st1300 darkside

[barrycomo]

Just got back from a ride with the wife and noticed that my Battlax BT023 rear (on my 07-ST1300) was vibrating a bit in slow turns... yup... cupping badly after 4500 miles. I am so tired of buying tires... I am preparing to go to the darkside... but have a couple of quick questions. 1) My speedo is almost exactly 10% fast (60mph indicated is really ~54mph gps)... will the Hancock 110 help with this? as in, is the Hancock a bit taller (I am hoping so...) and 2) Have any of you running the Hancock experienced issues trying to get the tire balanced? (Did a simple spindle balance work, or do you need to find a shop that will do a professional balance job?) Thanks in advance... James

 

[970mike]

Just got back from a ride with the wife and noticed that my Battlax BT023 rear (on my 07-ST1300) was vibrating a bit in slow turns... yup... cupping badly after 4500 miles. I am so tired of buying tires... I am preparing to go to the darkside... but have a couple of quick questions. 1) My speedo is almost exactly 10% fast (60mph indicated is really ~54mph gps)... will the Hancock 110 help with this? as in, is the Hancock a bit taller (I am hoping so...) and 2) Have any of you running the Hancock experienced issues trying to get the tire balanced? (Did a simple spindle balance work, or do you need to find a shop that will do a professional balance job?) Thanks in advance... James

James,

I have over 11,000 miles on my Hankook tire and it still looks great. I had the same problem with the 023 rear tire one lasting 5000 miles and the other trying real hard to make it last got 7500 miles. I do like the 023 front tire. The speedometer with the Hankook is just about the same amount off as with the standard tire. I did not balance my rear Hankook tire and have had no problems with it so far. Good luck on your choice of tires.

Mike

 

[barrycomo]

Thanks for the quick reply! I am reading other threads also... and came up with another question... Did you have to do any mods to the swing arm or sacrifice a chicken to get the tire squeezed into the space? Someone wrote that they had to deflate the tire, install and then re-inflate, but that was with another tire... not the hancock.

 

[nhdiesel]

I, also, didn't balance the Hankook. Some have reported some high speed instability/shake running it (close to or over 100 mph) and I'm curious if their tires were further off than some of ours. Balancing wouldn't be a bad idea, I just didn't have access to a balancer...I can't believe NONE of the dealers in my area have one!

For install, I did it fully inflated. I removed the plastic shield on the right side (one bolt), slid the wheel/tire past, then reinstalled once the tire was past it. A bit tight, but saves deflating and reinflating, especially if you don't have a compressor at home.

No mods necessary. The tire is very close to the swingarm once installed, but it does clear.

Jim

 

[barrycomo]

Thanks guys!! I am tracking down a tire vendor now... I see that shipping is about 23 bones from just about anyone online right to my door. Not bad, given that the PowerStroke would cost about $25 for the round trip to the tire stores in the big city and then I would have to hunt down the right one. It just pains me that the MC tires just eat away so fast.

 

[970mike]

James,

As Jim stated I have no problems without balancing the tire. I run the Dyna beads in the front tire and would have done the same with the rear if needed. I have run my ST to 118 on the GPS with no vibrations what so ever with the Hankook tire. I did deflate my tire to install which was no big deal for me as I have an air compressor. No modifications are needed on the swing arm.

Mike

 

[W0QNX]

NIce avatar pic barrycomo.

Raymond

 

[970mike]

Here is where I got my tire shipped free and it is on sale right now. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp3984Q2em1438Q2el2649QQitemZ310321152934QQsspagenameZSTRKQ3aMEWAXQ3aIT

 

[nhdiesel]

Here is where I got my tire shipped free and it is on sale right now. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp3984Q2em1438Q2el2649QQitemZ310321152934QQsspagenameZSTRKQ3aMEWAXQ3aIT

Ditto, same seller for me as well. I got it within a few days all the way up here in northern NH.

Jim

 

[Bigmak96]

If you have trouble getting your tire past some tight spots try a trick the Wingers use. I see they place a sheet of wax paper between the tire and whatever is in the way and it helps the tire slide by.

 

[Bigmak96]

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Goodyear&tireModel=Assurance+TripleTred
Too bad these are so expensive. I love the tread design. You 1300 guys can get your size, I can't or I would have gone for it.
The Wing guys are getting good mileage out of them.

 

[barrycomo]

FANTASTIC PIC also!!! That is such a wonderful road... we ran that from SW to NE and then did Moki Dugway ... definitely a trip to remember!!

Here is a link to the pics of our trip in that area... https://picasaweb.google.com/116170387461579032460/RideAbout2008#5217341293681138290

 

[barrycomo]

Checking with my local vendor... they carry Hankook but I don't think they can get close to the e-bay price... still waiting on the reply from the vendor.

 

[970mike]

Checking with my local vendor... they carry Hankook but I don't think they can get close to the e-bay price... still waiting on the reply from the vendor.

I checked with my local Hankook tire dealer and he wanted $ 115.00 plus tax for the same tire. Easy choice for me.

 

[sennister]

If you have trouble getting your tire past some tight spots try a trick the Wingers use. I see they place a sheet of wax paper between the tire and whatever is in the way and it helps the tire slide by.

Guy mentioned at MNSTOC that he used a plastic bag of some sort to make the rubber tire slide right on.

 

[Bill144]

The tire sure looks great. The problem I have is every spring the bike seems to have grown an inch and touching the ground is getting alot harder.
The only time I'm flatfooted is with two up fully loaded.
My question is - does this tire raise the bike profile? I cannot afford to have the bike any taller.

 

[970mike]

The tire sure looks great. The problem I have is every spring the bike seems to have grown an inch and touching the ground is getting alot harder.
The only time I'm flatfooted is with two up fully loaded.
My question is - does this tire raise the bike profile? I cannot afford to have the bike any taller.

The Hankook tire will not raise the bike. You could always do what I did to my wife's bike and replace the rear shock with a Wilbur shock which lowered her ST just over 1"

 

[Bill144]

The Hankook tire will not raise the bike. You could always what I did to my wife's bike and replace the rear shock with a Wilbur shock which lowered her ST just over 1"

Thanks for the information on the shock. I tried to find their site in the Web but its under construction.

 

[barrycomo]

Just ordered my Hankook for 94 bones delivered to the door!! YES, shipping was included!
http://www.discounttiredirect.com/direct/findTireDetail.do?pc=11189&counter=1&ar=50&rd=17&sw=false&cs=205
I also ordered some tire spoons, rim protectors and just dropped by the cage parts store for some stick on weights just in case. If I cannot get someone to mount it for me, I will be doing it myself. This BT023 with its cupping is coming off soon!

 

[sennister]

Just ordered my Hankook for 94 bones delivered to the door!! YES, shipping was included!
http://www.discounttiredirect.com/direct/findTireDetail.do?pc=11189&counter=1&ar=50&rd=17&sw=false&cs=205
I also ordered some tire spoons, rim protectors and just dropped by the cage parts store for some stick on weights just in case. If I cannot get someone to mount it for me, I will be doing it myself. This BT023 with its cupping is coming off soon!

Don't forget about the valve stem if you still have a rubber one. It is a good idea to change them with every tire. At a minimum inspect them but with the long life of a CT you should really look at a metal option if you don't already have one.