Instigation

RoxyRocket said:
Im not hating the car tire (aka " The Darkside") thing. I only knowI wouldn't do it. I've ridden with a lot of the VTX guys that have done it. Works great for the highway . Twisty roads on the other hand if you don't know what you're doing it's only a matter of time you kill yourself. Of the 4 VTX guys I knew 2 have wrecked ( due to riding too hard with the car tire ) ,one went back to a motorcycle tire and the other doesn't ride anymore because well.... He watched 2 of his buds crash hard. I will mention that they all rode beyond the limits of most cruisers.
If I only did mostly highway riding I would actually consider it since you are not really ever requiring major leaning and even with a very sticky car tire you'd get 3-4x the mileage than a Metzler. At a 70 degree angle though your rear tire patch isn't much at all with a car tire.
But with that said Im still not hatin, . Looks cool. Just know your limits.
Click to expand...
The riding beyond their limits would have been more of a contributing factor than what those limits actually were. In my limited experience on the DS (I am not quite to 120,000 miles), I find that I can handle twisty bits at well over the posted speed limits with lots left in reserve. However, If you cannot stop - or even apply the brakes - then you are going too fast and will end up hurt or dead.

If you want to compare the width of tyre contact between a standard MC tyre and a DS tyre, then ride through a wet bit of tarmac (parking lot or similar) onto dry tarmac and then lean the bike and make a turn. If you measure the width of the contact patch you will find that the DS is wider.
 
idk said:
The riding beyond their limits would have been more of a contributing factor than what those limits actually were. In my limited experience on the DS (I am not quite to 120,000 miles), I find that I can handle twisty bits at well over the posted speed limits with lots left in reserve. However, If you cannot stop - or even apply the brakes - then you are going too fast and will end up hurt or dead.

If you want to compare the width of tyre contact between a standard MC tyre and a DS tyre, then ride through a wet bit of tarmac (parking lot or similar) onto dry tarmac and then lean the bike and make a turn. If you measure the width of the contact patch you will find that the DS is wider.
Click to expand...

Idk, this is correct, there is a much bigger contact patch on a DS tire than on a motorcycle tire, but only if the pressure is correct...28-34 PSI. I think that its possible that most of the DS naysayers on this forum may have had the pressure far too high, thinking it has to be the same pressure as a MC tire.
And, contrary to popular belief a DS tire will not ride on its sidewall if the pressure is correct.
 
Also, if you run a dark side tire same pressure as mc tire, it will wear prematurely in the center. DS tires have more rubber at the edges where MC tires have more rubber in the center. The additional width that most riders use makes the tire bulge in the middle when you run over 36psi.
My triple tread works best at 36psi, flexible enough to give, but stiff enough to hold shape cornering.
When I ran the Run flat tires, 32psi was best. The sidewalls are already thicker, so lower pressure worked. You have to experiment to find out what works best for you. I use my R3T as a truck. Lol:D
 
Gday My 2 cents. Took me a few years to try using a DS tyre. Went to the lengths of getting a complete rear wheel assembly at no small cost to fit the new tyre too figuring i would chop and change based on what riding i was doing. It wasn't so much the cost of the tyre but the inconvenience of getting it changed that was getting to me so I figured if i didn't like the DS tyre i could roll it off and have a spare wheel with a bike tyre sitting in the garage. I live way out in the country and its all windy, slippery, gravelly roads but I like long distance rides and this involves the motorways.

On my first ride with the DS tyre I crashed it, came round a corner (and over a rise, at dusk) council had resealed (this means put a layer of lose gravel over it in NZ) and not bothered with roadsigns, the mud bank saved me and the bike so couldn't blame the tyre but started to question my sanity.

Since fitting the DS tyre I have never even considered refitting the bike tyre, even did an Advanced Rider Course with it on and the instructor couldn't fault its performance and there were a lot of haters there that day...he put them right not me.

They have some down sides but overall I like the way they ride. Tyre pressures I found were really critical the things that upset the tyre would also upset the bike tyre, the standard tyres big and fat anyway. Its the things light the road subsidence that goes right down the center of your lane that drops 4 inches that upset it.

Found 25psi to be about right for my tyre.

Give it a try you can always change it back....
 
My Avon still has some rubber but most likely I will go darkside when its time...
 
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