[Corventure Dave]

There are also negative you-tube videos showing the "wrong" car tire demonstrated. Those videos are misleading because a flat tread tire is installed and has no reason to be on a motorcycle. The proper tire that has a rounded tread surface that performs. A Run-Flat tire has no deflection. These are the safest and can be ridden in an emergency at slower safe speeds for miles with no air, in the case of a severe puncture.
There are as mentioned videos and reviews. May I suggest checking Chris Calliente you-tube review of Dark Side.
He is an excellent example of never going Dark Side....... to real time tests, long riding and is now a Dark Sider on both his 2016 and 2021.
As I posted earlier. It's not $$ or miles for me. It's performance and Run Flat safety.
The choice is up to the rider. MC tires or CT. No criticism either way from me.

Corventure Dave

 

[Goldwing love]

I guess for me coming from the sport bike world my reaction is "What???".
I appreciate the explanations and I'll check out that Chris Caliente vid.

 

[Auburn]

Let me preface this with I was firmly anti car tire until we started to do LD Rallying. Then I quickly discovered our setup was at or over the tire limits for MC tires and they would not complete a full rally without doing a tire change somewhere. I changed mind stance and mind after I began to investigate how to deal with those issues.

I ride 2 up 99% of the time. My bikes are set up to ride LD rallies. (Aux fuel cell, top cases and bags loaded to capacity). When you compare the load rating of the tires for a gold wing to weights, we were actually subjecting the bike to, we were slightly over the capacity the rear tire is designed for. With a car tire on the rear, we have about a 250-300# margin of safety.

As to traction, the rear car tire has way more traction than the MC rear (wet of dry). The thing that takes time to figure out is what is the pressure that works best for your riding and bike set up. My bikes all have had Traxxion suspension systems installed with proper springs installed to carry the weight we have on the bike. I can push the wing through the twisties just as hard as I used to push my FJR. Turn in takes slightly more effort and a little more effort to keep the bike leaned over when you first ride on a car tire. I don't even notice it anymore. We have a smooth well planted ride and tire milage is far better than expected. I have tried both run flat and regular tires. I prefer the run flats as they offer another level of safety in the case of a flat. Especially since we are in very rural areas a lot of the time. One unexpected thing is the CT is way better on gravel roads. We end up doing several hundred miles of gravel roads each year.

If you choose to run a car tire, I highly recommend doing an aftermarket tire pressure monitoring system such as FOBO2 (which I use) so you can monitor actual pressures and temperatures in the tires. FOBO also will give you a graph over time of pressure. Only you can decide what is best for you and your situation.

 

[Goldwing love]

Thanks Auburn, this is a great write-up. I can see that long distance riding with a lot of weight would stress the rear tire. The proof was when you couldn't complete a rally without a tire change.
But I would think Honda would consider this when they decide what tires go on a heavy bike built primarily for this type of riding.
Well, I've learned something here. Now I have another rabbit hole to explore.

Out of curiosity, what tire are you running on the back?
Any problems getting it mounted? Balanced?
Is the ride different? Stiffer or about the same?

 

[dsurley]

Thanks Auburn, this is a great write-up. I can see that long distance riding with a lot of weight would stress the rear tire. The proof was when you couldn't complete a rally without a tire change.
But I would think Honda would consider this when they decide what tires go on a heavy bike built primarily for this type of riding.
Well, I've learned something here. Now I have another rabbit hole to explore.

Out of curiosity, what tire are you running on the back?
Any problems getting it mounted? Balanced?
Is the ride different? Stiffer or about the same?

 

[dsurley]

 

[dsurley]

if you watched the videos above, he mentions the BT45...... that tire has been discontinued and replaced by the BT46
I run that on the front of mine

 

[Goldwing love]

if you watched the videos above, he mentions the BT45...... that tire has been discontinued and replaced by the BT46
I run that on the front of mine

This video is great. I need to change my thinking.

 

[dsurley]

This video is great. I need to change my thinking.

If it is consolation
it took me a couple of years before I said....."I'm going to just do it"

to me, the biggest considerations are:
1. tire profile (more of a rounded shoulder design, that is why I like the new TOYO)
2. symmetric tread design (might be wrong, but to me that says it will handle the same turning right and left)

I did lots of reading and reading and reading about everyone's personal experiences
read lots on Tire Rack about traction ratings, load ratings, all that stuff
now I am like the guy in the video,,,,,, yeah..... ain't going back

when you watch the videos and see the contact patch at all times,,,,,,,then think of the MC tire contact patch at any time...
then think about .... most acceleration and braking occurs in a straight line...... the CT wins hands down
and so much more rain groves to get the rubber on the road.... I more than once broke a MC tire loose at highway speeds in the rain under moderate acceleration..... has yet to happen with the CT, I have only broke the CT loose in the rain at stop signs and every car was doing the same thing at that stop sign
Bringing my wing to a smoking screaming stop because of 13 hogs in the road was much easier with the CT

It is your decision to make and yours only
I am just putting my experiences out there as do the rest of us on the 1800 darksiders thread

 

[Auburn]

Thanks Auburn, this is a great write-up. I can see that long distance riding with a lot of weight would stress the rear tire. The proof was when you couldn't complete a rally without a tire change.
But I would think Honda would consider this when they decide what tires go on a heavy bike built primarily for this type of riding.
Well, I've learned something here. Now I have another rabbit hole to explore.

Out of curiosity, what tire are you running on the back?
Any problems getting it mounted? Balanced?
Is the ride different? Stiffer or about the same?

1st tire - Pirelli Snow Control (no longer made) 195/55 R16 non-run flat - I got about 12,000 miles - I started with the pressure way too high and burned the center out.

2nd tire - Bridgestone Blizzak 195/55 R16 run flat - Got about 18,000 miles. I significantly reduced the tire pressures to 34 psi. Tire was great, you could feel the rolling resistance due to it being a winter tire. The pressure was still too high, and the center was worn out first.

3rd tire - Bridgestone Driveguard 195/55 R16 - This has been the best tire. Great rolling characteristics, run at 28 PSI cold, tire wears evenly over the whole tread. It starts at 8MM tread depth, and after a 7,000 mile 4 day run, it was at 7MM all the way across the tire. The ride had lots of twisties as well as interstate miles, it rides great, has the best traction of the three I have tried and there is much less rolling resistance which equated to about 2 mpg improvement. Not knowing how far this tire will go, I pulled it off and installed a new on for the LDX rally last summer. (Mounted up on my spare rim to be run out)

4th tire - Bridgestone Driveguard 195/55 R16 - We ran the rally, which ended in a DNF due to a final drive failure on the 06 wing (ring gear bearing failed). I had just over 8,000 miles on the tire at the time of the failure.

I have since sold the 06 and bought a new 2021 non-tour wing manual. I mounted the tire off the 06 onto the new bike. The rim on the 21 is 1/2 inch wider which actually mounts up really nicely for this tire. The wear after 8,000 miles over a 8 day window (2 days traveling to the rally, 1 day checking in, and 5 days riding the rally) showed an even wear across the tire at 7 mm depth. It is now on my new 2021 bike. Based on both Driveguard mileage I assume I will get at least 25,000 miles out of them. The traction is the best of all on the tires I have run while still not sacrificing mpg that the winter tires did. For me the sweet spot for pressure is 27-28 psi cold, which grows to 35-36 psi when hot and temperatures ranged from 90 to 130 degrees depending on the road we were riding. Teh twistier, the higher the temperature (according to the FOBO2 - which I check periodically while rolling down the road.) FOBO 2 allows you to set the range of temperature and pressure (high and low) for monitoring and alarms.

Bridgestone has discontinued the Driveguard and replaced it with the Driveguard Plus which I will buy when the 2 tires I have are worn out. I buy them through Tire Rack who will sell you one tire at a time. I have my own tire machine, so I don't worry about mounting them.

I will say the OEM Bridgestone tires that came on the 21 were really good, but they were shot after 8,000 miles of solo riding (my wife broke her ankle in July and has been unable to ride until recently) But, they have the same issue with loading and longevity that make them a poor choice for rally mode riding. My 21 has been heavily modified for LD riding, new Traxxion shocks - (properly suspended for the weight the bike will be carrying), 5.75 gallon aux fuel cell, modular top case, etc. It is a mile eating machine and the tires are no longer the weak link. The bike will do 1200 mile days day after day very comfortably. I got it in August and parked it mid September after finishing the Tour of Honor ride for Oregon & Washington, and the PNW Grand Tour (Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Northern Cali, and Western Montana) with 8,500 miles. All told we did almost 40,000 miles this year (32,000 miles 2 up).

I run a Dunlop Elite 4 130/70 R18 radial on the front and get close 25,000 miles out of those.

 

[Goldwing love]

What a fantastic write up again Auburn. Thank you.

I watched the Chris Caliente vid last night with his final review of darkside tires, he loves them now but it took him a couple hundred miles to get used to the handling.
He added in a snip of a Dunlop moto tire ad where they are bragging their tire can do 6 cross country trips.
His Bridgestones can do 20 cross country trips and cost $100 less!

He also mentioned that if you're a "weekend warrior" and not doing high mileage trips, then moto tires are probably going to be fine.
But for the long distance stuff that you and others do, you'd be spending big bucks replacing tires all the time.
I think that's the big advantage of darksiding.

 

[dsurley]

Still totally loving the Toyo EXTENSA HPII
after about 500 miles,
this is so much better of a tire than the Yokohama Avid
(both were/are non run flat)

 

[dsurley]

Still totally loving the Toyo EXTENSA HPII
after about 500 miles,
this is so much better of a tire than the Yokohama Avid
(both were/are non run flat)

correction, after doing the oil change today and looking in the owners manual to write down the mileage and date, it has already been 1000 miles on the new Toyo

absolutely loving the new Toyo, much better ride than the Yokohama Avid was, and I "had" thought the Avid was awesome

 

[Bikenut 24]

New to the forum, been researching going to the dark side. I have a 2008 Goldwing and while I don’t do a lot of trips, I like the idea mainly from a safety perspective. More tread on the asphalt just seems like a good thing. The shop I use if and when necessary has told me they won’t mount a CT on a motorcycle. I called there today just to confirm they would still work on a bike that has a CT on it. He said they would, but had to emphasize that bikes with CTs ride like sh*t.

Obviously, there are many people doing this, so it can’t be true. The shop is well respected in my area, so I’m guessing he’s just biased for some reason.

I did order the Toyo Extensa HPII today, and will work on getting it mounted and installed. It was suggested to me as well to get a new 90° metal valve stem while I’m at this project.

Has anyone used a product called “Ride On” for tire balancing? Pros? Cons?

Thanks in advance!

 

[dsurley]

New to the forum, been researching going to the dark side. I have a 2008 Goldwing and while I don’t do a lot of trips, I like the idea mainly from a safety perspective. More tread on the asphalt just seems like a good thing. The shop I use if and when necessary has told me they won’t mount a CT on a motorcycle. I called there today just to confirm they would still work on a bike that has a CT on it. He said they would, but had to emphasize that bikes with CTs ride like sh*t.

Obviously, there are many people doing this, so it can’t be true. The shop is well respected in my area, so I’m guessing he’s just biased for some reason.

I did order the Toyo Extensa HPII today, and will work on getting it mounted and installed. It was suggested to me as well to get a new 90° metal valve stem while I’m at this project.

Has anyone used a product called “Ride On” for tire balancing? Pros? Cons?

Thanks in advance!

lots of us use ceramic beads to balance the tires on the wings

if you were talking to a motorcycle shop to do the tire swap, might just try someplace else
I have had my last 2 tires changed at just a locally owned tire shop with no questions
if you have the wheel off the bike, it looks just like any other rim,
some tell them it is off a custom trailer

the local shop I use, said he does quite a few motorcycle tire swap outs, some using mc tires others using cts,
he just won't take the wheel off the bikes for he admits he doesn't know how

 

[Bikenut 24]

Thanks. I think there may be some of those ceramic beads on there now.

 

[Bikenut 24]

Thanks. I think there may be some of those ceramic beads on there now.

A buddy and I took the wheel off today. He knows a guy who will mount it. Hope to have it back on the bike later this week. Still too cold here to test it, but I’ll be ready!

 

[GLblinded]

A buddy and I took the wheel off today. He knows a guy who will mount it. Hope to have it back on the bike later this week. Still too cold here to test it, but I’ll be ready! View attachment 283439
View attachment 283438

Your shoes untied…made you look !!!!!😬

 

[Fireball1800]

Bridgestone Driveguard Plus, 205/55/16 RF is back in stock at tire rack. Going to give it a try on the 2021, DCT tour...

 

[Bikenut 24]

CT is mounted and back on the bike! Just need the salt off the road and a little more warmth for that first test ride. Can’t wait!