[roughrider]

Hey Dudes,
I had a blowout last Month while I was riding down the ALCAN about 25 miles South of Teslin. I normally ride fairly hard, but had slowed to 70mph because of traffic when I came over a frost heave and ran into a hole that was 50ft wide and 1.5 - 2ft deep. I was able to land on the tires, but I was hanging over the windshield by my knees, I twisted the throttle and ended up back in the seat, I thought all was well until I got to the next corner, anyway I pulled over and the Dunlop Elite 3 was flat. It had a half inch split in the center of the tire. I poked a couple of plugs into it and pumped it up with my bicycle pump. I added air to it each morning and made it to Attica Ks. In time to help my dad get the combines ready for harvest. I had been reading on the VTXOA site (about people mounting car tires) before I left Alaska and thought that would be great for the kind of riding that I do.( a lot of rocky/gravel mining and park roads) Anyway I have gone to the dark side and so far so good. I put about 500 miles on the 205/55/16 CT before I had to fly home and just wanted to report that it handles better on sand and gravel than any mc tire that I have used and it seems that I have more cornering clearance than before (same corner same speed but no sparks) I rode 50miles in hard rain on curvy roads in eastern Ks. and no signs of hydroplaning. The only detrimental behavior that I have noticed is below 15mph, it takes more input to make a turn, but I am getting familiar with it. I will fly back next week to meet some friends and we plan to leave for Ak on the 12th of July, should be home by the 21st, I will let you know what I think of the tire then.

 

[BigVTXMan]

Hey Dudes,
I had a blowout last Month while I was riding down the ALCAN about 25 miles South of Teslin. I normally ride fairly hard, but had slowed to 70mph because of traffic when I came over a frost heave and ran into a hole that was 50ft wide and 1.5 - 2ft deep. I was able to land on the tires, but I was hanging over the windshield by my knees, I twisted the throttle and ended up back in the seat, I thought all was well until I got to the next corner, anyway I pulled over and the Dunlop Elite 3 was flat. It had a half inch split in the center of the tire. I poked a couple of plugs into it and pumped it up with my bicycle pump. I added air to it each morning and made it to Attica Ks. In time to help my dad get the combines ready for harvest. I had been reading on the VTXOA site (about people mounting car tires) before I left Alaska and thought that would be great for the kind of riding that I do.( a lot of rocky/gravel mining and park roads) Anyway I have gone to the dark side and so far so good. I put about 500 miles on the 205/55/16 CT before I had to fly home and just wanted to report that it handles better on sand and gravel than any mc tire that I have used and it seems that I have more cornering clearance than before (same corner same speed but no sparks) I rode 50miles in hard rain on curvy roads in eastern Ks. and no signs of hydroplaning. The only detrimental behavior that I have noticed is below 15mph, it takes more input to make a turn, but I am getting familiar with it. I will fly back next week to meet some friends and we plan to leave for Ak on the 12th of July, should be home by the 21st, I will let you know what I think of the tire then.

Holy [email protected]! That is one huge hole! Glad you lived to tell about it. I guess your forum name fits pretty well.

We get a lot of pot holes out here too, and I've narrowly missed some real scary ones, but nothing like what you just described. Ouch.

Thanks for input about gravel road riding with the CT. Good to know if I do run up to the top of Pike's Peak.

-S

 

[bruizer]

B-F-S

 

[mike nauer]

Hey Roughrider!!!

Make sure and get back to us how the CT works out? I just put on the 205-60-16 on my 02 X C Model. What front tire are you running? thanks

 

[roughrider]

Well, Four friends and I made it back to Alaska and I gave the 205/55/16 car tire a good test on several different types of surfaces; wet, muddy, rocky, etc. I am happy with the performance, it was obviously better than the mc tires on the gravel, in mud and the groved surface where the highway dept. prepared for new asphalt. After 5,000 miles, there is no noticeable wear on the tire, and the others are all ready for new tires. For my riding needs, the car tire is the better choice. The speedometer/odometer reads 3% high. I will probably go with the 60 series next time. I have a Dunlop E3 on the front with 14,400 miles, and I will need to replace it soon. I have been happy with this tire and will probably buy another. Having said all of this, I would not recommend a car tire for general highway riding, especially if the rider is of small stature. I have had to put my foot down a few times to balance the bike at slow parking lot speeds when I ran over a small hump or the edge of a hole, and it takes a pretty strong push to keep from running into a parked car or other object. I will not be puting a car tire on my wife's bike.