New Front Tire Time

[bob109]

Not quite 17K miles on the OEM Stone and its days are over. Kept the tire inflated to 40PSI to avoid cupping and produce reasonable thread/tread wear and that has appeared to work reasonably well. I'll be "Double Dark Side Riding" with the installation of a new Bridgestone Battlax B-45 Rear Cycle Tire. Currently running a General G-Max on the rear and very comfortable with its handling/performance so the next step is the B-45 for the front. The tire will be mounted with rotation indicator same as the OEM Stone. Some folks use the reverse rotation mounting on Trikes. There's enough feedback from users that either rotation direction will produce good results.

Some pics of the OEM Stone in addition to the sophisticated dampening hardware of the 6's front suspension!

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[Steve 0080]

"Some pics of the OEM Stone in addition to the sophisticated dampening hardware of the 6's front suspension!"

Is that a funny???? I'm thinkin the suspension ain't all that!!! The BT 45 seems to be the go to tire for flat landers as well!!!

Rumuor has it Wing Stuff will be selling the "new" Progressive front shock inserts in the next 10 days two weeks!!! These are the shocks that will lower the front end one inch as well as improve the ride and cupping as well!!!! I can't wait!!!!

[bob109]

Dropped by my local Bike Repair Shop (not a dealer) and had the Battlax mounted. Brought it home and did a trusty "static balance"!
With a warm afternoon I'm on my way out to "scrub in" the new tire. Have the pressure jacked to 40PSI which is the same pressure as the OEM Stone which had no evidence of cupping after 16+K miles. A few folks on the Goldwing DS Riders site have reported getting in excess of 30+K miles of service from the Ax! Time will tell!

A pic of the "new front rubber"

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[Phantom]

I like that tread pattern

[Steve 0080]

Rumuor has it..... it cups if you hit the twistys to often and a little lite in the rain...after a few miles please PM me with your thoughs....I will need a front tire after Franklin!

[bob109]

Rumuor has it..... it cups if you hit the twistys to often and a little lite in the rain...after a few miles please PM me with your thoughs....I will need a front tire after Franklin!

Will do! Scrubbed in the tire yesterday with 50 miles of mixed riding i.e. twists and super slab! Out for more miles this afternoon. Have some blue skies and 80 degree temps that I'm going to take advantage of

[bob109]

With 200 miles on the Battleax it is now "well scrubbed in"!

I'm experiencing a " subtle high frequency vibration" in the handle bars! Nothing major but noticeable! I suspect this is caused by the "pronounced staggered center grove" on the tire. The stock Stone center grove is tame in comparison

This is not a "balance issue" as there is absolutely no "wheel/tire thumping" at high speeds i.e. 85/90 MPH.

The tire will remain in place until it's worn out! Not sure if the vibration will abate/lessen some as the tires wears.

I'll do some additional posts as the mileage increases

Bob

[bob109]

Just hit the 1200 mile mark on my Battlax and the "high frequency vibration, at speed, is now gone. There is, however, a slight vibration at 25/28mph. Not a major issue but noticeable.

The Ax is 1/4" narrower than the OEM 709. It carves corners better than the 709, giving the bike a more nimble feeling. After having the bike to speeds of 100mph it is rock solid.

The performance is well enough that I just ordered another Battlax from American Motorcycle Tire for $105.89 which included free shipping. Located in Arizona AMT uses local distribution sites for tire sources. Ordering the tire yesterday it is on the UPS Truck for delivery today! That's some quick service With a major tire warehouse nearby tires usually arrive within one/two days Once the tire is received I'll wrap it in Saran Wrap and store it in my cool/dry/dehumidified basement. With a projected tire life of 30+K miles it will be some time before I use it

[bob109]

In the process of replacing my Bridgestone Battlax BT45! Originally installed 16 months ago it has provided 23K miles of wear/service. There's probably another 1 to 1.5K miles of wear remaining but with my "winter migration" to Florida a mere two weeks away the time is right for replacement with another Ax. Took a few pic and will eventually share some additional photos of the severed/dissected tire casing as to show it construction and what remains of thread/tread thickness. Throughout its service life the tire provided sure footed performance and was a great "corner carver" in comparison to the OEM Stone.

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[seadog]

I know that the big producer such as Honda and Suzuki trial test multiple sets of tires to get the right road handling ability out of their motorcycles. The OEM tires that come on your ride are usually the best they have found to go with the suspension and handling characteristics of your motorcycle.
I for one never would change out an OEM set for a different tire. I ran Dunlops for 8 years on my 07 M109R when others changed them out and I never had the tires lose traction or do anything stupid on the various road surfaces. I ran curves hard with those tires without a whimper.
These original stone on my new bike are doing exceptionally well running curve and just overall very good road manners on every road surface I have had them on. I again see no reason to fix what isn't broken and is working correctly for the job at hand. Just my humble opinion.