New Darksider and Michelin HE report

Hello all,
I finally had to replace my Dunlop Elite 3 after 16,000 + mi. I thought about the Triple Tread but couldn't find one locally and didn't have time to order one if I wanted to take a planned trip to Albuquerque this last weekend. I was told it would be 7-10 business days before one could be delivered. They could get me a Hydro Edge the next day so that made up my mind for me.

I picked it up Friday afternoon and started the process of getting it on the bike. It was a chore getting the Dunnie off so I figured I'd have a heck of a time getting the HE on. Well surprisingly enough putting the HE on was about ten times easier to get on the wheel than it was getting the Dunnie off. I used 3 ounces of dyno beads, I didn't know how much to use but decided that too much was better than not enough. I tried to put the tire on the bike but it wouldn't go, so I let the air out of the tire and slid it in the fender with no problems. After looking everything over I decided that all was going to work okay (the left side of the tire is extremely close to the swing arm but had about 1/8" clearance) except that I needed to grind the fender strut down. I did that and checked it all again, still a little nervous about the swing arm clearance. Filled the tire up to 43 lbs. Again I didn't know where to start but it sounded like a somewhat popular pressure. Got the bags and everything put back on the bike.

Well there was nothing left to do but try it out, I have to say I was some what tentative, but wasn't going to let my buddy ride it first as he was wanting to (had to save face you know). Took it around a few blocks and it was definately different but not bad at all. I had to give it a slight amount more of countersteer and it kind of wanted to stand back upright when slacking off the countersteering. I came back to shop and gave my little report to my buddy (who owns a bike repair shop and is a much, much more experienced rider than I am). He took the bike out for a longer ride than I did and got pretty aggressive with some turns and what not. He came back and said pretty much the same things I did. He is now wanting to put a CT on his drag bike and maybe his Ultra Classic. (if anyone has any info on CT's for a Harley please post it or pm me).

After cleaning the shop up It was time to ride home about 5 mi. I got on the bike and just decided to have an open mind, by the time I got home I really believe I was quite comfortable with it all. I got up the next morning and headed out for Albuquerque, about 175 mi.away. The trip to Alb. was uneventful (rode about 75 mph.)and by the time I got home Sun. (rode 80-85 mph.)wasn't even thinking about it anymore. As luck would have it when I got back to Farmington I had to make a really quick stop for a traffic light with a cop setting there watching, I got on the brakes really hard and downshifted through the gears. I have to say I haven't ever felt as steady and grippy while doing that hard of a stop before on a MC tire. There wasn't even a hint of the tire breaking loose or losing traction, and I stopped in a shorter distance than I ever have before. After getting home I checked the the tire as I did several times on the trip, and couldn't find any rub marks on the tire even at the dreaded swing arm area.

I haven't had the chance to get in any real hard twisties yet but I'm not concerned about it when I do. Actually this Wed. evening I'm headed to Lakewood, CO. for the VTX gathering so I'm sure I'll get my chance for twisties and the rain while I'm there.

After only about 500 mi. on the CT a few observations are
Better traction all around
Better braking
Feeling of more stability
Bigger contact patch at straight up or turning (as checked by riding through a puddle of water and checking the amount of tread shown on the pavement).
A small amount of being pulled one way or the other on uneven pavement but not enough that it worried me at any time.
Having a lift where the back section is removable makes the tire much easier to put on.
3 ounces of beads worked great on my tire.
Makes for alot of stares and compliments.

So final conclusion is I wish I had changed over sooner, and so far very happy with the Hydro Edge. Thanks to all who have posted their experiences on here before and all who answered my questions in the past.

Sweet! Glad you like it! Thankd for the report.

Nice write up,

mark f

Yep....thanks for the write and we all feel the same way more or less! I can't say it's the best thing, but the car tire doesn't do anything stupid and most thing better than the motorcycle tire.

.

Don't worry about swing arm clearence if you have clearence to start with you will have more clearence riding than you have sitting still ,the tire will grow in height and shrink in width with RPMS.RIDE SAFE Larry S.

[b] Nice write up, will watch for further mileage reports. I ended up over here following a post in the VTX Cafe forums. One guy has gone on with the CT. He had a Goodyear TT on, super nice looking tread on.
Larry in Okmulgee: Who did you use to mount your tire? Who balanced it?
Huzz in Tulsa

Lham and I mounted it and static ballanced it to start with ,have since added dynabeads .wasn't having any trouble with static balance,just wanted to try dynabeads. Ride Safe Larry S.

Went to the Coloradical VTX ride. Rode in rain and hail alot, liking this tire more and more. Never felt unsafe in the rain, actually felt safer. I haven't played with pressures yet but am meaning to. Running 43lbs. currently. May lower it and see what happens, any suggestions.

Welcome Aboard lower it a few psi at a time until it feels sloppy, then come up a little, till it feels right.
27 psi works for my 210 lbs, riding solo, no gear.

My mechanic had to do a bit of grinding off the swing arm in order to stop it from rubbing. The first time I went 2 up on the tire, it took out the speedo and the tail light. I've been running 40 pounds of pressure and couldn't be happier with the performance. Rode it chasing a rainstorm last weekend and was quite pleased with how it handled through the twisties. Everyone commented on the "roostertail" that she was throwing out. My mechanic is convinced that I need to go back to a CT. I'm not.

abfpat wrote:My mechanic had to do a bit of grinding off the swing arm in order to stop it from rubbing. The first time I went 2 up on the tire, it took out the speedo and the tail light. I've been running 40 pounds of pressure and couldn't be happier with the performance. Rode it chasing a rainstorm last weekend and was quite pleased with how it handled through the twisties. Everyone commented on the "roostertail" that she was throwing out. My mechanic is convinced that I need to go back to a CT. I'm not.

Had the shocks raised to see if that stops the problem with the wiring being ripped out while carting a passenger.

I end up at around 30#'s.

JJ

Was hoping to be able to give more feedback, but my HE took a bolt that messed up the cords.
Wasn't able to get a replacement, so went to a Goodyear Triple Thread 205/60/16R. The slightly shorter
tire had better clearance and actually handled better than the Michelin. Running @ 35# just as I did with the
Michelin. Am quite happy with the performance. Put around 2,000 miles on the Michelin HE, and was quite
happy with the way it handled in the curves and in wet weather.

Good write-ups guys. And stater61, 3 oz's was exactly what was needed.

Jerry