What tire do all you darksiders run on the front?

[thewoodman]

Since my trip last weekend to Biketoberfest, Saturday, I had the pleassure of picking up a self - tapping sheet metal screw. Since I'm kinda a handy fellow, I quickly found a gas station, pulled out the screw, reamed the hole and stuck in a repair plug, waited a few moments to see if it would leak. It didn't, so I aired up and headed out to finish my day. Made the ride home Sunday and the rear tire never lost a pound of air pressure. SOO...whatever the theory of fixing vs. replacing you have, I've been planning on the darkside for my next tire change, but haven't seen much on front tires to complement the Goodyears, Michelins, Yokohamas, Toyos, etc and wonder if radial, or bias ply front work better?

[ossvalk]

we get a 10% discount as VOAI (you can also use code vrcc) I arranged the discounts
if you order ride on   

The site is ride-on.com     You need 3 bottles to do 2 tires if both are motorcycle tires

You cant use the MC version in a car tire.   It is a different formulation  I know this because I spoke to their tech person - twice

It self seals up to 1/4 inch holes you dont even have to plug them just take out the nail or screw (carefully dont yank a screw drive it counterclockwise to remove it) and ride a few miles, after you check the air pressure.    It gave me almost double the miles on my rear metzler (use 46  lbs 2 up  44 1 up)

I have it in my car tire and my front cobra    running generally 40-42 in the front tire depending on temp and what I am carrying. I run a lb or so less when its under 40 degrees

I get no money from the company   YMMV

[Valker]

Several folks can comment on this. I have run Bias Ply rear tires on the front with my car tire rear, I have run 4 different brands of front radials with the car tire also. It boils down to the fact that I can't tell hardly ANY difference between which tire is on the front. So, I just replace mine with whatever is handy and on sale. I have found no noticeable difference in ride quality, traction, or mileage.

[thewoodman]

Thanks Valker. I'm not real sure what ossvalk was answering but it may be worth a look / Is there a favorite brand of tire that has reached a concensus ? Not the size, but the brand? There seems to be quite a few brands out there and I'm sure you've heard about most of them. Thanks

[Valker]

Thanks Valker. I'm not real sure what ossvalk was answering but it may be worth a look / Is there a favorite brand of tire that has reached a concensus ? Not the size, but the brand? There seems to be quite a few brands out there and I'm sure you've heard about most of them. Thanks

For bike tires, I have run two sets of Dunlops, three sets of Avons, and two sets of Metzlers. Of the three, I liked the Avons best.

[ossvalk]

I happen to be running an avon cobra up front after an original dunlop and a couple of metzlers   I like this one best  woodman

The ride on stuff I posted about cause we only have 2 tires and losing air is not a pleasant experience.   Also its real important to change the valve stems with a tire change unless you have one of those metal ones which are out there.

If using the original type stem dont forget the retaining clip also

Some swear by bias, I think its a dunlop brand, car tires mounted backwards in front but I have not gone that route and will not be goin that route.  But to each his or her own I say

And I have found that black and pearl beige Interstate Valkyrie's attracts hooters girls

[timk519]

Dunlop E3 on the front of my ride. The last one got over 20K miles before I replaced it.

[jackster]

I have tried Bridgestone and got about 8,000.  Dunlop about 5,000,  and finally Avon Venom R and get about 12,000 miles.  They are a little noisey but I ride alot and like the mileage.  I had a Bridgestone Potenza 205-65R-16 on the back for about 20,000 miles and had about 5 or 10 thousand left and took it off because it was too hard to control when off blacktop.  Like pulling into gravel parking lots or grass yards.  At speeds of over 100 it would start to sway or wobble.  Couldn't control it!!!  Oh!!! and could only put about 22lb. of pressure or it would wear out in the middle.  I'm using Avon Venoms on front and rear and love them.

Jackster

[mrflamewerks]

When I first installed the Goodyear Triple Tread on the rear of my '99 Cruiser, I had an Avon Venom on the front of the bike. Didn't care for the handling and was about to give up on the DS tire when I decided to swap the Venom for the Metzler 880 installed on my wife's IS. The result was astounding. My Cruiser handles as well, if not better, than any Valkyrie I've ridden equipped with the correctly matched motorcycle tires. In fact, my wife is so impressed by the ride on my Cruiser, she's seriously considering taking her IS to the Darkside.

(As a side note, the combination of a Venom front and a Metzler 880 rear handles like cr**.)

[storm]

I've tried all types and found the MC radials to be the worst in general. They require more air pressure than the bias ply tires so the ride is harsher also the radials tend to cup more even though they run higher pressure. All I have been running on all my bikes the last few years (GL18, Valk, ST11, EH and Shadow) is the Bridgestone BT45R
I find this tire has the best tread pattern to combat cupping and front wheel 40mph wobble. I get anywhere from 22k to 26k per tire.
I run 34psi on the Valkyrie which really helps soften the ride I also run a couple sizes smaller than stock 130 vs 150 - I may go with the stock size next time just to get the speedo correct as it is off 8 mph at 70 now.

On the GL I run 36psi with same great results. I think a good share of the GL darksiders are running this tire due to it's ride and performance.

[LHMC001]

Hi All,

Question for all of you dark side riders. I am planning on making the run to Daytona for Bike week in March. I live in South Jersey and am in the need of a new rear tire (current tire will not make the round trip) since I will be doing most of the ride on interstate 95, I am thinking of going to the dark side. I have a Metzie front (new less than 2k miles) what I want to know what would be the best CT for the rear and a front Metzie combination....I have a 99 I/S and have never gone to the dark side. What kind of handling characteristics should I expect from making the darkside change???

[storm]

I think most are running 195x60x16 tires - going bigger is NOT better. Ideal is to use a 60 series so the height and gearing is close to original. I don't do run flats but I think most do - MC tire are not run flats so running a non run flat offers the same risk / safety as any other standard tire. Many run the Kumho tires but it's like any other tire deal, lots of brands and from what I have read they all seem fine.
You should be able to go 30k if you run the tire at the correct pressure. Low mileage has been attributed to running to high a pressure - don't know why but some like to run 40 to 70 psi - again I have no idea why. I run 26 psi on mine and have run as low as 18 psi. I have two ct's on my trike and run 12 psi on those. If you run lower pressure the ride is better and leaning in the corners is better as the ct leans by sidewall flex not by the normal convex profile of a standard tire. Ideal is for the road to axle center distance to not change while the bike leans, the correct pressure will keep this ratio constant.
At first you will notice some slight change but it will be mostly physiological rather than actual. Just drive it as usual and don't think about it and you will be fine.
Keep also in mind you will need to do the nut cage mod so the tire does not rub on the fender nuts - don't try to get by without doing this step.
Other than that - few to none have tried the CT change and gone back to MC tires which speaks well of this upgrade.

Do some searches as far as brands, I think you will find much like MC tires all are the best so you have to figure that one out on your own. All I will say is more costly does not equate to better. A $65 Kumho seems just as good as the $150 perelli.

Good luck!

[timk519]

I have Dunlop Elite 3 in the front, and ditto the "lower tire pressure" comment - I tried 32lbs, and hated it. 25-28 lbs is much better!