400 Miles on the Darkside...

Well, I have about 400 miles on the new rear tire and I have to say that I really like it. I'm running 30psi in the rear and 40 in my front. I took a ride up to Laconia yesterday with the Mrs. on the back and clothing/gear in the bags. We rode on different types of roads varying between highway and rural with ruts, bumps, grooves, tar snakes, etc. The bike handles as well or better than when I had a mc tire on and handled the turns/twisties well too. Not once did I feel as if the bike couldn't handle the road and with the ct on the bike definitely feels like I have improved upon the suspension.

I've also had a friend of mine driving behind be to work one day and he was very impressed by how much contact the tire has on both the straightaways as well as in the turns. I got caught in the rain on that day and he commented on how well the tire handled the water, spitting out nice rooster tails.

Since I'm still new to the Darkside, I'm still riding a cautiously, but so far I have to say I'm very impressed and if I get the handling and mileage out of this tire that others are, I'm not going back.

Good write up. Dont remember what tire you went with, but glad you like it.

Jerry

jedishon wrote:Good write up. Dont remember what tire you went with, but glad you like it.

Jerry

Thanks Jerry. I went with the Hankook Optimo H426 in 195/60/16.

Thx for the update, glad you like it.
Believe me, you might want to choose an other CT, but you're not going back.

It will only get better from here!



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

Soon it will be second nature and you won't even be thinking about it.

Enjoy the Ride

Jake,
Glad to hear you're enjoying your Hankook H426 as much as I am. I'm running mine at 32psi right now, haven't tried 30 yet, so I may give it a try just to see if it's better....but right now I'm very happy with how it rides and handles. What bike are you riding again ?
I did have a high speed wobble (80-85mph) at first, but I found the problem, which turned out to be my rear cargo trunk on my luggage rack. It was causing a back turbulence, which made my front end wobble and feel light. I removed the trunk, and the problem went away totally. Kept playing with various psi's, removed the windshield, still the high speed wobble would go away. So I was very happy when I realized it was the trunk that was causing the problem. Sold the trunk the other day, cause I really didn't need it anyway, other than to carry a few accessories that fit easily into my saddlebags.
Time will tell how many miles I can get with the Hankook, but at this point, I'm enjoying the ride so much, I really don't care.
BTW, I have driven my bike to Laconia, North Conway, Lincoln as well as the Kangamangus route....loved it down there, some great biking roads for sure. I will drive down again someday.
Ride safe.

Dudester60 wrote:Jake,
Glad to hear you're enjoying your Hankook H426 as much as I am. I'm running mine at 32psi right now, haven't tried 30 yet, so I may give it a try just to see if it's better....but right now I'm very happy with how it rides and handles. What bike are you riding again ?
I did have a high speed wobble (80-85mph) at first, but I found the problem, which turned out to be my rear cargo trunk on my luggage rack. It was causing a back turbulence, which made my front end wobble and feel light. I removed the trunk, and the problem went away totally. Kept playing with various psi's, removed the windshield, still the high speed wobble would go away. So I was very happy when I realized it was the trunk that was causing the problem. Sold the trunk the other day, cause I really didn't need it anyway, other than to carry a few accessories that fit easily into my saddlebags.
Time will tell how many miles I can get with the Hankook, but at this point, I'm enjoying the ride so much, I really don't care.
BTW, I have driven my bike to Laconia, North Conway, Lincoln as well as the Kangamangus route....loved it down there, some great biking roads for sure. I will drive down again someday.
Ride safe.

Dudester,

I'm glad you located your wobble; it's not a comfortable feeling riding at 75-80 MPH and feeling that! I still have a bit of a wobble at those speeds so I need to adjust the front tire psi. I'm not too concerned with it because I don't normally drive at those speeds and the Dunlop I have on is getting worn and is ready to be replaced. I have a Metzler 880 ready to go and I'll work with that tire to get the best ride possible.

To answer your question, I have an 09' Harley Road King with an aftermarket Dead Center fairing (I like it more than the windshield).

So far I'm glad I gave the Dark Side a try. Had I not, I wouldn't have known that there were other options out there. As I've previously stated, so far I'm very happy with this "mod" and if the riding continues to improve, then I'm not going back to a motorcycle tire.

Jake

You won't. Traction and ride are addictive, and by the time you wear that thing out, it will be a part of you.
Interesting take on the luggage trunk. I had no wobbles up to 100 until I put on a Bridgestone S-11 rear up front, and it got a bit of
headshake at 95 - very disconcerting.
I may take off the windshield and bags today and give her a run to see if she still does it. I suspect it's that magnification factor of the
CT - anything amiss up front will show up. No explanations for that yet, and those poor Hondy riders keep having to replace fork bushings.
OTOH, that's a GOOD thing, IMO.

Jake
I forgot to ask you, how are your front and rear tires balanced ? Are you using dyna beads in both and how much ? Or are you balanced with the sticky on the rims on both ?
I have 3 ozs of dynoa beads in the rear, and sticky weigths on the front rim. Don't know if that's recommended or not.

Dudester60 wrote:Jake
I forgot to ask you, how are your front and rear tires balanced ? Are you using dyna beads in both and how much ? Or are you balanced with the sticky on the rims on both ?
I have 3 ozs of dynoa beads in the rear, and sticky weigths on the front rim. Don't know if that's recommended or not.

Weights on the rims...no Dynabeads.