New Tire...

[thebighop]

I finally came to a point where a tire change was necessary...

I had a BF Goodrich T/A Radial on my Venture for the past 28,000 or so miles, but a belt broke , so I decided to change it.

It wasn't a problem as long as I kept it below about 75 mph by my speedo, which because of the difference in size of the BFG from a stock tire the speedo is off by about 7mph , so I estimate that it was about 68-70mph, and the tire started to bounce. As long as I kept the speed down it was fine, but I had planned to ride to florida for Biketoberfest so I decided to go ahead and change it now.

I didn't make the trip to Fla. however....

I installed a Kumho Power Star 758, 165/80 R15. I bought it on tires-easy.com for $32 and $15 shipping, another $10 got it mounted.

It took 110psi to bead it, and I am running it at 38psi for the first 500 miles as a run in before taking it to hopefully my sweet spot, which should be 31 or 32psi.

So far the tire performs really nice....smoother actually than the BFG was. I think that's due to it being a bit wider and taller.

Barring a belt breaking, I fully expect to get 35k-40k miles out of my $57 investment.

Not bad compared to the $140 Elite III that only lasted about 7500 miles.

I have pulled my little cargo trailer loaded with about 250lbs of camping gear and stuff over thousands of miles using the BFG and it worked great. I am anticipating much the same out of the Kumho....

[flb_78]

Was a belt actually broken or did the tire just get out of round?

 

My BFG was bald on 1 side and about 2/32nds of tread left 180 degrees on the other side.

[tsigwing]

Was a belt actually broken or did the tire just get out of round?

 

My BFG was bald on 1 side and about 2/32nds of tread left 180 degrees on the other side.

 

 

wonder if dynabeads would help with an out of round condition?

[dragerman]

wonder if dynabeads would help with an out of round condition?

I've seen three M/C tires (all Dunlop 404’s) wear off center like that, two were my own and all three were rear tires. I’m running a Kumho now with dynabeads but it will be a while before I can report on the wear.

[thebighop]

Sorry it has taken so long to get back to this...

I use dyna beads so I don't think it was an out of round problem....I believe the dyna beads work, and do a great job.

I inspected the BFG while still on the rim and didn't see any of the tell tale dimples in the side wall that are generally present when a belt has broken, and did a thorough inside and out looky see when it came off the rim...still no positive indication that a belt had broken.

I am thinking that possibly the side wall had given up.

Here's what was going on.

I had been riding for over 200 miles on a sunny day in the high 70's low 80's. I got on I-23 in southern Michigan headed north and back home, when at about 75mph by my clock...(which was about 7mph off due to the BFG so I was probably really doing 68-70) the tire strated to bounce. At first I thought it was the road bed, since it does have tendency to be wavey in that area, enough so that I really notice it in my truck. I slowed down about 5mph and it stopped...accelerated back up and it started again.

About the third time I did it a guy in a pick up pulled along side and started pointing at my back tire...I glanced in my mirrors to check traffic so I could pull over and stop, when I noticed the semi behind me flashing his head lights at me...he pulled over behind me. The driver said it looked like the tire was trying to throw the tread right off the tire.

We rolled it ahead and couldn't see any damage....He said it looked like the tire was flopping to the side or like the tread had a zig zag in one spot. I rode it the rest of the way home on back roads at 45-55mph and didn't experience it again.

I drove it for a couple more weeks on back roads around home, and hit 80mph a few times, but it didn't do it again.

I am thinking maybe the sidewall gave out, or i could have been the warmer weather and road bed conditions and how hot the tire had been from running some 200 miles...I dunno. I was planning on riding down to Florida for Biketoberfest, and decided to change it just to be safe....

I got a good 28,000 miles out of the BFG, and would highly recommend it to anyone seeking to go to the darkside...but since I changed to the 165/80 Kumho...and have had a chance to clock a little over 500 miles on it so far...I would have to highly recommend this tire too.

Our choices are marginal at best, and those are two tires that I personally know work great on a RSV.

[RandyR]

Good it be the dyna beads?

 

Any chance there was something like Slime in the tire besides the Dynabeads?

 

Or maybe the tire is too far out of balance for the beads to work?

[99silver]

Steve,

Hows that 99 holding up ? I built a trailer for mine and have logged about 2k on it this summer with hopes of doing a whole lot more next summer. Also met Straycat from Genesee a couple of weeks ago he has a red 2000. Hope to put something together this winter.

Good luck with the tire.

Gary

[MAINEAC]

I fully expect to get 35k-40k miles out of my $57 investment.

 

I think you expectations might be a little high... I got 19K out of my 1st Kumho but that was a lot of trailer towing and included CA grooved roads... Good luck with it...

 

[Bloodbought1]

I also had a belt break in my Kumho power star. I am using DynaBeads. I ran several run flat tires and regular car tires on my Goldwing and never had a problem. I ride close to the same now as on the wing. It was noticed after going on a 1150 mile ride to and in the Arkansas twisties. I put it on the car rack in my shop and raised it to look at it while in gear. The tire was shifting left to right in one spot. It did not do this when mounted 2000 miles before. I'm a tire dealer and the tire distributor did make the tire up with a new one. I have yet to mount this one. Just my experience with the Kumho so far. YMMV

[thebighop]

Good it be the dyna beads?

 

Any chance there was something like Slime in the tire besides the Dynabeads?

 

Or maybe the tire is too far out of balance for the beads to work?

 

I doubt if it was the beads...they were still flowing around in the tire like they were supposed to. There was no slime, nor any dampness inside.

The tire looked to be in real good condition...no uneven wear or anything to indicate a problem, and up until that moment, I hadn't experienced a bit of shake, bounce, or wobble.

It happened all of a sudden like.

I had been riding all day on two lane, 55mph roads and got on the expressway to head north and home, and hadn't gone more than a mile or so when all of a sudden it started bouncing....It was right around the 68-70 mph mark by my estimate. ( with the BFG on it the speedo was off by about 7mph...slower than it was actually reading )

Once I got it home, I tried to get it to do it again, but it never happened...

I might have had to duplicate the entire day to reenact it again. But since I was planning a Florida trip, I went ahead and changed it.....It only ran me $57, so it weren't no big deal, and I got over 28K miles out of the tire.

It's all good in my book.

[thebighop]

Steve,

Hows that 99 holding up ? I built a trailer for mine and have logged about 2k on it this summer with hopes of doing a whole lot more next summer. Also met Straycat from Genesee a couple of weeks ago he has a red 2000. Hope to put something together this winter.

Good luck with the tire.

Gary

 

Hey Gary...

Dang, I gotta get on here more often.

I am doing OK...I think I may have to park the 99 for a while....it's snowing and blowing....wind chill of 0 degrees.

The bike couldn't be better....90,000 miles and still no wrenching on the engine. Replaced the drive hub at 65,000 due to an problem with keeping a seal...it kept leaking the rear end fluid to the point that I had worn the gear to near nothing....and I added a Barnett clutch because the OEM was slipping a bit and I was doing Iron Butt Rides....

Otherwise I am running a CT and loving it and just recently converted to Harley Ultra Clasic mufflers...sounds pretty cool too.

I haven't noticed anyone running around here on a 2000 RSV. I live on the north boundary of the Mounds by Genesee, and know of a guy at Genesee and Fances that has a 2007 or 2008...but that's all I see around here.