Dark Side Advice Needed

[rbentnail]

I'm on my 3rd car tire. The Riken Raptor I have now rides and handles nearly exactly like the Exalto. IMHO anyone would be hard pressed to tell the difference between the two. I've got about 14 K miles on it and it's less than 1/2 worn. Definitely going to buy again.

[BkerChuck]

He saw that booger placement.....

[bill lumberg]

Sitting here in my garagoffice in front of two laptops and a giant iPad, but watching F9 on an iPhone. Brilliant.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=hEZeR9E3JyY

Canadian FJR

Outstanding video, as usual. Loved the sidestand bead breaker and the tire changing sequence with no dialogue.

OFF-TOPIC ALERT: This is the video that locked my radar onto FortNine and Ryan. (apologies for the F*&%#! ads.)

[Canadian FJR]

Out for a ride with the local yocals yesterday and at times we were running pretty hard. I was finding the if I hit some bumps mid turn the tire started flexing And one had to pay attention.

I cranked the damping up to hard without adjusting the preload and it really settled down. At the end of the day I was very impressed with how well the ct handled in the twisties.

Canadian FJR

[Canadian FJR]

A repost from the other forum.

I have a bunch of Kms running a CT on the FJR. During my winter maintenance I just noticed that it is rubbing on the inner fender.

I suspect that it’s a combination of riding too aggressive on our $h!tty Nova Scotia roads with too soft a setting.

Not a huge concern but a heads up to others.

Canadian FJR

[wetwolf]

Well, I've got a spare rim and brake arm coming to me next week. Rode with a buddy that went darkside on his wing about 2 months ago and he said the usual, a litle harder to lean in, but stands right up coming out. I folowed him for quite some time thru 90 mph sweepers on the freeway and he seemed to do just fine.
Considering 80% of my riding is slab, 2 up, and sometimes hauling a trailer at triple digits, I figure I cant really go wrong, and since it is on a spare rim, I can swap out ct to mt in under 15 minutes.

Not that I'm a cheap bastard, but 2 rear tires a season gets old, and what really sucks is I don't figure out I need the second until right before a long ride, or during said long ride.

[FJRoss]

Cheap is good!
I tried Darkside twice. First time was OK but I swapped back before the tire was finished. The MC tire was past finished when I went to the CT so it didn't seem awful. Was nice to get back to the MC tire.
The second time was for a long cross-continent trip. I have to say that it was really nice to have during the inevitable long slab runs but it sucked a lot of the joy out of the backroads. I won't say "never again" but I doubt I will try another one.

[raYzerman]

Many of the Goldwing crowd used run-flats, which are really stiff sidewall things.... partially offset by the narrower choices available for their 16" wheels and the bike being heavier.
You don't want sidewalls too stiff on a CT for the FJR and you run ~30 psi. In the old days the Michelin Exalto was the tire of choice, but you'd have to read up on CT threads to see what's a good choice these days. OTOH, Hankook sidewalls were too soft and required higher PSI, and wore out too fast.

[raYzerman]

A repost from the other forum.

I have a bunch of Kms running a CT on the FJR. During my winter maintenance I just noticed that it is rubbing on the inner fender.

I suspect that it’s a combination of riding too aggressive on our $h!tty Nova Scotia roads with too soft a setting.

Not a huge concern but a heads up to others.

Canadian FJR

Damping can help, but the OEM shocks are undersprung..... Add more preload on that ES....

[NTXFJR]

I've had my ct on for nearly a year now, prolly somewhere around 8k or 9k miles on it with no signs of wearing out anytime soon. For me, there's a split second of reaction time every time I get on the bike after not having ridden it for a while that when I hit that first turn and the bike's handling seems like it's off a bit like a low tire or something. Then I remember oh that's right, there's a ct back there.

My experience has been overall positive for the ct, like mentioned by others, imo the mileage and relative handling on the slab makes the benefits of running the ct shine. My experience last year when pushing handlebars in the Rockies, Sierras, and at Red Lodge, even when pulling a Bushtec, was that once the lean is initiated, the tire has a split second of ever so slight wallow and then it settles in and grabs. It inspired my confidence in it after completing that 6k mile trip. Pushing the handlebars to initiate a lean definitely takes a bit more effort, and for me there's the split second of the tire finding its path in the lean. I had no issues in confidence with grip in the mountain twisties, I'd have to see real numbers but it wouldn't surprise me if tests showed that a ct could offer superior grip to a mt in cornering, especially with a higher touring load and trailer in tow.

[wheatonFJR]

Have you ever had the CT “push” the front tire in a corner?

Have you ever had a bit of skittishness on wet mountain roads because of the car tire pushing the front tire around as the CT finds itself after the initiation of lean?

[NTXFJR]

Not yet, but it does seem to push the front tire a bit when going over a feral hog.

[bigjohnsd]

Have you ever had the CT “push” the front tire in a corner?

Have you ever had a bit of skittishness on wet mountain roads because of the car tire pushing the front tire around as the CT finds itself after the initiation of lean?

I ran Darkside on my FJR for about 15K miles. Not a lot of wet weather, what wet I experienced was primarily in PA on the slab.
I don't recall feeling like the Rear Tire ever "pushed" the front in a corner.

[raYzerman]

I never had any push feeling either..... but I do have a buddy who shreds front tires in curves, and he doesn't have a CT, it's a matter of technique, I think going in too hot...... and my Exalto stuck like glue.

[HotRodZilla]

I never had any push feeling either..... but I do have a buddy who shreds front tires in curves, and he doesn't have a CT, it's a matter of technique, I think going in too hot...... and my Exalto stuck like glue.

If Wheatie's front tires look like his rear tires, any "push" he is feeling is prolly the front tire trying to push itself into a trash bin. Haha!

I would think the bike would push with a trailer on, but not so much with a CT. No weight change and what should be a similar traction profile across the board. I have about a whole 2 miles of CT experience though, so it is entirely possible I am full of crap! I did follow Fairlaner through twisties and he never seemed to have any issues.

[rbentnail]

I've ridden on 3 different car tires and none of them slowed me down at all. Wet grip is superior- that's important in the tropical storms and 2 hurricanes I rode in. If exploring, check out the Rikken Raptor. For me it is the best of the 3 I've tried.

[wheatonFJR]

I just remember reading somewhere in the past, that the fronts wore more and differently when using the CT. Didn't say nothing about faster or slower. I was just curious if the front got pushed and there was less traction as the rear sidewall transitioned for the lean. Front tire traction is something im a little more senthative to these days.

Sounds like that question has been answered.

[rbentnail]

The definitive answer is no, there is no difference in front tire wear with a car tire or without

[Canadian FJR]

I respectfully disagree.
My front definitely wears faster when running a car tire on the back.

Might not be an issue for constant Interstate running but for back road riding it pushes the front more.


Canadian FJR

[rbentnail]

What front tire are you using? I use Michelin Pilot POWER 2CT. I get about 10K miles from it with car or bike tire and either way I tend to wear out the sides before the center. Very rare I ever wear down to the cords. Maybe a longer mileage tire slips & slides too much? Of course there's so many variables- road surface type, suspension settings, riding style, etc. We tend to have very smooth roads around me, as in like desktop smooth. Down east at the coast they tend to be rougher but there's no twisties within 80 miles of there.