GL1500 Car Tire Impressions

7255 Views 31 Replies 21 Participants Last post by vtxcandyred, Nov 14, 2012

StereoSteveo

Discussion Starter · Oct 20, 2012

Just put 600 miles on my first Car Tire:

GOODYEAR TIRES ASSURANCE FUEL MAX 175/60R16
http://tinyurl.com/9ouou7p

Overall: 9/10

The Good:
Cheaper
Longer Lasting (Fewer tire changes)
Quieter (Not that bike tire was really loud, but this tire is basically silent)
Smoother, very Smooth. (This is a very soft tire)
Higher load capacity (Nice for 2-up and my trailer)
Bike Sits Slightly Lower (Nice for a 1990, I'm 6'1" and now flat footed) Still easy to get on center stand.
Traction: Haven't tried wet or icy, but reported better traction by many.

The Bad:
In summary it feels like a Car Tire! Not sure of a better way to describe it.
Or a "half flat" motorcycle tire to me...
Higher RPM's... I think I'm burning a lot more fuel, but haven't gauged it yet.

Here's the really bad part.
Rear end drifts into any turn, but then plants nicely once on-line..
It really feels like the sidewalls are stretching initially in any lean, a lot!
Again, like a flat tire effect....
Above 75 mph I start getting what feels like a high speed wobble...
Aint had it above 80 yet...for that reason. Bike gets so squirrely...
Rides great, on smooth highway with no wind, up to 70 mph.
Seems both rough road, and/or and windy conditions really increase the "floating" effect..
If there's a groove in the road this tire will find it and ride in it.
Sometimes it feels like the ass-end is gonna swing around to the front on a deep grove..

At any rate I'm not sure what to think of this thing.
I didn't have the tire balanced when I finally got it mounted after 2 tries at the car tire shop.
(The guy aired it up to 95 psi about 10 times before it finally seated)
Maybe that's part of the problem. But I would think being out of balance would cause hopping. Not so much DRIFTING....

Also I've ran this tire at 50 psi, cold, on the center stand. Then 50 psi hot, on the side-stand. (Original 50 cold was reading 65 psi hot on side stand with bike weight.
Let some air out down to 50 psi.) Doesn't seem to matter much. This tire just likes to drift all over the road, and that's about the only thing I don't like about it so far really.
But I'll hang with it if I can get 30k miles or so out of it.

Maybe I need to try some of those balancing beads? Dyna beads? Do they really clog up the air valve stem?

What size do I need?
And how many?

Thx.
-Stv..

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mikeyrx

· #21 · Oct 21, 2012

Been running a Federal Formoza on my 98 GL 1500 SE for 3 years now. About 18K miles I think. I dont ride too fast so cant comment on 80+ mph, but I have found basically the same things. The "transition", as I call it, in turns is a little unnerving at first, but when you discover that the bike is still solidly planted, you wont notice it any more. I really like the performance in the rain. It feels more secure, and the braking is definitely better. I think I have 3 oz o Dynabeads in mine, and I run at 36 lbs of air: like I said I dont ride fast. I'd do it again, and if I ever move up to an 1800, I'd go with a larger size, run flat tire.
Mikeyrx

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newday777

· #22 · Oct 21, 2012

papasmurf said:
As sidecar nut: BEST rear tire I've run on our GL1500 rig in 11 years! Tried Dunlop E3, Metzeler 880, Avon Venom. All gave lousy rear tire mileage. Run 42 psi cold. Ride is much better. Rig handles very well [run Avon Venom on front].
Wife always rides 2-up with me[has arthritic knees, which bother her when riding in hack with legs straight out]. My 2 cents.....papasmurf

Tom
You put on the Austone didn't you?

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ding dong

· #23 · Oct 21, 2012

Side note: When I pulled the Austone I sent it back to Universal tire for inspection. They said that the tests showed no defects. So it wasn't a defective tire.They did refund my purchase price.

I'm glad to see that there are many who are admitting now that this problem exists and it isn't limited to just a few. All the facts need to be out there so others can make an informed decision. I could have lived with the tracking and slight wandering but when I took it up to 80 and 85 mph and the bike acted like it wanted to "lift off" and the excessive buffeting in the wind that wasn't acceptable to me. Also my only problem was with straight line riding. It had nothing to do with cornering or maneuvering. I saw no difference in riding the curves or cornering.

Thanks Stereosteve0 for bringing this up again. I hope you resolve your issues.

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wilf

· #24 · Oct 21, 2012

My feelings are that the high speed wobble may be caused by the flatness of the tread. If I decide to run a CT on my 1500 I think I will shave a radius onto the sides of the tire. Being a CT i'm sure the fellow who angle shaves my tires could do it if I first mount it on a auto rim for shaving
Wilf

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rgbeard

· #25 · Oct 21, 2012

nico said:
I don't get this. If you are braking that hard, given that it's a linked braking system aren't you at risk of also losing traction on the front?

That would be reasonably difficult.

During heavy braking, as weight is transferred to the front, the rear tire begins to lose weight. The contact patch on the front is growing in size, while the rear is shrinking. Thus, it's really easy to lock a rear tire in heavy braking, and not so easy to lock a front wheel.

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nico

· #26 · Oct 22, 2012

rgbeard said:
That would be reasonably difficult.

During heavy braking, as weight is transferred to the front, the rear tire begins to lose weight. The contact patch on the front is growing in size, while the rear is shrinking. Thus, it's really easy to lock a rear tire in heavy braking, and not so easy to lock a front wheel.

Ok, thanks, I guess that makes sense.

It's true that I've never seen a motogp rider lose the front at the moment their rear tire is lifting off the ground during hard braking.

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StereoSteveo

Discussion Starter · #27 · Nov 11, 2012

Update

As per pwhoever's recommendation I added 5oz of Dynabeads. Smooth as silk!

I'm liking this tire a lot now and have gotten very comfortable with it. All things considered I say DarkSide is the way I'll be going from now on!! The tire is so quiet and smooth riding and should last for a long long time. Plus it has TONS of grip!

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jobe05

· #28 · Nov 12, 2012

I put an Austone on a month ago and am still making minor adjustments to the bikes tire pressures and fork pressures to know what I need to do in order to achieve a nice handling ride under different conditions. I was getting a small wobble for lack of a better term at high speeds, coming from the front tire at high speeds. I took the wheel weights off, added 2 oz of dyna beads, put the tire at 41 PSI and the forks at 4 psi and she rides great 1 or 2 up, with the exception of 2 up in the curves. I get that "Buckling Sidewall" feeling from the Austone even though Im running 48 PSI. Might try 50 PSI next time I go 2 up.

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StereoSteveo

Discussion Starter · #29 · Nov 12, 2012

Yeah Jobe, just fyi, as per forum member 96aspencade's setting, I went back to 51 psi on my tire. He says he runs all his tires max psi. Seems to be working fine for me as well.

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jfairman

· #30 · Nov 14, 2012

rotational direction

is everyone mounting their CT with mfr recommended rotational direction?

i thought I'd read something once suggesting otherwise.

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96aspencade

· #31 · Nov 14, 2012

Possibly you are thinking about the Double Dark Side - front tire (Rear M/C tire)being mounted reverse to directional arrow due to the tire construction ????
I did this with my 1st front tire and now the 2nd mounted forward direction, to see if there is a difference, so far nothing noted. :waving:

jfairman said:
is everyone mounting their CT with mfr recommended rotational direction?

i thought I'd read something once suggesting otherwise.

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vtxcandyred

· #32 · Nov 14, 2012

96aspencade said:
Possibly you are thinking about the Double Dark Side - front tire (Rear M/C tire)being mounted reverse to directional arrow due to the tire construction ????
I did this with my 1st front tire and now the 2nd mounted forward direction, to see if there is a difference, so far nothing noted. :waving:

I too have a rear bike tire mounted on the front in the correct direction. Have felt no bad feelings with this. I have been darkside for years on my VTX. If I still rode it it still would be. I gave it to my son and he switched it back. He's not looking at putting as many miles on it as I did and do my wing. I have the Battleaxe on the front and the Dunlop run flat on the back.

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