Dark side – that is epidemic
People were claiming many positive factors running a car tire as their rear one on VStroms. For me the most significant was the economic aspect. A d/s rear tire in Alberta costs $150 - $200 and lasts ~ 20k km. I am speaking for my experience, others will have theirs. There is Shinko of course, which can be had for $110 and will last ~ 12K km. I do run gravel a lot, there is one tangle though, before I even get there I have to ride 500 to 700 km one way on a straight hwy with no turns. Many rides are fishing rides ~300 km one end to a creek, no turns again. So all my tires got flat center and side parts looked like the day the tire was mounted.
Many dark side riders use General Exclaim UHP 205/55ZR17, me too, but I found the tire myself, rather than copied some one else’s experience.
How did I mount it? Quite easy actually. I did it myself, no shop, no special tools, just 3 pry bars. First it was impossible to pry the bead over the rim, because the tire had flat profile and pinched more than designed to, the bead was immediately half way seated, so the was not enough lack to move the final quarter of the bead over the rim. I broke the half seated bead and put in some wood wedges between the bead and the rim to keep the bead in the narrowest rim part. After wedging the bead mounting took 2 minutes. Setting the bead - no problem to report. Now, how to get the fat tire in, having no bike jacks and not laying the bike down? The obvious and most effective solution was never crossed my mind, I used an idea from this board and took the whole rear fender out. It is 10 minutes job, providing you do it having some beer along the way. With out beer it is faster or slower, depending on installer’s character. I took 4 bolts holding the rack, and 2 holding the fender, after they were out the fender just lifted up, no need to disconnect anything. The wheel went right in and the clearance with everything was as clear as it gets. Easy – peasy.
Now, I rode 1500 km on the new tire. 250 km were like this.
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No noticeable difference in handling. Revs are lower a bit because of very noticeable diameter change.
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The most concern: clearance with the chain is 4-5 mm, too small for my taste.
It is obviously too early to say if my economic reasons were met.
BTW, I run it with 38 psi, and have no idea what all pressure fuss is about.
People were claiming many positive factors running a car tire as their rear one on VStroms. For me the most significant was the economic aspect. A d/s rear tire in Alberta costs $150 - $200 and lasts ~ 20k km. I am speaking for my experience, others will have theirs. There is Shinko of course, which can be had for $110 and will last ~ 12K km. I do run gravel a lot, there is one tangle though, before I even get there I have to ride 500 to 700 km one way on a straight hwy with no turns. Many rides are fishing rides ~300 km one end to a creek, no turns again. So all my tires got flat center and side parts looked like the day the tire was mounted.
Many dark side riders use General Exclaim UHP 205/55ZR17, me too, but I found the tire myself, rather than copied some one else’s experience.
How did I mount it? Quite easy actually. I did it myself, no shop, no special tools, just 3 pry bars. First it was impossible to pry the bead over the rim, because the tire had flat profile and pinched more than designed to, the bead was immediately half way seated, so the was not enough lack to move the final quarter of the bead over the rim. I broke the half seated bead and put in some wood wedges between the bead and the rim to keep the bead in the narrowest rim part. After wedging the bead mounting took 2 minutes. Setting the bead - no problem to report. Now, how to get the fat tire in, having no bike jacks and not laying the bike down? The obvious and most effective solution was never crossed my mind, I used an idea from this board and took the whole rear fender out. It is 10 minutes job, providing you do it having some beer along the way. With out beer it is faster or slower, depending on installer’s character. I took 4 bolts holding the rack, and 2 holding the fender, after they were out the fender just lifted up, no need to disconnect anything. The wheel went right in and the clearance with everything was as clear as it gets. Easy – peasy.
Now, I rode 1500 km on the new tire. 250 km were like this.
The most concern: clearance with the chain is 4-5 mm, too small for my taste.
It is obviously too early to say if my economic reasons were met.
BTW, I run it with 38 psi, and have no idea what all pressure fuss is about.
