Midrsv Posted June 18, 2011 Share #1 Posted June 18, 2011 In preparation for our big trip next week I just installed new tires on the Goldwing after 4300 miles. The OEM Dunlops were 50% worn and starting to cup already. Since I have 6200 miles to travel on this trip I wanted to start out on fresh tires (Bridgestone 704/709). Since the bike is so new and I plan to go through many tires while I own it I went ahead an bought a set of Centramatics to put on with the new tires. I read many reveiws how they make the bike super smooth and feel like it was on rails. I bought into the hype. In reality, I really don't see any improvement in balance over using Dynabeads. I have a friend that just put new tires and Dynabeads on his wing and it is just as smooth. For the $229 that the Centramatics I could easily have bought a lifetime supply of beads. Hopefullly, down the road I'll see the benefit of the Centramatics. Dennis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flb_78 Posted June 18, 2011 Share #2 Posted June 18, 2011 When I worked at the truckstop, we sold a lot of Centramatics for semis. Almost everyone liked them. Our manager put a set on his 1 ton pickup and said it smoothed out the ride. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
friesman Posted June 18, 2011 Share #3 Posted June 18, 2011 what the heck are Centramatics? Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flb_78 Posted June 18, 2011 Share #4 Posted June 18, 2011 http://www.centramatic.com/Home.aspx More specifically... http://www.centramatic.com/Page.aspx?page=Honda%20GL%201800 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Posted June 18, 2011 Share #5 Posted June 18, 2011 I think you are going to notice a more stable feel than you already have. I use to never ride to aggresive now I feel like the bike is stuck like glue to the pavement BUT I had progressive springs put in also.Im having to throttle back as I am going to get a ticket if I dont watch out. I hope you like them,if not I heard they will take them back and also you can sell them very easily.I Love mine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Posted June 18, 2011 Share #6 Posted June 18, 2011 I dont like to steer people in wrong direction so Im going to PM Roadhand and see hoe he is doing with his. I will have him post good or bad on here.Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Midrsv Posted June 18, 2011 Author Share #7 Posted June 18, 2011 I think you are going to notice a more stable feel than you already have. I use to never ride to aggresive now I feel like the bike is stuck like glue to the pavement BUT I had progressive springs put in also.Im having to throttle back as I am going to get a ticket if I dont watch out. I hope you like them,if not I heard they will take them back and also you can sell them very easily.I Love mine. Tom, don't get me wrong, the ride is smooth with the Centramatics and I have no intention of taking them off. I've only put about 300 miles (mostly interstate) on them and I expect they will be fine over time. I was just comparing them to my experience with dynabeads. Dennis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OB-1 Posted June 18, 2011 Share #8 Posted June 18, 2011 I've used Centramatics on a big truck and a Ford Excursion. In both instances they did provide some level of additional balancing, but they didn't live up to the "hype" in my opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest my14car Posted June 19, 2011 Share #9 Posted June 19, 2011 Centramatics are great if you can afford them, they are worth the money. Better ride longer tire wear. I use Dyna beads i have 14,000 miles on my dunlops and hope to get a couple thousand more. Tire pressure very important i check mine before every ride. 42psi front, 44psi rear will give you tire longevity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ponch Posted June 19, 2011 Share #10 Posted June 19, 2011 The Progressive spring upgrade will most likely fix the cupping. In automotive applications, cupping or choppy wear on the edge of the tires eusually quates to bad struts or shock absorbers. Buckskin on the GL1800 forum has installed many sets of Centrmatics and springs and says the the springs are the biggest cure for the cupping. He also installs rear tires (mounted in reverse direction) to gain extra tread thickness. The Pogressive springs coupled with the Centramatic balancers gives those rear tires a very long life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roadhand Posted June 19, 2011 Share #11 Posted June 19, 2011 I had new tires & wheels, all ball bearings progressive springs & Centrmatics installed at the same time. The ride in greatly improved over a stock bike. I will say the wheels have no weights on them and the centramatics are doing their job as far as wheel balance. I do hope this will improve the life of my tires and time will tell. I will say I have spoken to several folks (some ride with the Dynabeads and some with centramatics). No one has told me they did not like whatever they were running. As you see my choice was to install the more expensive option but I do believe they will pay for themselves with the additional mileage I hope to obtain. Again....time will tell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coy55boy Posted June 20, 2011 Share #12 Posted June 20, 2011 I bought a bulk consignment of dyna beads. I have almost 5 lbs. of 'em. I figured I'd have enough to last me a lifetime. I really like them and use them on my Venture and my p/u truck. They do the job they were designed for. I'd like to install them on my Wing, but I've got 2 concerns. One is the tire pressure monitor system. I read somewhere that if you install the beads through the valve, the beads will become lodged in the valve. This would require that the valve be removed to get the beads out. The obvious solution is to take the tire off the rim (at least partially) and drop the beads inside the tire without going through the valve. Giant PITA! The other problem is the 90° valve stem. It's hard enough to get the beads to flow through a straight valve stem. I can't imagine how tough it'll be to convince them to 'Take the first left and then straight through the TPMS to your destination'. Now I'm thinking of getting the Centramatics as a solution. Unless someone can give me a hint as to how I can use the beads... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FreezyRider Posted June 20, 2011 Share #13 Posted June 20, 2011 I bought a bulk consignment of dyna beads. I have almost 5 lbs. of 'em. I figured I'd have enough to last me a lifetime. I really like them and use them on my Venture and my p/u truck. They do the job they were designed for. I'd like to install them on my Wing, but I've got 2 concerns. One is the tire pressure monitor system. I read somewhere that if you install the beads through the valve, the beads will become lodged in the valve. This would require that the valve be removed to get the beads out. The obvious solution is to take the tire off the rim (at least partially) and drop the beads inside the tire without going through the valve. Giant PITA! The other problem is the 90° valve stem. It's hard enough to get the beads to flow through a straight valve stem. I can't imagine how tough it'll be to convince them to 'Take the first left and then straight through the TPMS to your destination'. Now I'm thinking of getting the Centramatics as a solution. Unless someone can give me a hint as to how I can use the beads... I can't speak to your concern about the TPMS, but I installed the beads in my non-TPMS wheels that do have the 90 degree valve stems. Not hard at all. While using the tube and squeeze bottle that I got with my beads, I simply tapped on the valve stem with a screwdriver. The vibration causes the beads to feed in easily past the bend. Joe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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