F6B To The Dark Side

[bob109]

On the bike early today and followed a route I had the "6", with cycle tire on, on three previous occasions. So familiar is the 100+ mile route I know every pot hole, tar strip and other road imperfections and could drive it blindfolded!

The first 50 miles of two lane roads are a collection of sweepers, twisties and a few switchback corners with posted 15MPH warnings. The ride carried me along the Lackawaxen and Delaware Rivers from Pa. into N.Y. State and back into Pa. It is truly a beautiful and scenic ride. This was my opportunity to give the new G-MAX a workout and make a comparison to my previous exact rides on the stock Bridgestone. The G-MAX performed well above my expectations. Not a single hick-up in the corners and it gripped like sand paper through and coming out of ever corner. I ran the approximate same speed as I did with the MT and IMHO I'll take the G-MAX CT over the Bridge any time. Crossing over the Delaware back into Pa. there is a 1 1/2 block long steel bridge which produced tire squirm equal to the Stone and I kept my hands tight on the bars. The remainder of the ride was primarily on the super slab ( !-84 ) and ended on several secondary roads. The overall handling on the slab was like any other bike/tire encountering parallel grooves/imperfection in the road surface with the expected brief pulling/wobble and a occasional bang of the front shocks when one just cant miss the (I got ya hole).

This will be one of the last post on the subject for a while. I'll be capturing and sharing data on the tire at 1K mile intervals and may change that if I "crash & burn"

Total miles today 117........162 miles yesterday and I'm still here to tell about it

[bob109]

With the recent break in weather I managed to finally get the first 1k miles on the G-MAX. Like every other CT, I've used, it takes several tries at getting the tire pressure to the "sweet spot". In the case of the MAX that is 38-40 psi. Took several hundred miles of tuning the pressure from a low of 30 psi to the high of 42 psi. After a 300 mile run this past Sunday 39 psi is "golden" for my bike/rider combination. Other than visual checks of the thread I've not captures any tire temp data other than my hand on the tire. Not very scientific but that will change as the ambient temps increase and I shoot the tire with my trusty Laser Thermometer
My first impressions of this tire! So well is the handling, I'm about to order another one. The tire is as near neutral as a MT and has exceptional corner handling characteristics. It is smooth riding and the only flaw, if there is one, is the "squirm" encountered on "steel grate" bridge surfaces. Actually it is no worse than a MT.

On the 300 mile Sunday ride I was accompanied by a Harley ( two up), a M109R (solo with 240 rear MT) and GL1800 Wing (two up with OEM Stone). I had the lead position for the entire ride. The folks knew I was on a car tire and there was, needless to say, some sincere skepticism by those folks until the ride was over and they were shaking their heads as to how well my 6 handled. In all truthfulness, I could have pulled way in any of the corners we encountered but keep a nice civil pace out of concern for the poor folks on MT's My Brother-In Law who rode the Wing stated he's on his second set of tires in less than 10k miles. Being one of the biggest critics of Dark Side Riding, he's about to take the leap to a CT

More info later!

Ride Safe

Bob

[Mustangjake]

Thanks Bob glad it's working so well for u
My buddy owns a tire shop he's getting me the same tire!

[bob109]

Thanks Bob glad it's working so well for u
My buddy owns a tire shop he's getting me the same tire!

Jake:

You made a good choice for your CT Keep us all informed with your experience.

P.S. I see you're from Hudson FL. I spend my winters in Citra Fl. Being there for six months I average about 9K on my bike. It's my only transportation after parking my motor home. Great motorcycle riding in horse country

[Mustangjake]

Yes I do live in hudson fl 28 years now it grown up so much I want to move but the wife don't.

[Wild Bill]

Well dam!!!! Yall got me thinking. $250+ every 3-4 months for a stone versus a car tire?? Hmm. I mite just be joing you all.

[bob109]

Well dam!!!! Yall got me thinking. $250+ every 3-4 months for a stone versus a car tire?? Hmm. I mite just be joing you all.

Visit the Goldwing Darkside Riders Forum and you'll find a treasure trove of info from Wing Riders who are actually running a variety of CT's. There are several brands of Run Flats which are delivering outstanding mileage and handling. Michelin is the most oft mentioned. Do your homework before you make a decision which should take into account your riding style.

My current G-MAX was shipped free to my front door for $90.00. I'm still tinkering with the pressure and enjoying every mile as I do so. I have the OEM Stone on the stock rim and look at that tire with just 1190 miles on it and the center portion is already flat I believe that tire would be good for a mere 6/7k miles before it would be shot Cycle tires, even if reasonably priced are not worth the constant hassle of frequent tire changes. Those who ride Wings aggressively might get 6k from a cycle tire

[Deer Slayer]

I have run on the Dark side over 80,000 miles on Gl1800. Two Wings and now my new F6B. I am very happy. I run Bridgestone Ecopia, or how ever you spell it.. lol....Run 31 psi single rider and pull Bunkhouse camper. A big ole tire is nice for quick stops. Now have trailer hitch on F6B. Isolation box was not plug and play as there is no trunk on the F6B. Go figure? I spliced it into the wiring.

[mtcgun]

I've had a plastidipped black wheel on the back for right at 10000 miles now, just looked at it yesterday and could find 0 rock chips or anything. Love the stuff. I think I probably did about 5-6 coats