recent education for vt1100 shadow when switching to the Darkside

So I decided I was switching to the darkside- found a good looking tire on ebay and bought it. The tire was a dunlop LM 703, front is still a dunlop 404 and I thought a pair of dunlops would be a good way to go. When i decided the old dunlop rear finally had to leave , I mounted up the new 205/65/15 on the alloy wheel, it seemed to be a tight fit going on the wheel, but I sort of ignored it. when it came time to inflate the tire, it would bead up 3/4 of the way around on each side and would not go any further. I even tried inflating up to 130 PSI and it made no difference. I used lots of "Slick-em" and still made no diff. I removed the tire and noticed an INNER RIDGE on the the bead of the alloy wheel of the vt1100. I double checked the clear diameter of the old dunlop and it measured an even 15". Checked the inner dia of the C/T and found it to be about 14.7". I then made an attempt to smear vaseline on the aluminum ridge of the wheel. I dont suggest using a petroleum based lube, but I was desperate and it was within arms reach in the shop.
Long story longer, I then re-mounted it on the wheel and made another attempt to inflate. The additional efforts made no progress. I left the tire inflated for a longer periord of time, and still nothing, I placed it in front of the furnace vent and nothing. Finally, I stopped by the tire store near my work and started pulling tires off the rack. some were 14.75" some were 14.625", some were even close to 14.5", but one- and only one- measured 14.875. This was a 195/65/15 that was H rated and had a smooth looking tread, but wasnt directional. I bought the tire.
When I got home, I was on a short time frame before going to a church function and in 15 minutes, I had the 205 dunlop off the wheel and other new tire on and at about 80 PSI, the bead gave the "POP" sound I had been longing for.

Im posting this info because it would have saved me the expense of a non fitting tire, had someone else found it before I did.

I still think a 205 might fit but it would have to measure greater than 14.75 in the inner bead diameter.

This also might be an issue with any alloy wheel. The inner ridge on the bead could be a killer

Good luck to all on their swap.

Riding a 1988 honda VT1100C that is now on the dark side.

Welcome to the darkside. I normally recomend the 70 series tires for that very reason. Glad you got one on. Time to go enjoy the ride.

Jerry

Is there a chart available with this information, and maybe a chart that logs the number of miles people are getting out of particular tires?

Update on my darkside conversion:
I was able to get the tire and wheel back on the bike. It looks awesome and the traction i am getting is unreal!
The tire I used is a 195/65/15 the brand on it is Granada (Les Schwab Tire). I think it is a different tire manufacturer that puts that name on it for Les Schwab. Anyway, Im running 40psi in it right now and the ride is ok, I think I will back it off to 32psi and see how it feels. What do you guys run for psi in your shadows? I am still getting used to it, but as I make a right hand turn at a green light, it feels sort of unstable ( for lack of a better term) i think it is only becayse the tire is shifting from the face of the treat to the ridge. Lower psi might change that feel.

Bottom line- I've gone 30 miles on the dark side and I dont see myself deliberately going back.

Thanks to everone on the furum for giving me the info to do the swap.
Honda John

John there is no "one" pressure that works for all. Start at 40psi and drop your pressures 2psi at a time. Ride the bike there a couple of days and then drop it another 2psi and so on. You will probably go up and down a couple times, but you will find the pressure that feels just right for you.
On your conversion to the Darkside...

Great write up.

I am having the same problem, 165/80 15 2006 VT1100 Spirit. Original was 170/80 15 Ridges on rim stopping me. as of now I put old MC tire back on till I decide what to do.

Getting them to seat is a real pain. The best way to make sure you get it done, is to choose a tire that others have had success with. This forum is kinda useful for that. I've mounted 3 and all of them have been difficult.

Here's the basic guidelines for me:

1 - Clean the rim. Use a rag and really scrub that sucker down. Remove all residue or dirt
2 - lube the rim and tire. I've used pledge with success and I think Pam cooking spray was the best I've found (note= if you're going to balance the tire with dynabeads, you do NOT want to use anything goopy that won't dissolve. anything sticky will make all your balancing beads stick to it)
Lube the tire halfway up the wall, not just around the seat
3 - apply air pressure. I've had 90+ pounds for every tire I've seated. 2 of those still didn't seat. I set the inflated tire out in the sun on a hot texas day, and when I got home from work, it was seated.
I would like to try a cheater-seater (big cannister with lots of pressure and a quick valve that applies all the air pressure in the can immediately to the tire). My next tire I am also going to try the starter spray trick to see if that will do it. Before I had never used this idea, but recently I've been using it on trailer tires and lawn mower tires and it works pretty sweet. We'll see.

That POP is a heavenly sound when you've been fighting it.

Also ... it's worth noting that there are just some tires that refuse to seat. Steve-O had a Falkan like that. Tire looked soooo awesome. But for whatever reason, it just would not seat.