New tires opinions from the Texas Boys?

[z10]

Ok, I've searched and posted this on the general board, but I thought I would solicit opinions from those of you who ride in Texas.  Any new development in tires? 

Oh, here's a pic just to get you to answer.   

[Disco]

Hey, z.  Nice ride!  

I'm on my second Darkside rear.  The first was an asymmetrical Continental Vanco 195/65-16.  It was great and I rode it more than 32,000 miles.  The one I'm on now is a Falken Ziex 512 in 205/65-16.  The Falken is far superior to the Vanco and I've enjoyed it for more than 15,000 miles.  It's not used up, but, with its soft compound, it is showing some wear.  

Valkpilot has the Ziex on one of his bikes and the General Altimax HP in 205/60-16 on the other.  Both are popular soft-compound options right now and he likes the Altimax better.  I'm going to put an Altimax on before the ride to InZane next month to check it out.  

When I bought my bike it had the original Dunlops on it and they were shot at 3,5XX miles.  Seven years old and probably ridden under-inflated.  I replaced them with Avon Venoms and then came an Avon Cobra rear and several Cobra fronts.  I don't have a bad thing to say about the Avons, but I put a Metzeler ME880 front on a couple of weeks ago and all I can say is WOW.  That thing loves to corner.  Now I'm the first to agree that almost any new tire is going to be better than the old one it's replacing, but this Metzeler is really something and my bike handles better than it ever has.  If the Altimax is another incremental improvement, I'll be tickled.  

The knock on Metzelers is often that they don't last as long as some others.  The way I look at it, I'm saving a ton of cash by riding a superior rear tire.  I don't care if the front is short-lived.  It is soft and sticky.  

Hope this helps.

[RainMaker]

Running the Avon Cobra up front, the General Altimax 205-60-16 V-Rated tire on the rear.  Very happy with both and will use Avon up front the next time but will go to the 175R16 Austone Taxi Tire for the next rear tire based upon reviews and comments I've seen.

Ran Avon Cobra MC rear tire before and it was good, but like the extra patch on the car tire, the more advanced features, longer life, better ride and lower cost. 

There are so many opinions on tires and none of them are wrong.  Not sure you will get one answer with more support than any other.  All we can tell you is what we have experienced.

RainMaker

[RainMaker]

Once you get the tire question answered, we'll start on our recommendations for oil.

[franco6]

the Metzler has been the best front tire for me too, tho the last one from Brazil did not seem to last as long as the other ones made in Deutschland.the rear is still the michelin hydroedge,205/65R16, a very hard tire that just seems to go on forever  .its made in USA 

[houstone]

The Metz Marathon Radial is easily the best front tire I've ever run.  They have gotten ~7K +/- a couple hundred for the last 3 I've had, and are WELL worth the money.  My 2 GY TTs are both over 25K and still plenty of meat.
Happy in Houston!

[z10]

Guys,

I appreciate the advice and I have been intrigued by the "Dark Side".  Here's a couple of follow up questions:

1.  My local dealer is quoting me 1 hour to mount and change the front and 3 hours to mount the rear @ $90 per hours.  Does this seem reasonable?
2.  Any chance a dealer would mount a car tire?

Oh, yes I'm a noob, so cut me some slack, I'm learning. 

[RainMaker]

Guys,

I appreciate the advice and I have been intrigued by the "Dark Side".  Here's a couple of follow up questions:

1.  My local dealer is quoting me 1 hour to mount and change the front and 3 hours to mount the rear @ $90 per hours.  Does this seem reasonable?
2.  Any chance a dealer would mount a car tire?

Oh, yes I'm a noob, so cut me some slack, I'm learning. 

Holy moly!  I'm in the wrong business!!!

That seems extremely high to me.  If you let them remove the rear wheel themselves, they are taking about 3 times as long as most of us could take a tire off of a standard Valkyrie.  Maybe an interstate with a lot of goodies would take 3 hours, but not a standard.  Front wheel is easy to remove.

I'd call around and see if you can do better.  It's a shame you aren't in the DFW area as we have one member with a tire changer in his garage that we have used. 

Dealers will not, for the most part, put a car tire on a motorcycle wheel.  And it's more than just putting the wheel on.  There are some minor modifications you make to the rear fender that you can read about in the tech section.

So, yes, it seems high for the labor price requested.

RM

[f-Stop]

I'm sure the dealer is quoting "book rate".  Also, I'd ask the dealer if their pricing includes servicing the rear end -- including replacing the o-rings (3), replacing the left side dust seal and re-packing the splines with moly paste. 

FYI, I've been riding on Dunlop E3 radials front and rear for a few years now.  Have had pretty good luck with them, too.  Using dyna-beads.  (Got around 18,500 miles on the last E3 rear.)

And...just to get the discussion going...I use Amsoil 20W50 synthetic along with the Amsoil oil filter.

[z10]

Thanks Rmaker, I thought it sounded it high, but what do I know?  I'll check around and see if I can find someone else to do the job.

I would attempt this my self, but I'm just not confident in my abilities at this point.  I do want you guys to know I'm not totally mechanically challenged, I did pull the engine and trans out of my 72 GMC last week.  

[z10]

Good point fstop.  I'll ask some deeper questions. 

[RainMaker]

Just to fan the fire, I don't know of anyone that really trusts a dealer to service the splines on a Valkyrie correctly.  Too many failures have occurred as they don't lube them correctly, use the wrong lube, don't know where the o-rings are, don't loosen the pumpkin bolts, etc.  Make sure any mechanic that you use is familiar with the Valkyrie before you let them near your final drive.

It is the achilles heel of a mighty motorcycle.

RM

[z10]

Give me an education.....does the Wing and the Valk share the same rear end?  If so, shouldn't a dealer that services Wings know how to service the Valk?

[R J]

Give me an education.....does the Wing and the Valk share the same rear end?  If so, shouldn't a dealer that services Wings know how to service the Valk?

That is a good  questron, BUT, I've only found about 1 in 10 dealers know how to service a Valkyrie rear end.

I did mine till I couldn't get up and down so now my son does mine in his shop.

Well, he did it in his shop now it is a independent axle VW rear end and MGM is currently a TRIKE.

 

[Disco]

IF the tires on your bike will make a one-way ride to DFW and you have the time, save the $360.00, order the tires online, have them shipped to me, and take a trip.  We'll rustle up some help and do the tire work and service your final drive in less than 4 hours.  You'll learn enough to do the final drive yourself in the future, and come out ahead dollar-wise.  We'll even throw in the o-rings.

Well, the burgers will be on you, but we'll take it easy on "the noob"!

BTW, I saw the sign Friday...  Cycle Center of Denton has a $99.00 per hour labor rate.   

[RainMaker]

Give me an education.....does the Wing and the Valk share the same rear end?  If so, shouldn't a dealer that services Wings know how to service the Valk?

You'd think that would be true, but it isn't.  Too many examples of dealer service leading to final drive failure just in our subset of Valkyrie owners.  I agree with Disco - plan a ride to DFW and we'll have a wrench party.

[Westsider]

Always run Metzler steel belts.   ,, car tire works great on the rear for a valk.

And yea, Disco, way to step up .. Great ideas...

Nice toys there z10...

Oh and cool..very rare color combo Valk . no?..

[franco6]

Give me an education.....does the Wing and the Valk share the same rear end?  If so, shouldn't a dealer that services Wings know how to service the Valk?

You'd think that would be true, but it isn't.  Too many examples of dealer service leading to final drive failure just in our subset of Valkyrie owners.  I agree with Disco - plan a ride to DFW and we'll have a wrench party.

The dealer mechanics have no idea about the valks or much else .
Find the tres hombres shop near you they ll mount each tire for $10-15 

[z10]

IF the tires on your bike will make a one-way ride to DFW and you have the time, save the $360.00, order the tires online, have them shipped to me, and take a trip.  We'll rustle up some help and do the tire work and service your final drive in less than 4 hours.  You'll learn enough to do the final drive yourself in the future, and come out ahead dollar-wise.  We'll even throw in the o-rings.

Well, the burgers will be on you, but we'll take it easy on "the noob"!

BTW, I saw the sign Friday...  Cycle Center of Denton has a $99.00 per hour labor rate.   

Disco, that's a generous offer.  I think I've got a couple of thousand miles left on the tires, so a trip to Dallas shouldn't be a big deal.  Let me see if I can clear off sometime and get back to you.

Burgers are definitely on me. 

[HayHauler]

Great offer Disco!  Besides, what's a 5 hour, one way ride amongst friends? 

Those DFW boys know these Valks!!

Hay 
Jimmyt

[LandElephant]

Isn't that just a morning outing Jimmy?  Hell what do you plan for after lunch and maintenance.?

Charlie Morse
Land Elephant

[Daniel Meyer]

Thanks Rmaker, I thought it sounded it high, but what do I know?  I'll check around and see if I can find someone else to do the job.

I would attempt this my self, but I'm just not confident in my abilities at this point.  I do want you guys to know I'm not totally mechanically challenged, I did pull the engine and trans out of my 72 GMC last week.  

LOL! Yeah, but can ya put it back?

If so, a valk rear is a piece of cake!

[z10]

Well, we're getting to ready to find out!  Thought you guys might like to see a few photos of what came out and what's going back in.


 

[Daniel Meyer]

Nice!

[olddog1946]

Now that's a great way to hi jack a thread, lol..

Have you've gone with a 383, aluminum heads, balanced, etc.  Should be sweet!!

[z10]

Now that's a great way to hi jack a thread, lol..

Have you've gone with a 383, aluminum heads, balanced, etc.  Should be sweet!!

Well I did start the thread. 

It's a ZZ4 Chevy crate motor.  350/355hp/405ftlbs.  I have one in my 69 Camaro and love it.  Hopefully I'll get every thing painted in the next week or so and we'll drop it in the GMC.

[MarcusS]

I went to the dark side this weekend with a new SN223C 195/65R16C D/8PR  It is from Sunny a china mfg. This is a truck tire. It was tough to get on but seems to work great. I did a static balance then put in 3 oz of beads. Started out at about 27 lbs and was like magic. Did a 150 mile run Saturday and enjoyed the soft ride. Probably a little too soft so I will be bumping up  the psi a little. Tire has real stiff sidewalls. Replacing the Meltzer 880 was a good idea. The area where it was plugged was getting pretty thin. Getting use to the ride was not an issue. Delivered to my door was only $100.


I have a 98 std and  the weight is minimal so I plan to only bump it up to 30 psi next.

[godfire]

Well, we're getting to ready to find out!  Thought you guys might like to see a few photos of what came out and what's going back in.


 

Sweeeeeeet!!!!