Gone Dark

[skeeter]

Car tire on yesterday. Been so busy I just rode it home but last night went to a parking lot and scuffed up them treads a bit to get the feel. Different for sure. Feels like it wants to stand back up at slow speeds.... I think. Anyway, I took it out this evening and scrubbed the mountain and am quite pleased with the handling in the technical turns and the stability in the cruise and the slow speed handling. Still getting the feel @ 36psi and am ready for my Sunday morning constitutional although it will be a bit slower than usual.

[lw]

Insert Darth Vader voice here: "Welcome to the dark side..."

[Cajunrider]

Good for you Skeet. Enjoy it.

[chainsaw]

You will love it.

[pablo]

What brand and tire size? Mine's getting a little thin in the middle, so I'm considering my options. I got a cheap Korean (or Chinese; I'm not sure) tire to try out a car tire. It works fine but will probably need replacing by 20,000 miles. That's still about 3 times longer than my MC tires were lasting.

[skeeter]

Thanks guys!

Dunlop SP 5000. 195/60/16

Only had 2 choices in this size. The other was a bridgestone. Turanza I think.

I like dealing local so I asked local tires shops for pricing as well as internet. Discount Tire brought it in within 3 days for within 10 dollars of what it would have cost shipped to my door. They matched the internet price shipped at $143 and change ttl. I picked it up at my convenience. I still had to shop for a bike shop that would install it but I found 2 out of five that would. A Harley shop would have but they were booked and I had a scooter shop change the tire, change the oil, lube the shaft and check the swingarm out for about $130.

[trip]

We need a pic Skeet!

[pablo]

I'm sort of leaning :-) toward the Dunlop SP 5000. I just wish the tread pattern was symmetrical.

[billmac]

Skeeter, I had a car tire on my 07 and it seemed to channel the ruts on rough roads. It was smoother, cheaper, and wears 2-3 times longer.

I initially worried about the car tire lifting on a sharp curve, however I think that was in my head only. This spring, I followed Jesse in the Hill Country Ride on the "Sisters". Jesse's would be at the point of dragging hard parts in a turn and his car tire simply flexed at the sidewall and maintained full contact patch with the tread/road. I was more comfortable leaning after I saw Jesse's tire in those tight turns.

I think it is wise to rough up the tire and take it easy for a few hundred miles. Then I would feel comfortable lowering the air pressure to about 30-32 psi and taking sharp turns. I think the bike stops much quicker with the car tire but I havent done any tests.

[Cajunrider]

Skeet, I found the sweet spot at 26#. That doesn't mean that's where your sweet spot will be though. For me, the ride is soft, traction is good, and it handles the curves well. The tread is wearing very evenly with a slight amount more wear in the center with most of my riding 2 up and pulling the trailer over 200 lbs. Take your time breaking it in and work the pressure down 2# at a time until you find what you like. With all of the curves you have on your roads, the sides may wear a little faster than the center. Most of our roads are straight down here. Not many twisties. I have to travel at least 50 miles to get a good twisty blacktop to have fun on.

[skeeter]

Still less than 200 mi and running 36# having no trouble ripping thru the curves. Went to Pipe Creek today and rode the 9 mile stretch of PR 37. No worries on the symmetry as the tire doesn't seem to care which direction it slings its hash. I did notice as I was slowing to turn at my Dads that the tire wanted to match the angle of the roadway. Will that go away some with lower pressure? Something to keep in mind on those curves with outside camber.

[pablo]

I started out at 26 psi and have gone up to as much as 30 psi and as low as 24 psi to see the difference. I'm back to 26-27 psi. This seems to be the best feel for my tire, and I'm still wearing the center faster than the edges. Anyway, I like it (the CT) and don't plan on ever putting a MC tire on the back again. I think the only reason I would prefer a symmetrical tire is looks. I just bothers me mentally to have an unballance tread pattern.