CT with bi-directionsl treads

[0leman]

I am in the process of getting a new CT, my present one after 30K seems to be wearing thin.

I have several tires in mind, but before I make a decision I need some opinions on bi-directional treads.  If I remember correctly several have reported that they run CT's with bi-directional treads.

What the opinion on them?

[Westsider]

No problems , if this is what  your reffering to   symmetrical, asymmetrical, still blows their doors off.

[Jess from VA]

Actually it's SYMMETRICAL and ASYMMETRICAL tread design.

Symmetrical is recommended to minimize car tire riding effect, but I doubt it is a big deal.

Bi directional sounds like ....... some guys I met in the theater department at school.   

[bill-jr]

Man I love those doors .....

[Michvalk]

I ran an asymmetrical tire for 0ver 20,000 miles and never noticed a difference.

[PAVALKER]

Man I love those doors .....

    Ditto.

[The emperor has no clothes]

Actually it's SYMMETRICAL and ASYMMETRICAL tread design.

Symmetrical is recommended to minimize car tire riding effect, but I doubt it is a big deal.

Bi directional sounds like ....... some guys I met in the theater department at school.   

What were you doing in the theater dept.?

[Jess from VA]

Actually it's SYMMETRICAL and ASYMMETRICAL tread design.

Symmetrical is recommended to minimize car tire riding effect, but I doubt it is a big deal.

Bi directional sounds like ....... some guys I met in the theater department at school.   

What were you doing in the theater dept.?

I never hung out in the theater dept.   My best lifelong friend (and freshman year roomate) was one of the few straight guys in the theater dept at our undergrad university (he was good enough to get a scholarship).  I attended all the cast parties, cause they rocked and had top quality female participants.... and also a bunch of very extroverted bi directional guys.   

Which was fine.... though my first exposure to that sort of thing.   

[olddog1946]

My first CT was symmetrical and the second asymmetrical and I can tell no difference due to tread design. I have a champiro gt radial 205/60/16 from discount tire and like it much better than the original car tire as it has a more rounded profile and requires much less effort in the curves.

[fudgie]

I have one with a 1" wide center strip and hate it. Follows the grooves in the concrete. Getting rid of it this spring.

[DarkSideR]

Have you considered the Vredestein Sportrac 3? My first CT was the GYTT. Though I never complained about it I often wondered what the square shoulders were doing to my handling. Found out it affected my low speed handling.

The Vredestein literally has a rounded profile. I have 6k on this tire and have found the handling much, much better than the GYTT.

http://www.tiresbyweb.com/p-9409-vredestein-sportrac-3-tires.aspx



Had a fellow VRCC member introduce me to this tire and was happy he did, so I am doing the same here.

[Ricky-D]

Well, you've got that tire on backwards!

***

[DarkSideR]

Well, you've got that tire on backwards!

***

You are correct. I have since corrected this. Had a small HD custom shop mount it so.. expected. So don't let that detour you. The picture was posted is illustrate the shape of the tire.

[gordonv]

For my ACE Tourer, I had the Vredestein Comtrac mounted on my rear tire, but I gave the bike to my brother after I bough the Goldwing, and he didn't want a CT on a MC.



I would have liked the Sportrac instead, either didn't know of it, or didn't have the size.

[DarkSideR]

I considered the Comtrac, but the Spotrac was a good pick.

[fantsybikr]

I've only ever ran directional (symetrical) so can't claim to know the difference in ride..but I will stay with directional tires mainly because motorcycles tires are directional. My guess is the reasons for asymetrical tread for cars probably do not apply to motorcycles..I figure the tire should be the same on both halfs ???

[Old Geezer Richard]

  Hey Oleman , I have had great luck with my 205 -55 -16 Michelin Pilot from Sam's Whse. for $135  ....  It has a plain jane passenger car tread design that's not aggressive in design so my rear end doesn't do the two step  on odd ball surfaces and it stops on a dime if need be  , and great in the rain  & wet streets  ......  I've got about 34,000 miles on the clock so far and wondering if its ever gonna ever wear out after 4 yrs. ..... One thing I took in consideration when buying tire , I did not need a tire with a High Speed rating , because the side walls won't flex as easily in tight turns , my tire's sidewalls do flex easy for tight turning especially like in a cul-de-sac  if need be  ......  But when it does finally wear out ,  I'll be switching to a 60 series instead  ....  Thanks the Geezer 

[0leman]

  Hey Oleman , I have had great luck with my 205 -55 -16 Michelin Pilot from Sam's Whse. for $135  ....  It has a plain jane passenger car tread design that's not aggressive in design so my rear end doesn't do the two step  on odd ball surfaces and it stops on a dime if need be  , and great in the rain  & wet streets  ......  I've got about 34,000 miles on the clock so far and wondering if its ever gonna ever wear out after 4 yrs. ..... One thing I took in consideration when buying tire , I did not need a tire with a High Speed rating , because the side walls won't flex as easily in tight turns , my tire's sidewalls do flex easy for tight turning especially like in a cul-de-sac  if need be  ......  But when it does finally wear out ,  I'll be switching to a 60 series instead  ....  Thanks the Geezer 

I have a Michelin HydroEdge  (205/65/16) on my Valk at present.   30k on it.  Roads around here eat tires, so I am happy with the mileage.  I probably could get another 3-4K out of the tire, but need to do rear end maintenance/replace pinion coup soon. 

 I am looking at getting another CT tire, maybe a Taxi Tire, for her now.  I just wanted to know others opinion on bi-directional tires so That would not limit my choices.

[Gryphon Rider]

It's my opinion that the use of a unidirectional tire vs a bidirectional tire is mostly one of aesthetics.  The only caveat to this is that the higher-performance tires that many prefer to use are more likely to be unidirectional.

Symmetrical vs. non-symmetrical is another issue.  If the tread pattern or rubber compound is such that the bike will feel different or have different traction in a left turn vs. a right turn, I would avoid that tire.  An example:



If it's non-symmetrical in such a way that the right side is the same as the left, but rotated 180°, the tread shouldn't be a problem:



All this being said, I prefer the aesthetics of a unidirectional symmetrical tire:

[Disco]

I rode more than 30K miles on my first DS tire, an asymmetrical Continental Vanco in 195/65-16 (can't be found anymore) and it was great.  I told everyone it had neutral handling. 

And then I got a symmetrical Falken Ziex 512 in 205/65-16. 

Only then did I realize that the Vanco was not neutral at all.  It didn't have much "personality" - I believe largely due to its relative narrowness and rounded profile - but it was there.  So much so that on my ride home from installing the Falken, I almost crossed the yellow line and did change tracks in my lane because of the Falken's significantly lower requirement for steering input. 

While I did get many miles of good service out of the asymmetrical Vanco, when the Falken was replaced I didn't even consider an asymmetrical tire.  It was replaced with another symmetrical tire, this time a General Altimax in 205/60-16.  I prefer the feel of the Falken, but wanted the look of a 60-series this time.  (Hmmm, while researching the numbers for the following paragraph, I found the Ziex ZE 512 in 205/60 listed again, and it is available!)

When choosing a DS tire, I pay close attention to the UTQG number.  The lower the number, the softer the rubber compound.  For example, the Falken Ziex (40,000 mile warranty) has a UTQG number of 420.  There are a few tires out there in the 300s, but 420 is pretty soft.  The General Altimax HP (55,000 mile warranty) is 440 - still soft.  The Goodyear Assurance TripleTred (70,000 mile warranty) has a UTQG number of 640 - getting pretty hard.  The Michelin HydroEdge (90,000 mile warranty) has a UTQG number of 800 - really hard. 

My personal recommendation is that IF you are many miles from home, suffer a catastrophic rear tire failure, and the only DS tire you can install is asymmetrical, fine, do it and get home safely.  However, if you are not under duress to replace right now, get yourself a soft, symmetrical tire and enjoy all the benefits, not just most.