New skins fer Scoot!

[mikesim]

Just got back from the Honda dealer where I had new Dunlop RoadSmart 2's installed. While I had the tires off I had them install the tire pressure sensors for an Orange Electronic tire pressure monitor that I installing shortly. If anyone is interested, I will give a complete review after I have installed it, and yes, Phil, I WILL include pix of the installation.

The bike dealer is only about six miles from my home so I can't really give you any valid first impressions on the Road Smart's until I accumulate more miles. I did however notice two things; 1.) The Dunlops appear to be smoother over surface irregularities than the OE Bridgestones. I followed essentially the same route home that I ride to/from work and the bumps "seemed" less severe. 2.) The last 1/4 mile or so of my commute consists of a gravel road of fairly heavily compacted 1" minus limestine. The Dunlops are decidely MUCH less squirrely on gravel than the OE Bridgestones!

How long they will last is anybodies guess, but hopefully they will be better than the Bridgestones. I only got 8550 miles from the OE front tire and there was probably still another 3-5K miles left in the rear, but I didn't want to mix brands of tires.

After I accumulate more miles and after my safari to TN/NC/VA I will be able to assess them in more depth if anyone is interested.

Mike

 

[Phil Tarman]

Mike, You're the first person I remember noticing trying the Roadsmart 2s. I'm hoping they work well for you and last a loooooooooong time.

So far I'm happy with the PR3s.

How much was the tire pressure monitor you're going to try? I keep thinking that would be a good thing to have. Is there a website for the one you're getting?

 

[mikesim]

Mike, You're the first person I remember noticing trying the Roadsmart 2s. I'm hoping they work well for you and last a loooooooooong time.

So far I'm happy with the PR3s.

How much was the tire pressure monitor you're going to try? I keep thinking that would be a good thing to have. Is there a website for the one you're getting?

Yeah, I guess I'm the guinea pig for the Road Smart II's. Even the dealer commented that mine was the first set that they have sold. He said that they have sold many of the original Road Smarts and everyone has been pleased with 'em, so I hope the "new and improved" version performs even better The online reviews that I have been able to glean have all been highly favorable towards the tire with few (if any) negative comments. I have always had excellent service from Dunlop on my previous bikes, but that was 40 years ago, so time will tell.

The tire pressure system I chose is made by Orange Electronics...

http://www.orange-electronic.com/en/orange_m202.html

I chose that system because the sensor is mounted on the wheel and thus is pretty much theft proof and also because it also measures tire temps and does the temperature/pressure compensation calculation internally always insuring that you know the "real" pressure. The tire temp function is nice so that in cold weather you will truly "know" when your tires are warmed up and can begin to get a little frisky with the bike, if you are so inclined. At my age, I rarely suffer from that inclination anymore, but the engineer in me likes to know that sort of stuff. I got the system thru Amazon.com for ~$153.00 plus shipping from a company in Maine. Once I get it installed, I will post a full report.. WITH pix, of course.

Mike

 

[karl]

Would something like this help?
http://www.getagauge.com/Tire-Gauges/Accu-Gage-EZ-Air.cfm

Having pressure and temp would be very nice.

 

[Lorien]

Working on 10k on original RoadSmart tires. The rear is very good. The front is wearing as if the softer edges may be a little too soft. Seems to be a bit of a valley where the soft edge joins the harder center. I also noticed that the wear is a bit uneven a la what I think to be a inferior balance. Always seemed strange that the front had no weight of any kind on the rim. Thought it could be one of life's little oddities. Perhaps not.

 

[mikesim]

My normal ritual for TP's has been to check them every Sunday religiously (no pun intended). During my ownership of Scoot (coming up on a year soon) I have never really had to add air to compensate for loss but rather to adjust the TP's based on temp compensation. Having said that, I'm hopeful that now that I have a TPMS, I will have to spend less time on my hands and knees trying to check the pressure. I will "know" the pressure each time I start Scoot and thus will only have to adjust "as needed" vs my weekly check. I will say that the OE Bridgestones were not very air permeable and I hope the rubber matrix on the Dunlops is equally as tight,

Mike