F6B To The Dark Side

[bob109]

Bob, I did the same kind of laser thermo testing on the Dunlop tires during the entire eyar of '03, when they used me as a tester. it really helps to use that laser thermometer. You really sound like you do know what you are doing with tire scrubbing and testing, and that is good for US, as we get to see your results. If truth be told, I would like to go to a CT, but the only real concern I have is sidewall stability and durability in the long run. If I can get past that hurdle, and be convinced that a CT will be stable at high speeds, and that the sidewall stress will not cause it to blow out on me at speed, then I may be a convert.

Doc:

I chose the G-MAX based on the aggressive directional thread design, The deep sipes are impressive. Hope they are as functional as they look. This tire has a soft 1 ply sidewall which may not produce the desired results I'm looking for. Time will tell. There's a new twist for CT on cycles and that began with the availability Run Flats which have extremely hard side walls and have riding characteristics very close to a MT. One of the recent favorites amongst Goldwing Dark Siders it the Michelin Primacy Alpine PA3 Run Flat. That was actually my first choice until I actually seen the MAX up close at a local tire store.

I originally intended to swap out the present Stone with the CT but may just wear it out and see what kind of mileage it delivers. Once it's history I may mount the Alpine on the OEM rim. I could alternate between both CT and capture data on both

Bob

[bob109]

Had a busy but fun day getting the G-MAX finished and ready to install. Last effort was applying black PlastiDip to the wheel. After masking the valve stem and giving the wheel one last wipe down with brake cleaner I applied several coats of the PD. I have to say I'm impressed with the results. The coating appearance matches the OEM rims perfectly.

Some additional pics of the wheel and a few close ups of the aggressive tread sipes.

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[Texas TC]

The PD looks great. Now put that puppy in the bike and ride it!

[bob109]

What a day to change a tire! It's 90 degrees with high humidity. That said it's not enough to stop progerss

Laying the F6B over on its crash bars for the first time is a bit intimidating! After watching several You-Tube videos on the procedure it was not that bad of a ordeal. I'll have to tell my Hernias that as they are smarting

Once the bike was on its side the OEM wheel/tire removal was easy. Getting the new G-MAX back in took some finagling but a little added vulgarity on my part helped it drop in place

This has to be the easiest tire/wheel change of any bike I've previously owned. No cycle jack involved

The pic!

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[bob109]

Had the bike out for the first ride to "scrub" the G-MAX and break it in. With the pressure set at 34 psi. I managed to put 102 miles on it without incident. First impression....WOW! The tire is amazingly smooth. My static balance job was on the button. No vibrations or tire thumping. Once having a few miles on the tire I hit some interstate to further check on the balance. With several throttle roll-on from 60 to 90 mph the ride was rock solid. On the secondary back roads the tire held like glue in the corners. The " corner carving capabilities" of the bike are unaffected by the CT.

Started a "Tire Log" for recording/capturing all aspects of the tire and its performance. More info later

[Mustangjake]

Now I want 1.

[Phantom]

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[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