Re: Car Tires - What people think are the negatives or want to debate
Gonna post up my experiences running a CT here.
I was planning a long trip, two up and loaded on my DL650 and I wanted a tire that would make it there and back so minimum 15K miles or so. There is not a single bike tire that would give that sorta mileage in a size that would work on my DL650's rim. The closest MT that would met that criteria and fit would probably be a ME880 and it's close and it sucks. I've tried one, you give up a lot of traction especially in the wet. Even so, I was considering it, even if it didn't last the trip.
Well, I had been noticing CTs of bikes for quite some time, mostly Goldwings and the like and initially, I thought to my self that it had to suck. It looked like it would suck, everything about the idea sounds like it would suck. I used to club race a bit in WERA and most of my experience is from a sportbike background so again, the idea sounded all wrong. Yet,,,, time and time again when I was talk with people that had tried it I was getting positive or at the very least, mediocre reports. Never, not once did I have a report of a CT causing a catastrophic issue yet I here it from the chicken littles every time the topic comes up. Do I suppose a person riding a CT has wrecked? Absolutely. But was the wreck directly related to the CT???? Dunno, but I doubt it as the internets would be popping like code on ham radio if something like that could be substantiated. But, all the bikes I had been seeing all these years has been Goldwings and the like and they don't have a lot of cornering clearance right? Well, yea, right but in the right hands a certain yellow Goldwing running a CT can haul the mail up and down the Tail of the Dragon. There is also a guy riding around my neck of the woods {N.Ga. /129 Blood Mountain area} on a slick black Wing that was heavily modded and gave many a squidlet a hard time up on Blood Mountain so I talked to him and again, he admitted he liked the MT tire best in the twisties and when he knew he would be coming up just to play he would pop a MT out back but he stated that it really didn't hurt much at all just playing in the hills. At the time I thought what the hell, those damned Wings can't lean anyway so while a CT might well work on them, no way it'll work on a bike that really leans over. I "thought" those things, I had the manners and compassion not to piss in other's people's corn flakes. The whole time I sorta thought those Darksiders were a weird bunch and it wasn't until I rode with the dude on the black Wind did I start to come around.
So,,,, that's all Wings, touring bikes and cruisers,,,,,, what about my damned DL???? Well, I started reading everything I could about a CT on a DL650 and once I saw a CT that sorta became the "go to" tire for darksiders, I desided to experiment but my luck,,,, no General Exclaims available and the trip was looming so I decided to just roll the dice and buy a CT and just try it. I bought a Falken Futura of something like that in a 205/55/17 size and the next couple of days as spent trying to mount the damned thing. I learned a little trick that made mounting possible, even easy so the next thing was riding. I was scared shitless that the beads would fly off from all the internet experts pontificating on and on about shit they knew nothing about so I popped the max amount of pressure that the tire was rated for and then some,,,, I had 50psi in it and no, the beads didn't fly off. I marked the tire and wheel assy. so I could tell immediately if the tire slid on the rim and I rode down my 1/4 mile long dirt road. It was absolutely terrible! I thought to myself that if this was as good as it gets, I just wasted 100$. At the end of the dirt drive I let 10psi out then took off for my local rider's hang out {Rider's Hill} that about 15-20 minutes away.
I rode very tentatively the whole time, gradually getting used to it. The 40psi was better, still sucked though. I stopped at Rider's Hill and commenced to be ridiculed. No problem,,,, thick skin and all and so what, I was just experimenting, wasn't so sure it would work anyway right? Well, Rider's Hill is at the start of the fun stuff on Hwy 60 just north of Dahlonega Ga. and I was getting ready to see how that CT worked in the twisties. I let another 10psi out and took off with 30psi in it. Better still, actually started getting somewhat comfy on it but still didn't really trust it. I stopped at the hippi hiker shack up on Blood Mountain {Hwy 129 at the Appalachian Trail crossing} and let 10psi more out. I turned around, went back down to Desoto Falls turn in and by god,,, not bad. I did think that maybe 20psi was too low and popped it back up to 25psi for the trip back to the hippi hiker shack. Bingo,,,, perfect!
I also ride my DL650 a lot off tarmac Matter of fact, I modded it quite a bit, had nearly 2 inches more travel in the front {DR/DL hybrid fork assy.}, bout an inch more in the rear and the whole bike was raised 1.5-2 inches giving more ground clearance than a stock DL650. Considering the aftermarket springs and better damping over stock,,,, there was no wallowing or packing down like stock so it really has a lot better cornering clearance than stock. I run Shinko 705s normally and that's what was on the front at the time, not the best tire choice for hauling ass in the twisties. While I have never had the front 705 slide, it does get very vague at the limits which coincidentally is right where my pegs start to tick down,,,,, remember that part about having more cornering clearance than a stock DL though. Well, after a day of playing up there, experimenting with tire pressures, that CT had more left when that 705 had be worrying. The front 705 was the limiting factor, not the rear. I did succeed on spinning the rim inside the tire,,,,, when I let all the air out seeing if it could be used as a run flat. Nope! But with pressures as low as 10psi, the tire didn't slip even a bit. At 5psi it barely slipped a bit and I was slamming on the rear brake and clutching up wheelies trying to get it to slip.
As it was, I didn't get to go on that dream trip so it was used as a "worst case scenario" test and I beat on it hard. That tire lasted me 13K miles but to put that 13K and I was hard as hell on it, often running fairly low pressures trying to make it work better off tarmac. I sorta settled on 22-23psi as a compromise and left it there unless I was riding two up where I settled on 30psi. To put that 13K in perspective, I normally get 20K or so out of a D.I.D. chain,,,, I wasted that one in roughly 10K miles, so yea,,,,,very hard on it during that time. I'm betting a rear 705 wouldn't have went 2.5-3K miles used the way that CT was.
So, what did I learn experimenting with a CT on my DL650 for 13K miles?
I learned that some CTs can be a PITA to install!
I learned that you absolutely have to experiment with tire pressure.
It works and works amazingly well in certain conditions. It doesn't look like it'll work but it does.
It actually has more traction in most conditions {straight up, cornering, dry and wet} than the MTs I would use on my DL. Does it have more than a Pilot Power? Prolly not, but I don't run Pilot Powers on my DL650. If you do, maybe the DL ain't the best bike of choice for you though.
Draw backs? Yep, there are a few.
It's heavy as hell. Just the tire weighed roughly what my DL's rim and Kenda Big Block assy. weighed. Heavier tires have draw backs. It feels like I lost 5-10hp when I first put it on, got used to it quickly though and wasn't noticeable after awhile. Secondly, it's unsprung weight which does hurt handling. There is a difference between "handling" and "traction" for those that don't know. At the ragged edges of play, the CT just doesn't feel as good as the MT. In rough stuff, the weight will overwhelm my aftermarket shock. I suppose the limits would come sooner with the crappy OEM shock I took off. But please remember,,,,, I'm really hauling the mail at this point, I ride a lot, have raced and I did quite a bit of open track play. No, I'm no Valentino Rossi but I am fairly quick on most any bike, fast than many, slightly slower than a few. When the CT becomes an issue when playing in the twisties, I assure you, I'm moving along quite well. Most folks don't ride their DLs as quickly. If anyone here knows Bluelighting on Adv Rider,,,, he has also tried a CT and he is also fast as hell on his DL650, he stated the CT wasn't a significant factor in cornering/handling either.
Another thing the CT is not good at,,,, off tarmac stuff. The huge width of the CT means it hits every rock, rut and root when off tarmac. This moved the bike around and will at times, move you off your preferred line. Also, on dirt roads with a lot of washboard, the CT is at a disadvantage compared to the MT. On S. Ga./Fla. sugar sand it did better than a 705 would. On mud, everything this side of a full on knobby sucks and the CT is no exception. I ride a lot of this stuff and the CT sucked in this environment so when it wore out, I didn't go back with a CT.
That's it. The whole of it. In my experience, the CT is not the "End All" option. It doesn't do everything well. It does work better than expected in some applications, great in some and not so good in others.
Would I pop a CT on the back of a Gixxer 1K and head to the mountains? Hell no. No more than I would put a TKC on there. Putting a ME880 on the back of a Gixxer 1K would suck too right? There you have it then, the CT is a compromise tire just like all the other MTs out there. Have some common sense, use a CT in the right application and it works well. Mounted up and used in the wrong application and it would suck. No rocket science,,,, no magic,,,,,,,, juss common sense folks.
