New Austone tire 175R16 after a 3000+ mile trip.

[cokebottle10]

I’m riding a 99 Interstate. Bike now has 30k+ miles. The front tire is a E3. With my fat ass (350bl+) plus tools, luggage and camping gear the bike was fully loaded. I left Ashville on Saturday 6-14-14 for a trip around Lake Superior and back with some friends.  I clocked 3181 miles on my trip.

My trip almost ended before I started because I had broken the driveshaft. The guys at Inzane gave me another one that was used but worked just fine. I can’t remember names but thanks to all that helped.

The Austone tire was mounted before I left. But I did not get a chance to test ride the bike without it fully loaded. I started with 40psi and the rear stock shocks set at 3. The tire bottomed out a few times on I40 riding into TN from NC. I adjusted the shocks up to 5. No more bottoming out the rest of the trip.
 
This is the first time that I have use a CT. I was unsure of it in the I40 gorge so I did not run it fast. I did not like the feel of it. I dropped the pressure to 38 psi but a fast ride downhill on I75 into Cincinnati the tire wanted to follow the grooves in the road. This made the rear wallow around.  After Cincinnati I raised the pressure to 50psi. (tire is rated at 55psi) The wallowing more or less went away below 85mph and the following of the grooves was much less. Above 85 the bike would start to "float". The Mackinac Bridge grating was a hand full.

Notes about the tire:
It is about 1.5 to 2 inches taller than a MC tire. At 70mph the motor is turning 3000rpm.
It is made in China.
It is rated at 55 psi max.
The bead does not come over the rim like most MC tires do.
No mods are needed on the bike. I still have the nut cage, and after setting the shocks to 5 it did not bottom out any more.
We did not remove any weight from the rim when we took off the old tire, and did not need to add any to balance it.
In the “Tunnel of Trees” I hit some sand on one of the turns. The front slid a little but the back held the line. Good grip in sand and gravel.
After 3000 plus miles there seems to be almost no wear. You could see the wear on the other guys tires after the trip.

Would I replace it with the same tire or another CT?
I’m not sure. The following of grooves is a real big negative for me. Other CT don't have the straight threads that this tire has and I don’t think that it would effect them as much. I think that the bottom line is I don’t trust this tire yet even after 3000 miles. Right now if I had to change it out because of age I would go back to a MC. But because it is still new I will keep this for now.

Thanks, David in Fletcher NC.

[Farther]

Good write-up.

[BigMac (SoCal)]

I've never heard of a drive shaft breaking. Can you give more details. 

[cokebottle10]

I broke the drive shaft taking it out. I have pulled it before but I pulled it like I do CV axles by tapping on it. When I mounted the tire before this one I put a new "C" clip on the end. So this time it did not want to come out. So I hit it harder because it had a new c-clip. When it came out about 1/4 of the end that keeps the c-clip in place was broken off. What I was hiting was a old open end wench on the shaft where the shaft starts to widen near the end.

Because of the helpfully people at Inzane I now know to hold the rear end up by the shaft and wiggle it or tap the side of the cup to get the shaft out.

Thanks, David in Fletcher NC.

[Skinhead]

You're The First I've Heard Complain Of Following Grooves In Pavement.

[cokebottle10]

I think that the following of grooves had more to do with the weight and straight threads of the Austone tire than anything else. The GVWR of the Interstate is just over 1200lb. With me and the things i was carring the weight was right at the max. The other CT that I saw at Inzane did not have this straight thread. Also below 85mph with 50psi, it was not a problem.

Because others have not complaned about this I feel that I will need to check the head bearings and the swing arm bearings just to make sure. However if you let go of the handle bars she travels straight and true, but I did not try this above 85mph.

I still have not rode it unloaded to give it a true before and after test.

PS. Front tire pressure is 40psi in a E3. At the end of this trip it had almost 7000 miles. The center is starting to show wear a little now, but over all I'm pleased with it.

Thanks, David in Fletcher NC.

[Ricky-D]

Breaking that little lip on the drive shaft does not render it unusable.

The clip at the end is not necessary to have in place to be useable.

If you look inside the pinion cup you can easily see that the splines

do not extend to a point where contact is possible with the end of the drive shaft

splines to include the area below the clip.

It's still good to use.

***

[pancho]

Sounds like an adventure trip for your first car tire. From reading the posts of others experiences with car tires, it seems that every situation and every tire gives the rider a different perception. I just went to a car tire (Verdestein Sportrac 3) and after BigPoppaPump clued me in on the correct pressure, I like it alot,, it drives much like a bike tire other than wanting to follow some road irregularities,, of course this is a soft summer tire,, big difference.

All I can can say about your tire is that I have seen several that like it a lot, but if it does not feel comfortable and safe to you,, you may want to reconsider. I do think that checking the swingarm and head bearings is a good idea.   Nice ride you had.

[Michael K (Az.)]

I  recently had my pit crew, Big Mac, John G, and Gary from New Mexico, haha, change out my Avon to an Austone tire. as I have short legs, we dropped the shock spring tension down low. I hit a good dip on purpose 2c how the tire reacted. It rubbed. All the way to the top setting I would be dangling my legs in the air so we dropped it one notch down. I left Gary's to go about five hundred and fifty miles home to Phoenix with a full load of stuff on the bike and at about 40 pounds it seems to ride alright. A friend of mine and I took a quick day trip through the mountains and I tried to follow all the tar snakes and grooves that I could and I just hardly noticed any difference other than the fact I was the only guy following
snakes and grooves. So far so good! Thanks once again to that pit crew HA!

[The emperor has no clothes]

I  recently had my pit crew, Big Mac, John G, and Gary from New Mexico, haha, change out my Avon to an Austone tire. as I have short legs, we dropped the shock spring tension down low. I hit a good dip on purpose 2c how the tire reacted. It rubbed. All the way to the top setting I would be dangling my legs in the air so we dropped it one notch down. I left Gary's to go about five hundred and fifty miles home to Phoenix with a full load of stuff on the bike and at about 40 pounds it seems to ride alright. A friend of mine and I took a quick day trip through the mountains and I tried to follow all the tar snakes and grooves that I could and I just hardly noticed any difference other than the fact I was the only guy following makes and grooves. So far so good! Thanks once again to that pit crew HA!

Yeah those guys need some pit crew uniforms. Fixing front tire valve stems on the fly, John's rear tire mishap, and replacing your tire all in one outing !

[Michael K (Az.)]

Plus, a new final drive. Gears were the thickness of ceiling fan blades on the old one. I procured it by the most circuitous route possible! Not counting the refill Kury peg extension that I thought prudent to break! Sheesh! Too many to thank, never enough time!!

[John Schmidt]

Keep in mind, no part of the drive line needs any pounding or hammering to disassemble or reassemble. I will sometimes use a rubber mallet to tap the rear axle into place, but that's the extent of any "hammering" I've ever found necessary. If you feel a hammer is needed, you're doing something wrong and the whole process is about to take an expensive turn.

[pancho]

I  recently had my pit crew, Big Mac, John G, and Gary from New Mexico, haha, change out my Avon to an Austone tire. as I have short legs, we dropped the shock spring tension down low. I hit a good dip on purpose 2c how the tire reacted. It rubbed. All the way to the top setting I would be dangling my legs in the air so we dropped it one notch down. I left Gary's to go about five hundred and fifty miles home to Phoenix with a full load of stuff on the bike and at about 40 pounds it seems to ride alright. A friend of mine and I took a quick day trip through the mountains and I tried to follow all the tar snakes and grooves that I could and I just hardly noticed any difference other than the fact I was the only guy following
snakes and grooves. So far so good! Thanks once again to that pit crew HA!

Your tire should NEVER rub,, not on any setting of the shocks, if it does there is a clearance problem that should to be looked into. There will be times when the shocks will compress fully no matter what setting they are put on, and if you are rubbing,,,, there will be trouble.

[Rams]

Interesting write up.   Appreciate the time and effort it took to do.

I've been riding an Austone for about 16,000 miles now, have not had the experience that you described but, will be aware and watching for it.    I was asked several times while at Inzane what tire I was running and told those who asked.   When questioned what I thought about it compared to a MC tire and other CTs, I was honest and told those asking why I had chosen the Austone over other CTs and how IMHO, the Austone rides so close to a MC tire that it's hard to tell the difference.
Other's may not agree with me but, that's exactly what I think.    

I wonder if the way you were loaded (heavy) played any part in the way your Valkyrie was handling.    I used a pull behind trailer and my Valkyrie is almost naked (no luggage) except for my saddle bags.    I try to keep the tongue weight to 50 lbs or less.    Just guessing but, I believe my pull behind weighed at least 500 lbs (correction, after thinking about it, I'm sure my trailer and load exceeds 750 lbs) with it's own weight, luggage and liquid refreshments I had on board.

[Bighead]

David you said you still don't trust the tire but yet you ran it HARD   it seems .85 + mph if I didn't trust a tire I wouldn't get over 20 mph.

[Bigwolf]

I think that the following of grooves had more to do with the weight and straight threads of the Austone tire than anything else. The GVWR of the Interstate is just over 1200lb. With me and the things i was carring the weight was right at the max. The other CT that I saw at Inzane did not have this straight thread. Also below 85mph with 50psi, it was not a problem.

Because others have not complaned about this I feel that I will need to check the head bearings and the swing arm bearings just to make sure. However if you let go of the handle bars she travels straight and true, but I did not try this above 85mph.

I still have not rode it unloaded to give it a true before and after test.

PS. Front tire pressure is 40psi in a E3. At the end of this trip it had almost 7000 miles. The center is starting to show wear a little now, but over all I'm pleased with it.

Thanks, David in Fletcher NC.

While checking things, don't forget to have a look at shock bushings.  When the bushings on mine got worn, the bike began to follow grooves more and had a sloppy feel on rough road.  I put new shock bushings in as part of my prep for Inzane this year and WOW!  It's like a new bike.  It will still lead into big ruts but is not affected by grooves or tar snakes.  I don't know anything about the Austone tire.  I do run a Falken Ziex rear and E3 front.  By the way, I was carrying about 480 lbs to and from Inzane with no trailer and no problems.

Bigwolf

[cokebottle10]

Hey guys,

When I installed the tire I did look at the upper shock bushings and they looked okay. These bushings now have after the trip about 7000 miles on them. I got them from honda at the first of the year. When I fist got the bike they were worn out and had small cracks in them. I have not looked at the bushings since I have been back. I will look this weekend.

Also I have never replaced the bottom bushings on the shocks. Didn't think I needed to. Maybe this is part of my problem? Do you guys recomend replacing the bottom shock bushings?

Thanks David in Fletcher NC

[Valkorado]

Interesting write up.   Appreciate the time and effort it took to do.

I've been riding an Austone for about 16,000 miles now, have not had the experience that you described but, will be aware and watching for it.    I was asked several times while at Inzane what tire I was running and told those who asked.   When questioned what I thought about it compared to a MC tire and other CTs, I was honest and told those asking why I had chosen the Austone over other CTs and how IMHO, the Austone rides so close to a MC tire that it's hard to tell the difference.

+1.  Same mileage on my Austone, same great results.