I hope you are all proud.....

youve done it. I saw the term darkside on vtxoa, i googled it, i asked about it a little, i started reading over here, and damnit..... curiosity has gotten the best of me. All logic and reason in my tiny brain tells me that this is a terrible idea.... car tires belong on CARS, not motorcycles. But here i am, with a michelin hydroedge 205 70 15, getting it installed on tuesday, dynabeads (snake oil) and all. Someone please tell me im not going to get to deals gap on saturday and ask myself what i was thinking

Once you get used to it,50-100 miles you will be thinking ,WHAT TOOK ME SOOOOOO LONG TO DO IT Don't over analyse it. It is still just a tire and rolls round and round.

I really hope so. it feels so wrong to think about putting a car tire on, that im probably gonna be overthinking the whole situation until im going down the road on it tuesday, but i cant very well say its not for me until ive tried it. Something about the pictures of you guys riding up on the side of the tire dragging hard parts at the dragon just seems like there has to be somethin to it.

Remember when you are looking at the pictures that you think are on the side of the tire ,really isn't on the sidewall.We always have more tread on the pavement than the mc ever does.The radials flex and grip when running the pressures we run 32-38 psi. It is a mind thing,just ignore and remember it is a tire,just a better tire.

thats what im trying to do. it probably doesnt help, that the guy ive been getting my tires from for years, spent about 15 minutes calling me stupid and ranting about idiots with car tires on their bikes, when i mentioned it to him. Needless to say, i had to find another shop that would mount one, and they are going to require me to sign a waiver saying if i wreck my bike they arent liable. I know its gonna ride different, but is it really THAT much different to need a waiver? My wife is freaking out at the idea of a car tire on the bike btw, threatening not to ride with me

You absolutely won't even remember it is a car tire after you find the right psi to run and get about 500 miles on it. The only thing you will notice is better grip in the twisties, better braking, better hard acceleration grip and much better traction in the rain! Yes the idiot that owns the local shop that used to work on my bike told me i won't like it when i crash and die and I am still here 5000 miles on the darkside and loving it will never go back!

What you will find is people that have never tried the ct are the ones that scream the loudest.The few that try the ct and go back to the mc are the ones that can't get over the mind thing.Lots of shops want a waver because they don't know what to think about it and again in their mind the thought scares them.The idea wasn't a big deal for me because when I started riding 50 years ago all we had were bias ply car tires so the ideal was nothing new for me.Your wife will thank you for the much smoother ride and better traction and control in all conditions.It is just one of those things you have to experience before making up your mind.

Just take it easy at first. You have to wear the mold release off before you go crazy.

Jerry

and
It just gets better.

jedishon wrote:Just take it easy at first. You have to wear the mold release off before you go crazy.

Jerry

This i ALWAYS do. ive found that due to a) all tires being slick when new, i dont care what kind it is, and b) going from a worn out tire to a fresh tire changes handling characteristics due to profile, that its always best to start out slow and work the tires in over a couple rides. The only exception would be if you cut the tire in with a grinder, which i dont plan to do.

I had to lose my tire guy too. Dirt bike shop did me at first, then bought my own irons.
Personally, I wouldn't just go hit the Dragon until I found the sweet spot pressure in the tire first and got a bit used to it.
You just can't make mistakes up there. More than once.

quadancer wrote:I had to lose my tire guy too. Dirt bike shop did me at first, then bought my own irons.
Personally, I wouldn't just go hit the Dragon until I found the sweet spot pressure in the tire first and got a bit used to it.
You just can't make mistakes up there. More than once.

i should have probably clarified. I am a mobile service technician, and i ride my motorcycle for work unless the job im doing requires me to bring my generator and welder, which is rare. So between work from tues to friday when i leave on this trip, and the ride up to the lake, and the ride to deals gap on saturday, i will have a good 500 miles on the tire before i hit the drago. that is plenty of time to break it in easy and adjust the pressure to my liking. I know it probably sounded bad saying im installing it tuesday and going to the dragon on saturday, lol.

in regards to the dragon, id much rather go there and make a mistake, than go to wolf pen gap, or 129 over blood mountain, and make a mistake. The gap is much more forgiving than more technical roads like the others ive listed.

You know I live off Wade Green in Acworth? We should get together and shake a paw some time. Or any dry Sunday morn you'll
find my bike in front of Christ the King across from Ace hdwe.

quadancer wrote:You know I live off Wade Green in Acworth? We should get together and shake a paw some time. Or any dry Sunday morn you'll
find my bike in front of Christ the King across from Ace hdwe.

im always down for a get together, just name the time and place.

Some people just ride the dragon and say they slayed it......with the darkside...you can actually slay it and leave the guts along the highway! LOL

It requires a tad more countersteer, but after a couple hundred miles. You will forget about it the extra effort. Of with the extra effort required to get it into a turn...you will never have to over correct like with the free feeling of the MT. I raced most of my life and always had to ride a motorcycle and not sit on it, so I love how the car tire reacts.


Good luck sir and contact us if you have any issues. Darkside Rulz!


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

Oh Yeah....we are proud of the trouble we cause....

twin1300 wrote:Some people just ride the dragon and say they slayed it......with the darkside...you can actually slay it and leave the guts along the highway! LOL

It requires a tad more countersteer, but after a couple hundred miles. You will forget about it the extra effort. Of with the extra effort required to get it into a turn...you will never have to over correct like with the free feeling of the MT. I raced most of my life and always had to ride a motorcycle and not sit on it, so I love how the car tire reacts.


Good luck sir and contact us if you have any issues. Darkside Rulz!


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

As long as it goes on the rim, im sure ill be ok, and ill certainly report back later this week with my first impression of the tire. The shop that is mounting it has me a tad concerned, because they said they charge 73 to mount darkside tires, as long as they dont take longer than an hour. Now, why it would take longer than an hour, i dont know. Its a tube tire so grease affecting the dynabeads should not be a concern, so imo grease the hell out of the lip of the rim, put the air to it, and watch it seat. Regardless, i have that fear brewing deep in my gut that its gonna take 3 hours and they are gonna want me to fork over 200 bucks for mounting....

If you're gonna use beads, grease would be bad. They evidently either are risky or just had trouble getting some of the tires to bead. Heating up a tire takes a minnit.

quadancer wrote:If you're gonna use beads, grease would be bad. They evidently either are risky or just had trouble getting some of the tires to bead. Heating up a tire takes a minnit.

Quad he is putting the Dynabeads in a tube, so it's OK to lather that tire bead up good.

00 Doc wrote:

quadancer wrote:If you're gonna use beads, grease would be bad. They evidently either are risky or just had trouble getting some of the tires to bead. Heating up a tire takes a minnit.

Quad he is putting the Dynabeads in a tube, so it's OK to lather that tire bead up good.

and on top of that, i dont have the beads yet, i have to wait on them to ship. so ill be adding them on my own at home after the fact. Im either going to have them balance the tire with weights for the time being, or, perhaps, just tell them not to balance it, and ride it for a couple days until the beads get here. Im sure it will be apparent almost immediately if there is a major balance issue.

Just picked the tire up, it definitely looks big. The guy at discount tire where i bought it, was trying his hardest to get me to let them mount it for me, so i said ok, if you can put it on that, you can mount it, and pointed to my bike in the parking lot. His jaw hit the floor, and he started coming up with reasons why i shouldnt do it, blah blah blah. Kind of funny. Im going by the ride shop in woodstock ga tomorrow morning to have it mounted if any of you locals wanna swing by for moral support. im a bit nervous about it, but once the bead seats ill feel much better.