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Showing results for tags 'dark side'.
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I don't understand all the haters out there that INSIST Its horribly dangerous to run a car tire on the rear wheel. I have over 30,000 miles on my BF Goodrich 155/80R15 (i have a 2005 Venture) and have had zero problems. I expect to get 40,000 miles out of my $85 tire. That's a savings of what, $600 ? I take turns just as fast as anybody, and the bike is just as stable. I felt a MUCH bigger change switching from the OEM Dunlop tire to a Metzler. Does that mean Metzler makes tires that are super scary unsafe? Of course not. If those who fear the Darkside like paying $160 every 8,000 miles for a new tire, more power to ya. But stop screaming I'm a fool, tanking my life in my hands, gonna kill myself any day now. Moms all over the world have been whining that tune to every motorcycle rider since the 50's. My zero wrecks, zero close calls, and $600 savings tell me I made the right call, and I'll do it again when I finally need a new rear tire in 10,000 miles.
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I was seduced to the "Darkside" with the promise of increased tire life, better rear wheel traction, reduced costs, and good handling. Sounds too good to be true, and for me it was too good to be true. I bought a BF Goodrich 155/80R15 car tire for my 06 Midnight RSV. The tire cost $84.76 shipped to my door. My local motorcycle dealer politely declined my invitation to mount my new car tire. They said they were aware of people using car tires on motorcycles; however, in today’s litigious society, they didn’t think any liability waiver signed by a customer for such work would hold up in court. So, a friend and I mounted and balanced the car tire, easy job, and no problems. The maximum inflation pressure imprinted on the tire is 35 psi, but I inflated it to 40 psi because I believe that another "Darksider" is using that pressure in the identical tire. Now for the test. A friend and I took an approximately 350-mile ride through the beautiful Black Hills of NE Wyoming & South Dakota to include Spearfish Canyon, Mt Rushmore, and the Iron Mountain Road. Great ride, gorgeous scenery, and road conditions that varied from gravel to Interstate and every possible road surface except ice, snow and mud. Fortunately, we missed the hail storm that deposited several inches of hail on Hill City. From the beginning, the bike felt a bit squirrelly. On straight roads the bike had what can best be described as a slight wobble; like you get when going through a high speed sweeping corner with worn shocks. This "wobble" wasn’t bad, but it was always there except when under throttle. Reducing the tire pressure to 35 psi almost, but not quite, got rid of wobble. Reducing the pressure to 30 PSI increased the wobble. Turns: Low speed turns and parking lot calisthenics, (lock-to-lock figure 8's), were as easy as with motorcycle tires. Low speed curves, (under 40mph), under throttle were precise; however, the handling was nowhere near as forgiving as with a motorcycle tire. We hit Spearfish Canyon with approximately 110 miles on the car tire. Pushing the bike hard into several curves caused the rear tire to kick out before anything could drag. In fact I did not drag anything through the canyon. I have ridden this road many times, and the car tire did not corner as well as a motorcycle tire. The bike cornered fine if I stayed at or near the posted speed limit, except for the ever present wobble. We ran the canyon in both directions because road construction closed the road near the top of the canyon. High speed sweeping curves accentuated the wobble and at times were more than I cared to deal with. I only came close to losing control once and that was in Spearfish at a whopping 20mph. Road construction crews were removing asphalt with a roto-mill machine and the resulting grooves combined with the wobble were enough to have the front and rear of the bike going in different directions at the same time. It wasn’t fun. Despite, or in spite, of the ever present wobble, the car tire provided excellent rear wheel braking. It took quite a bit of pedal pressure to lock the rear wheel and brake induced skids were very controllable. I believe there would be fewer motorcycle accidents if motorcycle tires could provide this level of rear wheel braking traction. The car tire also excelled at wet traction and gravel roads. In conclusion, my experience doesn’t match what I’ve read from others who have gone to the "Darkside." Why? I really don’t know. Maybe they’re more skillful riders than I, or maybe I ride harder and faster then they do on their car tires. I believe that other car tires will perform differently, but only a couple of companies manufacture car tires that can fit the RSV. My $84.76 experiment with the "Darkside" is over. I’ve ordered a Michelin Commander to replace my car tire. I’ll keep the car tire around to use as an emergency spare, but I doubt if it will ever be on the rear of my bike again.
