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+--- Thread: Stupid question (/showthread.php?tid=1293)
RE: Stupid question - LongRanger_imp - 10-22-2018
I was hoping to steer you towards the Metzeler ME880, which is a long-wearing tire, but I couldn't find it in an 18" fitment.
FWIW, I've had reasonable luck with the OE BT-54 Bridgestone rear -- they seem to be good for about 6000 miles. If you could find a ME880, you could probably expect twice that mileage.
RE: Stupid question - Paris_imp - 10-22-2018
(10-22-2018, 07:17 AM)VLJ_imp Wrote: During today's ride I noticed that my rear tire is down to bare cords. It wasn't that way when I left the house, but midway through the ride, yep, there it was, an inch-wide band of exposed silver running nearly the entire diameter of the tire. The front tire shows almost no wear, but it's extremely cupped. I'll go ahead and replace both tires.
Two questions...
First, what is the most durable tire available for this bike? I'm talking a high-mileage touring tire. I don't care about sticky tires here. I just want the things to last as long as possible.
Now, here's the stupid question. This 2017 CB1100 EX is my first bike with inner tubes. When replacing the tires, should I also always replace the inner tubes, or is this unnecessary?
The comment about inner tubes got me thinking. Aside from using Slime, what do
I do if I have a flat? With a tubeless tire, I just could just use a plug, quick and easy, if not recommended. Plugs won’t work with tubes. To replace the tube, you need to break the beade, and that’s a big job.
RE: Stupid question - Cormanus - 10-22-2018
There are varying views on the Metzler Z8— http://cb1100forum.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=6101
Django, who racks up a good few miles likes them.
RE: Stupid question - egleaves_imp - 10-22-2018
I’m on my second set of them and I’m seeing 9k - 10k miles to the wear bars on pirelli sport demons. Available in stock sizes, plenty sticky for me and stand up well to 30 miles country/40 miles freeway round trip daily commute plus occasional weekend ride. Some profile loss in the rear from the freeway miles.
Recently rode them up 101 from Sacramento to Eureka in driving rain at 80 mph with full confidence and they never missed a beat. My socks were wet, though.
RE: Stupid question - SportsterDoc - 10-22-2018
(10-22-2018, 01:00 PM)Paris_imp Wrote:(10-22-2018, 07:17 AM)VLJ_imp Wrote: During today's ride I noticed that my rear tire is down to bare cords. It wasn't that way when I left the house, but midway through the ride, yep, there it was, an inch-wide band of exposed silver running nearly the entire diameter of the tire. The front tire shows almost no wear, but it's extremely cupped. I'll go ahead and replace both tires.
Two questions...
First, what is the most durable tire available for this bike? I'm talking a high-mileage touring tire. I don't care about sticky tires here. I just want the things to last as long as possible.
Now, here's the stupid question. This 2017 CB1100 EX is my first bike with inner tubes. When replacing the tires, should I also always replace the inner tubes, or is this unnecessary?
The comment about inner tubes got me thinking. Aside from using Slime, what do
I do if I have a flat? With a tubeless tire, I just could just use a plug, quick and easy, if not recommended. Plugs won’t work with tubes. To replace the tube, you need to break the beade, and that’s a big job.
I avoid laced/spoke wheels, but you may be able to convert to tubeless.
On my dual sports, In addition to Seal N Air and compact foot pump, I carried patches and tire irons. Fortunately I have not had a M/C flat in decades.
RE: Stupid question - Houtman_imp - 10-22-2018
As soon as I got my 2017 I put RIDE ON in both tires , this is different and better than SLIME , Google Ride ON to see for yourself.
RE: Stupid question - VLJ_imp - 10-23-2018
Wow. There sure aren't very many tires available in my bike's 110/80/18 and 140/17/18 sizes. None of the usual suspects (PR4, Roadsmart III, Angel GT, etc.) offer a rear tire in my size, and most don't offer fronts, either. Unlike mickey, I wasn't willing to change tire sizes. I like the handling just the way it is. I don't want to alter anything.
After shopping around, I only found three choices in radial tires that will accept inner tubes without needing to change loads, or anything else. In general, the stock Dunlop D205 no longer seems to be available, but I did find one place that carried a matching set. They wanted a fortune for the front tire, as in, way more for the front than for the rear, and the rear wasn't cheap either. I took a pass on that one. The next set was what seemed to be an older version of the Bridgestone Battlax BT54. Unlike the current set, which features two wide-set center groves in the front tire, this older BT54 had a single groove in the center, like the stock Dunlop, which means it tracks freeway grooves. I'm not a fan of that center groove. Unfortunately, the newer BT54 with the wide-set dual grooves doesn't accept inner tubes, according to the tech on the phone. Even though this set was much more affordable, I decided to keep looking, and I finally found a third set, the Metzeler Roadtec Z8. No center groove. Reviews say it lasts forever. I watched some videos of people showing the rear tire with 11K and even 13k miles, and there was still a decent amount of tread in the center.
I ordered up the Metzelers, along with a set of Honda/Dunlop OEM inner tubes, and some new rim strips. All in, it ended up costing $50 more than the Battlax set, but the Metzelers may last longer, and they don't have that annoying center groove. Fwiw, they also look a whole lot cooler. Also, those Honda/Dunlop OEM inner tubes were double the price of the mismatched set I was going to get with the Bridgestones, accounting for half of that $50 difference.
RE: Stupid question - the Ferret - 10-23-2018
Hope the Metzlers work out for you. Keep us informed of characteristics and wear.
RE: Stupid question - gogoAZ_imp - 10-23-2018
(10-22-2018, 08:55 PM)Houtman_imp Wrote: As soon as I got my 2017 I put RIDE ON in both tires , this is different and better than SLIME , Google Ride ON to see for yourself.
How has this stuff worked out for you?
RE: Stupid question - VLJ_imp - 10-23-2018
Sucks having to park the bike again for another couple of weeks, pending delivery of the tires and inner tubes. The inner tubes had to be ordered from Honda, so they'll take longer to arrive.
I really hate all this downtime, during peak riding season. She already had to sit out the first half of summer, when the dealer kept her for six weeks over that stupid taillight fiasco. Now she's going to miss a good chunk of the best remaining part of fall, when the leaves are turning and the best mountain passes are still open.
More fun for the Yamaha, I suppose. Never would have expected the Yamaha's mileage to exceed that of the CB during my first year with the CB, but that has definitely been the case. I bought the Honda in late January. She now has 6,100 miles. Over those same nine months, I've ridden the Yamaha a little over 8,000 miles. This was not the plan.
On the plus side, I have to say, yesterday's ride with my buddy swung me back to the Yamaha. It was a sport ride up Hwy 49 to Downieville (Kenny Roberts' favorite riding road, btw), and my buddy always chooses my Honda, leaving me with the Yamaha. The XSR just KILLS that road. So much fun. When we finally swapped bikes for the last bit home, I immediately noticed how much narrower the CB's handlebars are, plus the reduced leg room, and the massive increase in weight. The Yamaha was so much more comfortable. For my buddy's part, he immediately discovered that his driver's license could never withstand too much time on the Yamaha. As soon as he took hold of that bike, the light weight, ripping motor, and Akrapovic exhaust made him ride like a maniac. He kept zipping up to and over 100 mph, just for the sheer thrill of it. He couldn't get enough of hearing that motor and exhaust sound.
When we finally talked afterward, that was all he kept saying. "My license would get killed if I rode that bike too often. I would get sooooo many tickets!"
I mentioned the Honda's polished refinement, and he agreed, adding, "The Honda is like, I dunno...a Lexus? It's so smooth, so perfect at everything. It's the best.
"Still, the Yamaha's lack of that same refinement is part of what makes it so cool! It's kind of like a muscle car, except it's not really a muscle car. It's light, and agile, and it's not raw and unrefined. It's like a...ummm...a...."
"An M3," I said, at the exact same time he finished his thought with, "...an M3!"
We laughed, and he said, "Exactly! It's like an M3. It's really fast, but not brutishly fast, plus it handles, it's relatively small, and it's not crude. It's totally addictive. I couldn't handle owning it, though. I'd get into too much trouble. As awesome as it is, I still prefer the Honda. That would always be my first choice. It's special. It's unique. It's so beautiful. It's timeless. It's just perfect."
And you know what? There were stretches of that sport ride during which that guy was fairly well keeping up with me, even tough he was on the Honda. I couldn't believe it, but he was going over 100 mph to close the gaps on me, and when he'd catch back up, he wouldn't fall very far behind once the road tightened up again. He rode the bejeezus out of that Honda.
When I asked him about it later, he was fairly beaming. "Yep, I decided, the hell with it, I'm going to try and keep you in my sights, no matter what. Okay, no, I wasn't going to ride over my head or anything, but I wanted to see what would happen if I really went for it, no excuses. And that's what I did. I was riding it between 5,000 and 8,000 the entire time, almost always in third gear. I did finally discover, hey, this thing is really heavy. I'd lean it over, and I noticed that it's not so easy to bring her back up again, like on the Yamaha. Still, she could it!"
To be honest, I'm more than a bit concerned. I don't want my buddy trying to keep up with me, not if it means riding to (or approaching) his limits. I don't want him exceeding his comfort zone.
Next time, I think I'll commandeer the Honda and ride more slowly. That way, he'll be able to keep up on the Yamaha without pushing too hard. As great as it was to see his growing enthusiasm for riding, I do not want him to crash. That would be an absolute disaster.