Going to the Dark Side

[escapefjrtist]

Hell I dunno, uncharted territory.. Going to keep it under thirty for now.

Bust ya 'ol sheep herder, don't risk it on that tire. You don't know how bad the internal damage is nor when that knot could let go. Even at slow speeds a blown tire can get real ugly real quick...not worth the risk.

--G

 

[RaYzerman19]

I've been thinking about this for a while, and was curious to try one...... went for a short spin around town on Bust's machine (before we knew about the bulge), and noticed the transition when going into a turn. I'm guessing this isn't nearly as apparent at speedier turns, but hey.... it wasn't bad!! So, look for Darkside Ray next spring......... gonna pick the tire with the rounder corners and see how that works out. Thanks, Bust for the demo!!

 

[Kirrilian]

Ordering my CT today, hopefully I'll have it on in a week or two since my PR2 rear is almost bald

 

[juniorfjr]

I have had several riders, on all brands, even HD, comment on the tire. Most are positive, and are considering it for the same reason, More mileage. It's all good. Even heard that Rossi is gonna use one. :lol: Eduardo Rossi that is. :lol: Just for you Auburnfjr

 

[Kirrilian]

Ordered the 205/50R17 Michelin Pilot Exalto A/S from discounttires.com for Grand Total: $156.00

Tire Clicky

 

[wheatonFJR]

See quote below...guess who said it and when...win big prizes!!!

...We stayed mostly off the slab all the way from Birmingham. What a great ride! Have I mentioned my car tire sucks in the twisties? Well it does. Lots.
Its kinda like riding a fat girl. It awkward and there's a bit of fumbling around involved but you eventually get where you want to be.

...

 

[user 213]

See quote below...guess who said it and when...win big prizes!!!

...We stayed mostly off the slab all the way from Birmingham. What a great ride! Have I mentioned my car tire sucks in the twisties? Well it does. Lots.
Its kinda like riding a fat girl. It awkward and there's a bit of fumbling around involved but you eventually get where you want to be.

...

:lol: :lol: I usually refer to my FJR as "The big girl". CT or no, the Feej is a big bike to be tossing about in the twisties. Some of the guys on the forum seem to think they're all that in the tight stuff, but if they took a ride on a true sport bike, it would become apparent just how fat the FJR is. And as we are learning, tire choice and air pressure make a big difference in turn in feel. I felt the Bridgestone 019G was pretty good, but the Exalto is much better for turn in. Longevity to be determined.

I saw some tires at Les Schwabe yesterday that looked really rounded for the profile, but they didn't offer them in our size. Eventually we will have a nice list of the preferred tires for moto use. Right now we are still learning and exploring.

 

[Spook]

First feelings on the new Toyo. This tire seem to be easy to live with. No real warm days yet but I have now put on over 200 miles on mostly twisty roads that I have been on many time before. Turn in is sure different but I am getting used to it. I have pushed the bike up to close to the speeds I used to run on the old tire and have found nothing that I can complain about. I am sure that I will be able to push just as hard as ever next summer when the rubber is warmer and not quite as stif as it is now. I have been able to take the corners at over twice the posted speed with no slippage and no feeling that things are becoming unstable. I would sure love to be able to ride on several of the other CT's over the same roads to feel the differance in turn in. As of now I am a true convert. Now to see the mileage I can get out of these.

 

[user 213]

Thanks for the report Spook. At some point we should have a DarkSider RTE or weekend get together. Preferably in the warmer months and perhaps centrally located to some degree. I hear there's some good riding in AR. Though I think the food is better in LA. And there is always CO for some mountain scenic roads. Don't want to get too much into the crowded East.

 

[Udjeni]

I have pushed the bike up to close to the speeds I used to run on the old tire and have found nothing that I can complain about.

I went for a 650km ride today. Variable terrain, a bit of everything, some of it out in the sticks, straight, no other traffic around even on this public holiday. There is one thing I can complain about: CT nominal is definitely lower than FJR nominal. I managed to get CT nominal increased by about 10 km/h by upping the CT tyre pressure as suggested in this thread. Today it was at 2.5 bar (36psi) and it is almost uncomfortable, yet at 20-25 km/h below (my) FJR nominal it starts to develop that damn weave. Even before the weave it starts to feel less "planted" and just a little more unstable than at the same speed with a moto tyre.

I guess I can up the pressure some more, but I don't think I will - the (perceived?) discomfort on bumpy roads (of which we have enough) is not worth it and its not that often that I have the opportunity approach nominal speeds.

 

[Bustanut joker]

I have pushed the bike up to close to the speeds I used to run on the old tire and have found nothing that I can complain about.

I went for a 650km ride today. Variable terrain, a bit of everything, some of it out in the sticks, straight, no other traffic around even on this public holiday. There is one thing I can complain about: CT nominal is definitely lower than FJR nominal. I managed to get CT nominal increased by about 10 km/h by upping the CT tyre pressure as suggested in this thread. Today it was at 2.5 bar (36psi) and it is almost uncomfortable, yet at 20-25 km/h below (my) FJR nominal it starts to develop that damn weave. Even before the weave it starts to feel less "planted" and just a little more unstable than at the same speed with a moto tyre.

I guess I can up the pressure some more, but I don't think I will - the (perceived?) discomfort on bumpy roads (of which we have enough) is not worth it and its not that often that I have the opportunity approach nominal speeds.

I don't understand what your saying when you state "CT is definitely lower than FJR nominal" As what I've read here is the CT is in fact taller? As far as pressure? Mine is best at 28 to 30 psi..

This whole thing is still in it's infancy.. Play around with suspension settings,tire pressure etc... I'm sure you'll find it's not as bad as some would want you to believe..

:jester:

 

[RadioHowie]

I don't understand what your saying when you state "CT is definitely lower than FJR nominal" As what I've read here is the CT is in fact taller? As far as pressure? Mine is best at 28 to 30 psi..

This whole thing is still in it's infancy.. Play around with suspension settings,tire pressure etc... I'm sure you'll find it's not as bad as some would want you to believe..

:jester:

Beinz that yer an iggerint stump scoggin, I'll esplain it to ya....

He's referin' to FJR top speed with the CT is lower than with a MT.

In the VERY NEXT SENTENCE, if you could read, Udjeni writes:

I managed to get CT nominal increased by about 10 km/h by upping the CT tyre pressure as suggested in this thread.

where he qualifies his definition of "CT nominal" by referring to distance divided by time...

Dang yer stoopid!

:wub:

 

[Udjeni]

RadioHowie you explain it so well. :lol:

 

[RadioHowie]

RadioHowie you explain it so well. :lol:

It's easy. I've got cats. Four of 'em.

Talking to Bust is like talking to cats. You know they hear ya....but the ain't got an effin' clue what yer sayin'.

But ya still love the little furry *******s anyways, no matter how stoopid they are. :rofl:

 

[user 213]

It's about the mass of the tire, to some degree. As I stated waaay back in this thread, during 'off road' testing in NV, at speeds of about 140 things started to get a little less planted. I do believe the weave was involved. I didn't feel like imminent danger was involved, but it wasn't as planted as a moto tire. The simple fact that I just don't go to FJR Nominal very often, (almost never), just meant that it wasn't a deal breaker for me. I do believe that the extra weight/mass of the tire will suck up some Hp and lower the FJR's top speed. Perhaps by as much as 10 mph, but that's about it.

 

[Bustanut joker]

RadioHowie you explain it so well. :lol:

It's easy. I've got cats. Four of 'em.

Talking to Bust is like talking to cats. You know they hear ya....but the ain't got an effin' clue what yer sayin'.

But ya still love the little furry *******s anyways, no matter how stoopid they are. :rofl:

Ah ya fuker... Now I unnerstand.

Don't think me tire is going to be subjected to anything close to terminal velocity..At least not the current bulging bastage.

I really wanted to dragstrip test the ***** and still might but, It will be on a roadsmart tire that Extememarine has offered.

Next season when the new CT is installed well hit the 1/4 mile and see if it holds true.

Dink.

:wub:

:jester:

 

[Big-D]

I would like to add a few cents worth here about my experience with my CT.

Immediately after installing my Michelin A/S Sport CT I went on a trip around Portland Oregon that was about 3400 miles in length. The tire worked fine, but I really was not able to put it much to the test. However, my recent trip to the SW-FOG in New Mexico allowed me to really test the tire out in all sorts of twisties. At first I will admit I pulled back a little in the turns, only because I did not yet have full trust in the tires ability. But after each set of turns, I leaned a little further and went a little faster. By Saturday (our last real day of group riding) I was feeling really confident leaning over and maintaining the speed I would normally reach while using a motorcycle rear tire. At no time do I feel any transition while turning, even when bring the bike over to one side then immediately back to the other in a S-turn. I had Pinhead behind me and he stated it appeared the radial design of the CT flexed and kept a flat contact patch while turning, which by the way is what radial tires are designed to do. Of course we could write that off as either my fat *** holding the tire flat or possibly Pinhead is simply just a pinhead.

Honestly though, the tire feels really good. I now have about 5400 miles on the tire and it still looks brand new. And unlike another Darksider that I need not mention their name, I do my utmost to avoid pallets, ladders, boulders and other objects that may cause severe damage to a tire of any type.

Big-D

 

[Poorbob]

Got some rain time yesterday. Rode from Waitsburg to Yakima and back (a little over 300 miles) running the 019 Grid CT. The entire return trip was in a rain storm, I have to admit to backing off the speed just thinking about that 8 inches of broad flat tire tread trying to hydroplane, but, it didn’t. I started working my speed back up, on and off ramps posted 25 mph could still be done at 40 mph, but, couldn’t get myself to accelerate out from the apex. The last 20 miles on Lower Waitsburg Road has some nice twisties and, unlike the ramps, there is not enough camber to the road to drain much water off. Given the square edges of the CT, I made the assumption that if I lost it, that tire would never high-side me but would slide out with me sliding behind the bike (best place to be!). I know this stretch of road well and decided it was time to test, I ran that 20 miles at 70 mph, the road is posted 50 mph with curves posted at 35 and 40. I did break pace to 50 for the curve posted 25 (which is really a left hand turn). I was pushing so much water that I could see the bow wave coming off that rear CT in my mirrors.

I believe I have had a CT breakthrough, I now trust that tire to take me anywhere, at any speed that I am willing to ride. It’s very similar to when I first got my fjr, it took some time to trust her. Thanks to all you darksiders for the information and support.

 

[user 213]

I believe I have had a CT breakthrough, I now trust that tire to take me anywhere, at any speed that I am willing to ride. It’s very similar to when I first got my fjr, it took some time to trust her. Thanks to all you darksiders for the information and support.

Glad to hear it Poorbob. It took me some time to get there too, but I took the 019G through 2" deep running water over the road many times on a new years ride and it never hydroplaned. That tire has so many tread blocks and such good water dispersion that it just grips.

 

[Udjeni]

I do believe that the extra weight/mass of the tire will suck up some Hp and lower the FJR's top speed. Perhaps by as much as 10 mph, but that's about it.

It may well be, but in this case that wasn't the case. When I said "CT nominal" I should have said "my CT nominal" as in it was the rider not the bike. There was still plenty of oomph to push it, but I get scared when the weave starts up When you hold the speed steady as the weave starts, the amplitude does not increase, but I don't have the balls to investigate what happens if I push it a bit more.