Let me try to explain. Nothing else to do, too cold to go do any work.
I went to the CT not because of increased tire tread wear. I could care less if I have to put on a new tire twice a year. I wanted a safe rear tire.
I have had two very close friends go down due to tire failure. The tires were not worn out, there were in good shape and tire pressures were checked or on one case maybe, sure they were the first day, maybe not the second. Somewhere along the lines something goes wrong. A small puncture, or road damage , something. So it is what two hours between gas stops and you are running down the big slab running 75 or better making time, headed for your goal some 2500 miles to go. You gain the puncture along the way, the tire pressure goes down, the tire heats up, and it is summer and temps in the 90 degree range, heat waves coming up off the pavement.
For whatever the reason the tire blows. Loss of life and serious injury is the result, and the Life Flight Chopper carries you or them to the nearest trauma center. If you are lucky and have serious enough injury, maybe you will be killed instantly, sure not my desire to sit in a wheel chair.
Got your attention yet?
A motorcycle tire on the 1800 is very well designed, it has a rounded profile to obtain the maximum handling available on a motorcycle. It is however subject to road damage, and my original intent was not to replace the handling of the motorcycle tire, I like I say wanted a safe tire.
A run flat CT is a tire originally designed for the use on some of the newer sport cars and with the invention of the Run flat and the rim on the 1800 it was simply found that they very much are compatible to each other. A run flat is so designed that if you wish you can take a two inch hole saw and cut circles out of the tire, or slice the tread with a knife and it will hold you and the bike up, and safely take you to town, or the nearest shop to obtain service. The way they word it by the manufacture is something like at 50 miles per hour for 50 miles or something like this. Sure you will need a new tire or I would chose to do so, and yes there may be mounting problems but not going to get into that right now, the main thing is the tire is not going to blow out, de-laminate and cause you injury or death. A run flat with no air in it or low on air, will indicate to you that there is a problem, as it does get to acting a bit like a squirrel, you will be able to tell it is low on air or has no air. Especially going around a turn. So you can stop and plug it or go on to town, your choice. The main thing is, it will not blow out. It will not roll off the rim, it will just take you to town.
As far as road contact with the ground, the 1800 is not like other motorcycles. It is a favorite ploy by soothsayers to say we run on the sidewalls of the tire, and things like this. The fact of the matter is the maximum lean angle that you can obtain on the 1800, will never lean the bike over far enough to even fully use the edge tread even on a modern CT. You can grind the pegs off and put holes in the plastic lower cowlings and still the edge tread on any tire is not touched.
A motorcycle tire is made with a round profile, and for 90 percent of riding it has a very narrow contact surface with the road. On the 1800 maybe riding straight up it has a two inch or less contact patch (width) on the road. As the tire leans into a turn it actually loses a bit of contact patch for a short time then as you go over gains more, a motorcycle tire is designed when running full over at maximum lean angle to have the most contact patch at this time. (thing is the Wing never makes it) The belts in the motorcycle tire are laid in a way to provide sidewall strength, and to make sure the tire holds the road and does not flex and lose traction in a hard lean over turn. The tire compound is also formulated to be a bit hard to provide support.
Not needed with a big touring bike, lean angles are never fully reached.
A car tire on the other hand is flat. The ones we are using yes do have a rounded profile on the edge, but still flat. Mine do not flex, I am quite sure my Kumho does not flex, it has very stiff sidewalls and just by that very fact lends itself to work very well with the 1800. At the lean angle obtained by the 1800 it holds the tire that does have a somewhat softer tire compound to the road, it does not flex and lose traction. It keeps it planted on the road. Softer compound planted on the road equals better traction.
Straight up you will have depending on the tire, at least 7 inches of contact area on the road, as you lean the bike over to the maximum lean angle that you can obtain with the wing you will still have a minimum of a bit over 2.5 inches of tread contact with the road. More contact with the road with a Car Tire at all times than with a motorcycle tire. At the lean angle of a Wing, the full over lean angle such as a motorcyle tire is designed for is not a factor, a motorcycle tire has maximum road contact area in its full road racer lean angle. Not a factor with a big touring bike.
Put it all together and you have a situation where you have a tire that has more contact area at all times than a OEM tire. Softer compound , better traction, better braking, and especially better traction in the rain.
Many will play the hydroplane card, not stopping to realize that the CT has so many more tread cuts that develop traction on the road a MT cannot even compare. All tires will hydroplane, so I for one just slow down, or pull off the road and wait for the heavy rain to stop. As for wet roads and light rain, hey, if you want traction you have it.
As for feel and handling, just something you will have to go do and find out for yourself. A CT likes to tail kick to the low side of the road a bit, not serious and in less than 100 miles you will learn to just lean or shift your weight a bit. There will be a bit different feel in the curves, hard for me to explain it really, but basically you do drive the bike into the curve, there is a point of turnover where it actually starts to perform better than a MT. Then with practice and more practice and as you become comfortable with it, learn that a bit of power will pop the bike up and allow you to instantly turn into the next one.
I actually prefer the feel of the CT versus the MT. You may not, and no one thing suits everyone, it is just something you have to go play with and learn for yourself.
The bottom line is I am now very comfortable on a long run, running fast and going long distances. It is very rare for a front tire properly maintained and checked to blow, very rare, but not so rare for the rear one to pop.
That was my original reason, since then I have realized many more advantages to the CT. It has became my preferred Tire. I and my Kumho will make a fall run this fall of about 7000 miles round trip. I for sure will not be worried about no tire.
Kit
