Tried Darkside -Ate the Cookie-Returned

[Ishmael]

Okay so I'm just ventilating my observations. No harm intended to anybody.
It seems to me that those who fit car tyres are pleased as punch and suffer no ill effects.
The people who are negative about the darkside generally don't seem to have tried it. ( just how it seems to me - including me )
With no personal facts or circumstances to back me up I have always been strongly anti darkside ( for me ).
I come from a lifetime of sportsbikes and LOVING the twisties ( life's pretty straight without twisties ) and I've always been obsessive about my tyres.
I went for decades thinking my life would be in jeopardy if I didn't have the softest compound pirellis on and I didn't care how quickly i wore them out.
So.......
Now I'm thinking (ahem) darkside!!!!!!!!!!1111
Anybody who has actually gone that way care to talk me out of it?

 

[tdragger]

oh geez.....another flaming argument thread about to be unleased.

If you are a hard core sport bike type canyon carver, don't go darkside.

 

[Ishmael]

oh geez.....another flaming argument thread about to be unleased.

If you are a hard core sport bike type canyon carver, don't go darkside.

Sorry I really didn't want to unleash any acrimony.
I am genuinely interested in those who went over and regretted it.

 

[rainman]

wll i went over after carefully studying and talking to the ones that have turn and i have no regretts the darkside has already paid for itself after 16000+ miles on it and i live near the mountains and ride the twistees and straight roads no problem

 

[HellFire]

I'm a recent convert and can't come up with anything negative so far other than "Why did I wait so long?".

I've been following the darkside threads closely for three years now trying to make my decision to go for it. I've read every single thing written on the topic here on this site. I've weighed both sides and eventually took up the dark cause arguing for it before I had even tried it just based on video, debates and reviews.

The only negative reviews were not even reviews, they were blatant outright attacks and propaganda lies posted by guys with phobias and biases based on B.S.. The comment that raised the most eyebrows was that hard cornering rides on the sidewall and could lead to premature tire failure. As a newbie to the car tire, I pressed the bike hard to verify if this had any merit whatsoever. I put more wear on my floorboards in the last weeks than I had done over the life of the bike (and I had to replace the feelers once when I had pegs). Now that I've just about reached the point of replacing the feelers on the boards with the new ones left on the pegs (in a box), I've concluded that there is no possible way to corner hard enough to touch the sidewall on a properly inflated car tire. No Way, No How ... can't be done. If you can scuff a sidewall, you don't have enough air in the tire anyway. And you didn't scuff the sidewall ... it folded up on you.

I noticed right away that the bike had a slight tendency to want to stay upright when compared to the bike tire. That feeling lasted about three days, then I never noticed it again. If you've ever slowly ridden over a curb or pothole at an angle with the fat 240 Metzler, you've noticed the tendency of the tire to tip the bike due to it's width. A car tire makes that a little worse, just a little. I've backed out of the driveway over the curb and got uneasy from it trying to tip. I'm used to it now and am always ready for the leverage the wide tire exerts tying to tip the bike. Since I know it's coming, I'm prepared and expect it. That is the only bad thing I can say about it, and the Metz did it too.

The ride is softer, the cornering is steadier, wet traction is better and the tread depth is awesome. You can put a 15,000+ mile tire on the bike for $140 and be used to it's quirks in a week ... just try it out. If you don't like it, go back. But if you give it a chance, you won't go back ... not on this bike.

 

[mexican]

About 15k on my bf goodrich g force
pros; a bunch
cons; none:d
will i go back to mc tires?:
Hell no!!!!

 

[HansO]

I to came from Sports bike and was horrified when I met Ruzz from the other forum and went for a ride with him he had a DS. My Metzs was starting to squirm and he was still right on my tail both at the point of scraping and yet he was right there. have done 15,000 klm's on a DS and loving it great in wet or dry sticks like sh*t to a Blancket, I go over further and regularlly scrape the hell out of my pegs..... yeah I think I'm converted only negative is having to constantly explain that "yes it still goes around corners"

 

[TOMCAT]

Looking at buying a Street Triple for the 350 klm a week trip to work and back, lots of bumper to bumper traffic. Rocket ain't the ideal bike for the commute. Me and my mate Donny been talking about giving a car tyre a whirl ... like been said if we're not happy can always go back.

 

[Willtill]

The only negative reviews were not even reviews, they were blatant outright attacks and propaganda lies posted by guys with phobias and biases based on B.S..

I'm sorry if I hijacked this thread with the following comment; but it is so startling apparent...


....your comment SO reminded me of how the liberal left is; in our country.

 

[nolton]

Toyo is the only DS that I have heard of rubbing the sidewall and like Hellfire said it HAD TO BE the psi.
The only negative that I can think of is at walking speed.