Hey Darksiders, You know who you are.......

[redeye]

In the November issue of Cycle World Magazine, on page 67, there's an letter written to the Service, (fix my bike), Column. The author from San Francisco is asking which tire will hydroplane first, a M/C or a C/T. The reply was a car tire will hydroplane first because of it's larger contact patch, floating over vs The M/C tire "cutting" thru standing water.

I tried to find the article on-line to link here, but no such luck. Please be careful thru the winter months......-Rich

[cactusjack]

That hasn't been my experience, but I'll keep that in mind. All I know is my Nomad is much more sure-footed on any surface than it was with a m/c tire on it.

[redeye]

I did some independent surfing of the web & you know everything there is gospel truth:

Motorcycles benefit from narrow tires with round, canoe-shaped contact patches. Narrow tires are less vulnerable to hydroplaning because vehicle weight is distributed over a smaller area, and rounded tires more easily push water aside. These advantages diminish on lighter motorcycles with naturally wide tires, like those in the supersport class. Further, wet conditions reduce the lateral force that any tire can accomodate before sliding. While a slide in a four-wheeled vehicle may be corrected, the same slide on a motorcycle will generally cause the rider to fall. Thus, despite the relative lack of hydroplaning danger in wet conditions, motorcycle riders must be even more cautious because overall traction is reduced by wet roadways.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydroplaning_(tires)

[Cajunrider]

I can't relate on the subject because I haven't ridden the CT in heavy rain yet. I did catch a heavy mist on the way up to Antlers, OK last week but not enough to really wet the road. I will keep your caution note in mind when I do finally catch a really wet road. I only have ridden in heavy rain on the Custer trip and I do mean heavy! The Avon Cobras handled the puddles well, but again, no CT experiences as of yet. Thanks.

[Kawhead]

I can say for certain the difference, if there is any, is negligible. I'll go so far to put my two courses of engineering from Vo-Tech school to work and say that because of the water dispersing tread patterns on the CT there is less hydroplaning. If that article tels you the breaking (which is more of a concern to me) is better with a MT, you need to cancel your subscription. Traction also negligible. :)

[flavor]

Don't know what this means compared to a M/C tire, but on a recent trip to NH when we got rained on, the riders behind me told me I was putting out a rooster tail from my rear C/T and didn't feel any slippage.

[wompus]

It doesn't matter which one you agree with, just slow down when it rains!
The rain has always made me slow down... cause it stings like hell when it hits my face!

And, if I don't slow down then the wife starts rapping on the back of my helmet! ::)


.

[cactusjack]

Originally Posted by flavor

Don't know what this means compared to a M/C tire, but on a recent trip to NH when we got rained on, the riders behind me told me I was putting out a rooster tail from my rear C/T and didn't feel any slippage.

Somebody told me following me in the rain was like following a ski boat.

[redeye]

Originally Posted by WOMPUS

It doesn't matter which one you agree with, just slow down when it rains!
The rain has always made me slow down... cause it stings like hell when it hits my face!

And, if I don't slow down then the wife starts rapping on the back of my helmet! ::).

I don't want to start an arguement. I didn't know if the Darksiders had taken the hydroplaning possibility into account when they ride in the rain. Just wanted to give you a heads up with winter coming up. Ride Safe....-Rich

[VulcanE]

When I was choosing a CT, the rain/wet roads was one of my considerations. This is one of the reasons I chose the Goodyear TripleTred (which is a rain tire). Last month, while traveling up to DK's (100 miles away) it was raining VERY hard. There were even rivers running across the road. It rained hard the whole way up there, and not once did I fill uncomfortable. The road was stretches of concrete, then asphalt. The tire did better than my previous Metzeler 880, or Avon Cobra on the wet roads. I was very impressed with the way the tire handled the wet conditions.
I love my TripleTred

[dkdixie]

I wonder how much the fact that "most" CT's have a softer rubber compound than m/c tires comes into play. Hmmm....

[cactusjack]

I will have to admit that riding in the rain isn't a big concern for me, but this year I've ridden a lot in the rain, mostly on the Custer trip. However, I didn't go to the darkside until after Custer.

[goose]

+1 Mike

Originally Posted by WOMPUS

It doesn't matter which one you agree with, just slow down when it rains!
The rain has always made me slow down... cause it stings like hell when it hits my face!

And, if I don't slow down then the wife starts rapping on the back of my helmet! ::)


.

[flavor]

Originally Posted by cactusjack

Somebody told me following me in the rain was like following a ski boat.

Ski boat..........Good analogy.

The way I look at it is if you're dispersing water with deep enough tire tread it's a good thing. I also feel that I have more than one tire patch on a C/T due to the tread depth and design of the SP due to the fact there are grooves that run completely around the tire, so the tire in effect has sections of patches. (At least when going straight). If a C/T has a bigger tire patch and has more grooves to disperse water does it negate the theory of wider tire patches cause hydroplaning more easily. The design of the tire where it disperses water must also be a factor. (I don't remember any motorcycle tire that has as much tread character as a C/T.

Anyway, not trying to sell anything to anyone, just my thoughts. (Which don't amount to much because we're all going to do what we want in the long run). :) :)

[pablo]

When I was riding a motorcycle tire, it was worn out a pretty good percent of the time. I feel much safer with the car tire (with good tread on it for thousands of miles longer than a motorcycle tire) than a worn out motorcycle tire. I have ridden in several heavy rain conditions with the car tire, some where I couldn't see more than a few feet ahead, and did not hydroplane. Of course I was only going about 10 mph. :)