Tire wear

[Gypped_imp]

The link to the Michelin article didn't work on my mobile. I'll try it again at home, it sounds interesting

On the VStrom forum there was a "Darkside" thread that extolled the benefits of using CAR TIRES on the bikes. I cuss you not, they put passenger car tires on their motorcycles. They had endless anecdotal information about mileage, handling, braking, wet grip, which brands and sizes to use, etc. I guess if that argument can be made, there's not much that can't be argued.

Yeah I'm very conservative when it comes to the bike. Maybe its because I know what skin debriedment feels like.

Going "darkside" is nothing new. There is a ton of people that yak about it, especially on cruiser forums. I know it's also commonly done on Goldwings. And what kind of tires do you imagine people used for the first 40 or 50 years motorcycles existed?

Personally I always use motorcycle tires, but I like to pretend I'm going to take a turn at speed at some point.

[The Spaceman_imp]

The link to the Michelin article didn't work on my mobile. I'll try it again at home, it sounds interesting

On the VStrom forum there was a "Darkside" thread that extolled the benefits of using CAR TIRES on the bikes. I cuss you not, they put passenger car tires on their motorcycles. They had endless anecdotal information about mileage, handling, braking, wet grip, which brands and sizes to use, etc. I guess if that argument can be made, there's not much that can't be argued.

Yeah I'm very conservative when it comes to the bike. Maybe its because I know what skin debriedment feels like.

Going "darkside" is nothing new. There is a ton of people that yak about it, especially on cruiser forums. I know it's also commonly done on Goldwings. And what kind of tires do you imagine people used for the first 40 or 50 years motorcycles existed?

Personally I always use motorcycle tires, but I like to pretend I'm going to take a turn at speed at some point.

The fact that something has been done for a while, or that it's "common," doesn't make it a good idea. Crack and meth addicts have been around in large numbers for decades.

Initially motorcyclists rode on bicycle tires; logical enough given the first motorcycles were bicycles with engines installed. However, that doesn't make me want to go look for beach-cruiser tires that fit my CB.

[The Spaceman_imp]

Ever since the "Darkside" threads started on the VStrom forum, I've wondered what an insurance adjuster would say if he came to assess a crash claim and found a car tire on the bike? Especially if it were a one-vehicle accident.

[wildezt_imp]

The Pirelli Sport Demons are a bias ply tire are they not? Our bike calls for radials. Not sure what the difference is or if that would make it handle funny. According to what Ive read Honda spent a lot of time and research matching these particular tires to this bike.

I must admit though other than this bike and my Nighthawk 750 which also took a weird sized tire, I have basically only used Michelins on all my motorcycles, cars and trucks for the last 20 years. Wish Michelin made tires in the right sizes for this bike.

i guess there is Michelin Commander 2 in Radials for 150 /70 -18 ..don't know whether its compatible for the CB..

[The Spaceman_imp]

Every OnStar equipped vehicle is producing data that prosecutors can subpoena on vehicle speed, location, etc. It was used to convict a college student who drove his parent's Escalade into Jacksonville Stadium and cut a bunch of donuts on the field. I'm certain a LOT of vehicles have data recorders as well that aren't widely mentioned.

However, the thing that really bugs me is Progressive's new spy-bot they're promoting on TV. It's "only for giving discounts" now, but I'll bet in 5 years you won't be able to buy car or bike insurance without agreeing to having one installed on your vehicle. Of course, the insurance rates will drop dramatically once we do agree, just like they did when seat belts were legally required, crash-proof bumpers were mandated, ABS and airbags became widespread, etc.

I hate the insurance industry with a passion. Vehicle, health, homeowner, life, business. They can all go hagafuku themselves.

[Randy B]

i guess there is Michelin Commander 2 in Radials for 150 /70 -18 ..don't know whether its compatible for the CB.. Should work but no Michelin front in that same type. I just looked it up and voila, the Pilot Road is available for the front in the correct size. That's a perfect tire for the CB1100, W-rated (168 mph sustained speeds), sticky, long-lasting, and would likely be a very good match with the Commander II. You always want the stickier tire up front, and they are both radials. Someone was wanting to switch to Michelins; this might be the ticket, but of course check with Michelin first. The Commander II is H-rated (130 mph maximum sustained speed) so I can't see any issue there unless someone unplugs the speed sensor (the bike is ECU limited to 112 mph as most of us know).
Speed rating is a misnomer. Those ratings should be called handling ratings more than speed ratings because they effect the handling characteristics more than anything. Yes they do tell you how fast you can "safely" take the tire up to, but there is a lot more to it than that.
I'm not going to get into the specifics of tire construction, but suffice it to say it's a BAD idea to mix and match speed ratings because it WILL intorduce unpredictable handling characteristics into the vehicle.
This is true in vehicles with 4 wheels, but even more true with vehicles on 2 wheels.

[Randy B]

I sold tires for years and had many classes on what the "speed rating" means. Trust me when I tell you that it's a whole lot more complicated that just how fast you can safely run a particular tire.
All I'm saying is don't mix and match ratings. If you run an H rated tire on the front, then run the same H rating on the rear. Same with any rating because the handling will be off and the faster you go the more unpredictable it will be.

[GoldOxide_imp]

I'm somewhere between 11,500 and 12,000 on the rear.

I appear to be in that range too (miles) for the rear OEM.

[jimgl3_imp]

Ferrett, I had Dunlop OEM, sport demons, and Metzeler Z8's. I liked the sport demons best. Plan to go back to them.