Going to the Dark Side

[LowAndSilent]

It may be a few days before I get to test any different pressures. Snow has hit the area, so I had to take the bus (BLAH!) in to work today. Stupid snow...

Also noticed my front tire is getting pretty worn after 17.5k miles. I guess I need to change that out soon. Hmmm...perhaps I'll try out the PR3 to go with my new CT.

Why not put a car tire on the front? What's good for the goose, is good for the gander...............

Ugh, yeah...no. No double darksiding for me.

 

[user 213]

Why not put a car tire on the front? What's good for the goose, is good for the gander...............

It's bad form for an Admin to TROLL. <_<

 

[SkooterG]

Why not put a car tire on the front? What's good for the goose, is good for the gander...............

It's bad form for an Admin to TROLL. <_<

Not nearly as bad form as putting a car tire on a motorcycle! :****:

Besides, I don't consider it trolling, so much as fishing. And despite the stinky bait I used, I hooked you!

 

[Fred W]

As much as I wanted to try out a CT, you know, just because...

Mostly I wanted to see if there was a lot of difference in handling.

I've finally come around to the realization that darksiding is probably not really for a rider like me. Not because I'm a "high performance" rider. Far from that. But because of how and where I ride. Patriot's recent post (gloating? ) about how much mileage he gets from his PR2s is what pushed me into the introspection and realization that If I can get >8000 miles out of a PR2, well that really isn't all that bad. It'll end up being about 1 tire replacement a year, what with my riding time being split between 3 bikes now. I can deal with that.

 

[user 213]

Good thought process Fred. If it doesn't meet your needs, there really isn't any reason to go down this road. In jest, I'd say 'ride more', but that's a matter of time and money for most of us. Often more of the one when there is less of the other.

Though I was looking forward to reading your impressions of Darksiding.

 

[garyahouse]

I've got about 300 miles on my CT now. Have been running 31 psi since the second day. I honestly don't notice much of a difference at all from the MT. But it sure feels good knowing that every time I twist the throttle, I'm not burning precious rubber off the dunkin' donut on the back. I used to find myself examining the flat stripe in the center each time I rode the bike to see how much it was wearing. NEVER AGAIN.

Gary

darsider #44

 

[zx11darkside]

Today I realized something about the CT. I was riding along all morning and had not thought about it once. I had taken a few turns kind of hot as if the MT was still on and didn't notice. When I realized it I slowed things down a bit for a while before testing the boundaries. I have idea what that tire looked like under pressure in mid turn but I was leaning over aggressively averaging 50 to 60mph and it held nicely. Nothing happened but I will not be pushing the limits like this on a regular basis. This was only a test - and it passed with flying colors. Gotta mount one of the under carriage cameras to see what's happening to see how close I'm coming to that sidewall.

 

[user 213]

There is plenty of traction available ZX. you can scrape pegs if you feel like it. Better in marginal conditions for the most part. Tar snakes or light sand in the corner doesn't cause the tire to step out. The sidewalls will deflect at first, but then you start lifting up the outside of the tire tread, off the pavement. However, you never really get to the sidewall. Even at peg scraping levels, you still have a significant amount of tread on the ground.

 

[Floridave]

Today I realized something about the CT. I was riding along all morning and had not thought about it once. I had taken a few turns kind of hot as if the MT was still on and didn't notice. When I realized it I slowed things down a bit for a while before testing the boundaries. I have idea what that tire looked like under pressure in mid turn but I was leaning over aggressively averaging 50 to 60mph and it held nicely. Nothing happened but I will not be pushing the limits like this on a regular basis. This was only a test - and it passed with flying colors. Gotta mount one of the under carriage cameras to see what's happening to see how close I'm coming to that sidewall.

I've got just at 3,000 miles on my CT now, and am very comfortable on it. I'm easily scraping pegs on the FJR (your ZX likely has much more clearance though?), I've not had any problems at all.

It did take 1000 or so miles for things to feel as good as they do now. At first, it was noticeably more force required to turn in, and but much less force to bring it back up. Now everything feels much smoother, and it's more than just me getting used to it. It feels like the tire has relaxed or broken in a little to be more flexible and give some when I'm turning. I'm not sure, but at this point I'm as comfortable and confident riding this tire as any other I've ever had on it. Maybe more. Actually, like you mentioned, I really don't think about it any more.

I started pressure around 36 when I first put the tire on, dropped it to 32, then to 29. I may bump it back up to 31 or 32 and see if I notice a difference.

 

[zx11darkside]

It feels like the tire has relaxed or broken in a little to be more flexible and give some when I'm turning.

Funny, it's how it feels on the ZX also. It seems as if the tire is conforming to how the bike wants to use it. The more miles on put on it the better the tire feels on the bike. Maybe it's the rider getting used to the feel or maybe the tire is being forced to break-in or loosen up to its new loads.

 

[garyahouse]

Today I realized something about the CT. I was riding along all morning and had not thought about it once. I had taken a few turns kind of hot as if the MT was still on and didn't notice. When I realized it I slowed things down a bit for a while before testing the boundaries. I have idea what that tire looked like under pressure in mid turn but I was leaning over aggressively averaging 50 to 60mph and it held nicely. Nothing happened but I will not be pushing the limits like this on a regular basis. This was only a test - and it passed with flying colors. Gotta mount one of the under carriage cameras to see what's happening to see how close I'm coming to that sidewall.

I've got just at 3,000 miles on my CT now, and am very comfortable on it. I'm easily scraping pegs on the FJR (your ZX likely has much more clearance though?), I've not had any problems at all.

It did take 1000 or so miles for things to feel as good as they do now. At first, it was noticeably more force required to turn in, and but much less force to bring it back up. Now everything feels much smoother, and it's more than just me getting used to it. It feels like the tire has relaxed or broken in a little to be more flexible and give some when I'm turning. I'm not sure, but at this point I'm as comfortable and confident riding this tire as any other I've ever had on it. Maybe more. Actually, like you mentioned, I really don't think about it any more.

I started pressure around 36 when I first put the tire on, dropped it to 32, then to 29. I may bump it back up to 31 or 32 and see if I notice a difference.

3k miles... already? You've been RIDING that thing Dave. Seems like just yesterday that you mounted it.Gary

 

[Big-D]

I have been running about 28psi in my tire, but thought I'd try it out at 35 & 38 psi. I personally liked the feel at 35psi. The tire feels more confident. What say some of the rest of you. What psi in your car tire makes you feel best?

 

[zx11darkside]

ZX is now running 36psi on CT. I frequently take a passenger (bike pool) on my way to work. 36psi works best 2 up and still feels pretty good going solo. Not sure how adjustable the suspension is on FJR's but on the old ZX11 the suspension settings make a big difference as well. I've learned to keep the damping the same front and rear. Best so far is 36psi in CT, 41psi in front tire (pilot road), 3 (of 4) clicks on compression damping front and rear, tight preload on rear shock, and halfway preload on forks. Damn I better write this down before I forget.

 

[wfooshee]

I tell ya, 36 sounds awful high for a car tire. You may find it wearing in the center, just like a motorcycle tire, just taking longer to do it.

 

[user 213]

Every tire is different. The stiffness of the side walls will dictate what pressure feels right, to some degree. Based on load and heat, most tires are pretty good in that 28-32 range. Feel is more subjective though, so you just have to go with what feels best for you and see what happens long term, tread wear wise.

I put 36,600 on the first BT-019G at mostly 30-31 psi. It wore evenly all the way. I did notice extra wear at the edges when I had a low pressure event due to a nail and it dropped to around 20 psi, but I still rode it home 500 miles w/o incident. That did teach me that I needed to pay a little more attention to how it felt while riding though, cause it's not as dramatic a change in feel when pressure drops off.

 

[LowAndSilent]

Bumped the pressure down to 35 psi for the 20 mile ride in to work. Definitely squishier, and it leaned in quite nicely. Noticeably less pressure on the bars needed and I can even get the bike to lean in with just a bit of body english and no weight on the bars...very similar to a moto tire. Funny how much of a difference 3 psi could make. I'll do a little more testing at this pressure to see if there are any changes. The callenge will come on the way home through my favorite corner.

 

[Floridave]

And going the opposite direction, I have been happy with mine at 29,(I started at 36 when I put the tire on). Tire seemed to have softened up enough that it basically feels just like a moto tire, so I bumped it back up to 32 to see what the difference would be. I can't tell any difference at all, so I'll leave it at 32. Tire is performing wonderfully. Pretty much the ONLY thing that seems different right now is on a sloped surface, it wants to track the slope. I don't have any roads that I regularly ride where it's an issue for me.

 

[Larry33319]

And going the opposite direction, I have been happy with mine at 29,(I started at 36 when I put the tire on). Tire seemed to have softened up enough that it basically feels just like a moto tire, so I bumped it back up to 32 to see what the difference would be. I can't tell any difference at all, so I'll leave it at 32. Tire is performing wonderfully. Pretty much the ONLY thing that seems different right now is on a sloped surface, it wants to track the slope. I don't have any roads that I regularly ride where it's an issue for me.

I played with pressures using a temp pyrometer to read tread temps on both outsides and the center after a short ride to bring the tire up to temp. At 31 psi I get even temps across the tread letting me know that the entire thread is making proper contact with the road surface. I am using the Michilin Pilot Exalto. I did the same on my previous Yokohama Advan and came up with 32 psi. That yoke lasted me for 25,000 miles. We will see how long this lasts. Currently I have 3762 on it with no real signs of wear at all.

 

[garyahouse]

And going the opposite direction, I have been happy with mine at 29,(I started at 36 when I put the tire on). Tire seemed to have softened up enough that it basically feels just like a moto tire, so I bumped it back up to 32 to see what the difference would be. I can't tell any difference at all, so I'll leave it at 32. Tire is performing wonderfully. Pretty much the ONLY thing that seems different right now is on a sloped surface, it wants to track the slope. I don't have any roads that I regularly ride where it's an issue for me.

I played with pressures using a temp pyrometer to read tread temps on both outsides and the center after a short ride to bring the tire up to temp. At 31 psi I get even temps across the tread letting me know that the entire thread is making proper contact with the road surface. I am using the Michilin Pilot Exalto. I did the same on my previous Yokohama Advan and came up with 32 psi. That yoke lasted me for 25,000 miles. We will see how long this lasts. Currently I have 3762 on it with no real signs of wear at all.

Hey thanks Larry. I've never heard of a pie o meter. How cool is that? A lot of us are running the Exaltos and I think this would be a great opportunity for a valuable contribution to the knowledge base on this thread: could you share with us what you found at say, 35 psi or say, 28 psi? Since you seem to know something about this matter, how much temp difference do you find when the inflation isn't "right?" I'm guessing this difference is multiplied at higher speeds on hotter days? Would that be accurate?

Gary

darksider #44

 

[Larry33319]

I would have to take measurements again to answer accuratly. If the pressure is to high you will have more contact with the center of the tread, too low and more on the outside edges. I just started with 35 or so and rode for a while and made adjustments until I had a uniform temp across the entire tread. This could also vary slightly depending on whether you were riding solo or travelling two up with saddlebags packed for a week of touring. I will try it again soon and post my results so far as actual temperatures across the tread. FWIW, I raced cars with the SCCA for 13 years and this was the way I checked for proper pressure, castor, and camber settings. Equal temps mean the best contact to the road surface and increased tire wear.