This for an ultra limited, '09. I wanted this size bcs it is closer to the speedo accuracy, and slightly more "rounded" than the 205/55r16. I have read alot in this part of the forum, but info seems scattered around. My question was, from people who have used this size, what have you had the best luck with? Brand and type. Run flat better than normal? Only tire I have seen that I simply do not want is an sp5000, as teh reviews are not that good ( tire rack). So, any advice? Thanx, in advance

 

I use a Yokohama ZPS Run Flat 195/55 16 on the rear of my 09 Ultra. This is my second dark side tire. The first was a 205/55 16 Michelin Alpine Sport. I found the decease in size made it a bit more nimble in the twisties plus this 195 had rounder edges which required less break-in time. Also the run flat has harder side walls which seemed to make the tire less likely to collapse under pressure. One thing I will say as many others have is that you won't get as many miles out of the Yokohama run flat for whatever reason. I got about 50k out of the Michelin and will probably get 30k out of the ZPS.

Hope this helps.

 

What kind of ride (harshness) did you get with the yoko? This will be going on an '09 also. The rounder tire and closer speedometer readings were my 2 main choices for going this size. 30k miles is not really that bad, as long as it's a good, safe ride. I take it that is a grippy tire as well (usually lower mileage tires are)? Are there any things you didn't like about it other than the mileage?

 

The ride was excellent from day one. Because of the roundness of the edges of the tire it was a lot easier to get up on edge in the corners and required less force to get the bike to "laydown" in sharp turns. The Michelin I ran before was a lot more work to get it to corner in the beginning but I got used to it. That tire was so square I sweared the tire would hold the bike straight if I stood up and got off.

My speedo has always been off even before going to the Darkside 4 years or so ago. I used the PowerVision to correct it recently but prior I noticed about a 5mph difference at highway speeds and maybe 1 or 2 mph on back roads when comparing to the GPS. Harleys historically are off in the speedo anyway. It was perdictable so I dealt with it until recently.

There was really nothing I didn't like about the tire from the get-go. I is a biatch to get the tire to fit on the rim but I switched wheels earlier this year and figured out a way to get it on there by myself. I have a Harbor Freight tire machine bolted to the floor in my garage.

All and all the ZPS looks similar to a MC tire once mounted. Really unless you're really looking you can hardly tell in appearance but the handling improvements as well as the overall smoothness of the tire make it a good fit for me. I had a buddy with a 2013 Ultra who was always resistant to Dark siding recently convert and we mounted the ZPS on his bike. I got the usual "Why the hell didn't I do this sooner" talk after the installation. He really noticed nothing but improvements over the MC. His only biatch was that he noticed ruts in the road a little more at low speeds.

 

Thank you for the review of this tire. I already like the 'roundness part" of it. When yo say speedo was off, was it off even after putting this tire on as well ( i already know even the stock Dunlop is off by about 5 mph at higher speeds like what you described. I had thought the 60 series would help that, as all I have is the SERT which doesn't even look at that part. Even after installing an Elite 3, it's still off, and while the E3 is a good tire, I spent damn near as much on a set of those as I did on my car! But if it works as you have sescribed then I think I would get more out of this tire than even the elite.

 

With the enVigor ZPS the speedo was off about 5mph as well.

 

My bike was off by 2 plus mph at 60 when new. The car tire almost doubled that. Then I used my Tmax to calibrate the speedo and now it is accurate to less than 1 mph.

 

That sucks, all I have is the HD SERT which of course does not change the speedo

 

What about using something like a 195/65R16 ? If the 195/60 is causing that much of an error, then stock tire has to be taller, no?

 

55 causes the error. 60 is actually pretty close.