CT Tire Review.

Man, after spending a week in beautiful and warm weather in Fouke Arkansas and seeing all those bikers riding by on the roadways, I was hurting to get on mine. Today, 56 degree. YES! After finding out that my last year battery is not holding a charge anymore after I left it on the battery tender for the week I was away, I have to buy a new one...sucks!

Finally....I get to take that CT for a ride. I wasn't nervous or anything at all. I took it straight to the highway...since I needed to charge the new battery too. It just rode normal as ever. The tire is very cushy....good for the bone-charring bumps. Very stable. Ride was smooth.....thanks to the beads too. No issues with turning at corners or twisties....you just have to pay a little attention to it. The only issue that I see that is no big deal is...that uneven parallel road surface does seem to effect the tire due to the big track, making the bike want to sway. As in wind issue, it handles way better then a MT. I rode through some serious gusty winds today going around the cities and it did push me back and forth, but I would imagine if I was on a MT, it would have been worst.

Did I mentioned....that it is very cushy...for the tushey....

Funny thing....when I was down on my trip, I looked at every motorcycle that rode by and see if they have a CT. I only saw one...and that was in IOWA....LOL.

I like the review! I noticed the uneven movement in the rear end like you did. The funny thing is ... I don't notice it anymore. I'm not sure if it is because it quit doing it, or cuz I'm used to it now.

Welcome to the party friend! Just wait till you get the mold release off it and it really starts sticking to the road!

Awesome tire review! Thanks...now go slam down some miles on that thing!............


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

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Hey guys,

I'm new to the forum and very interested in the topic of using CT's for my bike since it would be easier on my wallet :-)

I ride a 2002 VT1100c and went thru a brand new Dunlop d404 in about 4000 miles.... which is pretty quick since I ride my bike to work. It feels like yesterday that I just had that replaced and I had to do it again this week.

My question is how is the handling when using a CT as opposed to a typical MT? Will the side tread wear down quick on a CT when cornering and whatnot?

-CK

ckilmer75 wrote:Hey guys,

I'm new to the forum and very interested in the topic of using CT's for my bike since it would be easier on my wallet :-)

I ride a 2002 VT1100c and went thru a brand new Dunlop d404 in about 4000 miles.... which is pretty quick since I ride my bike to work. It feels like yesterday that I just had that replaced and I had to do it again this week.

My question is how is the handling when using a CT as opposed to a typical MT? Will the side tread wear down quick on a CT when cornering and whatnot?

-CK

Welcome to the site. How is handling? Lets use a 1 to 100 scale this time....
Lets start with traction: wet road ct 85, mt 30. dry road ct 90 mt 50.... this is only because I'm not a fan of riding in thunderstorms like Smokey.
Moving on to braking: wet road ct 95, mt 20. dry road ct 95 mt 50.
cornering: I'll give the same numbers as traction.
30 mph cross winds: ct 85, mt 50..... cant push me sideways with only 30 mph wind on my ct.
grooved pavement: ct 90, mt 40
emergency obsticle avoidance: ct 50, mt 80.
uneven surfaces: ct 60, mt 70
gas milage is 2-5 mpg better with ct

My side tread looks like it did new, almost. I had a friend follow me on his sportbike and he said I never came close to getting on the edge of the tire. But I was dragging my floor boards.

These of course are my own observations, that I freely share with any and all who ask, and of course may varry from your own. I offer them as a starting point on your journey to the darkside.

We have members from the Dallas area. You might be able to hook up with one or two of them and see for yourself, wether following or they might let you ride. Or if you get down to the Houston area I might let you take mine out.
Hope this helps,
Jerry

emergency obsticle avoidance: ct 50, mt 80.
uneven surfaces: ct 60, mt 70

Unk Jer.
I think I would argue with these numbers here. As far as emergency obsticle avoidance I would give teh CT at least a 75. I find that there is not that bigga differance from going from a 200mt to a 215ct.
The uneven surfaces I would say that the Mt number is just a tad high. I would give it a 55, but agree with you most part. Good assessment. Thanks Jer.

Peace yall.
Moon

Thanks for the info :-)

I just replaced my tire today with another MT (Dunlop d404 - 170/80-15) So I'm really thinking about checking out one of the CT's ya'll have been talking about once this one nears it's end of life, in about 4000 miles. I know a guy that runs a bike shop in Euless, so I'm sure he'll be willing to mount one for me until I learn how to do it myself.

I'm glad I came across this forum :-) Lots of good information.

-CK

ckilmer75 wrote:Thanks for the info :-)

I just replaced my tire today with another MT (Dunlop d404 - 170/80-15) So I'm really thinking about checking out one of the CT's ya'll have been talking about once this one nears it's end of life, in about 4000 miles. I know a guy that runs a bike shop in Euless, so I'm sure he'll be willing to mount one for me until I learn how to do it myself.

I'm glad I came across this forum :-) Lots of good information.

-CK

Ask all the questions you want.... Or you can search for anything... Just here to help you make an informed desicion (sp)

Badmoon wrote:emergency obsticle avoidance: ct 50, mt 80.
uneven surfaces: ct 60, mt 70

Unk Jer.
I think I would argue with these numbers here. As far as emergency obsticle avoidance I would give teh CT at least a 75. I find that there is not that bigga differance from going from a 200mt to a 215ct.
The uneven surfaces I would say that the Mt number is just a tad high. I would give it a 55, but agree with you most part. Good assessment. Thanks Jer.

Peace yall.
Moon

Thanks Moon....I went a little higher on the avoidance because I started with a 170 and went to a 205.

Can someone review different CT to tell which ones seat the easiest best handling etc.

Douglass and Kumho both seat without a problem.

I tried a Falken tire and could not get it to seat. Ended up tossing the tire cuz we pumped it up to 140 psi just to see if it would ever seat and decided that might have damaged the tire...

I'm sure the 1300 tires would seat just fine on our rims. Goodyear triple tread, Michilen Hydro..., General Grabber, etc. The 1300 boys would be more helpful with these tires.

as for emergency avoidance, the 165/80/15 is better than the mc, done it one handed at speed, no problems, btw, mine is a federal tire ss657 love them steel belts

mark f