Tire opinions please

[lonewolf]

just switched my used up "stoner" to a ct! i hav the same tire as macmac ! i will admit the feel of the bike was different. but so was going from my 78 goldwing to my nomad. i hav been thinking about going to the "darkside" for a long time. i hav tried to read everything i can about going to a ct. nowhere hav i found one person who has said it scares the crap out of them and that they are taking it off, to put a mt back on. everyone needs to make there own choices/decision. with just a few miles on my ct, im not regretting my choice.

[macmac]

lonewolf, first set the tire psi to 36... leave the shocks as they are for you... When you can sneak up to 80 MPH with out getting busted.. roll it up there easy from 65 mph.. At about 80 on a un-corrected speedo see if you can tell if there is any wobbles in the rear. There shouldn't be, but there might be. If there is none andd you want to test more, drop the psi to 32... repeat with care..

I had a slight wobble in the rear when the tires was 0 miles till I set the psi to 36..

If ever you get a wobble rolling off the throttle hard, which I did at 90 mph, roll some throttle right back on.. That day I was racing a T storm. I still had that 32 psi back there..

For me on any surfaces and at any speed 36 psi works great..

[pablo]

Originally Posted by Doc (Lonewolf)

Interesting forum Dr. Darkside. Who will put on a car tire on a motorcycle if you dont want to mess with it?

Doc,
I took mine down to American Ironhorse in Huntsville, TX, and the mechanic there was glad to do it. I buy all my MC tires there. They have a dynamic balance machine and good tire mounting equipment. Before they put it on, the owner, mechanic and I all looked at the tire and said "There is no way this thing is going to fit in there". But it did. The mechanic took it out to test ride and was very impressed with the ride and handling. He said it was smooth as glass at 110 mph. I think he was joking. Anyway, find a good local shop and establish a relationship with the mechanic and owner. They will do just about anything to fix you up. BTW, they charged me $75 to remove saddlebags & wheel, mount & balance new tire (it didn't need any weights), and put everything back.
Paul

[Scoot]

Does anyone know if the 1500 can go to the Darkside?

[macmac]

Originally Posted by Scoot

Does anyone know if the 1500 can go to the Darkside?

It appears they can, but I don't know it for fact. The rear wheel IS 3.5 inch wide from inside bead across to inside bead, which pulls a 195/60/R16 in pretty tight, and so creates room for drive shaft clearance. I believe this is as large a tire that can fit with no mods and still have this clearance.

Other tires may work in 180 wide if you can search them out. other hight ratio that might work might be 55, like 195/55/R16 for a lesser tall.

I am not sure about any of this, and it would take time to research. I might get some time later to investigate, but I have chores this AM.

[cactusjack]

My opinion on tires is that they are all too expensive!

[gadget]

I just changed my tires. I had 9100 on the original Bridgestone tires. The new tires are the Avon Cobras. I just did a 500 mile trip with lots of turns and feel the tires handled really well. It is hard to explain but the bike felt more solid through the turns.

Welcome tm. New tires always feel better to me than the tires I replaced. I always figured it was due to sidewall fatigue as well as a new tread.

[Blue Rebel]

Ok, I'll bite and try not to sound stupid. What are dyna beads and what is this darkside ct?
What is the size you all are using?

[pablo]

I have not used Dyna Beads, but they are something you put in your tire to dynamically balance it when the wheel it rotating rapidly eliminating the need for wheel weights.

CT stands for car tire, and people who have put a car tire on a motorcycle are said to have gone to the "darkside". Mine is an Achilles ATR Sport 195/55 R16. I got this at www.tires-easy.com for $53 + shipping. This is a little lower profile than stock tire height and affects rpm and speedometer error some.

[redeye]

This may be a stupid question, BUT, what is wrong with the original Bridge-stones? I have 17,500 miles on the front & 10,500 miles on the rear tire. Both have usable tread left on them. I was planning on replacing both this winter at about 20,000 miles with the same sized Stones. From what I'm reading this is pretty good mileage out of a set of M/C tires....-Rich

[schoeney]

Wow Redeye...you are the first post I have read that says much good about the OEM stones. Maybe it is like a poor person like me...I don't know any better so I am happy with what I have?

I have the OEM Stones as well...only 5k miles so no major wear issues yet but they don't feel good on freeways...especially on grooved or uneven surfaces and tar snakes...I also get an occasional wobble...but maybe all brands feel the same way?

[Blue Rebel]

Originally Posted by pablo

I have not used Dyna Beads, but they are something you put in your tire to dynamically balance it when the wheel it rotating rapidly eliminating the need for wheel weights.

CT stands for car tire, and people who have put a car tire on a motorcycle are said to have gone to the "darkside". Mine is an Achilles ATR Sport 195/55 R16. I got this at www.tires-easy.com for $53 + shipping. This is a little lower profile than stock tire height and affects rpm and speedometer error some.

Pablo, your ATR Sport is a MCT or CT?

[pablo]

Car tire.

[dkdixie]

Couple months ago changed the rear to a Metzler 180 radial. Happy with it. Track well, rides good, handles great.
Just added Metzler bias front. What a POS! Worst tire I have ever experienced. Rides OK traveling in straight line, if you turn the bars couple degrees, growls.....and vibrates. In tight turn feels unstable. I've had Metzlers before but never had any tire behave like this.
And no, its not out of balance. Checked twice by two different installers.
Might have something to do with being made in Brazil now.....don't know but its coming off!