Trying to go darkside, help!

Maby I have just been with the ct too long (4 years) but I am not following what you are calling rear tire shift.As far as I can remember mine has always been smooth in the curves even under hard excelleration.Maby a difference in tires or bikes.

exlax wrote:

Larry Simpson wrote:So what did the wife think????

its gonna take some time. she is far too caught up on the fact that there is a car tire on the back of the motorcycle, to focus on the ride. I did get her to admit that it was smooth, but she was too busy cringing in every corner, afraid that it was gonna just lose traction or roll off the bead, to notice much else.

I will say, that this is not something i would recommend to a new rider. I like it so far, but im afraid a less experienced rider would have problems telling the difference between that distinct rear end shift the car tire gives the bike, and losing traction in the rear.

My wife had the opposite effect on her! She ranted and raved over how good it felt and never complained about the handling or never thought it would not stick. Her tires on her car didn't slip when she went in a turn, so I guess she didn't see why it would hold on a motorcycle!!! hehehehe


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

Larry Simpson wrote:Maby I have just been with the ct too long (4 years) but I am not following what you are calling rear tire shift.As far as I can remember mine has always been smooth in the curves even under hard excelleration.Maby a difference in tires or bikes.

Mine seems to be decreasing as I ride it, so it may just be because the tire is still breaking in, or maybe im just focusing on how the bike handles more than usual because i have a new tire.

twin1300 wrote:

exlax wrote:

Larry Simpson wrote:So what did the wife think????

its gonna take some time. she is far too caught up on the fact that there is a car tire on the back of the motorcycle, to focus on the ride. I did get her to admit that it was smooth, but she was too busy cringing in every corner, afraid that it was gonna just lose traction or roll off the bead, to notice much else.

I will say, that this is not something i would recommend to a new rider. I like it so far, but im afraid a less experienced rider would have problems telling the difference between that distinct rear end shift the car tire gives the bike, and losing traction in the rear.

My wife had the opposite effect on her! She ranted and raved over how good it felt and never complained about the handling or never thought it would not stick. Her tires on her car didn't slip when she went in a turn, so I guess she didn't see why it would hold on a motorcycle!!! hehehehe


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

My wife has a heavy automotive background, she practically grew up on the dragstrip, and is pretty knowledgeable about cars and their inner workings, so like I was when i first started reading about darkside, she is skeptical of putting a car tire with flatter tread pattern, on a vehicle that leans. She did say she was more confident after riding on it last night, but its just going to take some time before she admits that its not dangerous. If she rode a bike, she would probably be alot more optimistic about it, but since she doesnt know how, nor does she have the coordination, she cant take it around the block and see that all is well.

Just a thought how tight are your spokes? Have you checked shock bushings.If any problems exist they will be magnafied by the ct wheel flex ect.

Larry Simpson wrote:Just a thought how tight are your spokes? Have you checked shock bushings.If any problems exist they will be magnafied by the ct wheel flex ect.

the spokes are ok, the shock bushings are bad. I started noticing some play in them, about a year ago, when my dad still owned the bike, and he ordered bushings for it. I have them sitting on the shelf, just have to install them. Depending on how hard it is to change them, i may do it tomorrow night, since ill be riding through the mountains friday/sat/sun/mon. While i know that will amplify rear end movement, the movement im feeling, that seems to decrease every time i ride on the new tire (either because its breaking in, or because i am just getting used to it), is not due to the shock bushings. They were bad on the old tire, they are bad on the new tire. Either way, the bushings are next on the list to change. My dynabeads just showed up about an hour ago, so i pulled the valve stem core, used some compressed air to get the beads in, and reinstalled the core. Will be riding to the sprint store to swap my cell phone out in a few minutes to test the beads.

Ok, what I was trying to say was problems that were pre existing that you didn't notice with the mc tire new or old will be noticable in some way with the ct, at leaste that seems to be the history on most bikes.

If you have the shock bushings sitting on the shelf please take the half hour and change them. It is an easy job requiring minimum tools. All I used was a 14mm wrench, 2 blocks of wood and a hammer. Probably more like a 15 minute job. The next set I changed for a buddy I used a vice instead of a hammer. Still a quick job.

You will find that the darkside amplifies any discrepency in your scoot and fixing something as easy as the bushings makes a big difference.

See you out there
Smokey

smokey2255 wrote:If you have the shock bushings sitting on the shelf please take the half hour and change them. It is an easy job requiring minimum tools. All I used was a 14mm wrench, 2 blocks of wood and a hammer. Probably more like a 15 minute job. The next set I changed for a buddy I used a vice instead of a hammer. Still a quick job.

You will find that the darkside amplifies any discrepency in your scoot and fixing something as easy as the bushings makes a big difference.

See you out there
Smokey

ill probably do it tomorrow evening. I grabbed a handful of throttle coming out of a corner a few minutes ago coming back from the sprint store, and the backend shifted with a sort of bump, felt like movement from loose suspension components, so im guessing it was the bearings causing it, ive noticed it a couple times since putting the darkside on, never noticed it before.

Do the bushings just press/knock out of the shock eyelet? And im assuming the bike will drop ont he fender if you take them off with the bike on the ground, meaning jack it up first?

Yes put a jack under it and just take pressure off of the shocks ,up maby 1/2" or so.Bushings should push or knock out without too much problem.

Easy job to change the shock bushings I did it just do one side at a time shouldn't take more than a 1/2 hour. I sprayed some silicone on the bushings so the shock slipped back on easy over it. I changed mine before I went darkside because they were bad. Everyone said the darkside amplifies a problem like that.

Beermand wrote:Easy job to change the shock bushings I did it just do one side at a time shouldn't take more than a 1/2 hour. I sprayed some silicone on the bushings so the shock slipped back on easy over it. I changed mine before I went darkside because they were bad. Everyone said the darkside amplifies a problem like that.

if the rear end shift ive been feeling goes away after i change them, we will know.

They were REALLY bad. Frankly im surprised i wasnt feeling movement with the other tire. The bottom on both sides were worn through the bottom side of the bushing, and touching metal. The bushings on the top side came out in 3 peices on the left, and 2 peices on the right. I also found that the shocks were set to 1. My dad says he had adjusted them out to the middle setting (3) when he bought it. All i can figure is he was dreaming, because they were on 1. I adjusted them up to 4 since i do alot of 2 up riding, and i had a few scrubs with my wife on the back over bumps. what a difference. I made both changes/repairs at the same time so i cant say for sure if it was the suspension adjustment, the bushings, or both, but wow. I feel less road vibration now that im not metal on metal where the old bushings were worn, and the bike is ROCK solid. Feels like its on rails now, not a single bit of swaying, hopping, no movement when i give it gas in a corner. I even tried to do a burnout in celebration, and the damn tire hooks so well that the front tire just wanted to hop up, left no more than 5 foot of black mark. I have to say, im impressed, and im ready for the mountains.

Excellent great news and congrats!

hey twin, why dont you invite aardvark over from vtxoa. These guys would have a ball with him.