First Heritage Darksider~afaik
6th Gear
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 13
Likes: 0
From: Hawaii
This is CERTAINLY worth a TRY! Wound up having to go for the Excelsior Stahl from Coker in 175/75R16. That's what I'm gonna try, anyway... I'll post my results here. It's gonna be about the same price as what I would have spent on a D401 Dunlop but if it fits, it'll save me two more trips to the dealer, pay for itself and then some. Only other tire in stock in this size was the Dunlop Taxi tire from Universal for the same price but shipping was more, and I like the look of what I'm getting better, anyway.
Several reasons why I'm not going to waste money on a FOURTH rear motorcycle tire that wears out every 9000 miles: More tread, more contact patch, better grip, better braking, more miles out of the tire. There's a lot of research on this on the internet with hundreds of riders doing this with great results, and I have yet to see any credible evidence of a common failure trend of any sort associated with doing this.
The major barrier to Harley riders up to now is that we haven't had enough room between the swingarms or under the fender for most common US tire sizes. GoldWingers have been doing this for years with great results. Harley riders would have been all over this a lot sooner if we could just get tires the right size. Seriously, with only about 30 degrees or so possible lean on a Harley, we've got far less to worry about in terms of the usual naysayer arguments, which again, I've yet to see a youtube video of all the horrible things they seem to imagine, yet proof of the contact patch has been posted with a number of different tires and bikes, and successful results with certain tires on certain bikes are being compiled into a database for reference. This isn't something we're blindly trying on a whim; if anyone is interested in the benefits of this, they'll need to do the research for their bike.
Several reasons why I'm not going to waste money on a FOURTH rear motorcycle tire that wears out every 9000 miles: More tread, more contact patch, better grip, better braking, more miles out of the tire. There's a lot of research on this on the internet with hundreds of riders doing this with great results, and I have yet to see any credible evidence of a common failure trend of any sort associated with doing this.
The major barrier to Harley riders up to now is that we haven't had enough room between the swingarms or under the fender for most common US tire sizes. GoldWingers have been doing this for years with great results. Harley riders would have been all over this a lot sooner if we could just get tires the right size. Seriously, with only about 30 degrees or so possible lean on a Harley, we've got far less to worry about in terms of the usual naysayer arguments, which again, I've yet to see a youtube video of all the horrible things they seem to imagine, yet proof of the contact patch has been posted with a number of different tires and bikes, and successful results with certain tires on certain bikes are being compiled into a database for reference. This isn't something we're blindly trying on a whim; if anyone is interested in the benefits of this, they'll need to do the research for their bike.
Last edited by Furcifer; Jun 30, 2011 at 08:13 PM.
Road Master
Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 766
Likes: 1
From: 415/707
This is CERTAINLY worth a TRY! Wound up having to go for the Excelsior Stahl from Coker in 175/75R16. That's what I'm gonna try, anyway... I'll post my results here. It's gonna be about the same price as what I would have spent on a D401 Dunlop but if it fits, it'll save me two more trips to the dealer, pay for itself and then some. Only other tire in stock in this size was the Dunlop Taxi tire from Universal for the same price but shipping was more, and I like the look of what I'm getting better, anyway.
Several reasons why I'm not going to waste money on a FOURTH rear motorcycle tire that wears out every 9000 miles: More tread, more contact patch, better grip, better braking, more miles out of the tire. There's a lot of research on this on the internet with hundreds of riders doing this with great results, and I have yet to see any credible evidence of a common failure trend of any sort associated with doing this.
The major barrier to Harley riders up to now is that we haven't had enough room between the swingarms or under the fender for most common US tire sizes. GoldWingers have been doing this for years with great results. Harley riders would have been all over this a lot sooner if we could just get tires the right size. Seriously, with only about 30 degrees or so possible lean on a Harley, we've got far less to worry about in terms of the usual naysayer arguments, which again, I've yet to see a youtube video of all the horrible things they seem to imagine, yet proof of the contact patch has been posted with a number of different tires and bikes, and successful results with certain tires on certain bikes are being compiled into a database for reference. This isn't something we're blindly trying on a whim; if anyone is interested in the benefits of this, they'll need to do the research for their bike.
Several reasons why I'm not going to waste money on a FOURTH rear motorcycle tire that wears out every 9000 miles: More tread, more contact patch, better grip, better braking, more miles out of the tire. There's a lot of research on this on the internet with hundreds of riders doing this with great results, and I have yet to see any credible evidence of a common failure trend of any sort associated with doing this.
The major barrier to Harley riders up to now is that we haven't had enough room between the swingarms or under the fender for most common US tire sizes. GoldWingers have been doing this for years with great results. Harley riders would have been all over this a lot sooner if we could just get tires the right size. Seriously, with only about 30 degrees or so possible lean on a Harley, we've got far less to worry about in terms of the usual naysayer arguments, which again, I've yet to see a youtube video of all the horrible things they seem to imagine, yet proof of the contact patch has been posted with a number of different tires and bikes, and successful results with certain tires on certain bikes are being compiled into a database for reference. This isn't something we're blindly trying on a whim; if anyone is interested in the benefits of this, they'll need to do the research for their bike.
it may be my next tire,, if the comtrac everrrrrrrrrrr wears out
Road Master
Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 766
Likes: 1
From: 415/707
found this on a different forum & thought it might be of interest
http://centramatic.com/Home.aspx
http://vtwinsuperstore.com/pgroup_de...dson/?goto=%2F
http://centramatic.com/Home.aspx
http://vtwinsuperstore.com/pgroup_de...dson/?goto=%2F
Last edited by NorCal Dog; Jul 1, 2011 at 12:01 AM.
my next choice for balance will be RideOn - it's a tire sealant that doubles as your balancer, similar to the dyna beads I'm running now. That Centramatic is waaaaay overpriced for all that it is. I wonder how much weight they add to your bike too.
I hope he got it here:
http://store.cokertire.com/550r16-ex...rt-radial.html
That's the only link I got.
http://store.cokertire.com/550r16-ex...rt-radial.html
That's the only link I got.
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6th Gear
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 13
Likes: 0
From: Hawaii
Dark Side tire change!
Well, after eating up four Dunlops at 11000, 8000, 6500(loose spokes), and 10000 miles, I figured it was time to take a trip to the dark side and try a car tire on the back. Ordered a Metzler tube and a pair of Motion Pro 11" Tire Irons. A couple of big screwdrivers and my old trusty Matco pry bar came in handy, too. Getting that last bead on is a four-limb/full body operation! There are probably some very good reasons why you might want to change a tire yourself without the help of modern machines, but don't let the fact that I can't think of any right now encourage you. Seriously, though, I will say that I'm not so scared at all to do it again. It just takes a couple of extra hours, that's all! Overall, I was done in about six hours, but I wasn't in a hurry. It takes a lot longer to break in a car tire, so I took it real easy on the ride to work this morning. It feels a little squishy right now, but I'm probaby too far under pressure. Most guys are running 29 to 34 PSI in these, but this tire calls for 41 PSI max. I'm at 28 and intend to go up by a pound until I find the sweet spot. I'm told that a pound either way can make a big difference with these. Obviously, this will be an ongoing experiment that I will post about here, hopefully for about 27000+ miles!
Dunlop is DONE!
Dunlop still pressured up on the wheel, so the new tire looks a lot taller and thinner than it will be.
Bead breaking with a 6" Craftsman vise. The first side is easy... Gotta pry a little to get the second bead to let go.
Tire off! A better side-by-side comparison. Dunlop 150/80B16 vs Excelsior Stahl Sport Radial 175/75R16 from Coker Tire.
New tire is on! Beads seated at about 58 PSI. It's always a little scary, if you've ever seen what happens when a tire blows up...
Excelsior Stahl Sport Radial 175/75R16 from Coker Tire
Ready to test ride & break in!
Dunlop is DONE!
Dunlop still pressured up on the wheel, so the new tire looks a lot taller and thinner than it will be.
Bead breaking with a 6" Craftsman vise. The first side is easy... Gotta pry a little to get the second bead to let go.
Tire off! A better side-by-side comparison. Dunlop 150/80B16 vs Excelsior Stahl Sport Radial 175/75R16 from Coker Tire.
New tire is on! Beads seated at about 58 PSI. It's always a little scary, if you've ever seen what happens when a tire blows up...
Excelsior Stahl Sport Radial 175/75R16 from Coker Tire
Ready to test ride & break in!
Road Master
Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 766
Likes: 1
From: 415/707
awesome,, looks great on your scoot
glad to see that we still have alternatives
if it still feels squishy, i'd bump it up to 36psi, ride it for a bit, & then adjust from there
i run my comtrac at 36
glad to see that we still have alternatives
if it still feels squishy, i'd bump it up to 36psi, ride it for a bit, & then adjust from there
i run my comtrac at 36