First Heritage Darksider~afaik
Grand HDF Member
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 4,624
Likes: 189
From: Newcastle, Ca.
Those dual disks up front are nice.
Another fanged bike. Im also a believer... lol
Kudos for going another direction with your bike!
Let us know how it rides and more pics. Side profile, front...
YMMV - your S-11 has a little more tread on it than mine did at that point, where I took it off. You also have more wear to one side, maybe a difference in local roads? I did have to turn mine around forwards like yours because at about 1 or 2k it started cupping running backwards. Also I spend a lot of time in the fast lanes, so that evens out some of the wear I think.
You have a loooong way to go on the Comtrac, believe me. I'm around 20k of hard riding, 2up trailer pulling, twistie ripping abuse and it still lives on. The only thing I notice just lately is a loss of rear braking traction - the tire seems to get harder the more wear it gets and loses that super stopping power it had. Probably still a lot better than a MT, but I'm being a little more careful with intersections and the like.
Shouldn't be on that back brake much anyway. Just trying to wear it out so I can put the new EBC's in there. No more dusty ceramics for me.
Thanx for posting man.
PS: did I say that I went to the Shinko 777? You'd love it. Sticks like glue, even better than the S-11!
You have a loooong way to go on the Comtrac, believe me. I'm around 20k of hard riding, 2up trailer pulling, twistie ripping abuse and it still lives on. The only thing I notice just lately is a loss of rear braking traction - the tire seems to get harder the more wear it gets and loses that super stopping power it had. Probably still a lot better than a MT, but I'm being a little more careful with intersections and the like.
Shouldn't be on that back brake much anyway. Just trying to wear it out so I can put the new EBC's in there. No more dusty ceramics for me.
Thanx for posting man.
PS: did I say that I went to the Shinko 777? You'd love it. Sticks like glue, even better than the S-11!
Last edited by Quadancer; May 19, 2012 at 06:39 AM.
Tourer
Joined: Sep 2011
Posts: 302
Likes: 4
From: Edmonton, AB, Canada
I have run into something of a problem with this final setup. I hesitate to call it "head shake" since its not the violent oscillation that I have experienced on sport bikes, at times.
What it actually is is a low frequency, low amplitude wobble. It comes on at about 65mph as a gentle searching sensation at the front end. As speed increases to 70 the amplitude increases but the frequency remains fairly constant. By 75 mph the amplitude is getting exciting. I have not pushed parts this level of excitement.
I have Also noticed that the oscillation diminishes when riding on the hump between the wheel tracks, and increases when in the wheel track.
I wonder if you have experienced anything similar or have any ideas.
I have tightened the steering head bearings and noted no change in the wobble pattern.
Thanks!
What it actually is is a low frequency, low amplitude wobble. It comes on at about 65mph as a gentle searching sensation at the front end. As speed increases to 70 the amplitude increases but the frequency remains fairly constant. By 75 mph the amplitude is getting exciting. I have not pushed parts this level of excitement.
I have Also noticed that the oscillation diminishes when riding on the hump between the wheel tracks, and increases when in the wheel track.
I wonder if you have experienced anything similar or have any ideas.
I have tightened the steering head bearings and noted no change in the wobble pattern.
Thanks!
Road Captain
Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 604
Likes: 22
darker
Well Mr. Brown is suppose to drop off my new General Ultima tomorrow so Pearl gets new shoes. Going with a General Altima 205/55R 17 on the rear and a 140/70B 18 Metzler on the front of my Fatboy Lo. The advertisement on the Metzler site said it was a radial but nowhere on the tire can I see where it is. I've gone through two Dunlaps and one Metzler on Pearl in 11,000 mi on the rear and it''s getting a bit old getting those 400$ hits. Hope the General helps. As for the front I found a good deal on a PM Gasser wheel in 18". What I failed to research is the availability of 18" tires. Hope the different hoops play well together.
Last edited by Snowyone; Jul 12, 2012 at 12:51 AM.
The Austone was given to me by a guy who had wobble problems with it that woudn't go away. I've run from 32 to 55 lbs pressure in it, experiencing the same sort of thing - a sort of rear end "sway" plus following the pavement grooves when pumped up hard.
I did some searching and found that there are several of these tires out here doing this, and others can run theirs over 100 mph without a single issue. I may take out the dyna beads temporarily and get it computer balanced, but I don't really think it's a balance issue, unless it's lateral.
It feels like soft sidewalls. Gets a little loose at 70 and is freaky at over 80, getting worse with speed. Cornering is fantastic as the Vredestein was, even going fast - any wobble disappears when you lean her over. I'm stuck with it too, barely making the bills lately.
I did some searching and found that there are several of these tires out here doing this, and others can run theirs over 100 mph without a single issue. I may take out the dyna beads temporarily and get it computer balanced, but I don't really think it's a balance issue, unless it's lateral.
It feels like soft sidewalls. Gets a little loose at 70 and is freaky at over 80, getting worse with speed. Cornering is fantastic as the Vredestein was, even going fast - any wobble disappears when you lean her over. I'm stuck with it too, barely making the bills lately.
Tourer
Joined: Sep 2011
Posts: 302
Likes: 4
From: Edmonton, AB, Canada
I think I will vary the tire pressure in 10lb increments today and make more of the effect. I'll post up the results.
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Update here: went to a bike shop and had it balanced on a computerized machine, but it's not like the old "spin at 500 rpm" spin balance - he turned it slowly by hand and told me that the machine is calibrated to do it that way effectively.
Anyhoo...there was some improvement with 1.25 oz. of weights put on the inside (he asked which side I wanted them on: I said, "the side the COMPUTER tells you to put them on" - no, it's your choice...?)
So, now I'm 10mph faster before problems begin, 85 is fastest speed possible now. I vacuumed out the dynabeads, which were stuck to the tire all around inside, but doing a search, I find that this is just static cling, and the beads were still free enough to move where they were needed under load. It just freaked me since they were loose in my Vredestein Comtrac.
I feel that uneven sidewall stiffnesses could be the problem, since this will show at speed but not on balance. I did find this that may explain some of it:
" Sometimes the problem is neither balance or runout. It is radial force variation (RFV). This is the amount of change in stiffness of the sidewall and footprint when a load is placed against a tire. Subtle differences in the position of the cords and belts in a tire's construction can create stiff spots that make the tire roll unevenly. The stiff spots act like runout to cause vibrations at various speeds."
Edit: Oh, and I did 43lbs that turned into 50 lbs. hot, then dropped off 5 - it got a bit worse, then at home put 57 hot in it before rains ended my trials, so I'll try that tomorrow if I can.
I also found this website promoting an advanced tire machine that explains every little difference that makes a difference:
http://classic.artsautomotive.com/GSP9700.htm
Anyhoo...there was some improvement with 1.25 oz. of weights put on the inside (he asked which side I wanted them on: I said, "the side the COMPUTER tells you to put them on" - no, it's your choice...?)
So, now I'm 10mph faster before problems begin, 85 is fastest speed possible now. I vacuumed out the dynabeads, which were stuck to the tire all around inside, but doing a search, I find that this is just static cling, and the beads were still free enough to move where they were needed under load. It just freaked me since they were loose in my Vredestein Comtrac.
I feel that uneven sidewall stiffnesses could be the problem, since this will show at speed but not on balance. I did find this that may explain some of it:
" Sometimes the problem is neither balance or runout. It is radial force variation (RFV). This is the amount of change in stiffness of the sidewall and footprint when a load is placed against a tire. Subtle differences in the position of the cords and belts in a tire's construction can create stiff spots that make the tire roll unevenly. The stiff spots act like runout to cause vibrations at various speeds."
Edit: Oh, and I did 43lbs that turned into 50 lbs. hot, then dropped off 5 - it got a bit worse, then at home put 57 hot in it before rains ended my trials, so I'll try that tomorrow if I can.
I also found this website promoting an advanced tire machine that explains every little difference that makes a difference:
http://classic.artsautomotive.com/GSP9700.htm
Last edited by Quadancer; Jul 11, 2012 at 09:09 PM.
Tourer
Joined: Sep 2011
Posts: 302
Likes: 4
From: Edmonton, AB, Canada
make more of the effect. I'll post up the results.Adding a140lb passenger shifted the onset to 80 mph.
I am not sure what this means, but it is new information.