Trying the Darkside again, after the first tire blew up

Well I jumped in again, with a 205x70x15 Douglas Trac II tire from Walmart for $50.00. Found a differant shop to mount it ( the first shop was gun shy too). Took steel wool to clean up the rim and vegitable oil for the tire bead. The beads popped at 60 lbs. It balanced out very easy and we were done. I got it mounted and ready for a ride just as the rain started. I have to wait till tomorrow for a test ride (won't sleep tonight), but the good part is the weather will be sunny and 62 degrees. If I figure how to send a picture I'll be a full Darksider!

Cool, glad the second time was the charm. Enjoy.

60 pounds to seat??? That has to be a record! Awesome!!!

congrats on your persistence!

Douglas tire has always mounted easy......Good choice and welcome aboard. Take it easy until you get the mold release wore off........

Jerry

Sixty pounds is pretty good. I needed 100+ and a sound beating with a dead blow hammer to seat my Grabber.

Bill "AKACully"

P.S. Just cracked the 100 mile mark this morning coming home from work. Now to let her rip.

Hmmm, my grabber seated at 80lbs, but I polished the rim before to get out the machining marks. I've got about 13,000 on it now and it still has about half tread left.

George

ttexastim wrote:60 pounds to seat??? That has to be a record! Awesome!!!

My HydraEdge popped at 38 and 45 psi. But it's a 16" wheel too.

Welcome back sir.

Welcome back C4,

Glad you hung with it! Give it a couple 100 miles and let the mold release get off and you will own it!.... Darkside Rulz!

Can't wait to see the pics and get your riding review?


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


.

It'll be worth the persistance. Just don't judge it for a few hundred miles.

Here we go - I like it! Is that enough?
Took it out for a 200 mile ride yesterday and another 100 miles today. Is there anything that can be found to the negative side with this tire? Everything about it was positive. The ride was better. The bumps were far less spine jarring due to the wider contac patch. The broader surface area eliminated dropping into every nook and cranny in the road.
I've always been hesitant to take sharp curves at a normal speed, for fear of the rear m/c tire would slide out because of the hard rubber and the narrow contact patch. The c/t grabbed the road like a cheetah chasing a gazell. After the first curve I no longer eased into the curves, cause the confidence was finally there. Those people who thing a c/t is flat and are under the impression that you would ride up on a square corner like a cardboard box then drop back down to a flat surface are completly ignorant. The transition from upright to lean then back to upright is like having a tire shaped like a ball, completely smooth!
The Douglas Trac II was very quiet, as far as I could tell due to the wind yesterday and today.
It did get a little squirrely in the wind, but that's the nature of the VTX 1300 with those dish mags. All I can say is don't tell the m/c manufactures about the c/ts, or they'll put them on all their bikes for $50.00 then charge $300.00 for tires that handle better, ride better, and last twice as long.

How did the first one blow up?

c4grunt wrote:Here we go - I like it! Is that enough?
Took it out for a 200 mile ride yesterday and another 100 miles today. Is there anything that can be found to the negative side with this tire? Everything about it was positive. The ride was better. The bumps were far less spine jarring due to the wider contac patch. The broader surface area eliminated dropping into every nook and cranny in the road.
I've always been hesitant to take sharp curves at a normal speed, for fear of the rear m/c tire would slide out because of the hard rubber and the narrow contact patch. The c/t grabbed the road like a cheetah chasing a gazell. After the first curve I no longer eased into the curves, cause the confidence was finally there. Those people who thing a c/t is flat and are under the impression that you would ride up on a square corner like a cardboard box then drop back down to a flat surface are completly ignorant. The transition from upright to lean then back to upright is like having a tire shaped like a ball, completely smooth!
The Douglas Trac II was very quiet, as far as I could tell due to the wind yesterday and today.
It did get a little squirrely in the wind, but that's the nature of the VTX 1300 with those dish mags. All I can say is don't tell the m/c manufactures about the c/ts, or they'll put them on all their bikes for $50.00 then charge $300.00 for tires that handle better, ride better, and last twice as long.

Awesome...nice write up!................................


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

.

c4grunt wrote:
I like it! Is that enough?

Yes it is !!!! Welcome home


See you out there
Smokey

DarkSide Rules

Welcome to the darkside. You are now free to talk from experience.......

Jerry