The Pan had it’s new rubber boots fitted this morning and what a difference they have made already…..

No more hopping sideways on the overbanding which is part and parcel of every stretch of road these days. No sooner is new tarmac laid than another utility company comes along and digs it up again to bury cables or water pipes. Sometimes both – only weeks apart.

The 023’s also provide a better cushion against the inevitable potholes too as the sidewalls appear to have more flex than the hard old rubber of the ancient 020’s that were only fit for the skip. The pliant 023’s provide the extra shock absorber the Pan needs as the front forks are quite firmly sprung.

No more steps in the transition from upright to lean angles either. A ‘must’ for a cornerhound like mesel. Not that lean angles approaching the elbow scraping antics of Mark Marquez came into play today as I adopted the prescribed ‘go gently till scrubbed in’ approach for the first time in my life. Mold oil and cold damp tarmac have put more than one budding racer on his ass on the way home from the tyre bay and there’s acres of expensive plastic to scrape if a Pan goes down.

The Honda ST1100 Pan European came out on Bridgestone 020’s as Original Equipment and by all accounts did okay on them. Just as well because you won’t find much alternative choice for it’s 110/80/18 front and 160/60/17 rear at your local tyre shop.

No worries – Bridgestone 023 is the new number and if the sixty mile ride back from the the dealer’s this morning is anything to go by – I’m sure that the big Pan and I are going to be very happy with our new boots 🙂