Darkside convert?

[guywheatley]

I just threw a chunk of rubber off my Valk's rear tire. I'm seriously thinking of going back with the Good Year Tripple Tread 205/60/R16. I can order it through Wally-world for about $147. They'll ship it to the store free. Any ideas or last minute warnings? I guess I'm a little hesitant to actually pull the trigger on this, but I've only heard good things about it on here and the VRCC forum.

[hootmon]

I Don't have a Valk..
The Car tire takes a little getting used to as the back end feels a little mushy especially in corners...
That Mushiness in corners is actually a good thing, the harder you crank on it, the more tread you get on the ground..
My experience.. I've had Dunlop, Metz. and Avon on the back of mine and I've had them all slip on a hard acceleration take off & turn.. (Left turn out of a gas station)..
I've NEVER had my Car tire slip on me, except under hard braking going straight.  That alone makes it worth it to me..
Get a Uni-Directional tire IF at all possible, and I know it is on the Valk..

[guywheatley]

Thanks Hoot. That's one of the reason's I focused on the GY TT. I looked at some less expensive tires in that size, but didn't like the tread patterns.

[TLRam1]

Go for it, than you will know.

[lragan]

I have the same tire on the red '96 that Hoot has on his, and I like it.

Got quite a rise out of the safety inspector (a new sticker every year in Texas) and one bystander.  All the common questions about cornering, etc.

My answer is that it corners just fine.  I ride a cruiser, am not racing a sportbike, and it turns a little differently, but quite acceptably.  Aaaannnnd, I paid $55 for it, mounted it myself, and expect to get 30,000 miles on it.   That pretty much ended the discussion...

[Magnum Magna]

My answer is that it corners just fine.  I ride a cruiser, am not racing a sportbike, and it turns a little differently, but quite acceptably. 

I scrape my highway pegs on corners and I don't plan on leaning farther than that.

[guywheatley]

This looks pretty good, and is a LOT cheaper.

205/60-16 FUZION FUZION HRi w/UNI-T N/A

[Charles S Otwell]

I think it needs to be a directional tire, with the outside threads mirrowing each other..

[lragan]

So you are looking for a tread pattern that is symmetric about the center plane?

I will have to go have a look at mine, I think it meets this criterion.

[guywheatley]

Yep. I see that now looking closer. Rats! I sure did like that $56.20 price.
I'm still looking for a better balance between acceptable tread and price. I also want to stay with a profile that keep the rim to tread hight close the 125mm. More than 126 and I'll need to do the nut cage mod. Very much less, and speedo and odometer will be too far off.
I found this one locally for $109.00

[Jumbobret]

In your first post you stated 205/60R16. The pic of the Yoko is a 235/65R18. So which size do you need? I work at a dealership and can get just about any tire made for much less than most. Just need to know what size.

[guywheatley]

In your first post you stated 205/60R16. The pic of the Yoko is a 235/65R18. So which size do you need? I work at a dealership and can get just about any tire made for much less than most. Just need to know what size.

205/60/R16 is what I need.
The 235/65R18 was the tire they had at the dealership, but they said they can get 205/60/R16 with the same tread pattern.
I've got a 180/70/R16 on it now. The 205/60/R16 is 35mm wider but actually 3mm shorter from rim to tread if I understand the profile correctly. I wouldn't even need to do the nutcage mod with that tire. It's got a good chevron pattern that looks like it would move water sufficiently and the edges look rounded enough to help cornering.
This is of course all speculation based on pictures. No real world experience. Still, I think this is the tire I'll feel comfortable making the jump with. Let me know if you can get a good price. Thanks for checking on it.

[Charles S Otwell]

I like the looks of that tire over what I seen so far, hope it works for you so I can try it ..

[Curtis_Valk]

Guy, with the extra mileage you'll get you could give $300 for a tire and it would still be cheaper than a motorcycle tire.  Look at tires with an eye toward the best tire, not price.  Also don't worry about the speedo and odometer, they work off the front tire.  The only thing that rear tire diameter will throw off is your tach.

Also, the nut cage mod is very easy with the wheel off, I'd do it anyway.  If you wait and it rubs you'll be doing it with the wheel on.  The right side need only be done, the left is not even close but I did my left side anyway while I was in there.  BTW every Valk is different, mine was rubbing with the stock size motorcycle tire when heavily loaded.


Curtis

[Smoked U]

Do yourself a big favor and stay away from tires with a concentric tread. Get something like this N3000 with a directional tread that won't follow every groove in the road.

http://www.nexentireusa.com/tires-4/N3000