My car tire impressions- for real

[blowndodge]

May the force be with you!!

[VulcanE]

Dan, I agree with what your feelings are as you transition from one side of the tire to the other. When I first installed mine, to be honest, I DID NOT LIKE IT, for the same reasons you stated, BUT, after 4 or 5 hundred miles, and lowering the pressure (ended up running 27~28 psi cold) the ride and handling characteristics seemed to dramatically improve. I now have over 5000 miles on the tire, and no longer notice any change in the "feeling" as you roll from left to right going through twisties or tight "S" curves. Maybe it's because I'm used to it, or maybe it's cause the tire has gotten used to being on a bike, or a combination of both, but for the type of riding I do (mountain twisties), My Goodyear TripleTred does better than any other of the 5 MC rear tires I've run, which BTW was the stock Stone, 3 Metzeler 880's, and an Avon Cobra. I know my wife likes it, she says the ride is smoother, and that the bike feels more stable in curves, and she is a little skittish when I start getting happy in the curves.
Keep riding it, and as you get more used to each other, you will probably notice the differences less and less, just my humble opinion. ;)

[Kawhead]

That is a point worth mentioning VulcanE. My first car tire was the SP 5000, and after I mounted it, and gave it a test ride I thought I'd made a BIG mistake and blew a hundred dollars. I take anything I read on the internet with a grain of salt, but I just didn't think all these guys were scheming to get people to put CT's on their bikes. After I rode enough to get rid of the mold coating and adjusted the air pressure I was very pleased with it.

Ofcourse some of you know I had a deer strike incident, and the Nomad was a total loss. I bought another one that had stinkin' non-German Metzlers on it. I couldn't stand 'em. I changed tires early and godda a Cobra on the front and a Goodyear Triple Tread on the stern, and again the break in time was different but now after a thousand plus miles I'm in Nomad heaven again.

[sharps45100]

Here's another twist Dan to think about. Some are using a 205, some a 195, some a 185, some a 175 width tire. These different widths are on a 4.5 inch rim(1600). In my opinion there has to be different dynamics of sidewall deflexion. This can vary depending on whether you are using a car tire or a light duty truck tire which my have more sidewall plys. I'm still in the finding the sweet spot stages. right now I'm running 32psi and will be going to 30psi tomorrow. I can tell you this that the my truck tire handles much better now than it did at break in psi of 40. Wife also notices that bike takes road bumps better and is a smoother ride than it was with the brickstone on back.

[macmac]

Nice review Dan, but note you don't ping rocks into the wood on them dirt road like before.. I like that a lot. Used to bug me i was sending rocks off at high rates of speed. That will be limited to just the ft tire now, which at one time I thought was equal, but I am not so sure now.

[dantama]

Originally Posted by VulcanE

Dan, I agree with what your feelings are as you transition from one side of the tire to the other. When I first installed mine, to be honest, I DID NOT LIKE IT, for the same reasons you stated, BUT, after 4 or 5 hundred miles, and lowering the pressure (ended up running 27~28 psi cold) the ride and handling characteristics seemed to dramatically improve. I now have over 5000 miles on the tire, and no longer notice any change in the "feeling" as you roll from left to right going through twisties or tight "S" curves. Maybe it's because I'm used to it, or maybe it's cause the tire has gotten used to being on a bike, or a combination of both, but for the type of riding I do (mountain twisties), My Goodyear TripleTred does better than any other of the 5 MC rear tires I've run, which BTW was the stock Stone, 3 Metzeler 880's, and an Avon Cobra. I know my wife likes it, she says the ride is smoother, and that the bike feels more stable in curves, and she is a little skittish when I start getting happy in the curves.
Keep riding it, and as you get more used to each other, you will probably notice the differences less and less, just my humble opinion. ;)

I hope that my experience is similar to yours and Kaw-Head's.

I lowered it to 30psi today, and it does the same thing, but to a lessor degree. It still steers from the rear, but not the totally throw you off your line hard kind of steering. It does still need correcting from the front when it happens. The ride is better in all categories over the 39psi though.

I went and video'd more stuff. I haven't downloaded it all yet, but it absolutely gets a lot narrower when it's on edge, then wider when flat. Some who vehemently disagree might have different tires or something, but I took a tape measure and measured it. I'll have conclusive proof that it does happen, and I certainly could feel it happening.

The biggest surprise was that on the exact same surface, at the exact same speed, locking up the rear tire it didn't stop any shorter. It might have taken a few inches longer. I was expecting a much shorter stop with the car tire, and it's not.

[Cajunrider]

Dan, After you get your tire broken in (over 500 miles) and your down below 30 psi, get an unbiased rider to follow you in high speed curves. If you want to see for yourself, rig your video cam aimed at the back tire and run it through the curves. I think we all felt the difference when we first started riding on the CT. Mine had 40 psi for the first 150 miles. I dropped to 36 for the next 100, 34 for the next 50, 32 for a little over 100, then to 28 for several hundred. I then dropped to 26 where I have left it. I'm now at 8,651 miles. I've not dropped the pressure lower than 26 so I can't say how it behaves below that. I don't recall anyone saying they couldn't tell "any" difference when first riding on the tire with the higher break in pressure. I've read many posts where riders say after riding the tire for awhile they can't feel any obvious difference. I think it's a combination of the tire breaking in, the lower pressure, and the rider getting accustomed to the tire. I would be interested in riding mine on a twisty road with another Nomad following on a MC tire. Then, switching bikes and running through the same curves at the same speeds. Back to the break in, I crossed a steel grate bridge with 38 and it scared the crap out of me when the back tire danced around more than normal. I had second thoughts about the tire when that happened. Since then, I've crossed the same bridge several times at the same speed with 26 psi and it doesn't squirm any more than my stock stone or the Avon Cobra did. The ride is much softer, my wife would testify to that, and IMO the wet and dry traction is better. Stands to reason with a bigger contact patch. Be patient and break it in for a few hundred miles and you'll probably be happy. I was very skeptical and researched for months before making the switch. I even asked my insurance agent what the outcome would be if I crashed with a car tire on the back rim. He immediately answered "As long as it is a DOT approved tire and the date stamp isn't expired, we have no problem with it." I didn't get it in writing but I was satisfied hearing what his reply was. The shop that mounted my tire is very picky about which car tire they will mount and on what bike they will mount it on. The service writer stated that they have no problem mounting a CT on any large cruiser that is limited on how much it can lean. He said the Nomad is a perfect application for the CT. He also said even more so since I pull a trailer and ride 2 up for most of my miles. Good luck with your break in and thanks for your review.

[blowndodge]

You probably bought the wrong tire. ::)

standing on my back brake with throw me over the handlebars..

[cactusjack]

Jeez, just ride the damn bike and quit yer bitchin. You're going to over analyze this to death!

[flavor]

Dan when you ride on a new tire you're supposed to take it easy until it breaks in. Many people say take it easy for a couple of hundred miles. You went right out and started testing, with the wrong air pressure (39 lbs) to start with.

On previous posts from this site as well as other sites, (one of which includes a video from under the bike), show pretty well what the car tire is all about and it's peculiarities such as the transition from going straight to a turn. It has a different feel, that I don't notice any more. It may still be there to a point but the tire feels secure in the turns, but again I don't notice it.

Now I'm enjoying the posts you're putting out there so don't get me wrong, but I'll be more interested in how you feel about the tire after you've ridden it after a couple of longer trips and have at least 500 miles under your belt.

I'm also wondering how your testing that the car tire doesn't stop as fast as a motorcycle tire? ;) ;) :)

PS. If I panic stop, which I've done over the course of years on multiple bikes (no scientific basis here), I've felt that on a motorcycle tire the rear of the bike wants to swing around to the point of more steering to keep that from happening than the C/T.

[Bdog]

IMO..for (back road twisties)..its all about sidewall stiffness. The m/c tire has this in mind when they make them. The c/t doesn't. The t/c has a thicker sidewall which will compensate to a point but still has a soft sidewall. Centrifical force works for all tires, therefore this is where one of the problems with c/t comes in. When leaning over a c/t the soft sidewall flex's giving the flat surface with lower air psi a changing in profile but when leaned over with the flexing the c/t will pogo, maybe slightly but still will. The m/c tire is made with the harder sidewalls to discourage the flexing effect. Yes the Nomad isn't a sport bike! It can be made to handle as a 800lb bike very well with the right components. Shocks, fork springs, fork oil and tires. It all depends on what type of riding you want to do, to what extremes and of course your prioritys such as mileage on a tire/ to cost. The weak part of a c/t is the sidewall compare to the rest of the tire. Damm good thing we all have choices...Bdog

[nomad561]

I have about 3000 miles on my c/t and it did take getting used to. Now I can drag my floorboards regularly,but I installed it for the mileage and I think I will be happy with what I get out of it.I still notice the difference at low speeds(10 or less)
Dan,your evaluations on several subjects have all been informative and I believe,unbiased,so keep testing and trying.

[chainsaw]

I TOTALLY agree with CJ. Just ride the damn thing.

[phenrichs]

Originally Posted by cactusjack

Some people would complain if they were going to be hung with a new rope, TC.

Or as a buddy of mine always says....

You'd bitch about free head.

[Todd]

That's it !!!!!...I am convinced. I am going out tonight and putting 4 motorcycle tires on my car so I can take corners faster and get better traction ::) ::) ::) ::) ::) ::) ::) ::) ::) ::) ::) ::) ::) ::)