Well Idid ittoday

As some of you know I;v been planing to go DDS since last fall . Asked a lot of questions got a lot of advise. I;v put my trust in that advise and have installed a Austone 175R-16 rear and 130/70-18 Battlax front [reversed]. 3oz dyna beads rear,2oz front. 42lbs in both for a start Bike sits a holf inch higher. [1990 SE 1500 ] Have only gone about 10 miles when it started to rian . Not an auspicious sign for testing a new tyre. Will keep you posted once I get a few hundred miles on it.
Take care, Be safe.

Lou wrote:As some of you know I;v been planing to go DDS since last fall . Asked a lot of questions got a lot of advise. I;v put my trust in that advise and have installed a Austone 175R-16 rear and 130/70-18 Battlax front [reversed]. 3oz dyna beads rear,2oz front. 42lbs in both for a start Bike sits a holf inch higher. [1990 SE 1500 ] Have only gone about 10 miles when it started to rian . Not an auspicious sign for testing a new tyre. Will keep you posted once I get a few hundred miles on it.
Take care, Be safe.

Well welcome to the Darkside Lou! What kind of bike are you riding? Be careful till you get a couple of hundred miles on them.

My ride is a REd1990 SE Goldwing 1500 2nd owner bought it 15 years ago. Timing belts, tyres and oil change ,it just keeps running.

Congrats as a new Darksider myself all I can say is you will love it! I do!!! I will never go back to a MC tire! With the help of people here got the right air pressure for the right ride for me and it actually handles as good or actually better than with my Metzler ME 800 on the rear and I loved that tire!

Few months ago folks were saying ya couldn't darkside a 1500, they were wrong. Glad ya found a tire to fit Lou, welcome to the darkside. and the site.

See you out there
Smokey

Can't wait to see what you think.



...................bobby................<><

Congrats!!!
Got that few 100 miles yet????

Now have over a hundred klm on them. So far been doing low speed slalom run down the center of a back road. have increased speed to taking 60 corners at 80. It seems to me that the bike wants to tighten up the carve line more than I;ve planed. ( or is this just my imagination) Softer ride, a lot of grip from 2nd to 3rd when you drop the hammer. More noise from the Battlax up front than E3s at Hwy speed. Will give it another hundred K before I take it up on the mountin and the real twistees. So far Im liking it . Have droped the R ,psi to 36, from 40.

Hey Lou---How's the Austone working for you? Whats the sweet spot tire pressure? This is probably the tire I'm going to and you're the only one that I'm aware of that's using it.

Still running 36 psi rear 40 front not much time to ride as I have a lot of things to do here onthe Farm. This will change onJune 22. Will be leaving Vancouver Island going to Kenora Ont to do some fishing with my brother then back to Calgary to see my Great Grand children. Than on to Sturges North in Salmon Arm. Now for the long part of this trip Alcan hwy to Dawson City, then Chicken next stop Anchorage. Make my way home via the Cassiar Hwy. Will be Camping mst of the time. Trip will be apx 14,000 k and take as much time as I want(4-5) weeks. I will be able to give you an overview of the tyres after the trip. I anticapate zero problems

Take Care ,Be Safe
Lou

Lou wrote:Still running 36 psi rear 40 front not much time to ride as I have a lot of things to do here onthe Farm. This will change onJune 22. Will be leaving Vancouver Island going to Kenora Ont to do some fishing with my brother then back to Calgary to see my Great Grand children. Than on to Sturges North in Salmon Arm. Now for the long part of this trip Alcan hwy to Dawson City, then Chicken next stop Anchorage. Make my way home via the Cassiar Hwy. Will be Camping mst of the time. Trip will be apx 14,000 k and take as much time as I want(4-5) weeks. I will be able to give you an overview of the tyres after the trip. I anticapate zero problems

Take Care ,Be Safe
Lou

Wow!! Now that is a ride! Be safe Lou ... and take some pics!

Thanks for the update, have a good trip. Hope to hear from you upon your return.

Lou, this sounds great. Do not just take pics, we want the full write-up.
Have fun, be safe.
Robert.

[i]What is the deal with reverse did you mount the front tire with reverse direction? I heard of a guy doing it I dont get it

Ritz Red wrote:[i]What is the deal with reverse did you mount the front tire with reverse direction? I heard of a guy doing it I dont get it

This is the way it was explained to me long ago in school. The difference in construction in front and rear motorcycle tires is how they are designed to have force applied to them. A rear tire has torque applied to it to impart power to moving the bike forward. It is designed so the carcass spreads this force over the tire in one direction and it does not stress it so much that it causes the fibers to tear with large amounts of rotational force. The internal construction where the end pieces lap over one another are also unidirectional so they do not rip apart from acceleration.
The front tire is pretty much the opposite. It is designed to absorb the braking force when you apply the front brake which is the exact opposite of the acceleration force. Internal construction is also designed for stress points opposite of the rear ones.
So, when you put a rear tire on the front, like I did yesterday, you "reverse" the direction arrow so you reduce the possibility of the tire failing.
I have seen rear tires used on the front without doing this and have never heard of a failure but having had some theory taught to me I did mount mine reversed...
Remember there are a lot of people out there who will tell you a car tire will never work on a motorcycle but after seeing a couple of very convincing videos and reading this and other forums I am looking forward to my rear tire wearing out so I can go Double Dark! Do I get an extra cookie?

eidolon wrote:

Ritz Red wrote:[i]What is the deal with reverse did you mount the front tire with reverse direction? I heard of a guy doing it I dont get it

This is the way it was explained to me long ago in school. The difference in construction in front and rear motorcycle tires is how they are designed to have force applied to them. A rear tire has torque applied to it to impart power to moving the bike forward. It is designed so the carcass spreads this force over the tire in one direction and it does not stress it so much that it causes the fibers to tear with large amounts of rotational force. The internal construction where the end pieces lap over one another are also unidirectional so they do not rip apart from acceleration.
The front tire is pretty much the opposite. It is designed to absorb the braking force when you apply the front brake which is the exact opposite of the acceleration force. Internal construction is also designed for stress points opposite of the rear ones.
So, when you put a rear tire on the front, like I did yesterday, you "reverse" the direction arrow so you reduce the possibility of the tire failing.
I have seen rear tires used on the front without doing this and have never heard of a failure but having had some theory taught to me I did mount mine reversed...
Remember there are a lot of people out there who will tell you a car tire will never work on a motorcycle but after seeing a couple of very convincing videos and reading this and other forums I am looking forward to my rear tire wearing out so I can go Double Dark! Do I get an extra cookie?

Great explanation eidolon!!! It's good to have the facts in order to make informed decisions...
The debate for doing this has been around a while. The trade off for mounting backwards is that the rain sipes will be in the wrong direction.
So the choice is between possible tire failure from braking stresses, or possible hydroplaning from water not being channeled away correctly.

Indeed an undastanble explanation, let's keep it till here, no discussions needed
since this had been done before and can be looked up.

eldolon
I could not have said it any better, very well done.
Tks , Lou

00 Doc wrote:
The debate for doing this has been around a while. The trade off for mounting backwards is that the rain sipes will be in the wrong direction.
So the choice is between possible tire failure from braking stresses, or possible hydroplaning from water not being channeled away correctly.

I am not sure about other tires but in my case I have the, now discontinued, Michelin Commanders.
I run a 150/90/16 on the rear. As soon as it wears out I am thinking the Austone CT.



and, as of two days ago, a 130/90/16 rear on the front...



I did have a 21" Commander Front up front which have a very minor difference on the grooving from the rear, highlighted in red.



As you can see the pattern on the 21" front and 16" rear that is now on the front is very close to the same even though the 16 is mounted in reverse rotation. So I do not think I have any added risk of hydroplaning.

Actually to me the angled groove in the 16" rear I have on the front now is a better water dispersion pattern than on the 21" front tire.

I am sure this is not the case with all rear/front tires out there, the Metzler ME33 Lazer comes to mind, but many that I have seen are pretty close to the same. As always extra caution in the wet is advised!

On the S-ll 'Stones, the center groove is missing from the back tire - noticeable at near zero speed by "sticking" in it's direction if the front brake is on.
Otherwise, they're identical save for tread depth - I'll be trying something else next time though; it began cupping, so I reversed it to try to save it.

Hey Lou----How was your trip? How did your Austone perform?

Your right Dan, its about time I let the gang know how the trip to Alaska went. Left home on June 22got back on July 30th with over 13,000k or [7,800 miles] on the bike. The Austone in a word "AWESOME" not once in the whole trip did I have any tyre problems. I rode in very very heavy rain for a 100k no hydroplaning with the BTX up front or the Austone. On the slabs just set your cruse and go. Now on the back roads and the twisties you have to put a little more effort into the turn but not that much more. I was on hairpin turns so tight I could almost check the tail lights on my trailer without getting off the bike. I rode on chip and seal for hundreds and hundreds of miles, no problems. When it comes to gravel , thats a diffirent kettle of fish. I did hit some construction and 10 miles of loose gravel is not my cup of tea. I was more concerned with the BTX up front sliding out than the Austone,just back off on the gas and pick you line. I found that 36psi was just right for the Austome and 40 for the Btx,dyna beads in both, tyres look like I could go another 24,000k[14,400]miles. For me I will not go back to MC tyres .
Take care ,be safe,
Lou

Fantastic! Thanks.

Great! The Austone is definitely my next tire...if that Vredestein will EVER wear out!