Going to the Dark Side

[ShinyPartsUp]

I'll distract Bust...

Psst, Cederville, CA Bust, that's where this hottie waits for you.

He likes new rears too! See his post above...

 

[user 213]

Yesterday I had the original Bridgestone Potenza 019G Grid All Season tire off the bike and a Michelin Pilot Exalto A/S tire installed at America's Tire. $186 for the tire. I sprung for the hazard warranty since they have 700 locations across the country and I have a 10 day rally coming up in August.

As you will see from the pic, my 019G has gotten 'shaped' over the 36,600 miles it's been on the bike. Some of this is from some low pressure events which increased wear on the edges and caused some minor cupping. I had two plugs and a stubborn slow leak when I pulled the tire, this was part the reason it came off a little early. I was not quite at the wear bars, it would have easily gone to 40k for me.

A more focused shot of the whole tire.

FJRONAMISSION's great review of the Exalto A/S led me to give it a try. It fits all of my original parameters and has a more rounded edge profile which looks a lot like where my 019G ended up. More expensive, but now that I know the CT works, I'm more willing to spend a comparable amount of money on a CT. (comparable to a good moto tire).

Check out the Exalto.

And a full shot of the tire.

I haven't ridden this tire yet, the front is off for a new PR2 that should show up on Monday.

 

[dcarver]

Is the idea a rounded shoulder will help improve cornering?

 

[RadioHowie]

Dayum, Eric....that's a FINE looking new shoe!

36,600 miles! (and it coulda gone more than 4k more, if ya ask me) :yahoo:

At 36.6K, it's no nearer to the wear bars than a new moto tire!

ps: 2k miles month. Good for you! That ain't no garage queen, for sure!

 

[RadioHowie]

Is the idea a rounded shoulder will help improve cornering?

Certainly couldn't hurt, but (speaking only for myself) the "standard" CT profile hasn't kept me from touching toe on occasion.

 

[user 213]

Is the idea a rounded shoulder will help improve cornering?

The rounder edges make cornering easier, the normal transitions and initiating a turn become easier. This was true of the 019G when it wore in and it got better with age and wear, becoming easier to 'flick'. There will still be more effort required to initiate turn in than a moto tire, but the profile should improve the feel right off the bat. How or if this impacts wear over the life of the tire remains unknown at this point.

 

[user 213]

ps: 2k miles month. Good for you! That ain't no garage queen, for sure!

Well, actually, just over the weekend of 6/26 I put on the last 3200 miles. B) Oregon City to Salt Lake City, Utah 1088, during which I did a BBG, then SLC back home to OC.

I'm not much for little day rides. :blush:

1088 Rally Report

 

[dcarver]

Is the idea a rounded shoulder will help improve cornering?

Certainly couldn't hurt, but (speaking only for myself) the "standard" CT profile hasn't kept me from touching toe on occasion.

EeewieeUgly.. now you been touching ToeCutter?

 

[ian]

Here's an attempt to show my Yokohama after 16,000 miles. I have to admit I was a total Hooligan, never spared the right wrist for a second . Put the rear CT on at 66,000 and replaced it with a Michelin Pilot @ 82,000. Down to the wear bars but could have run another couple of thousand miles. Two nails in it but no pressure loss.

Started with a new front tire @ 66,500 and after two new ones on the trip, cords are showing 1/3 over.

Thinking of trying a Ct on the FZ1 but gad, it's fun to ride with a MT! If I tour on it, done deal if it fits. Ian, Iowa

 

[FJRONAMISSION]

I had some video shot of me being followed by a 1000RR... it was Brodie's son Philip .... he is doing the editing and will

give me the finished product.... my tire has about 3500 on it at the start of the video..

I think you will like this tire.... I have 31 lbs in it cold...... about 36 hot.

B

 

[Brodie]

Nice long distance tyre Eric.

36.6K is not to shabby for these tyres. How many M/C tyres did it take the place of? :good:

Kinda gives me hope when I get back on 2 wheels. My 019 Grid only has 10K when my bike was bug splatted on the front of that pick up truck. My rear tyre is intact. It will make the transfer to the new AE when the time comes.

You are going to like the Michelin. I rode Brian's at about a week old, it felt better than my, at the time, 4K C/T.

Brodie

 

[user 213]

Nice long distance tyre Eric. 36.6K is not to shabby for these tyres. How many M/C tyres did it take the place of? :good:

I figure this poor nearly used up BT019G did duty for 4-6 moto tires. Not too shabby for $126!

Kinda gives me hope when I get back on 2 wheels. My 019 Grid only has 10K when my bike was bug splatted on the front of that pick up truck. My rear tyre is intact. It will make the transfer to the new AE when the time comes.
You are going to like the Michelin. I rode Brian's at about a week old, it felt better than my, at the time, 4K C/T.

Brodie

Good luck with the recovery and new AE. Small perk of having an extra wheel.

 

[user 213]

Ok folks, I need your assistance. Reno John took a tire down to the cords this weekend and was in a small town. He hit me up for the CT info just in case, but managed to limp home and reduced speeds w/o changing the tire. However, he brought up a good idea in conversation, to have a list of mods, needed parts and info that people could print out and carry with them as an How To guide for emergency CT use on the road along with the CT size.

So, for those of you using the stock brake caliper tension arm, (w/o cutting it in half), I would like to know exactly what you did to it, what new parts you needed, (spacers, longer bolts?), and how you took care of business. Think of it terms of what would you put together as an emergency CT use kit, and/or what would you need to source from a hardware store or auto parts store so you could change from a moto tire to a CT while on the road, likely off the beaten path in some small town.

Some of you have mounted the tension arm on the outside of the mounting lugs - mods? Pics? non OE parts needed?

Thanks in advance for the help!

 

[Brodie]

oops, duplicate post.

 

[Brodie]

Eric

I did my torque arm with a good hack saw and a very coarse - sharp ******* file in a bench vise. No extra parts needed, it bolted right back in place. The area where the tyre rubbed is now at 1/2 thickness.

Hope this helps.

Brodie

 

[user 213]

Thanks for the great pics Brodie. Good to see you back posting so soon after the accident.

Low tech, but effective and simple. Someone could do this on the road, but would need some time or help, I suspect.

 

[Bustanut joker]

I'm thinking it would be a good idea to have this stuff stashed somewhere on the bike before you head out to places unknown..

Though finding someone to mount the tire might be a pain.

:jester:

 

[wfooshee]

Sorry, dynamic pages in the tags are not allowed

When in Photobucket looking at the page of thumbnails (the album page, not an individual picture page,) hover over the pic you want to post. It gives you four lines of gibberish to pick from. Click on the fourth line, and when it turns blue hit CTRL-C to copy it. Then go to your post you're writing and hit CTRL-V for paste. You don't need any of the buttons in the forum editor, Photobucket has already formatted that line with the correct IMG codes.

Ok folks, I need your assistance. Reno John took a tire down to the cords this weekend and was in a small town. He hit me up for the CT info just in case, but managed to limp home and reduced speeds w/o changing the tire. However, he brought up a good idea in conversation, to have a list of mods, needed parts and info that people could print out and carry with them as an How To guide for emergency CT use on the road along with the CT size.
So, for those of you using the stock brake caliper tension arm, (w/o cutting it in half), I would like to know exactly what you did to it, what new parts you needed, (spacers, longer bolts?), and how you took care of business. Think of it terms of what would you put together as an emergency CT use kit, and/or what would you need to source from a hardware store or auto parts store so you could change from a moto tire to a CT while on the road, likely off the beaten path in some small town.

Some of you have mounted the tension arm on the outside of the mounting lugs - mods? Pics? non OE parts needed?

Thanks in advance for the help!

See 1031 in this thread. I put the stock nuts inside the ends of the torque arm, with a washer to fill the space. The washer made it tight enough to be self-retained. I then had to grind a small amount off the top edge of the arm to clear the swingarm, and mounted is outboard of its stock position, using the stock bolt, but from the inside, reaching through the wheel.

Two washers and some grinding, no other parts or modifications.

 

[Big-D]

That new Michelin looks impressive Eric. As we discussed at Edgefield, it took me a little bit to feel comfortable cornering with my CT. It does feel different at first, but now is hardly noticeable.

Nice meeting you last Friday. My daughter and I had a great time hearing about so many of your IBA adventures. After our meet at the McMenimins Pub at Edgefield, I called the wife and told her about Bob Dylan coming in concert there in August. Looks like we are coming back to Troutdale in late August for the concert. Thanks again! I'll post more with pictures after I return home. I hit the road Monday morning heading back to Havasu.

Dan

 

[GalaxyBlue]

I have been curious... Who has done a wheelie/burnout with the car tire?

I am thinking it will be easier with the CT, And more predictable.

I wonder how well one of THESE would work? :****: