[wilberforce]

Just finished riding a little over 2,000 miles on the Dunlop Wintersport SP 175/60/60 rear CT. My route included Hiway 395 through Oregon, Hiway 140, Hiway 101 (coast route), I-5 freeway and Hiway 36 in Northern California (a paved mountain road with 130 miles of 25 and 35 mph rated turns). Tire pressure; 35 psi. The tire performed like a MT on all roads except Hiway 36 where sometimes it felt as if the tire needed more psi to smoothly negotiate sharp turn after sharp turn. It felt a little "squishy" on the real tight turns and kinda wore me out trying to keep the big Honda absolutely under control. But after all, the big GL is not a sport bike which would have been a better choice of motorcycle to use on Hiway 36. I consider my decision to put this CT on the GL as nothing but a good decision and will put another Dunnie Wntersport on the GL when this one wears out. But I will try to avoid roads like Hiway 36 using the big Honda in the future.
Overall impression so far is very positive and I can not see any real tire tread wear at this point. That my friend is great news to me.

 

[trialsman]

Next time try the 195-55 in that tire and use 32-34.

Is your suspension stock? A few curves on that size tire is fine but I found it to be too small for a lot of aggressive corner carving.

 

[Wahoo]

I've got about 1,300 miles on my 175/60/16 Dunlop RF Wintersport now. I like it. It handles much more like a MT than a CT, but make a lot more noise with the tread pattern. I haven't carved any NC mountain roads with it yet, but it seems to handle pretty well so far.

Mrs. Wahoo who doesn't usually notice things like tires, commented that she thought the ride with the previous CT we were running (195/55/16 Kumho Escta RF at 34) felt "smoother" from the pillion perspective.

The Kumho which still has a few thousand miles left on it is still mounted on my spare rim.....I may re-install it and see if she notices any difference. :doorag:

 

[onewayblues]

Trialsman,
What does the size of the tire affect the handling, how does it effect the handling?
I dont want question your experiance I just want your input because living in Nebraska, I dont have as much experiance as you. :shrug:

 

[Wingjammer]

I'm at about 4K on the little Dunnie now, every imaginable road condition, speed and weather (except snow/ice). Satisfaction factor for me is 100%, glad I bought a spare one or two. As Wahoo, I do hear a very slight "singing" on smooth pavement, under leans, but not all that loud. I just crank up the old R&R. BTW, 4 other converts that got into my stash of spare little Dunnies love their's as well .

 

[jpinpa]

I agree the larger 195/55/16 will get rid of that squishy feeling as you put it in the tight corners. I have notice even though I run a NRF that a couple more pounds of air for corner carving helps a ton. The wing loves to tear up the twistys so don't think the bike won't handle it it will probably more than you and I can throw at it. Glad you still like the tire :thumbup:

 

[Rocketman911]

Glad you had a good trip and enjoyed the tire. A couple of pounds will do wonders!:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:

 

[trialsman]

Trialsman,
What does the size of the tire affect the handling, how does it effect the handling?
I dont want question your experiance I just want your input because living in Nebraska, I dont have as much experiance as you. :shrug:

The smaller CT, like the 175-60, which is slightly narrower than the stock 180-60 will feel much like a MT is most respects. The same CT in the 195-55 will require a "very slight" extra effort to initiate and hold a turn. Most riders barely notice the difference. Most also make the adjustment and don't notice it within 100 miles.

After the turn is initiated, many feel the amount of or smoothness of the turn is more controllable, because it only drops into the turn to the extent you want it to. A MT will, once asked to turn, will just drop into the turn until you tell it to stop with handlebar input. I hope that makes sense.

In other words the smaller the CT, the more is will want to drop into the turn like a MT.

As the size of the CT goes up, say to a 205, the same things happens again. Slightly more input to initiate.

The other thing affected is the CT's tendency to try and climb up or down,to the side, waves in the road surface. Obviously, the narrower the tire, the less likely the "climbing".

A point of clarification on the 175-60. It will handle aggressive riding in curves, with the right psi, but the edges and the sidewall beyond the edge showed me things I didn't like, 4: even before the tire was worn out.

 

[WingWing]

Next time try the 195-55 in that tire and use 32-34.

...aaahhhhhh, finally.


Dennis

 

[bgross]

The smaller CT, like the 175-60, which is slightly narrower than the stock 180-60 will feel much like a MT is most respects. The same CT in the 195-55 will require a "very slight" extra effort to initiate and hold a turn. Most riders barely notice the difference. Most also make the adjustment and don't notice it within 100 miles.

After the turn is initiated, many feel the amount of or smoothness of the turn is more controllable, because it only drops into the turn to the extent you want it to. A MT will, once asked to turn, will just drop into the turn until you tell it to stop with handlebar input. I hope that makes sense.

In other words the smaller the CT, the more is will want to drop into the turn like a MT.

As the size of the CT goes up, say to a 205, the same things happens again. Slightly more input to initiate.

The other thing affected is the CT's tendency to try and climb up or down,to the side, waves in the road surface. Obviously, the narrower the tire, the less likely the "climbing".

A point of clarification on the 175-60. It will handle aggressive riding in curves, with the right psi, but the edges and the sidewall beyond the edge showed me things I didn't like, 4: even before the tire was worn out.

I don't think I seen it described any better -- exactly why my confidence level immediately went up and I'm having way too much fun.

 

[wilberforce]

Trailsman

Thank you Trailsman for your explanation. Your rational sounds very plausable to me. I have a Pirelli Wntersport 210 on another rim I plan to try some time this season. Will look for the difference in handling inside the twisters as you indicate.

Thanks again for your insights.

 

[stick405]

Trialsman has it right...Just to add some more stuff...The distance from the center line of the tire to the outside is less on the 175mm than the larger tires..so the leveraged feedback is less on the smaller tire than the larger tires...Consequently it has more of a feel like a MC tire...It is a darn good tire. I've used 3 of them..however they don't seem to be able to take the abuse of those Kentucky and eastern TN roads...Especially when the east coast Wingers cut loose...cheers.....

Posted from my Droid at truck stop somewhere in Ohio at 5 in the morning...I just picked a Chevy. 1 ton Duramax in NH and am on my way home to KC...... Cheers :doorag: