My first Darkside experience

Swapped the wheel today with the rim I had mounted the CT on. It's a Pirelli P4 205/70/15 .. a lot of tire to be sure. Did it at work and man the rest of the day dragged on until finally time to go home. Took the loong way home .. it's normally a 30 minute commute that I stretched into 2.5 hours .. lol

First thoughts ...
1. Smoother ride - that CT soaks up more bumps than the MC tire ever could. Don't even know what my tire pressure is but I think Mobtown put the recommended pressure in it. So it's probably a tad low .. even looks like it may need a bit of air .. will check it tomorrow if I get home early enough.

2. Stability - and that's with a capitol "S". This thing WANTS to stand up straight going down the highway .. bonus. Even slightly off center steering adjustments bring it back straight up immediately. Consequently, steering input is greater but not a lot .. not harder .. just different. I love it. Usually you get blown around a bit by the big rigs on the highway and that didn't change .. now it just requires less input to stay straight. Hard to describe actually .. it's just better now.

3. Slow speed handling - haven't had much of that yet so I haven't noticed any difference other than the aforementioned steering input thing. Slow speed or at road speed it does require more steering effort .. but it's really like riding a different bike more than it got "harder" to steer.

The tire is still too slick to even think about trying the twisties .. I left work and pulled right into the gas station next door. When I left the gas station I had to goose it (not hard .. just a little half throttle squirt), from a fast idle in first gear, to merge into the traffic lane. It got a little (just a bit) sideways when the tire broke loose. "Got to take it easy" I thought.. so when I made my left onto the 95 onramp, fast idling in second gear for the turn, I decided to see just how slick the tire really is so I hammered the throttle once I was pointed straight down the long ramp .... it jumped forward and as it hit about 3k rpm the tire broke loose again ... "Okay, it's very slick" ..lol .. maximum rubber on the ground when straight up and it still wanted to spin.
So I took it very easy on it the rest of the night's ride .. could feel it slipping just off idle around every turn from a start .. nothing worrysome as long as I didn't try to do sharp turns on the gas.
So when it's said to take it easy for the first few hundred miles they mean it!
Can't wait for the mold release stuff to get worn off.
I knew I should have done a burnout first thing! If I had it to do all over again that's exactly what I would do. Cook that stuff right off! I may have to do that anyway .. lol.

There it is ... my first Darkside experience.

Now where are my cookies?

watch out for that mold release.....dont let i bite you..and check the air pressure..and once you find YOUR SWEET SPOT you will get to enjoy the bennnies of DARKSIDE...AS FAR AS THE COOKIES GO ..PROBABALLY GOT DIVERTED ,,,,HEY TWIN 1300 ..ANY IDEAS?????

We'll We'll We'll Look what the cat dragged over finally to the DARKSIDE!!! Take it easy on that tire for at least 500 miles than let all he!! break loose.

Congrats and welcome to the darkside! If you think you like it now...just wait until you get caught in the rain or ride two up! It will really shine then.



.........................twin


.

Welcome and thx or the write up. Hope many newbies will read this, getting rid of
the mold is very important and can't be said enough.
Enjoy it and send some pics.
Robert.

While I totally agree, the Vredestein has never slipped on me, even when new. I spent that half hour twisting the turns hard in the neighborhood and right after that, thought I had it all burned off. It acted like it.
Maybe you just have a faster motor, man.

Welcome to the darkside. Sounds like another satisfied convert.
Nice write up.

Jerry

Almost 200 miles on the tire now and some other things I have noticed.

Wobble:
A CT has softer sidewalls than a MCT and will wobble quite easily. When I say wobble I mean if you shake the bars while riding you can feel the rear wobble ... more than a MCT does. I am sure the steering bearings have something to do with this, time to put the steering bearings in. I raised the pressure up to 36 and it made a noticeable difference in the "wobblebility".. will try 40psi next.

Traction:
Start mashing the rear brake, keep pressing it harder than you ever dared with a MCT, and you will slide forward on the seat! I love it.
Rev the engine and dump the clutch, pointed straight ahead, and you better have a good hold of everything ... it will spin but when it catches it LAUNCHES you. The rear squats down and the forks extend to the stops and away you go! lol Great fun!

I put a new front tire on and WOW! What a difference! It steers easier now than it did when I bought it! I got a 100/90/19 instead of the 110/90/19 to see if that tire size would make the steering more responsive... so far it sure has. I will order the proper size tire this weekend and put it on after a month or so of riding so I can really tell the difference. The better tire wins and will be the permanent one.

So far I am loving this tire. Still going to give it another tank of gas before I play on the twisties. Can't wait to get it dialed in.

And here are some pics:

Just an update:
First off I want to say that anyone contemplating using a CT on the back and not sure if it actually works or is better ... run, dont walk to your nearest tire dealer and pick up a tire, get it mounted... you will NOT be sorry.
I have about 1K miles on it now and I will not consider putting a MCT on the rear.. its CT for me from now on.
I have been riding it with the tire pressure that was put in at Mobtown. I knew it was low even tho I did not check it. I was simply enjoying the soft ride. Cornering was the dead giveaway that I had too little air. It would sorta "squat" in a turn since the sidewalls were flexing too much. A little uncomfortable but I wasnt riding hard until I was absolutely sure all the mold release was gone so it wasnt a big deal. And if I wobble the handlebars I could feel the rear end wobble as well... another low pressure giveaway.
Now I have 40 pounds in it and am starting to play with it to get the sweet spot. It goes around corners like its on rails.. and under power too... it's hands-down MUCH better than a MCT in the traction department. With 40 psi there is no wobble whatsoever when I shake the bars and it "feels" every bit as solid in turns as the MCT did. No squat, no detectable lateral movement from the sidewalls. I have a Pirelli and they utilize a bit stiffer sidewall than a lot of the other tires darksiders use. I did not want the General LT tire option ... those tires are considerably stiffer (more plies) and I am sure that would have resulted in an overly stiff ride. For people that routinely ride two-up or are near the load limit that tire would probably be a good choice. I think the Pirelli offers a pretty good compromise between soft ride and stiff sidewalls. Will be useful when the I am towing the trailer I am sure. I think I will mount a Yokohama on the spare rear wheel and try one with softer sidewalls ... just to see the difference.
The front has been changed to a Metzler 880 thats a smidge smaller than stock. Handles like a little 750 now.. steering is effortless. I originally planned to change the front tire to a Metzler 880 thats the correct size.. but I am enjoying this smaller tire so much I do not see any need to swap.
This rear tire is taller than the stock MCT tire so I now cannot sit flat-footed with both feet. Almost tho. Just something you need to consider if you are concerned with seat height. The 205/70/15 I use also makes the speedometer much closer to accurate than the stock size MCT. I REALLY enjoy that ....
So I believe I will settle on 36-38 psi .... and enjoy my cookies every year.. while I watch others replace their rear MCT again.. and again.. lol
So.. if you were wondering if a CT was for you .. all I can say is if you try it I cannot imagine you ever wanting to go back to a MCT.