Finally on the darkside

JDRagsdale Wed Aug 17, 2011 1:15 pm

First and foremost, I just wanna say THANKS!!! for all the helpful advice everyone has posted on here that helped make this happen!

So, I finally got around to replacing my threadbare mc tire a few weeks ago (after the nice hiway patrolman pointed out the bare patch), and went with the Altimax 195/60/15.

Love love love it. The ride is great, it feels even softer than with the dunlop mc tire, and traction is awesome, especially in the wet. Still need to play with the psi to get the sweet spot, but otherwise don't think I'll ever go back to a mc tire.

We uninstalled the old tire at home (breaking the bead was a BEAR), and put the new one on but had no luck getting it to bead up at home. Had the new tire on and off a few times as we accidentally snakebit the tube, and it went on/off MUCH easier than the mc tire came off, but just wouldn't seat all the way. I took it to a mc shop and they also had no luck (still charged me $25 tho... grrr), finally took it to the mom and pop tire shop down the street and they got it to pop in 30 seconds (and didn't charge me a penny). (He said the trick was straight dawn dish soap... no water, duh, we'd been diluting it)

My web hosting won't let me link pictures directly, and my work won't let me access picasa, etc, so I'm just posting a link to my web page where I've got some side-by-side comparisons of before/after, as well as the two tires side-by-side before mounting so you can really see the differences in height and width.

CLICK HERE FOR PICS ---> Pictures of before and after, etc

Just a side note, between the new tire and the 38t sprocket mod, I can easily cruise 50-55 in 4th without even feeling a need to shift, and under acceleration, it will hit 63-65 mph in 2nd gear before the rev limiter hits. I routinely shift out of first around 25 mph, and downshift to 4th or 3rd if I'm under 40. It will lug and lurch at anything under 35 in 5th gear.

I can cruise at 70 mph all day without the slightest feeling of needing another gear, and I can downshift at 80 if I need to. Even before the tire the bike would gain on my buddies Harley going 115 (or so I hear, I would never ride that fast...) It does require just the tiniest bit more throttle/clutch modulation on take-off, but not a big deal, even 2-up.

Only bad thing is the tire is taller than the stock one, which in addition to lowering the rpms (a good thing) also changes my riding position a little negatively (for me), so if you want to be a little more upright it is a plus, for me, I've been trying to get the rear end lower since I got the bike lol. The new tire sits the bike about an inch or so taller than stock.

Another note while I'm thinking about it... no way my 9.5" struts would fit... No way. The stock tire barely cleared the wiring bundle inside the rear fender, so there is NO WAY this tire would clear. If I were to move that wiring/relocate my turn signals, it would be close on the fender. I'm thinking 10 or 10.5 center to center is as low as I could get the new tire to fit with the stock rear fender configuration. As soon as I have time, I'll by some more bar stock and find out :-)