It's Official - I've moved over to the Dark Side

Well, I've been working on changing out my rear tire on my 2005 VT1100 Honda Shadow Spirit to a Car Tire (CT).

So, I finally completed it today and it's mounted and I've done my initial 40 mile ride and tomorrow I'll be putting about 200 miles on it.

This is GREAT! I really like the tire. I had similar issues as ttexastim with setting the bead but once I warmed up the tire in the sun and in front of an electric heater, and generous amounts of soapy water the beads popped into place.

Washed up the wheel and tire real good and commenced to re-mounting it after balancing. my wheel is practically brand new as it is a 2005 and only has 9,500 miles on it. So, I use my existing axle and balanced the new tire and wheel assembly on 4 paint cans. 2 on each side. I spun the wheel 3 times and each time I marked the heavy spot at the 6 o'clock position. Then I started with 1/2 ounce of weight taped at the 12 o'clock position and spud the wheel once and let it stop. After doing this a few times I ended up with 1-1/4 ounce of weight at the 12 o'clock position and spun it 3 more times to be sure i was getting 'random' stops on the wheel.

Tire went back on the bike very easily. Installed the rear brake and then I torque everything down to torque specs mentioned in the clymer manual.

Pulled her into the driveway and took some pics. (see below)

Time for a test drive. First it was off into neighborhood streets and into a parking lot. found an uphill dirt and gravel area to spin the tire on to knock off any leftover grease and grime and "new" tire shine. Then it was back to the streets and then to the highway and then to some back country roads for some twisties.

I really think I worked myself up to a major handling difference and possible problems. I HAD NONE OF THESE. after reading other posts and many many other rider comments on going to the darkside I honestly have to say this was a NON-EVENT for me.

Yes, it felt different but it wasn't a "bad different" or a "scary different" or an "oh my god get this tire off" diffferent. It tracked great. I felt very solid in staights and turns. Highway speeds were awesome! Very smooth and nice. I did notice that my speedometer is a little more off. It use to be about 3.5 to 4 MPH slow, and now it it spot on 5 mph slow. Meaning if I'm showing 75 on speedometer I'm actually only going 70. No big deal to me!! I have my GPS that I tested in car and it is spot on 98% of the time. So, this is how I gauged my speed difference in speedometer and what GPS was showing.

Curves you ask? What can I say. They were AWESOME. In fact I'm pretty sure it handled corners better than my OEM Dunlop did. And for the severe need to countersteer all the time, was not true. It was no worse or less than it normally was. I enjoy correct countersteering and I had no issues whatsoever with it in the curves, etc...
Also, the fact that some have said after a countersteer turn that it will pop right back up straight? I didn't have that issue at all.

Braking was great. Traction is great. As for now I'm definitely a convert. I'll of course reserve the right to change my mind at a later date and more riding. But, I don't forsee that happening. I will be honest in all my dealing with this as I believe it is imperitive that honesty be shared in all of this.

I'm sure I'm leaving something out, so if you have any questions or comments please don't hesitate to PM me or post here.

Thanks to all the other Darkside Riders and esspecially ttexastim for all his assistance. I couldn't have done it with out you.

Thanks again!
Here are the pics





saddle bags and accessories are back on - Ready to Ride.



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Great work!!

And ... welcome to the greatest support group every!!! This site ROCKS!!

Eagle Eye,

Awesome write up and Welcome to the coolest mod around. I was just like you, I went to the 165 and it was anti-climatic as far as issues. I loved it right off the bat and at that time I was the only one to do it before the 1300's jumped on board.

Glad to have you and Welcome to the Darksiders. Make yourself at home. You are just going to get happier and happier with your decision to install the car tire. Just wait till you get caught in the rain, then that thing is really gonna shine and show you something.

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

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Here's some other useful tire info I found from the DOT that might be helpful to others.

Uniform Tire Quality Grading System (UTQGS)

To help consumers compare a passenger car tire's treadwear rate, traction performance, and temperature resistance, the federal government requires tire manufacturers to grade tires in these three areas. This grading system, known as the Uniform Tire Quality Grading System, provides guidelines for making relative comparisons when purchasing new tires. You also can use this information to inquire about the quality of tires placed on new vehicles.

Although this rating system is very helpful when buying new tires, it is not a safety rating or guarantee of how well a tire will perform or how long it will last. Other factors such as personal driving style, type of car, quality of the roads, and tire maintenance habits have a significant influence on your tire's performance and longevity.

Treadwear grades are an indication of a tire's relative wear rate. The higher the treadwear number is, the longer it should take for the tread to wear down. For example, a tire grade of 400 should wear twice as long as a tire grade of 200.

Traction grades are an indication of a tire's ability to stop on wet pavement. A higher graded tire should allow you to stop your car on wet roads in a shorter distance than a tire with a lower grade. Traction is graded from highest to lowest as "AA", "A", "B", and "C".

Temperature grades are an indication of a tire's resistance to heat. Sustained high temperature (for example, driving long distances in hot weather), can cause a tire to deteriorate, leading to blowouts and tread separation. From highest to lowest, a tire's resistance to heat is graded as "A", "B", or "C".



My tire has the following listed:
Brand: Kumho
Model: Power Star 758
Size: 165/80 r15
Speed Rating: T (118 mph)
Treadwear: 400
Traction: "A"
Temperature: 'B'

I had the same tire and it came apart on me big time. I was fortunate enough to catch it on video
click me
Just lucky no cats were hurt in the filming.


See you out there
Smokey

smokey2255 wrote:I had the same tire and it came apart on me big time. I was fortunate enough to catch it on video
click me
Just lucky no cats were hurt in the filming.


See you out there
Smokey

Yeah but I don't think he will be using it in the same way that you did. However I cant think of a better way for a tire to die. You gave it an honorable death.

Looks real good and looks like you're ready to travel.

Met a guy at a motorcycle shop at lunch on a 1100 Shadow , he parked right beside me as I was getting off to go in and told him about our site and you guys. He might come look us up! He is very interested when I showed him my rear tire, he had no idea what it was.....hehehehehe But he loved the idea.



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

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Thats cool. The more the merrier.

DarkSide-Shadow wrote:The tire is GREAT!! Love it!!

It's going to get better every day! Just wait till you get caught in the rain and THEN....you are going to tell really how great the tire is!



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

ps...glad you love it and we are glad you have found us.


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twin1300 wrote:

DarkSide-Shadow wrote:The tire is GREAT!! Love it!!

It's going to get better every day! Just wait till you get caught in the rain and THEN....you are going to tell really how great the tire is!



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

ps...glad you love it and we are glad you have found us.


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+1 on that. I can attest to how sticky it is in the rain. I can also attest to how much better I can brake with the rear wheel. I love it so far!!