Road Trip...

[thebighop]

Yesterday I hit the back roads heading north in Michigan, 2 up and traveled every type of road you'd expect to find here...including wash board dirt/gravel/sand roads...just under 600 miles in about 15 hours.

I am happy to report that by using a CT, specifically, a BF Goodrich T/A Radial...I had a great day of riding...

We hit some rain, and I am talking intense rain, where I could only see the white line a few feet ahead of me, and the tire performed flawlessly...

The sun was beating down on the road bed, at about 91-95 degrees, except for the periods of rain and when riding along the shore line of Lake Huron, and Lake Michigan, where the temps dropped nearly 20 degrees. The tire didn't seem to mind the continuously changing environments in the least....

I am more convinced than ever, considering my ride style, and penchant for long distance riding...that I'll never go back to a MT and it's limited cornering abilities and low mileage lifetime....

I had been concerned about how the tire would handle at speeds above 70-80mph, which is where I usually cruise.

I came up on a group of three vehicles, that were doing maybe 45mph, and as soon as I had a shot, I passed them, I hit a smidgen over 100 as I cleared the group and eased back into my lane...

I was totally freakin out, but to my utter relief and great satisfaction, the tire did it's job and never even blinked....

The center line on most of the secondary roads in northern Michigan have warning slots cut across it , to alert drivers that they are wandering into oncoming traffic, I was a little worried at first the tire would react violently when it crossed them at 100 mph, but it didn't complain...not once.

I had similar results on the rain grooves too...the tire tracked as well if not much better than any MT I have used....

I would have to do some cipherin' to be sure, but I am guessing I have around 3000 miles on it now...maybe a little over, the tire shows no wear and is still pegged at 34.5psi.

I feel compelled to include this disclaimer:

"Warning : The use of a CT on your motorcycle may cause you to buy more chrome for your motorcycle, with the money saved on tires.":cool10:

Edited July 18, 2008 by thebighop

[Freebird]

I'm sorry if it seems that I am singling you out, I'm not, it's just that this is the latest in a number of such posts.

 

I created this area for folks at the request of some of our members so that they can discuss their experiences with the car tires. I am not personally a fan of the idea but respect any adults right to make their own decisions. The fact is though, this seems to be a hot topic with a few people and there have been some posts that became very personal and insulting.

 

Your particular post is not really personal or insulting but I don't see a need for the borderline sarcastic statements about "fiery crashes" and etc. Yes, some folks think that running a car tire can be dangerous. That is their opinion which they have as much right to as those of you who think it's just great.

 

Like I said, I am not trying to single out this one post because there have been many others but just felt that it was time to ask that the sarcasm come to a halt. The anti-car tire folks have pretty much left this thread alone and I see no reason to antagonize anybody by the constant comments such as "fiery crash", "waiting for that fire ball to erupt from the rear tire", etc.

 

Those who choose to run a car tire and those who have an interest or questions about it now have a place to talk about it. Please use it for the intended purpose and NOT to take jabs at those who think it is a bad idea.

[thebighop]

Not a problem Don...

I will refrain from any sarcasms, and even edit my post to bring it in line with your wishes...

Steve

[OB-1]

Do you, or have you, experienced the woble or weave that I experienced during my car tire trial?

[thebighop]

I did, and it was scary at times...

When I first installed the CT I ran 36 lbs and it was like riding on jello...I went to 45 lbs and it made it feel firmer, but still wobbled at 80mph pretty bad...

A friend rode behind me on the expressway one day and said the tire kept doing a wave motion..The bike appeared pretty stable but the tire was constantly trying to correct itself on the rain grooves and ridges...

I ran maybe 1400 miles before I had a good opportunity to start trying some lower pressures, and when I finally tried it, I hit on 34.5 lbs and it feels great.

What's that saying? Well, I guess you really need a long break-in period, for starters...

I always babied my MT's for the first 300 miles, before I really rode hard on them, and that's what I thought a CT should be like, except maybe a little longer because of the extra tire surface being used with the CT....

I suggest a good 500-800 miles of break-in...My Opinion...but if you are experiencing wobble, try going up another 5lbs and run it for a while then drop back to 36 and start feeling around for the sweet spot....