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The Dark SideFor those members running "Car Tires" on their scoots. This is for their discussion only and not a place for "non dark siders" to mouth off about their negative opinions of this idea!
Swapped out my Yoko Avid Ascend for this tire. The avid was a NRF, this one, a RF. I liked the handling of the avid, but I could force a wiggly rear at higher speeds. I think if I bought one again I'd get the "V" instead of the "H". I wanted the RF because of the harder sidewalls. I got my local tire guy to install it on my rim for $10 and 34PSI. . I used one bottle of 'Ride-on' for balancing. Took it out, and noticed two things right off. One, the ride was more like a motorcycle tire. Harder. Kinda disappointing me, as I loved the velvet carpet ride of the avid,.but it was still very tolerable. Two, this tire did not have that 'greasy' feeling to it when first used. It felt like it had been on the bike for 100's of miles already. I did my test run on the 'triangle', which is a 30 mile run on 3 different roads that triangulate my house.A couple sharpies, one part extra smooth, the other extra crappy. So far, I am very satisfied with this tire. It handled well, felt no uncomfortable feeling while in the turn, and took the bumps well, firmer, but soft, too, kind of hard to explain.While I still need to do a break-in and wet test on it, I am waiting on my BT45 Rear for the front so I can Double Dark. This is what I deem an 'ugly' tire. It just don't look right.It id a directional, and was installed with "outside" on the left side of the wheel.
I still have the yoko on a rim, ready to go if this doesnt work out for some reason, but so far I like it. Would I recommend the avid? Yes, definitely. Just in a V rated NRF, or the Envigor for a RF.
I plan on reporting my progress for this tire. Note that it is the lightest RF, at 21 lbs. I can notice it as well. The tire was a 195/55-17, and used my PV to adjust the speedo, as it was reading 66 on my GPS, 70 on the bike. They are now in parallel harmony!
Today I took it on a 360 mile ride, through curves, straights, hills, and bumps. lots of those. Tire performed excellent. Very predictable, could hardly notice any resistance to lean at all, and that in itself surprised me the most. Had good traction, no wiggles or wobbles. Fastest i went was to 80. Only thing I noticed, with seemingly all CT's was the usual squiggle when you're on uneven pavement, like a road construction area that has some new blacktop laying on half the lane, while the old stuff is still there on the other half, and your going between to two. Nothing scary, just like any other tire.Pressure was at 34. Wife rode on back for a few miles (she has her own bike) and commented on the smooth ride.Now after running a NRF, which I thought was da bomb, running a RF is even better.now its a longevity thing, but it'll be awhile bore that is determined. Anything I may have missed, please ask.
I know I 'm responding to a two-year old thread but I figure at some point someone will look for opinions of the Pirelli P1 runflat and having multiple opinions in one thread might help make their decision easier.
The Pirelli P1 runflat in 195/55R16 is a great dark side tire for the Touring line. I've actually run it on two different bikes and the results have been the same each time.
I used one on my Goldwing and performed multiple Ironbutt rides, a two-way cross-country trip, and the 2018 Butt Lite Rally on the same tire and it rode perfectly. It had a little over 20,000 miles on it when I removed it and it had 4/32" tread remaining. I've since put one on my 2018 FLHP and it works just as well as with the Honda.
The Pirelli is lighter than most runflats and that translates into better handling due to less unsprung weight. It transitions into turns very easily and has very little of the stiffness that some darkside tires have when going from upright to a lean. It is very stable at higher speeds and exhibits no wobble during high speed turns (think freeway transition ramps).
I've had poor luck with non-runflat darkside tires. I don't feel the sidewall is strong enough to support and stabilize a motorcycle unless the air pressure is really high, and that usually results in quick treadwear and poor handling.
The only tire better than the Pirelli was the Goodyear Excellence Runflat. It is long discontinued, though, and if you can find one new it likely has an old DOT date.
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Pirelli P1 RunFlat
