Rider Magazine talks about "Darksiding"

[1rooster]

1.My owners manual says this motorcycle is not intended to pull a trailer,but we do and thats

 

OK

 

2.My manual says it is not safe to exceed 80 mpr with a trunk and side bags,but we do and thats OK

 

3.My manual list Dunlop or bridgestone tires but we use other brands and thats OK

 

4.My manual says it is illegal by federal law to modify or alter the exhaust system but we do and thats OK.

 

5.No where in the manual does it say never to use a car tire on a motorcycle.

 

 

 

 

PS: Nowhere in my manual does it say a 1st Gen is faster than a 2nd Gen but I am still looking

 

 

 

IT IS ALL A PERSONAL CHOICE

[Venturous Randy]

Remember when motorcycle tires use to have arrows stating front or back on the sidewall now all you see is rear or front only

 

The only arrows I have ever seen were for direction of rotation and this is still on the bike tires I have seen.

RandyA

[buddy]

The only arrows I have ever seen were for direction of rotation and this is still on the bike tires I have seen.

RandyA

 

Let me correct myself.. tires use to have two arrows "Universal" one for front tire rotation and the other for rear tire rotation now you only see one arrow for rotation

 

Trying not to change the subject from what we started with just stating times have changed over the years motorcycle tire MFG found that by removing the Universal logo they can charge more for the tire because now its either front or rear rotation only! folks now days forgot or never knew about the universal fitment so now when someone puts a rear tire on the front backwards its a bad setup or they call it the "Dark Side" because the rotaton is now wrong. Folks the tires are still Universal ! Boy do I feel old now LOL

Edited May 30, 2012 by buddy

[saddlebum]

Nothing in the law that I have seen says car tires can not be used on motorcycles. Look at "motorcycle tires" from the 50s and 60s. there isnt much difference. I believe it is preference. I can speak for NC as far as inspection goes. All that is checked is that it is a DOT approved tire and has a minimum of 3/16ths tread. I'm not much of a peg scraper but I have done it on occasion with CT and MTs without any issue.... So with that said ride safe and DarkSide all the way for me.

Don't totally go by what the law say's or dosent say. Lawsuits are tricky and manipulative. I know of a transport Company that lost a multimillion dollar law suit for not having ABS on their trucks despite the fact that it was not law at the time. The driver hit a car that ran a traffic light. Lawyers for the plaintif argued that because ABS was available, though not yet law the company failed to take every possible step to ensure the safety of their Vehicles. The judges sided with the plaintif and the company lost. The Irony of it is that it is a well known fact that in a straight line stop ABS increases stopping distance so had the truck had ABS the damage would have been worse. As alway's it is not about right or wrong but who produces the best argument and who stands to gain.

[Tom]

Just got back in from a 1500 mile round trip,left out on Saturday morning..I run a Kumho 195/55/16 on the rear of my Gold Wing and I was running legal speed limits up to and mostly 80MPH in as high as 102 degree weather.It sure did stick good and ran cool. I do have to replace my right floor board as I have it so scarred up from dragging it and pinching my big foot in between it and the bike. Im gonna ask Kuryakyn if its warrantied as you are not suppose to be able to lean a car tire wayyyy over..After looking my crash guards need a little love and attention as they must have dragged somewhere.Darn Car Tires! I forgot to mention I guess I will stay with the CT as it has a 1201 lb rating and run flat technology. Im being nice,just sayin...

[Hummingbird]

1.My owners manual says this motorcycle is not intended to pull a trailer,but we do and thats

 

OK

 

2.My manual says it is not safe to exceed 80 mpr with a trunk and side bags,but we do and thats OK

 

3.My manual list Dunlop or bridgestone tires but we use other brands and thats OK

 

4.My manual says it is illegal by federal law to modify or alter the exhaust system but we do and thats OK.

 

5.No where in the manual does it say never to use a car tire on a motorcycle.

 

 

 

 

PS: Nowhere in my manual does it say a 1st Gen is faster than a 2nd Gen but I am still looking

 

 

 

IT IS ALL A PERSONAL CHOICE

 

 

 

[Stoutman]

I read that article in Rider. It was the first thing I read. The author didn't bring up any arguments that I have not read on this forum. He was very up front with the fact that he had denied participation in a group "Safety" ride to a rider that had a car tire on the back of his bike. At the time he denied the permission he also admitted that he didn't know much about the issue. So that was his perspective; safety instructor, not familiar with the issue so he said no. The rest of the article was a fair attempt to at least define the issues involved with running a CT. For the most part he was persuasive. Some of his arguments were not so much.

 

There were a few things that were not looked at in depth. The insurance question was the biggest. He brought the insurance question up, but then didn't give any input from an insurance company or professional. His treatment of that issue was to simply ask the question and imply that you "may not" be covered in case of an accident. As was stated in the discussion above, if the right lawyer gets in front of the right judge and jury anything can happen. The author could have taken it a bit further though and asked a third party. For all I know he tried and failed to get input on a sensitive issue from a notoriously conservative industry. To me, it played the fear card without any more substance than that.

 

The other fear card he played was this. People say they have millions of miles logged on a car tire with no problem. This is the same as millions of miles on motorcycles without a helmet. You only need to have one incident to prove the need for the helmet. Well, there are plenty of people that ride with no helmet, some with a ½ helmet, some with a ¾ helmet, and some with a full helmet. Then there are the different safety specifications. Which one is the best? And if someone should definitively answer that question, then should that be the only one allowed? The answer is of course not. We all make that safety decision according to our own preferences.

 

I'll say it again, for the most part the article was persuasive. As an engineer I understand the system issues that the article brought forth and the arguments in the article spoke to me. The suspension is tuned to the bike’s weight, stiffness of the frame and the steering geometry of the bike, which drives the selection of the type of tire for that bike. Engineers make their decisions on what works best on paper, and temper those decisions with what their customers want. I’m not one to buy into the whole conspiracy that motorcycle specific tires are just a way to make more money on tires. I think there is enough competition out there that if there was a cheaper way to make a truly great motorcycle tire, most of us would have that tire on the bike.

 

The other side of that is that most of us change our bike in one way or another. Some of us have leveling links that make the bike a bit taller in the saddle but handle better in the parking lot. Before that we put a narrower tire on the front to accomplish the same effect. Some of us go the other way and lower the bike to make it more manageable for our short legs. Others put different brake calipers on to give more stopping power. Some of us put loud pipes on the bike to make it safer, or cooler, or just plain obnoxious. My bet is nobody called their insurance company first to see if it was OK. That’s not our culture. We think of a way to make things better and try them out. All I can say is thank goodness for the guy that figured out how to put a shield on the helmet and keep the bugs out of my teeth.

 

That said all you Darksiders get off my lawn! Come on inside and have a beer where it’s cool.

Edited May 30, 2012 by Stoutman

[FreezyRider]

Just got back in from a 1500 mile round trip,left out on Saturday morning..I run a Kumho 195/55/16 on the rear of my Gold Wing and I was running legal speed limits up to and mostly 80MPH in as high as 102 degree weather.It sure did stick good and ran cool. I do have to replace my right floor board as I have it so scarred up from dragging it and pinching my big foot in between it and the bike. Im gonna ask Kuryakyn if its warrantied as you are not suppose to be able to lean a car tire wayyyy over..After looking my crash guards need a little love and attention as they must have dragged somewhere.Darn Car Tires! I forgot to mention I guess I will stay with the CT as it has a 1201 lb rating and run flat technology. Im being nice,just sayin...

 

:goodpost::goodpost:

[jjven68]

I am about to turn to the Darkside and I was wonder if anyone can lead me to where and what size tire to get. I've tried a couple of tire online sites and they don't seen to have my 99 RSV rear tire size 150/90-15

[syscrusher]

Maybe this one, there weren't any standout performers in your tire size:

 

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/TireSearchResults.jsp?width=155%2F&ratio=80&diameter=15

[MikeWa]

I don't run car tires on my bike. Never have. That said I have not seen or heard of any increase in motorcycle accidents due to the use of car tires. Does anyone have any statistical evidence that car tires are more dangerous on motorcycles?

 

Mike

[Freebird]

Moved to the Darkside forum.

[Eck]

As it is written: We strongly discourage anyone from using Kumho passenger car tires on their motorcycle.

 

I have a CT on my wing and will continue to ride on one. I will never go back to a motorcycle tire on the rear of my wing. Those who disagree with my judgment are welcomed to judge as you may, but this is MY choice. I truly respect your decision on what type of tires you want to use.

 

Thanks

Eck

[Holly]

I am about to turn to the Darkside and I was wonder if anyone can lead me to where and what size tire to get. I've tried a couple of tire online sites and they don't seen to have my 99 RSV rear tire size 150/90-15

 

if you can find a 165/80/15 tire, it also will fit, have a local shop that will sell me one for around 60

[Kirby]

I, too, have gone back to the Darkside. I previously had tried the Khumo CT on my RSV and didn't like it. This time I put on a BF Goodrich TA Radial with 45 psi in it and absolutely love it so far. I even had occasion yesterday to test the stopping power of the ct when a FedEx truck ran a stop sign and was half way into my lane before getting stopped. The car tire hauled me down Sooooooo Fast , without sliding, unlike the motorcycle tires I've had in the past. I just came off a Commander II which lasted 15,200 miles and still had maybe another 1,000 miles on it. It was a good smooth tire but I, wanted to try the CT again so here I am. I am currently running a Avon Cobra Radial MC tire on the front. WoooHooo!!

Edited May 2, 2015 by Kirby

[ACE50]

I had a BF Goodrich TA on my RS when I traded it in. Had a couple thousand on it. Didn't mind it at all. Very smooth ride being a radial.

I will not use a car tire on a 15" wheel ever again though. There is a bit of difference in the bead design between car and MC in that size. That's why it takes so much pressure to seat the bead. I'd have no problem with a 16" wheel as they are very similar in design. JMT[/i]

[baylensman]

Metzeler fitment guide reads for our bikes, front, psi min.36/42 max. rear, min.44/50 max. I run 40 in front ,50 in rear. Two up most of the time, trailer alot, 50/50 mix of highway and back roads. If you will run what Metzeler say's to run in their tires , you to would see these higher miles. Incorrect air pressure ruins tires.

Air pressure is the key. My brother is a fanatic about PSI he has blue tooth valve caps that let him know when the pressure drops. He checks with a guage every trip out of the garage. He got over 34K miles on his original tires on his ultra glide over the past two years. I've been thru four tires in the same millage and looking for my fifth (hence reading here) I check the air with a gauge 3 times. When i visualy see the rear tire and it looks low, when i hit a corner hard and it feels a little squirrelly, after reading about tire pressure being a issue. So with this tire i'm going to try the blue tooth valve thingie ( on amazon i think) and be a little more vigilant and see if it helps.

 

Having said that and having ridden bikes since i was eight years old( 50 years ago) on my motocrosser with lights tru my street bikes up to my third venture i've never gotten more thatn about 6k per tire ever! I am close to 300lbs and been 250 or more since i was 18 and i ride it like i stole it everyday.

[mrdiesel]

I've never heard of that happening but I have heard of Metzlers coming apart .... just sayin.

ive been running darkside for 20 years. ill never install a mc tire on the back again. braking and better corning alone is good enough reason to go dark. ive got a 02 intruder that has double dark and has 20 k on both tires. just got a 00 rsv and its got a brand new dunlap on back thats coming off as soon as the federal tire comes in. i ride twistys as much as i can and ride in the rain alot. no better tire then any ct out there