Don't be haters...

Passing along an observation made by a friend of mine from the Houston area at a recent Texas rally...."It seems that almost all the people that get these fantastic tire mileage figures are in the east, I guess they must not have any speed limits over 55mph."

We [where I live] have highway speed limits that range from 55 to 70... and usually it is +5 so actual speeds are typically 60 - 75.  There are occasional times I might go much, much [,much, much] faster.   And often, whoa to the person next to me at a traffic light

...and glass smooth roads...

Most are fairly decent.  The vast majority of my miles are, indeed, on smooth and pretty straight roads.  Traction control always on, 145lbs ungeared, always solo, tire pressures always near perfect.  Unfortunately, getting out to the "interesting" roads takes at least 30-40 minutes and, of course, the same back.  I do think that road condition (type, roughness, grit, temp, etc) probably plays the biggest role in tire wear (followed by tire pressures, total weight, and amount of skuff/skid/slip).

Don't be haters...

Meh, they are just jealous!

Meh, they are just jealous!

Well envious for sure.  max' is getting twice the tire life out of the same tires as me and I only weight 25lbs more than he does.
I think my tool bag needs to go on a diet. 

(this is where connie14boy jumps in to tell me to lose the donkey dong bazooka to get double the tire mileage)

I had a PR4 GT rear that I liked, then, while parked in motel in phoenix in middle of summer, some a-hole shoved a knife into it. I had the bike towed (thanks geico towing!) to a shop that put on a non GT PR4 on it (that's all they had). Seeing how I was in the middle of a long trip and needed a tire, I took it (I have a pr4 gt on the front). That was maybe 12K miles ago three years ago.. Had they put on an oem bridgestone, that tire would likely had been showing lots of wear by the end of that trip three years ago and certainly wouldn't be on the bike now. In fact, I think it had a little under 4K miles on it when I saw some belt showing through the tread.
Now it looks like the road5 GT might be a 'vapor tire', I'll be getting another PR4gt. I did feel a difference in ride quality, it is like the gt feels like a pr4 non gt with an extra lb or two in it. I'm shocked how well they work. I have driven in pouring rain, sleet, they grip and brake well.
When you think about it, the bridgestones the bike comes with were designed over ten years ago.The Pr4 GT is at least two generations of tire more advanced.
The stock bridgestones serve one purpose and they serve it well- to protect the rims as the bike leaves the shop.

I'm shocked how well they work. I have driven in pouring rain, sleet, they grip and brake well.

I was amazed at how well they handled pouring rain with lots of standing water (at least 1/2") on the road (I rarely drive in the rain, but in a few cases I was "caught" and had no choice).  I would never EVER ride if there were any chance of ice (in any form) on the road.  Period.

Well envious for sure.  max' is getting twice the tire life out of the same tires as me and I only weight 25lbs more than he does.
I think my tool bag needs to go on a diet. 

(this is where connie14boy jumps in to tell me to lose the donkey dong bazooka to get double the tire mileage)

No, I guess your likin' your black donkey dong bazooka too much to switch and reap all the rewards.

No, I guess your likin' your [stock muffler] too much to switch and reap all the rewards.

Can't answer for Marty, but other than a loss of a few pounds, to me, there are no rewards;  just expense and increased noise   But, to each, his own.

 

Can't answer for Marty,....

Apparently you can...in this instance anyway.

I thought the same about the expense and weight comment. The looks of the stock exhaust was my motivation for changing it out. Shaved a lot of weight, looks better, sounds better, and performs better... although, I don’t think there is enough gains to register on the butt dyno without the ECU flash along with it.

For anyone that read my earlier posts about the exhaust being a little louder than I wanted, I tried it with the baffles (DB killers) back in and really only notice it being slightly quieter. Not enough to matter, so I took them back out.

I thought the same about the expense and weight comment. The looks of the stock exhaust was my motivation for changing it out. Shaved a lot of weight, looks better, sounds better, and performs better... although, I don’t think there is enough gains to register on the butt dyno without the ECU flash along with it.

For anyone that read my earlier posts about the exhaust being a little louder than I wanted, I tried it with the baffles (DB killers) back in and really only notice it being slightly quieter. Not enough to matter, so I took them back out.

That's what I'm talkin' about- The V&H CS-1 slip on along with SISF's Mountain Runner flash makes this bike the king of the ST class, and gets rid of 15 lbs. of fugly muffler (dong).

I thought the same about the expense and weight comment. The looks of the stock exhaust was my motivation for changing it out.

Nothing wrong with changing it if you don't like the way it looks.  Personally, I think the stock muffler looks fine, as long as the bags are on (mine never come off).  With them on, it matches and balances out fine.  With them off, well, it does look huge.

Shaved a lot of weight, looks better, sounds better,

Weight- on an  820 pound loaded bike, 10 to 15 pounds is around 1.4%.  Way more than the variation in what I put in the panniers from ride to ride.  Looks- subjective, see above.  Sound- subjective... stock sounds fine; don't need/want anything louder or "different" sounding.

and performs better... although, I don’t think there is enough gains to register on the butt dyno without the ECU flash along with it.

Changing the muffler does nothing anyone could ever notice, regardless of FI changes or flashing.  Perhaps 2-3hp but only at 6K+ RPM at WOT, which is pretty meaningless.  Now, if you wanted to change the headers and also go dual-pipe, and flash appropriately to match, that has some actual performance significance.... but will also be a weight gain and cost a hell of a lot more.

It really is just a cosmetic change.  But, if that is what floats your boat, go for it!

And now we have an Exhaust Thread....... smh...... 

 

So..... if you guys have gotten the exhaust gasses all blown out of your systems, how about deleting your post about it so that this thread can get back on the Original Topic......

Now if a MOD would like to remove the Not On Topic Post (including this one), that would work for me as well. 

Nothing wrong with changing it if you don't like the way it looks.  Personally, I think the stock muffler looks fine, as long as the bags are on (mine never come off).  With them on, it matches and balances out fine.  With them off, well, it does look huge.

Weight- on an  820 pound loaded bike, 10 to 15 pounds is around 1.4%.  Way more than the variation in what I put in the panniers from ride to ride.  Looks- subjective, see above.  Sound- subjective... stock sounds fine; don't need/want anything louder or "different" sounding.

Changing the muffler does nothing anyone could ever notice, regardless of FI changes or flashing.  Perhaps 2-3hp but only at 6K+ RPM at WOT, which is pretty meaningless.  Now, if you wanted to change the headers and also go dual-pipe, and flash appropriately to match, that has some actual performance significance.... but will also be a weight gain and cost a hell of a lot more.

It really is just a cosmetic change.  But, if that is what floats your boat, go for it!

Methinks thou dost protest too much.

..... how about deleting your post about it so that this thread can get back on the Original Topic......

ahhhh....no.

Methinks thou dost protest too much.

Perhaps

 

I have the same low battery and rear tire pressure until the bike heats up, then it works perfectly. Most probably will have to change the battery by winter time, whenever it’s too cold for riding. I will then revisit the process again. Also, for whomever is interested, this link would help a lot in order to find the right battery for this kind of work:

https://console5.com/store/panasonic-cr2032-3v-lithium-battery-with-solder-tabs-pins.html

 

I would not recommend that battery for the TPMS. It can work but it's easier to use https://www.digikey.com/products/en?x=0&y=0&lang=en&site=us&keywords=P660-ND  because you can make the tabs fit into the holes, then simply add a dot of solder and done. See pictures at http://forum.cog-online.org/concours-14-zg1400-general-chat-and-tech/better-replacement-tpms-batteries/

Dropping off the rear wheel tomorrow for a new PR 4GT install. I have just under 12k miles on the one that is on there now and could go another 1k, but I have some pretty severe cupping and figure I should just do it. Bringing it to the local dealer as the Cycle Gears near me don't have any.

Cycle Gear does list the PR 5GT on their site and have images, but it just says "Out of Stock". And they are PRICY at over $350 for the rear.

Front tire has 7k on it, so I will wait on that one.