Playing with tires and their performance differences

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07-11-2016, 11:18 AM
Wing'n it

Playing with tires and their performance differences

I ran a Kumho on my Wing for a very long time and it did extremely well I wanted to play with other tires on the F6. I started off with a Bridgestone Potenza run flat in the 195/55-16, first off the run flats are really hard to mount! Such stiff side walls make for a stiff tire and the riding performance was so-so. Air pressure is super critical on the run flat to make it feel right (28psi) and maybe not all but the Bridgestone is a "groove tracker" and wants the bike to follow every rut and groove in the road, not bad but a little weird feeling. What made me pull it off was a problem I had when somehow I managed to get a section of rope wrapped up all around the swingarm and brake rotor, don't ask how cause I still don't know?? Anyway the 195/55 size tire will not come out the back without removing the left side muffler which left me along side the road with the bike in many pieces trying to get that damn rope out!

Next tire was a Goodyear Assurance fuel max size 175/60-16 and that tire is NOT a run flat. Went on the rim easy (after fighting the run flat off) and easily goes on and off the bike right out the back as intended. The Goodyear tracks the road well and needs more air pressure to not seem mushy, ended up at 41 psi. This tire does not track any ruts or grooves but the RPM's are a little higher all across the range (smaller diameter tire) and while this would be of great benefit to guy's towing trailers I did not much care for the slightly higher RPM's.

The 3rd tire I tried and seems to be the winner overall and the one i'm going to stick with is a Toyo Proxes non run flat size 185/60-16. This tire is hard to find as Toyo is the only company making one in this size (that I found). Awesome tire, tracks great and almost matches the stock tire size for the F6. The GPS and speedo are dead on. I think the RPM's might be a tiny bit lower across the range and not verified but I think my mileage is up? Tire pressure ended up at 41 psi on this tire as well and this tire will also go in and out the back for changing. This is my take on three different tires so take what you want from this and try what you like just be safe!
07-11-2016, 05:51 PM
BIGLRY

Very interesting at a $101+shipping... is this the tire?
http://www.tirerack.com/images/tires...a27_pdptrd.jpg
http://www.tirerack.com/images/tires...27_pdpcrop.jpg

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....num=86HR6PXA27
07-14-2016, 09:14 PM
Wing'n it

Yes, that's the one. So far I have about 600 miles on it and i'm pretty impressed with it.
07-14-2016, 09:47 PM
BIGLRY

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wing'n it

Yes, that's the one. So far I have about 600 miles on it and i'm pretty impressed with it.

Thanks, and I'll be looking for a report when you have a few thousand miles on it.:yes:
07-14-2016, 10:12 PM
BuzzzPhotos

Big Larry, didn't you have a tire with a nail hole that you were worried about getting somewhere with it? Did you end up going to a run flat replacement tire? I missed a few posts & was wondering how you cured the problem.
Buzz
07-14-2016, 10:46 PM
BIGLRY

Quote:

Originally Posted by BuzzzPhotos

Big Larry, didn't you have a tire with a nail hole that you were worried about getting somewhere with it? Did you end up going to a run flat replacement tire? I missed a few posts & was wondering how you cured the problem.
Buzz

https://m.popkey.co/3ae0fc/jr73Y.gif
Nope, not me. I have not had any issue with my tires other than them wearing out a lot faster than I think they should.
07-22-2016, 09:35 AM
Wing'n it

1500 mile update on the Toyo tire. Still running the air pressure up a pound at a time till I find the sweet spot, up to 43 psi now and that seems real good. Mileage on the bike is up and i'm now getting 256 miles from "low fuel light" to "low fuel light" that is a great addition to way longer tire life. Tire is showing no signs of abnormal wear, will repot back after more miles. Thinking I need to get another one of these tires to keep around.............
07-22-2016, 09:53 AM
bob109

2 Attachment(s)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wing'n it

1500 mile update on the Toyo tire. Still running the air pressure up a pound at a time till I find the sweet spot, up to 43 psi now and that seems real good. Mileage on the bike is up and i'm now getting 256 miles from "low fuel light" to "low fuel light" that is a great addition to way longer tire life. Tire is showing no signs of abnormal wear, will repot back after more miles. Thinking I need to get another one of these tires to keep around.............

Spares are always nice to have on hand:039:

Attachment 4251
08-25-2016, 08:41 PM
lgjhn

2 Attachment(s)

Mounted one today and just got through putting it on.
The contact patch at 43 lbs looks just about right to me.
Once the weather breaks here, I'll put some miles on and see how it works.
09-13-2016, 08:30 PM
lgjhn

Between the rain we've had here, a week up at the U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis and now the "love bug season", I finally got to put some miles on the new Toyo today.
So far, so good. It tracks and handles well. I also put a Bridgestone BattleAx BT-45 on the front and went out and scrubbed both of these in today. This tire puts the speedo dead on.
I compared it to my GPS and they were identical throughout the entire speed range that I ran today.
We'll see how these hold up loaded 2-up on the trip to the Rally.
09-25-2016, 09:55 PM
lgjhn

I now have 1300 miles on this tire and it's performed very well. Average fuel mileage is around 42.7 with it and over 250 miles between fill ups. The tire got me to the rally and back along with riding in some very serious twisties without any issues. It will be interesting to see how many miles it will go before needing replacement. So far, so good.
09-26-2016, 07:33 PM
Wing'n it

I ended up at 43 psi in mine and that seems to be the sweet spot for this tire on the F6. Really the only time I can tell any difference at all is in the long sweeping curves that have rain grooves, the tire just slightly wants to track those grooves while it's leaned over. I bet that is because of the contact patch is narrowing as the tire leans over but it never feels "loose" at any time. I have since ordered a second Toyo to keep back as a spare.
09-27-2016, 01:37 AM
bob109

2 Attachment(s)

Lean Angle Tire Contact Patches

Worth viewing:icon_wink:

Attachment 4449
09-29-2016, 07:37 PM
Chuckv

10 Attachment(s)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wing'n it

I ended up at 43 psi in mine and that seems to be the sweet spot for this tire on the F6. Really the only time I can tell any difference at all is in the long sweeping curves that have rain grooves, the tire just slightly wants to track those grooves while it's leaned over. I bet that is because of the contact patch is narrowing as the tire leans over but it never feels "loose" at any time. I have since ordered a second Toyo to keep back as a spare.

Thanks Wing'n it I Went Darkside Thanks for all the advice, Got the Toyo Proxes A27 put on today. Took your advice and put 43 psi. in and went for a short 30 mile ride. Looks like clearance wont be a problem. The tire feels great to me, got in some twisties too. My back tire before was the Bridgestone G704 and I only got 12,000 miles out of it. The stock G704 I got 15,000 miles hmmm curious what the new Toyo will do. Nice meeting a lot of you F6B riders at the rally in Russelville this year. Ride safe.
10-04-2016, 04:28 PM
zzh54

I went with the General G-Max, 195/55/16. I run 42lbs. I went with 12 oz. of ride-on, it makes the tire a run flat and keeps it in balance constantly. I did about a thousand miles before the Rally and 4000 miles getting to and back from the Rally. I am liking the feel it gives on the road. I do feel it pull me into the truck tracks near red lights where the blacktop is wore in. Nothing I can't handle or live with. Did some very nice twisties in Arkansas, and never felt I was on a car tire or my life was in danger. I rode to Arkansas with Reservebum who is running ( I believe ) stock pipes, I am running Rush pipe with 2.5 baffles with Torq Loops. My bike was a little bit heavier on the road due to over packing, but we were pretty constant on fuel with him beating me by 2/10s of a gallon per fill up. Empty I was a 10th better or even with him.

All in all I am very satisfied with the choice I made. Next change will be the Battle Ax in the front

Thanks for all the info on this subject which turned me into a darksider.
Jeff
10-04-2016, 04:50 PM
bob109

Quote:

Originally Posted by zzh54

I went with the General G-Max, 195/55/16. I run 42lbs. I went with 12 oz. of ride-on, it makes the tire a run flat and keeps it in balance constantly. I did about a thousand miles before the Rally and 4000 miles getting to and back from the Rally. I am liking the feel it gives on the road. I do feel it pull me into the truck tracks near red lights where the blacktop is wore in. Nothing I can't handle or live with. Did some very nice twisties in Arkansas, and never felt I was on a car tire or my life was in danger. I rode to Arkansas with Reservebum who is running ( I believe ) stock pipes, I am running Rush pipe with 2.5 baffles with Torq Loops. My bike was a little bit heavier on the road due to over packing, but we were pretty constant on fuel with him beating me by 2/10s of a gallon per fill up. Empty I was a 10th better or even with him.

All in all I am very satisfied with the choice I made. Next change will be the Battle Ax in the front

Thanks for all the info on this subject which turned me into a darksider.
Jeff

Jeff:

Nice report on your experience with the G-Max! Once you get accustomed to its handling there's "no going back"! I'm currently on my second one and have a few spares left. I may follow your lead on the "Ride On" on my next tire change and completely eliminate the need to "static balance" and "wheel weights".

Ride Safe

bob109
10-10-2016, 10:50 AM
Wing'n it

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chuckv

Thanks Wing'n it I Went Darkside Thanks for all the advice, Got the Toyo Proxes A27 put on today. Took your advice and put 43 psi. in and went for a short 30 mile ride. Looks like clearance wont be a problem. The tire feels great to me, got in some twisties too. My back tire before was the Bridgestone G704 and I only got 12,000 miles out of it. The stock G704 I got 15,000 miles hmmm curious what the new Toyo will do. Nice meeting a lot of you F6B riders at the rally in Russelville this year. Ride safe.

That Toyo tire is the absolute closest to the original size back tire you can find. After my bad experience getting rope untangled from the rear wheel and not being able to get the 195/55 tire out the back I'm sticking with the narrower tire. No way I'm going to lay my bike over on the side of the road to get the tire and wheel out. The rope was a fluke and I couldn't do it again on a bet but it was a learning experience for sure. BTW make sure a razor knife is part of your tool kit!!