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Federal 165/80-15


ragtop69gs

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Been considering that one too, my only concern with it is that I've got my forks slid up 3/4" in trees and a 130 commander 2 up front, I know the BFG will lower it another 1" in back and I pull a camper or cargo trailer. Should that be a concern with the handling of the bike? I'd much rather run the BFG if it won't be a problem.

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I don't pull a trailer. I also lowered the front and have no issues with the TA.

 

Same here. Front lowered, no trailer. Lovin' this tire!!!!

 

What size front tire do you run?

 

What break in procedure did you use for the TA Radial and for how long? What handling differences should I expect having never ridden on the darkside before?

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[h=3]Federal's Milestones[/h]

[TABLE]

[TR]

[TH=class: NO]2014[/TH]

[TH=class: point]*[/TH]

[TD]Federal Corporation 60th anniversary.[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TH=class: point]*[/TH]

[TD]Federal Tyres breaks ground for new plant in Taiwan.[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TH=class: point]*[/TH]

[TD]Federal Tyres laurelled by the National Brand Yushan Award for 3 awards.[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TH=class: point]*[/TH]

[TD]Shu Jam Ma named as the Chairman of Federal Corporation.

 

 

 

[/TD]

[/TR]

[/TABLE]

 

Only reason I was pretty sure was when I was racing Legends cars we ran a spec BFG. Then a few years ago they changed companies to this Federal and all the guys were screaming about where it was made.

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I'm running the stock size in the front, a Avon. To break in the rear tire, I'll run about 32 lbs for around 1000 miles, then I run 28 lbs for both 1 and 2 up. It's a different feel, but I got used to it. For me, the Venture is a touring bike. I have a Triumph for the twistier roads.

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What size front tire do you run?

 

What break in procedure did you use for the TA Radial and for how long? What handling differences should I expect having never ridden on the darkside before?

 

 

Ok I tried to post this last night from my phone but dropped it before I finished so I just said I'd wait until today.

My rear tire is a T/A radial in 155/80-15. My front tire is an Avon Cobra radial 150/80-16. I already was running this tire with a Michelin commander II on the back. I had tried the Khumo Powerstar car tire several years ago but didn't like the way it acted. The T/A is nothing like that. It has a sweet ride. I am running 45 psi in the back and 40 in the front. You would think that this would be a bit too much until you get down and look at how much footprint the car tire has just leaning on the side stand. There is more contact there than there ever was with a motorcycle tire.

As far as the ride, all I can say is, it's just different. Rear braking is greatly improved. Even before the tire was 100 miles down the roadd, I had an occasion for a hard braking exercise when a FedEx truck ran a stop sign and I truly believe that a mc tire would have broken loose and the result would not have been pretty. Don't get me wrong, I was already on the front brakes but hadn't quite broken traction up front. I came away with a newfound respect for having more rubber on the ground!!

The only negative I can think of is, because of the square design of the tread, the tire wants to go to a lower surface in the road. This is especially apparent at intersections where big rigs have wallowed out ruts in the pavement. The trick is, don't fight it, go ahead and ride into that area when you come upon it.

Bottom line, if something doesn't come along to change my mind, I'll never put another mc tire on the back of my RSV.

Oh, I almost forgot. Break in was just like any other tire. Just take it easy for the first 100-200 miles.

As a final thought, you have to get the idea of the tire breaking loose in a curve out of your mind. I truly believe it will hold in the curves just as good if not better than a mc tire.

Anyway, that's my take on the car tire so far. Your results may be different.

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Kirby, Thanks for your post. I have decided that I am going with the BFG 155/80-15. The Idea that it will lower the bike 1" appeals to my short inseam. I have a new Commander II 130 on the front that I really like so far. Everyone running the TA radial seems to really like it. I will give it an honest shot and am really hoping I can make a successful transition to the darkside.

 

Thanks for pointing out some of the quirks to be aware of, it will help me knowing some of what to expect. I was surprised to find that no local shops have either size CT in stock, I'll be ordering one before the weekend.

 

What was your experience when you mounted it up? Did you balance with beads or weights?

 

:thumbsup2:

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The rim...,clean and polish, repeat.

Leave the tire out in the hot Sunshine for a couple of hours.

Use some type of tire lube and lots of it. Try not to get it inside of the tire if using beads to balance.

It took 105 psi and several tries to get the beads to seat so that's why the tire needs to be a hot as it can.I set my regulator on my compressor for 80 psi at first and kept going up and letting off the pressure until it finally popped. Like to have scared me to death when it did. If it doesn't seat right away just let it sit out in the Sunshine and come back later after a couple of hours. Run the regulator up in 5 lbs increments and letting out the pressure until it seats. I static balanced and then put in 3 ounces of beads just for good measure. the tire balanced very well. Hope this helps.

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Jay, I'm also running a BFG 155-80-15 and my take on mounting it is this: My local mc shop tried to air it up with no success. (a number of times) Could not get it to bead up all the way around, so the next day took it to my local tire shop and in approx 5 seconds it was mounted. He claimed that the lubricant he uses also played a part in that.

I talked with both and the conclusion was that the tire guy had a large compressor and larger dia. air hoses so lots of air went into the tire very fast and popped it right away.

When I get my bike back on the road, I'm going to try running 45psi, right now am running 39psi.

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The rim...,clean and polish, repeat.

Leave the tire out in the hot Sunshine for a couple of hours.

Use some type of tire lube and lots of it. Try not to get it inside of the tire if using beads to balance.

It took 105 psi and several tries to get the beads to seat so that's why the tire needs to be a hot as it can.I set my regulator on my compressor for 80 psi at first and kept going up and letting off the pressure until it finally popped. Like to have scared me to death when it did. If it doesn't seat right away just let it sit out in the Sunshine and come back later after a couple of hours. Run the regulator up in 5 lbs increments and letting out the pressure until it seats. I static balanced and then put in 3 ounces of beads just for good measure. the tire balanced very well. Hope this helps.

@Kirby . When you say clean & polish do you mean to sand all the machining ridges smooth in the bead area? Or just clean and shiny?

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I run a Nexen SB802, 165-80/R15 on mine. I run 40psi. I tried using less air pressure, but it felt loose with less than 40 in it. It took 120psi to seat it. As far as feeling different, I really can't say there is much difference, except that it likes to follow the irregularities in the road a bit more than the MC tire did. I have no problems cornering with it at all. I won't go back to an MC tire.

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I took my first ride on my darkside tire today, I must say I'm pleasantly surprised, I like the way the bike rides with it, corners & brakes well. Rode home from work in the rain and it stuck like glue. Tried a little hard braking in the rain , you'd need to be deliberate to lock it up! For the most part I couldn't tell anything was different other than it slightly following a few imperfections in the road surface, nothing scary though. Where it really shined was in wet road braking and grip, 5 stars on that!

 

BF Goodrich 155\80-15 TA Radial :thumbsup2:

 

I think I'm gonna be another convert to the darkside..

 

 

PS Jeff the bottle is on it's way back to you.

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