totally rock solid on wet/dry pavement. Tar snakes - no way Jose.

Stev-o · « **Reply #11 on:** July 06, 2016, 04:01:22 PM »

never heard of them being called tar snakes

Desert-SOHC · « **Reply #12 on:** July 06, 2016, 05:16:27 PM »

When I lived on the mountain they drizzled the "narrows" to keep from resurfacing the highway, it was almost un-ride able for almost a month with HUGE globs of tar, you could even feel it in a car.

754 · « **Reply #13 on:** July 06, 2016, 06:56:28 PM »

What are they called ? Everybody seems to know what I mean.
I suspect it is not used much in areas with no frost breaking the road. They are sealing the cracks often semi -circular or wandering, to slow down the start of a pothole I think Will get a pic I can in the next few days...

Stev-o · « **Reply #14 on:** July 06, 2016, 07:06:13 PM »

Quote from: 754 on July 06, 2016, 06:56:28 PM

What are they called ?

Don't know? Never thought of it other than thinking it was a cheap way to make a repair.

FunJimmy · « **Reply #15 on:** July 06, 2016, 09:26:38 PM »

I've always referred to them as tar snakes or road snakes.

754 · « **Reply #16 on:** July 06, 2016, 09:39:33 PM »

Jimmy get your gopro mounted real low..and let's see what it looks like..

Scott S · « **Reply #17 on:** July 07, 2016, 02:41:58 AM »

The "approach road" to my neighborhood is a couple of miles long and very straight. It's pretty rural, so we used to use the Bots Dots (the reflectors on the centerline, in case you didn't know that's what they are called) as pylons and weave in and out, as tight as I can, as fast as I can.

A few months ago I saw a crew sealing up the cracks on that road. The next time I tried my maneuvers...major pucker moment. The bike got REALLY squirelly and the road felt very greasy. It seems to have gotten better over time, but it's always in the back of my mind now.

CycleRanger · « **Reply #18 on:** July 07, 2016, 06:01:10 AM »

Quote from: Stev-o on July 06, 2016, 04:01:22 PM

never heard of them being called tar snakes

Nor have I, but that's apparently what bikers call them.

ofreen · « **Reply #19 on:** July 07, 2016, 06:40:08 AM »

They can be as slick as black ice under some conditions. It is a cheap way to extend the life of pavement so they will always be with us.

Tews19 · « **Reply #20 on:** July 07, 2016, 06:53:41 AM »

Lol, my buddies and I were talking about these. All of us agree, horrible for motorcyclist and very dangerous when they are warm.

Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk

flybox1 · « **Reply #21 on:** July 07, 2016, 06:57:01 AM »

Quote from: ofreen on July 07, 2016, 06:40:08 AM

They can be as slick as black ice under some conditions. It is a cheap way to extend the life of pavement so they will always be with us.

Yeah...They lay this goo down to fill that cracks that eventually become potholes. I'd rather deal with these.

Duke McDukiedook · « **Reply #22 on:** July 07, 2016, 08:16:43 AM »

We used to call it crack sealing. Part of keeping water out so you can extend the life of asphalt between overlays. Chip seals do the same for the entire width of the road, the chip rock is just there to protect the tar.

Steve F · « **Reply #23 on:** July 07, 2016, 09:41:24 AM »

Quote from: DukieDukenDuke on July 07, 2016, 08:16:43 AM

We used to call it crack sealing. Part of keeping water out so you can extend the life of asphalt between overlays. Chip seals do the same for the entire width of the road, the chip rock is just there to protect the tar.

In the west suburban side of Chicago, the state has taken to pouring tar on a bad area of roadway and then throwing down pea gravel over it. They do this over cracks in concrete roadway, and the pea gravel that doesn't stick to the tar gets strewn everywhere! They even do this in INTERSECTIONS!!! Friggin idiots! Extremely dangerous for the first week after this stoooopid practice is done.
Just plain dumb.

Duke McDukiedook · « **Reply #24 on:** July 07, 2016, 10:09:17 AM »

Yeah, not fun to hit chip seals on a bike when they have a lot of loose trap rock that did not bind to the tar. You have to be very careful on a bike in those situations.

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Author Topic: How is your bike on TARsnakes? (Read 4068 times)