Gonna get there! (The Darkside, that is)

Thanks to some great encouragement and advice from Doc, I should be in the ranks of Darksiders by this weekend. My ride is a 2005 VTX1300R. The tire is a Goodyear Triple tread 205/70/15. The plan at this point is to use Dynabeads for balance. The surprise is this.... I ecpected to have a lot of trouble finding a local tire shop to do the mounting. Got turned away at a couple of places. Then, to my surprise, one of the local Honda dealers said, "sure, we'll do it. Bring it in". They mentioned that they "do it all the time". Thanks all for blazing the trail for me, and especiallyl Doc, for his quick offer of help and information.

Welcome and enjoy.

See you out there
Smokey

Congrats on your decision and when you get some miles on it...come give us a review. Play with the air pressure to adjust it to your riding style.


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

You are going to love the way your bike is going to look with that sweet tire out back.

The only thing better will be how it rides.



Congratulations Lawrence...

Like most going over to the darkside for the first time, I'm getting excited about the transition. Since our weather forecast for tomorrow is really crappy, I just dropped the bike and tire off at the dealer. Even brought a bottle of vegetable oil for them to use as a lubricant. They laughed at that... said they don't have any problems seating the tires. I told them to just take the oil home and cook with it if they didn't need it. Getting the shock bushings checked, too (thanks, Doc).. If all goes as planned, I'll be official by tomorrow!

Take it easy for the first couple hundred miles. Just like every new tire. And remember to turn your exhaust bolts around so they don't rub the tire.

Jerry

Congrats Tomkat, enjoy it, looking forard to read your first experience.
Robert.

Thanks, guys. I'll keep you posted.... pics, too.

I thought that today I would be posting about how glad I was with the new tire, etc, etc. It wasn't to be. The guy at the dealer called and said that the tire I bought "won't fit" under my fender. I ride a 2005 1300R, The tire I bought is a 205/70/15. The guy at the shop said that the sidewll of the CT is 9" wide and can't fit. I don't mind going back to Sears to get another tire, but which one? Something that'e evidently not as wide. Oh, yeah.... during the phone call, I got another unsolicited opinion about "crash and burn", etc. I wanted to tell him I'm an old man with cancer (that part's true) and I choose to go out in a blaze of glory.... Anyhow, I need suggestions about an alternate tire. Any 1300 R guys with expertise have suggestions?

tomkat100 wrote:I thought that today I would be posting about how glad I was with the new tire, etc, etc. It wasn't to be. The guy at the dealer called and said that the tire I bought "won't fit" under my fender. I ride a 2005 1300R, The tire I bought is a 205/70/15. The guy at the shop said that the sidewll of the CT is 9" wide and can't fit. I don't mind going back to Sears to get another tire, but which one? Something that'e evidently not as wide. Oh, yeah.... during the phone call, I got another unsolicited opinion about "crash and burn", etc. I wanted to tell him I'm an old man with cancer (that part's true) and I choose to go out in a blaze of glory.... Anyhow, I need suggestions about an alternate tire. Any 1300 R guys with expertise have suggestions?

Not sure why it doesn't fit. Others fit on an R model, did they try to let the air out to put it under the fender and then air it up? It is a tight fit for sure, but it does fit unless the tire is just built a little different than the others. Not sure why?

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

I wonder if they simply measured the width of the CT and the width of the fender and "calculated" that the tire is too big. During our conversation, he also mentioned the exhaust pipe bracket getting in the way. I already told them about reversing the bolt, with the nut on the outside. He told me that my pipes are aftermarket (probably true... I bought the bike used). I suppose I could insist that they go ahead and mount the tire and try what you suggested. By the way, thanks for the quick response.

to put it bluntly. the guy at the dealer is full of shit. the205-70 will fit. you will have to turn the exhaust bracket bolts out and manuever it under the fender but it will fit. It will fit and there will be no rubbing or other issues. Tell the candy ass that if he didnt want to do it he should not have said he would. Make him put your bike back together and take your keys from him and leave. Dont pay the shyster a dime.

See you out there
Smokey

That's the plan. Thanks, Smokey

Here's where things stand today (Tuesday 5-4-10).. Got the bike and tire back from the Honda dealer. Bought the Moly paste today, still need to buy a torque wrench. I plan to take the wheel off this weekend and have the tire mounted (somewhere) next week. I can't wait to ride the bike backto the dealer just so I can smile and ask them how they think it looks... I'll be using the wheel removal how-to on the bareass chopper site. Wish me luck.

Fender ? What fender ?
Goodluck Tomcat, hope you'll manage.
Once it's done the dealer's the best place to get rid of all the grease on the tire at once,
just smoke them out.
Robert.

Got the wheel off....Much easier than expected, thanks to Bareass' how-to. Got the new (unmounted) tire up under there just to see how it looks. I'm going to have to remove the stebel horn (it's bolted to the swingarm in front of the tire) to allow for some more room. I'm supposed to get the tire mounted Monday. They're closed Saturday... can you believe that? This sucker is going to be a tight fit, but if I can get it under there unmounted, It should go when the wheel is attached. Sure hate to leave it on the jack over the weekend. looks kinda like a 3 legged dog.

I have an '05 1300R and have the GY TT 205-70-15 on and there is no problem with the fit. Like others said let the air out and I had to turn the bolts as well. It is tight getting it up in there but it will fit. Good luck.