Another DarkSide tire on my ST 1300

Mellow said:
I've heard all kinds of estimates for how long the oem shock lasts... from 20k to 40-60-80k.

Good to see adding some fluid has brought the shock back to life...
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yeah, and I'm still running on my original at 125K...:eek:4: That's why I opted to grab that shock off ebay last night since it only has "5911" miles on it. I will be filling up the preload before I mount it though. :D
 
Well I'm halfway to giving into the dark side, a brand new Hankook sitting in the garage. $120 from my local Americas Tire store, didn't bother with searching online for a deal. I'll be mounting it next weekend, along with a new front 020F.
 
squirrel Hunter said:
Well I'm halfway to giving into the dark side, a brand new Hankook sitting in the garage. $120 from my local Americas Tire store, didn't bother with searching online for a deal. I'll be mounting it next weekend, along with a new front 020F.
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On the klr? That's what I'm talking about!!!!!
 
No Jay it's for the ST but I do have my eyes set on some monster truck tires and a 10ft extension welded onto the to the KLRs kickstand:D
 
I just got back from another trlp with my ST and now have over 13000 hard miles on my Hankook and it still has life left in it, Uncle Larry had four flats on his VFR with a motorcycle tire after some serious off road riding. Good luck Mike with your tire.
 
In the late seventies the CHP noting that most of their flat tires occurred on the rear tire came up with some interesting reasons and solutions. They discovered that the front tire would lift and throw nails or other sharp objects backwards at a high rate of speed. Further testing showed that the longer the wheelbase the less likely it would hit the tire instead bouncing off the undercarriage. The KZP900 having a shorter wheelbase then the Harley Davidson it was replacing was getting something like a 10 to 1 ratio of flat tires. The solution was simple, they mounted a mud flap to the swing arm just ahead of the rear tire and saw an immediate decrease in flat tires.

Mike:03biker:
 
I now have over 14,000 miles on this Hankook tire and it still has some life left in it. I have killed two front tires so far with this tire one PR2 and one Metzler Z6 Interact lasting about 7600 miles.
 
Nice. I'm at around 14k myself now, and while it does need changing, its still holding up. One big bonus is that the Hankook is still wearing at an even rate, unlike the MC tires that once near the wear bars, suddenly burn down to nothing very quickly.

Sent from my PB99400 using Tapatalk
 
Update. The court case finished early today so I had time available, and took advantage of it. I located some Honda moly paste, and brought my rear wheel down to the shop i used to work at to change the tire. I got a really funny look when he saw what I had. The old tire wasn't the most pleasurable to remove...I HIGHLY recommend going to a cage tire shop; an upright tire machine made it much easier than it could have been. The bead wasn't fun to break, since the wider tire kept pushing it back on every time I would break it. I finally just broke one side and removed that side of the tire; then popped the other bead, and finished removing the tire. It still took a bit of effort but wasn't too bad. The new tire went on pretty easily.

I'll just save my old one as an emergency tire. Its almost smooth in the center, but if I'm in a bind, I think it would handle another thousand miles.

So, the total? Just a bit over 13,500 miles. That is more than twice as long as my last MC tire, and I still could have gotten another 1 or 2k miles if I really pushed it...and MUCH more if i was doing slab, instead of hard local riding.
Jim
 
Oh, I should mention the wear pattern. I ran this tire at 42lbs since new. There is just a slight bit of extra wear at the corners, making the radius of the corners softer...but there is still tread there. The center wore the most, which I found funny, since most consider a CT for slab use...but I wore mine more in the center while riding curvy local roads. I'll try to post up pics tomorrow.

I set my new tire;s pressure to about 38. I might gradually lower the pressure to see what happens. I know as light as a motorcycle is, 20 lbs. should be enough to hold the weight of the bike...anything extra is just for tailoring the feel of the ride, and the handling of the tire.

Jim
 
Did I just read that right? 14,000 miles out of a CT and its done? Wow. I thought these things were going to last 30,000 plus.
 
nhdiesel said:
Oh, I should mention the wear pattern. I ran this tire at 42lbs since new. There is just a slight bit of extra wear at the corners, making the radius of the corners softer...but there is still tread there. The center wore the most, which I found funny, since most consider a CT for slab use...but I wore mine more in the center while riding curvy local roads. I'll try to post up pics tomorrow.

I set my new tire;s pressure to about 38. I might gradually lower the pressure to see what happens. I know as light as a motorcycle is, 20 lbs. should be enough to hold the weight of the bike...anything extra is just for tailoring the feel of the ride, and the handling of the tire.

Jim
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How about some pictures of the worn out tire?
 
14k miles riding in twisties on very rough northern NH roads, riding very hard. I bet I could have doubled that on the slab. Keep in mind my last rear MC tire lasted less than 6k miles. More than twice the mileage for a lot less money, with more traction...I'm very happy...which is why it got another Hankook. I mentioned above that I'll post pics tomorrow night.

Jim
 
Jim,
The center wear is likely due to the higher pressures, as found out by an FJR guy or two who ran in the high 30's/40. It seems to me like the Hankook carcass is softer than the Exalto, therefore you have to run higher than I do. Mine is dead flat across the tread when at 32, whereas your may be crowned at 40. When you say worn out, I assume you mean the middle more than the edges.
 
My Hankook has 15,500 and some now and I'm quite sure it will make 30,000 miles. It has .135" tread to carcass measured with calipers right at the center tread.

I'm still confused why so many are running such high pressures. Mine handles great at 28 and I know from past Valk car tire experience more pressure usually just wears the centers out quicker and makes for a rougher ride. The narrow wheel makes it bulge out in the center with higher pressures (duh).

YMMV (seriously!!)

Raymond
 
I'm starting to think some guys just love the feel of a soft squishy rear underneath themselves ?
 
Gene said:
I'm starting to think some guys just love the feel of a soft squishy rear underneath themselves ?
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My rear is soft but I hate when it is squishy. That being said, I can't stop going to Chipotle.:D
 
nhdiesel said:
14k miles riding in twisties on very rough northern NH roads, riding very hard. I bet I could have doubled that on the slab. Keep in mind my last rear MC tire lasted less than 6k miles. More than twice the mileage for a lot less money, with more traction...I'm very happy...which is why it got another Hankook. I mentioned above that I'll post pics tomorrow night.

Jim
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I am not looking to start an arguement over it. I am just really surprised at the mileage. Riding twisties is why I ride, so I imagine I wouldn't get very many more miles than you did. I get 9-10k out of PR2's. I can mount and balance my own MT, but you kind of make it sound like that would be a tough job with a CT. So after I pay someone to do the CT's I am not sure how much savings there will be. Just trying to get all the facts from you guys running them so I can make a decision that best suits my needs.

Sorry I missed where you said you would post pictures later.
 
I didn't take your post as an argument...all is well. :D I also understand tires don't wear the same in different conditions. Our roads tear up car tires on cages too...not uncommon for tires to last 20k miles, where the same tires in other locations go 50-60k. I tried a PR2 on the front for my last tire, I got 7k out of it. Its not really difficult to mount a CT....take it to a cage shop and pay them the $7 or so to mount it. Around here its $7 to $10 per tire for mount & balance including new stems, so $10 without balancing or stems would be gravy for them. In comparison, its $60 for a bike tire, no balancing (nobody has a balancer in my area). I do my own front tires...paying a shop $10 every 14k miles isn't an issue.

Jim
 
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