205/70R15 Goodyear Assurance Tripletred??

Well Guys, here I am looking for advice, been watching this site for a while now and after reading all I could find on this subject, finally decided to just do it... and now that I've bought the tire, I have questions... figures, huh.

Anyway, I have the rear tire off my 06 VTX1300s, that is still running the factory stock exhaust.
I have brand new 205/70R15 Goodyear Assurance Tripletred sitting right next to the old tire and wheel.
and at the moment I don't see how that tire is going to fit in that fender with the stock exhaust bracket still in there.

So here is the $109.84 question - Has anyone managed to get one of these things inside that fender with that rather large exhaust bracket still in there??? If it weren't for that bracket, it looks like it should slide right in.
and No, I'm not really interested in going to an aftermarket exhaust just to accommodate this tire, even if it does look like it would be a awesome combination.

Oh yeah, I have both the original spoke wheel and the mag style wheel off of an 07 1300R... the Spoke wheel has just over 11K miles on it and the mag style has around 8K miles and I am now due for yet another tire. Out of curiosity I checked the price on a new Dunlop K555j from my local dealer -- $188.00 Plus Mount and Balance - Ouch!

Thanks!
BigD

The tire will fit under the fender. I thought the same thing about the 205/65r-15 I had to turn the exaust bolt around so that the nut was on the outside. but it went in just fine after that. good luck...

you are going to mount it on the mag wheel, aren,t you?? As far as I know Going wide has not been accomplished using a tube on the spoke rim. if you are going to use the spoke wheel you should probably try to seal the spokes. and go tubeless. just my .02

It has to be mounted on the rim for you to know it's actual dimension.

on my R i had to take one of the exhaust bracket bolts out and loosen the other. then the bracket is loose it will fall to the ground out of the way to get the tire in....

Jerry

I let the air out of the tire and once in place aired it back up . it was a tight fit.

WOW!, what a difference...
Ok, to answer a few questions and let everyone know how it went - Here goes:

Yes, I mounted the afore mentioned tire on the 07 R model wheel, actually I didn't do it, I hired it done at a local shop. Spendy, but no other choice. Yes, he told me it wouldn't work, no I wouldn't like it, all of those Goldwing owners are just crazy, but yeah, I'll mount for you, but you ain't gunna like it.
It must have mounted, seated and balanced without a problem. I waited for it and only waited about 10 minutes before he brought it out to me. I asked what pressure he set it to, he replied 44PSI, the max for the tire and you're gunna need that much to make the tire round at all so your bike doesn't want to just fall over.... I just smiled and said thanks!
Does it fit on the bike? Yes, absolutely, but there are a couple of things you need to know BEFORE you start.
First, after you have safely secured the bike, raise the rear of the bike as high as practical, high enough to roll the tire directly out the back is what I did. And with an R or S model - thats High!

If you are running with the stock exhaust as I am, and as someone else pointed out you MUST drop that big ugly exhaust bracket down out of the way long enough to get the hub back up in to the final drive. Remove one bolt, loosen the other and it will fall out of the way very nicely.
Then, and this is important, remember to push the muffler mounting bolts through that bracket from the Back Side BEFORE you swing it back into position and tighten it down.... Again, this is important.
That's pretty much it, finish putting it back together and torque everything as required and you should be all set.

My first ride out was just over 50 miles, the first 3 or 4 of which were very interesting.
Someone mentioned that the amount of or deliberate use of counter-steer would change.
That was an understatement, but by the end of the first 50 miles I was already beginning to not notice. I suspect that once I have another 100 miles on it, I won't know the difference any more.

So, the tire pressure.... More questions.... I dropped his 44PSI, which was actually more like 50PSI by my gauge, down to 32PSI before I ever fired the bike up, so the tire was cold.
when I returned, I checked the pressure again and it had climbed to 35PSI.
Does this sound about right, or should I lower it a little more?? or Raise it??

THANKS for all the Help
BigD

the tire is TALLER than the stock dunnie....
speedo is closer to correct now, when compared to my GPS, and if I stand up when stopped the seat is higher in the crotch now, a sure sign the bike is sitting higher than it use to.

BigD

Awesome Big D Glad you got it on. I thing you are going to realy like it. I am running 35 psi in mine. you may have to play with it a little to find where you like it. keep us posted on how you like it.

Read with interest your experience with this tire. Any more comments on how it has worked out? I have a 1300c and wondered if i can get it to fit. Would solve the speedo thing too. Just wondered. Thanks - MechE

Well, I have several thousand miles on it now and I love it.
Once I had the tire pressure figured out and had enough miles on it to be 'broken-in' its been a Great tire. I don't talk much to my fellow riders around here abot what I've done, I just let them figure it out on their own. It doesn't take as long to attempt to explain it once they have followed me for a while

A couple months back I swapped out the final drive for one from an 1800. That blew the speedo correction from the CT off the map, but man it does make the bike snappy!

I'll try to update more later on, but it will be a while - I've parked my ride until spring - it's all of 12 above tonight as I type this message and hasn't been above 40 for a couple weeks now.

Ride Often, Ride Safe, and Enjoy It!

BigD

BigD,

Thanks for your thoughts and picture. I have a Kumho on my scooter since last spring and have put on quite a few miles. Had to slam on the brakes once this summer to avoid a car crossing in front of me (we all know this story). I was amazed that as hard as I stopped my bike didn't fish tale. So now I'm smitten, like others, to find the 'best' wider tire that is stock, etc.

Appreciate the cold. Here in Cleveland, Ohio it may not be lake Alaska, but when the wind rolls off of Lake Erie we can get a bit nippy. I become accustomed to riding in weather about 25 deg F and up in early December and March (one can forget Jan and Feb), but what we really have to watch for is black ice, i.e. thin ice on the black asphalt that is almost impossible to see. Slipped on it once wearing of all things a tux and my new hip. I was lucky.

Glad to see the things happening up your way. Keep up the good work on your bike and please keep us informed.

MechE

Oh Yeah, we know ALL ABOUT Black Ice!!! and that is the main reason most of us stop riding.
There is still plenty of asphalt, and clear days, that isn't the problem. Having the ground cold enough to freeze rain into ice or let the snow just lay there and become hard pack - that is the problem and I have yet to meet anyone that can or is willing to ride two wheels on that stuff!

Ride Often, Ride Safe, and Enjoy!
BigD

when you said you blow off your speedo replacing 1300 final drive with 1800, how much diference is that exactly??
I mean, I don't think you can get exact but if you can sort of close by, that would be great.

The reason I am asking, I am thinking to swap my final from 1300R to some of 1800, but am also interested in speedo accuracy after that.

Thanks.

BIG D,

Congrats on your darkside and glad to have you here! It was everything we said it was......... Huh?

I bet you can't wait until next spring to try to kill it..... Good luck with that...me and Smokey have been trying to kill ours...here's how he killed his last one, he put it against his front porch steps and spun it until it pop!.................


......................bobby

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dino wrote:when you said you blow off your speedo replacing 1300 final drive with 1800, how much diference is that exactly??
I mean, I don't think you can get exact but if you can sort of close by, that would be great.

The reason I am asking, I am thinking to swap my final from 1300R to some of 1800, but am also interested in speedo accuracy after that.

Thanks.

My speedo with 1800 final and a 205 ct was of by 10% I checked it with a guys speedo, that was checked with gps..
Everyone say it will efect the topend, I had my speedo reading 125 mph. and it was still pulling, I ran out of road, so I dont know what the top speed would be with the 1800 final, BUT, it sure gets there alot faster I love it. The rpms at 65 are about 225 to 230 more. It will also pull the front tire off the ground, that is a kick in the pants, If I had a good clutch, I think I could get it up hitting 2nd. At 57, I can still get it up.

with my Goodyear 205 the speedo was fairly close, less than 3 or 4 mph at 65+
but witht eh 1800 final it is now WAY Off, the road out of our neighborhood is 35, I run up to 40 by the speedo and my GPS says 34. all of the local highways are 65, with the GPS at 65, the speedo is around 75 if I remember correctly. I've all but stopped looking at the speedo, the GPS has a clock, and a speedo and is in a much better position for me.

BigD

so, is it worth to upgrade to 1800 final or not??
I do a lot of hwy cruising to/back from work, so it's about 75-85 MpH for about 27 miles each way, and I was thinking if it's not going to be much difference in high rpm's cruising along why, then I will find one of those finals locally in next few weeks and swap it.

Does it change MpG's?? Is it same or better/worse??

I just say one on the VTXOA board for $125 shipped. Thats a hellofa deal.
I think I paid $175 plus shipping.
You can always hang onto your 13 final and stick it back in if you want, or if your going on a long trip, but I think you will like it and not want to put the 13 one back in.

OOPS, its $135 and its on page 2 now of the clasifieds, 1300

BUY IT!!! That's not a deal, it's a steal! I got a deal and I think mine was $170. + shipping

I have not noticed any diference in mileage at all.
It lets the engine pull the bike with ease!
It will let you pass the cagers and other riders without even thinking about, just twist the throttle a little and you are suddenly around them.
the difference is going from a 2.83 to a 3.12 ratio - not enough to cause any over-rev's unless you're actually trying to tear it up, but enough to make you wonder why Honda didn't do something like this in the first place!

and, if you do decide you don't like it, you can always put the original back and sell the 1800FD, and at that rpice - probably at a profit, especially if Honda has truly dropped the 1800 from their VTX line! And what a shame that would be!

You guys crack me up, but then again I live in a different world I guess I would KILL to raise my gearing a bit, maybe to a 2.5:1 or so. I spend literally thousands of miles a year riding above 90, several hundred miles a year at triple digit speeds and my engine is spinning so fast and hard it is not happy with life. It may not fall apart, but I know that 4,500+RPMs for sustained periods of time is not good for my engine at all.

Oh well, we all have differnt uses for our machines. I'd love to keep the VTX and drop the 1800 gears in it, and use it only for around town or pulling a trailer and buy a sport touring bike for my travelling. Unfortunately I am very near selling the VTX as it just doesn't work very well for the uses (or rather ABuses) I put it through. You guys make me feel odd and out of place as I seem to be on the opposite side of the fence

Oh well, for now the X is still my ride and I still love it, just wish it had longer legs.

George

you should have bought a sport bike! Isn't yours the one that burns through a quart of oil every 1000 miles?? Might be because you constantly push it way beyond where it was designed to run at and I've never heard of any other VTX that goes through oil like that.

Yeah, that's me I actually had a sport touring (Honda ST1300) and the VTX at the same time. At the time my wife rode with me a lot, and most of our riding was group rides, and gentle trips out to the lake, so when we wanted to buy dirt bikes I sold the ST to get the money to buy a pair of dirt bikes. Now I ride solo a lot, mostly working out of town and 95% of my trips fall into one of two categories. #1- 38 miles each way to work and back, 31 miles of interstate (85-95mph) and 7 miles of back country road getting to and from the interstate. and #2 to and from out of town work which is usually 150-200 miles stopping only for fuel.

I know I ride this bike way too hard, but I still like it I just wish it were better geared for highway cruising. My best friend rides a 2006 Harley and has no troubles riding at those high speeds constant, me I have to tighten bolts a lot and add oil constantly. I don't blame it on the bike at all, I just can't afford to swap right now with two new babies and so I try to make the best out of it.

Again, I'm not bashing the VTX at all, it is a great bike. I just find myself needing to taylor it to my riding style or something.

George

For a good description of how I live and ride, just look at your signature quote above. It sums it up perfectly