Hi all. '98 GW with Hannigan hack.
I just ordered an Austone Taxi tire for the rear. Front end is not modified so it may get some 2 wheel time,(although not much as I have 2 non SC bikes).
Is any MC tire better for hack use than any other? I have an Elite 4 on my Valkyrie and a Bridgestone on my '06 GW. I am happy with both.
Oh, by the way. Previous owner said the rig might need tires. Date code is (2405) LOL
When ever possible I like to run fairly skinny flat profile tires on the front. I say fairly skinny in that I have found that wide car tires suck as they track ever grove in the road. I like flat profile as they put more rubber on the ground which shortens stopping distance. On the GL1500 you have very few choices. Metzler makes the block K however it does not work well on your bike. First it is a tube type tire and the GL1500 valve stem hole location does not work with any tubes that I know of. Second at speed this tire grows in diameter enough to melt a grove on the inside of the front fender on the GL1500, as such I do not recommend this tire. Also I do not know what it is rated for weight wise. Heidenau also offers a flat profile 18 inch tire. As they did not have these back in the day when I ran a GL1500 I have no experience with this tire at all. All I know is that they list making one.
As to running the taxi tire on the rear, I have heard good feed back for sidecar use however I can not see any reason why you would want to run a flat profile tire on a bike that you will be taking the sidecar off and running with out it. Just does not seem like a wise thing to do just to save a little money on tires. I would make the GL a dedicated sidecar bike and modify the steering to make it a better sidecar bike. If you find a need to ride with out a sidecar, ride one of your other bikes.
Jay G
DMC sidecars
www.dmcsidecars.com
866-638-1793
Thanks for the feedback Jay.
The only time the 1500 will run without the hack will be when it needs to go in for service or when I put it on my Handi-Lift.
I want to see if it is a keeper before I invest in front end modification. If the 1500 is not a keeper, I will look into moving the hack to my 1800. I need it up on the lift to see what else was neglected besides the tires.
I know several folks running the Taxi tire on their solo Valkyries so I'm not expecting too much angst for limited 2 wheel use.
Tom R.
I run a Pilot Activ rear tire on the front of my 1500 and love it, I prefer the wider MC tire on the front
it allows it to wear a little flat in the center and gives great handling response as well as adding smoothness over the stock front tire
I guess this would amount to Jay's suggestion of a skinny flat profile tire
I don't have any tracking issues unless the grooves in the road are deep. I ran the BS Batle AX and hated it as it cups way too soon and both I tried started splitting in the sipes forcing me to remove them with tons of tread left
the Pilot will cup but takes longer to start and is very easy to knock down the edges with a grinder and not effect the ballance
also I run the Goodyear assurance max on the rear, I loose a little mileage being a lower profile but I never find myself lugging the rig even with our camper behind us.
this is just my preference and my 2 cents,
I like my Pilot Activ rear tire on the front of 1500 too.
What size are you running on the front? Are those Bias ply tires?
