Going to the Dark Side

[Oldjeep]

I have a question for the collective. I have a Gmax that I took off of my 05 that's been sitting in the garage for 8 years now. I am going to go back to a CT for some long trips this summer. Would you use a new 10 year old tire or just start over.

A new car tire is pretty cheap.

 

[SkooterG]

What the two fart smellers above me said. 10 years old is pushing it, even for a total cheapwad like me. And car tires are not expensive. Riken Raptor for under $100 for crying out loud!

Yikes! According to Discount Tire, the Riken Raptor has been discontinued. Get one while you can. I just ordered one even though I don't currently need one.

Riken Raptor at Tire Rack

Edit: Fixed link.

 

[Oldjeep]

What the two fart smellers above me said. 10 years old is pushing it, even for a total cheapwad like me. And car tires are not expensive. Riken Raptor for under $100 for crying out loud!

Yikes! According to Discount Tire, the Riken Raptor has been discontinued. Get one while you can. I just ordered one even though I don't currently need one.

Riken Raptor at Tire Rack

Well crap. I guess I better order a spare.

 

[juniorfjr]

Thanks for the input. I had pretty much decided against using the Gmax. Will probably order a Riken Raptor tomorrow.

 

[rbentnail]

Thanks for the input. I had pretty much decided against using the Gmax. Will probably order a Riken Raptor tomorrow.

I used 3 different CTs. IMHO the GMAX did great on pavement, not so much on dirt. The Exalto did better on dirt but not as good on pavement. The Raptor, for my money, is the best all-round of the 3. Order the Raptor, seriously, I don't think you'll be disappointed.

 

[Buda]

Thanks Skooter, I have been thinking about going to the Darkside and should probably order a Raptor. Hopefully see you in September.

 

[SkooterG]

Riken Raptor is probably the best handling car tire I have run out of the many I've tried. I don't know what life expectancy is yet. I have two mounted on different FJRs, but both only have about 12k miles on them.

The 'old' General G-Max was the longest lasting care tire I had. 42k miles. The newer model G-Max RS I posted about previously was disappointing. Handled fine, but I only got 21,600 miles out of it and it was *well* past the wear bars when I replaced it. And it was about $150, so 50% more than the Riken Raptor.

IIRC, Brodie is getting big miles, approximately 40k or so, out of the BFG G-Force Comp 2 A/S. One of these days I will have to give one a try.

 

[Conair90]

Hey Darksiders, I'm kinda new to this but I've been running an Atlas Force 195/45/17 on my 2014 FJR all summer (about 3k miles) and so far I love it! I tried to research it a lot before making the jump and this forum was very helpful so I wanted to join if it was able to help anyone else. Since it's a 195 I didn't need to mess with the brake support lever and just used the original. I also really think it handles great in the curves and straights. I've taken it through the mountains in Utah and it feels perfect. Part of that I feel is due to the smaller aspect ratio at 45. I haven't ridden other ct's but it sound's like some people don't like the handling. I would think a bigger aspect ratio would cause more sway and snap-back on turns but I don't know. It feels completely stable and really similar to an mc except it feels more planted in wind and better in gravel and water with the wider contact patch. It's asymmetrical but I don't notice any difference. I think it's actually 5lbs lighter than the Angel GT mc I had on it before. It's a 40k rated tire but we'll see how it goes. I'll keep you updated. It's $55 on amazon right now. Unless there is a major problem, I will never go back. I feel much more stable riding on it. It's easy to see where the contact is and it doesn't go past the tread edge from leaning. I really love it. I guess that is obvious. Thanks

 

[SkooterG]

Hey Darksiders, I'm kinda new to this but I've been running an Atlas Force 195/45/17 on my 2014 FJR all summer (about 3k miles) and so far I love it! I tried to research it a lot before making the jump and this forum was very helpful so I wanted to join if it was able to help anyone else. Since it's a 195 I didn't need to mess with the brake support lever and just used the original. I also really think it handles great in the curves and straights. I've taken it through the mountains in Utah and it feels perfect. Part of that I feel is due to the smaller aspect ratio at 45. I haven't ridden other ct's but it sound's like some people don't like the handling. I would think a bigger aspect ratio would cause more sway and snap-back on turns but I don't know. It feels completely stable and really similar to an mc except it feels more planted in wind and better in gravel and water with the wider contact patch. It's asymmetrical but I don't notice any difference. I think it's actually 5lbs lighter than the Angel GT mc I had on it before. It's a 40k rated tire but we'll see how it goes. I'll keep you updated. It's $55 on amazon right now. Unless there is a major problem, I will never go back. I feel much more stable riding on it. It's easy to see where the contact is and it doesn't go past the tread edge from leaning. I really love it. I guess that is obvious. Thanks

Interesting. At that size, isn't your rear lower than with the moto tire? And speedometer error increased?

Have you ever tried the 205/50? Because with about 250k miles on that size I have no issues with the handling. Some folks just don't like the difference of a car tire.

 

[Conair90]

Wow, that is awesome that you've gone that many miles on those. I wanted to try this one first to see if I liked a CT at all since it was cheap and easy(just like me). If it is lower, I can't feel it. I don't know how much different the speedo is. When I pass by the neighborhood speed signs that tell you your speed, it seems pretty close, maybe a couple slower than what my speedo says. I really liked that I could keep the same brake support and it's so cheap I can just put a new one on every few years. $60 when I bought it, $55 now. One of the few things getting cheaper in this economy. Unfortunately the riding season in Utah is pretty short. Thanks