F6B To The Dark Side

[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

[Wild Bill]

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

thanks for the heads up on tech support link. 6K is all I got out of the stones on my Vulcan and they were slick. This bike I belive the milage will add up a lot quicker. Less time and money spent at the dealer means more time on the road.... Thanks Bill

[bob109]

thanks for the heads up on tech support link. 6K is all I got out of the stones on my Vulcan and they were slick. This bike I belive the milage will add up a lot quicker. Less time and money spent at the dealer means more time on the road.... Thanks Bill

Bill:

Here's some good reading! Do a search!

Darkside Riders-GL1800 Riders

[MichaelG]

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

Bob, I am surprised that your Bridgestone front tire is already "flat" in the center portion, with only 1190 miles on it...at that time. There are several of us on here that have close to...or more than...10,000 miles on our OEM Bridgestones, and the front tire is wearing perfectly well. I fully expect to get well over 14k, and maybe as high as 16k out of my current Bridgestone tires. I have to wonder is tire pressure has anything to do with the way your front tire is wearing. I run 40/40 for my tires, and they look very good at almost 10,000 miles.

My next set will be the NEW Dunlop E-3 Radials with Multi-tread compound. My experience with 3 previous Wings was that I can get 17k to 20k miles out of a set of Dunlops, and with the new change to the E-3 radials, I am hoping to get more.

Admittedly, I have been eyeing a CT for the rear...a Michelin Primacy Alpin PA3, run flat. That "may" be the new tire that goes on as the 3rd set gets installed, next spring.

[bob109]

Bob, I am surprised that your Bridgestone front tire is already "flat" in the center portion, with only 1190 miles on it...at that time. There are several of us on here that have close to...or more than...10,000 miles on our OEM Bridgestones, and the front tire is wearing perfectly well. I fully expect to get well over 14k, and maybe as high as 16k out of my current Bridgestone tires. I have to wonder is tire pressure has anything to do with the way your front tire is wearing. I run 40/40 for my tires, and they look very good at almost 10,000 miles.

Miles:

I was referring to the Stock Rear Tire I removed at 1190 miles. Not the front tire! I have the front at 40 psi and I expect to to get approximately 12/14K miles service from it. The rear Stone had flattened in the very center of the tire. I suspect that the numerous tar/chip road surfaces, which abound in my neck of the woods, may have contributed to the accelerated wear I observed.

Regarding the Alpine CT Run Flat! It is fast becoming the choice of numerous Wing Riders. All of the info I've read to date indicates it is a high mileage tire with performance/handling that mirrors a MT. I know you'll do your "home work" before you make your final choice. Who knows! You may be the first Million Mile Dark Side Rider

Bob

[bob109]

Thought it would be informative, for those interested, to have a visual side-by-side comparison of the G-MAX with 0 miles and 1500 miles wear. Contrary to what some folks think, Dark Side Riders are never on the sidewall when cornering. The magic of "radial sidewall flex" keeps the thread firmly planted to the road surface.

The photos (left to right) provide some clear evidence of the original round mold marks which were visible on the entire tread face and remain on the thread edge after 1500 miles of riding.

000_0455.jpg000_0458.jpg100_0800.jpg100_0801.jpg100_0802.jpg

[MichaelG]

Contrary to what some folks think, Dark Side Riders are never on the sidewall when cornering. The magic of "radial sidewall flex" keeps the thread firmly planted to the road surface.

Bob, first...I am still very much interested in learning as much as I can about CT's on bikes. When it comes to CT's on bikes...I am not a know-it-all, like I am with everything else related to bikes.

However, just for clarification, I have never thought that Dark Side Riders are on the sidewalls of their tires when cornering. I fully understand the dynamics of tires, and their characteristics on the road. My concern...and my ONLY concern...about CT's is the flexion of the sidewalls during hard cornering, and how that stress on the sidewall affects the lifespan of the sidewalls structural stability.

For further clarification...we all know how a MT is designed and built to have very stiff sidewalls, and to roll the tire from one side to the other side in a corner, with little to no sidewalls flex, so that the MT tread stays in contact with the road surface, as much as possible. But with a CT, and the more flexible sidewalls, which are designed that way by the tire manufacturers to asssist in absorbing road surface imperfections, and to keep the parallel surface of the 4 tires of the car on the road surface as much as possible, the CT sidewalls are not designed to handle the stress loads that a MT tire is designed for.

Yes, I have seen the videos. They do not mean much to me. My concern is that a CT that has been stressed on the sidewalls over a period of 10,000 to 20,000 miles, and then is ridden hard through a long sweeper in Montana at 85 mph, is that sidewall going to blow out on me at those speeds ?

I am trying to find a CT that has the stiffest sidewalls, with a 3 ply or more construction in the sidewalls. Another reason to go with a 55 profile rating, versus a 60 profile rating.

Yes, I have heard of riders that ride their bikes with CT's very hard...BUT...are they riding those same bikes with those same CT's hard for all of the 20k+ miles ? Or are they takling a short video of a short mileage ride, just to show what the CT can do on a bike? Are there any riders with CT's on their bikes that have successfully ridden well over 20k+ miles...and ridden the bike hard and fast that entire time ?

I do not want to install a tire on my bike, if the result is that I have to be concerned about cornering speeds, and the possibility of a high speed blow-out of the sidewall, due to stressing the sidewall more than it was designed to be stressed.

I would really like to find a rider that I know...and know that this rider does in fact ...# 1...know HOW to ride...and # 2...has ridden the bike hard and fast for over 20k+ miles, so that I can have a better belief that a CT will in fact be safe on MY bike.

I can easily pull 20k+ miles out of a MT tire...if I make the concious decision to ride nice. But riding nice takes all the fun out of it for me. Riding the way I do, I can still pull 17k+ miles out of a set of 'lops, and not have a worry in the world about my tires.

So...I still have an open mind...but I need further evidence that a CT will really work on a bike of mine.

[bob109]

Miles:

Calm yourself The post was not directed at you It was to give folks a clear visual on CT tread wear

Here's a short video worth viewing!
http://search.yahoo.com/r/_ylt=A0oG7...fv=nmo_dkNZIHM

[bob109]

I would really like to find a rider that I know...and know that this rider does in fact ...# 1...know HOW to ride...and # 2...has ridden the bike hard and fast for over 20k+ miles, so that I can have a better belief that a CT will in fact be safe on MY bike.[/QUOTE]

Miles:

I would strongly suggest you personally contact Daniel Meyer ( Life is a Road ). A Engineer, who has accumulated more CT motorcycle riding miles than any other person I'm aware of! I do believe you and him have a shared interest in "high frequency" riding. His miles, of course on CT's. Check him out! He's published several books on the subject

If anyone can enlighten you, I'll bet it would be it would be him!
http://search.yahoo.com/r/_ylt=A0oG7...eDarkSide.html