Gentlemen
Thank you for the input you gave me these past 3 weeks since my last post on this dark side thread. I see several happy people enjoying their choice in tires for the back of our favorite ride. The great thing about this forum is that it is populated by a group of people with no ax to grind, nothing to prove, but who are more than willing to share their experience and knowledge for anyone who will listen. This truly is a free exchange of information among the masses - the foundation that this interweb was built on. We can thank the management for providing such a great place for us to spend some of our valuable time. However, it's the people here that make this FJRForum so special.
Since having posted my dilemma I decided to do a bit of research. I spent some time in the Darkside area of the Gold Wing forum to see what they look for. I've read a bit at mcdarksiders.forumotion.com and saw quite a number of heavy cruisers and Goldwing types. Our FJRs are a bit different in having steeper lean angles and more HP to the ground while wrapped in a sporty chassis. Eric did it right when he broke new ground back in 2008, and we've been building on that ever since.
I ended up going back and re-reading all 185 pages of this thread,
yup, a whopping 3693 posts. There's a lot of good information here - if you go search it out.
Here are the things I was looking for in my next tire...
1. Symmetrical tread pattern.
Probably not as important as you might think. A lot of people run the asymetrical patterns with good results.
2. Soft flexible sidewall.
The heavy cruisers and Gold wings favor run flat tires. This has proven way too stiff for our lighter weight bike. With our steeper lean angles and power we need the sidwall to flex enough to keep that contact patch in good shape.
3. Tread sipes that wrap around the edge of the tire.
We don't ride on the corner of the tire, however, when on the gas in a hard lean the siping will still need to channel water in all directions out of the contact patch.
4. A somewhat rounded profile at lower fill pressure.
The heavier bikes are running in the upper 40's for stability. We like to run our tires around the low 30's for more grip and better turn in performance.
5. Handling
This is where it really gets subjective. Paul Thede from RaceTec suspension has said "The best you've ridden is the best you know. Until you've ridden something better, the best you've ridden is the best you can compare it to." That's true for suspension, and also true for most anything else.
On that last point -
Handling. We are still in the learning curve when it comes to running a Car Tire on our beloved FJR motorcycle. Several of us high mileage guys are running our third tire, or getting close to finishing the second one. It all started out with a used Cooper Summer Sport Tire that had a slow leak when Eric installed it. The sidewalls were stiff and was harsh in it's handling. What it did prove was that a car tire fits within the confines of the swing arm and rear inner fender with just one modification (the brake strut) for clearance. Once Eric established that milestone, he did his research and successfully mounted a Bridgestone 019 Grid all season tire. That was a good starting point. Several early converts also used that tire, myself included.
The Grid was a good tire, I ran mine for almost 10k until the accident which I noted in my previous post (
#3682). Also noted above, when I recovered , my next (used)
'06 AE soon wore an Exalto after it's replacement OEM tire quickly went away. Through the years the Exalto has become a well favored tire by a good number of Darksiders, it works well - even better when pushed. That's not the only tire out there that works well though, and I've been looking for one that improves upon it.
I think I've found it...
It's the
General Tire G-Max AS-03 205/50 ZR17 93W
You've seen it before if you have followed this thread for a while. By my count 4 other Darksiders are running it. They are quite happy with it. I mounted mine about two weeks ago while wearing my steel sole bootie supplied by my Podiatrist. My left foot needed protection for the bone to mend following it's
. I posted my manual tire change in the
Darkside FAQ.
Today I rode my bike for the first time in 6 weeks. I've spent 70K miles running two Exaltos on this bike, You'd think I would know how it should handle by now. When I made that first right turn pulling out of my driveway I almost lost it! I usually gas it while firmly pushing the right handlebar, I did that this time and the bike scared me how quickly it fell into the turn. The Exalto is good from the beginning, and stays pretty consistent throughout the life of the tire. This thing Surprised me. I'd swear it was a motorcycle tire if I didn't know any better. I did a few swerves
down the street, checked the TPMS to make sure it was aired up (31 psi), even stopped for a good look (sidewall deflection) while I bounced on the seat. Everything checked out fine, the bike felt nice and firm - nothing loose.
Needless to say I headed straight for my favorite little winding road in the hills behind my house,
Calavaras Road. I took it easy, it had been a while. I found I need to flush and bleed my rear brake line, It faded to nothing before I got half way through the quick ride.
I Like this tire !!!
I can tell that I'm gonna have a blast this next week at the
Western FJR Riders Roundup in Sparks Nevada. Granted, I'm no sport bike rider, I don't do track days, cant keep up with the forum fast guys, but I can hold my own pretty well. This tire satisfied my list in spades - Symmetrical tread pattern - Soft flexible sidewall - Tread sipes that wrap around the edge of the tire - A somewhat rounded profile at lower fill pressure - and most important of all… Handling - Superior Handling. I can't wait to get more miles on the thing.
Is this the next big Darkside favorite tire for the FJR ???
Time will tell as more long term darksiders hit their wear bars and try different tires.
Hope this helps in the search.
Brodie
