Introduction for new members and refresher for us old timers

bleedscarlet wrote:VTX1800C

Stay away from the Toyo Proxes, but if it's still an option, the Toyo T1R is a better darkside tire! Had guys ride both and liked the T1R better! Not sure on the other tire, I don't have any experience either way!

Congrats and Welcome to our site...make yourself at home!


..........................bobby

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Looks like it's very similar tread pattern to the F1s, but it has a rim....That does sound better...

Dammit, and I was just decided!

Bwwhahahahaha!


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I'm Craig aka Novavalker

I ride a 1999 Valkyrie Interstate and just switched over to the Darkside.
I'm running an Altimax 205 60 16 and really like how it feels.

Welcome Craig! Kick up your feet and throw out what your experiences are. Also ... post some pics of your ride! Someday I hope to get a valk and I love seeing them!

Well I did it,, Potenza G019 205/60/16 and rode it back from Michigan. Really so far I really haven't noticed a big difference, but perhaps holding a line once it is set going around a curve. I'll give it a try over the next 40K or so and see how it holds up after it gets broke in.

Now that shows faith! Getting the tire put on then driving do a different state on it! Awesome!

Welcome to the site. Feel free to post your thoughts and post pics of the bike.

LOL actually I thought it would be easier that way, get the tire broke it while riding on the Interstate, but then again Chicago was only a little over 100 miles down the road,,,

i'm Aimé(time52)canadien from Gatineau Quebec,a 5 minute drive to Ottawa Ontario.I have 7500 m on a good year assu. treple tread,i ride a valk i/s 2001,my first reason to go with a c/t was it was cheaper, now its securety

p.s. super site and a good bunch of guys here.

Aime, welcome to the site. Glad you found us. The reason the majority of us stay on the darkside is the security of the ride. The rest is just lagniappe.

See you out there
Smokey

Larry Simpson wrote:What did he just say

It's a cajun term! "Laniappe" It means a little something extra or something given for free!


......................bobby

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I lurked on here for about 5 straight hours last night. I ride a 2007 VTX 1300C. I bought it new last October, and I have put around 5000 miles on it and the rear stock Dunlop is shot. I never gave much thought to the darkside conversion until this weekend. I was at the NC Southern Cruisers Spring Gathering and saw another VTX 1300C with a car tire, and knew what my next tire would be. I followed a link I found on VTXcafe, and here I am. I read enough last night to know this is the right way to go! I'll be converting in the next week or two. (as soon as I get the spare cash and the tire) I'm looking at the General Grabber 205/70-15. I love the look of the tread pattern on them.


Matt

Matt, welcome. The Grabber seems to be a good choice, many of us ride them.
Have fun.

Finally. I have a dunlop eagle F1, 205.

it took forever, and there are other circumstances (you may have seen my thread on the cafe) preventing me from riding.

It is TIGHT. God damn, it BARELY fit!

Luckily I have lots of persuasion devices

In my experiences getting this thing mounted, my Honda dealer was a dick, my buddy's Victory dealer was kind of a dick, the guys at Motorcycle Center in North Brunswick, NJ, are REAL dicks, and all three harley dealerships I called were nice, and the third one actually did the mounting for me.

I never thought I'd hear myself say this, but **** I love Harley.

Pics soon

Bleedscarlet,

Congrats, welcom to the club. You've chosen a great tire !

the review I put on all the other forums I visit, except the oa because those guys are just jerks most of the time, as well as some promised pictures!


Initially it was quite a shock. It was like I was riding for the first time again, my feel for the bike was totally off, I was constantly re-correcting my turns....but they say the tire softens up after 100 miles or so. I can definitely see that happening.

About 30-40 miles in, I felt the tire soften and get more nimble, I could turn much more easily. Getting onto the edge of the tire is a bit different. if I could do it again, I'd get the Michelin Hydroedge instead of the Eagle F1. I think the straight line tracking, while very nice sometimes, gives me almost...too much grip.

The car tire grabs EVERYTHING on the road. I found grooves are far more dangerous with the car tire, but I like the feel of the road better. I felt very uncomfortable in the beginning but today when I went out for a quick spin I was comfortable enough to get low and scrape my pegs again. It was nice, and it is a much better ride in straight lines.

Turns definitely take getting used to, and it's like relearning the bike's natural inclinations. The bike wants to snap up straight more often now, which I actually like better. In the beginning it was like I was all of a sudden riding on my buddy's 250 wide, but now it's gotten much easier. It's cleaning up a little, and after I feel the break in period is done I'm going to have my friend ride it, because he hasn't ridden with the car tire on, but he's ridden my bike plenty before. He'll be able to tell me for sure if I'm just getting used to it, or if it is in fact a lot smoother than it was in the beginning.

In the beginning I was sorely disappointed, seriously considering an MC tire again, but now I don't wanna. I love it.

The grip on straight line acceleration is FAR superior to the MC tire, and I have been too scared to try to the hard throttle on turns, but as I feel more and more confident about this tire I plan on it. So far, I give the Car Tire an A+!

Now here are some pics of my bike

That is one mean looking tire....every time I see one of them. I wouldn't want to be a cat in the road......


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Greeting all. I have been lurking for a while now.
Thanks to all the great info here I finally decided to go " Darkside".
I just bought the Mich. Hydroedge 205/65-16 and will be installing it Friday on my 02 1800c.
Man I can't wait to put her on and test it out.
Hopefully she'll fit in there and I won't have to mod the rails.
I may just do it anyway since we ride 2-up most the time.
I'll post back my progress and more pics.
Thanks for the great site.
Hounddogohio
Yea..yea I know. I need to weed that patio.

Hey Dog, welcome to the club.
You definitely can't go wrong with your choice of tire.
Congrats and take your time to get rid of the mold, before
scraping your pegs or floarboards.

Hello all,
Dapper Dave from Phoenix Az, just got new set of Metzlers for a change out of wheels and tires on my 06 1300R. Have yet to have them mounted cause I want to chrome the "C" wheels first really like the idea of the CT DS.

Just having a tough time taking that first step, not worried about the Metzler tire I wouldn't be using there are plenty that will snap it up.

Thanks for the post on the VTX Cafe otherwise I would not have heard about this site.

I am happy to join an open-minded, informed, and obviously intelligent group. I have been riding darkside for several months and about 7500 miles. I was convinced mostly by the info on this page (http://www.wingtechtips.com/ctbias.htm) but was not happy with the outcome. On my 2001 Goldwing, the 205/60-R16 Kumho rubbed the swingarm at 80 mph at pressures from 26 to 34. I installed a front Bridgestone BT45R and it had a flat spot that made the front end bounce slightly. A little shade tree truing fixed the front. I bought it on-line or I would have swapped it out instead. I just switched to a 195/60-R16 Dunlop SP Sport 5000 and am as happy as a pig in slop.

I am 67 years old and have owned a wide variety of bikes and have ridden at least 150,000 miles on bikes. I camp some with a 400 lb.(loaded) camper and tires don't last too well pulling it. The Kumho tire wore very little but I sometimes like to go over 80 so it had to go.

Like most of you, I am amazed by the number of uninformed, misinformed, closed-minded people who just have to voice their opinions about tires all over the net.

Hello All, kyorphan here, A.K.A-Gene. Just switched to the Darkside today after months of reading posts and trying to make up my mind. Went with a Goodyear Assurance TripleTread in 205-70-15 on my '06' 1300R. Couldn't find a local dealer who would mount the tire so with the help from several good how-to posts, I installed it myself. Many thanks to those who posted the info needed to do this job. Have only put a few miles on it this morning, so far so good. Very little noticeable difference in handling so far, the ride seems to be smoother even without balancing the GYTT. Have dynabeads ordered, should help even more. Now to put some more miles on it.

Just thought I'd do the obligatory intro. OCfjr a.k.a. Eric V. riding a '04 FJR1300 Sport-Touring bike. 109k now on the bike, all my miles. Got tired of spending money on tires every 10k, (if I was lucky), and mounted a CT at the 90k mark. The idea wasn't new to me, just didn't know if it would work on the FJR and decided to find out. Works fine. The 650 lb FJR doesn't need a super stiff sidewall or a run-flat like some of the heavier bikes do. I'm running a Bridgestone Potenza 019 Grid currently at 30 psi with nice even wear for the first 19k. Still have 4/32" above the wear bars, so we'll see if I can manage 30k from the tire.

I'll probably lurk mostly here, but contribute if I have something constructive to add or can answer a question. Who knows, I might even have a question myself now and then?

edit - Forgot to post a pic. After all, it's not real if you can't show the tire, eh?

OCfjr wrote:Just thought I'd do the obligatory intro. OCfjr a.k.a. Eric V. riding a '04 FJR1300 Sport-Touring bike. 109k now on the bike, all my miles. Got tired of spending money on tires every 10k, (if I was lucky), and mounted a CT at the 90k mark. The idea wasn't new to me, just didn't know if it would work on the FJR and decided to find out. Works fine. The 650 lb FJR doesn't need a super stiff sidewall or a run-flat like some of the heavier bikes do. I'm running a Bridgestone Potenza 019 Grid currently at 30 psi with nice even wear for the first 19k. Still have 4/32" above the wear bars, so we'll see if I can manage 30k from the tire.

I'll probably lurk mostly here, but contribute if I have something constructive to add or can answer a question. Who knows, I might even have a question myself now and then?

edit - Forgot to post a pic. After all, it's not real if you can't show the tire, eh?

Welcome and thanks for the input...never heard of a darkside on a FJR before! Nice! Make yourself at home!


.....................bobby


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