Calling Lord Vader

[X Ring]

Master, I was foolish and didn't believe resistance was futile.  Master, I have fully succumbed to the power of the Darkside.  As proof of my submission, I offer this picture of Sandman's new rear tire, a Toyo Proxes TPT 205/65HR16.



Your Most Humble Servant,
Marty

[Smokinjoe-VRCCDS#0005]

[X Ring]

Joe, where did you get that Vader decal?

Marty

[Smokinjoe-VRCCDS#0005]

Joe, where did you get that Vader decal?

Marty

TJ has them I've not seen him around here in awhile go to the www.bigbikeriders.com and post to him or the Goldwing board you can link off on LaMonster's site to it.

[Smokinjoe-VRCCDS#0005]

I had his e-mail just drop him a line and for $5.00 he'll hook you up 

tjranch@embarqmail.com;

[X Ring]

I LOVE the Darkside.  Leaving the house today, I hit those curves I talked about in my original post and thought I was going faster than normal.  Glanced at the speedo and I was doing 65, 15 faster than usual.  So I took the curvy way to the coast.  Nothing I did could upset the DS.  My speeds down those roads were 10-15 faster than normal and my confidence in Sandman's abilities grew.  I was leaned over way more.  Had to do an emergency stop, Man!! What a rush.  The Valks have excellent brakes but the added traction on the rear was incredible.  Felt myself launching harder.  Lines through curves where I would have to re-adjust with the MT, I didn't have to with the DS.  She held the roads like she was glued there.  I'm still jazzed. to quote Moonshine, WOOOHOOO!!!!

Marty

[RoadKill]

I have to agree 100% ! the Improved braking alone is worth it! Just be wary of the riders behind you when in a group. Most cant stop like that and getting hit from behind becomes a bigger threat.

[X Ring]

Thanks RK.  Who do I have to ask for my cookie and DS #?

[Tundra]

X-Ring,
I will be riding with TJ tomorrow. I will tell him about your post here and your sticker request. 

[X Ring]

Thanks.  Appreciate it.   

[TJ]

To anyone who wants a DARKSIDE sticker...   

Send me $5.00 each, an a Business S.A.S.E. Remind me of the color.
Black or Silver
My # if you need it. 863-699-6840
 
T. JETER
101 BOWIE AVE
LAKE PLACID,FL.
33852

[X Ring]

I promised you guys a report and here it is. Yesterday, I left the house at 5 a.m. and rode to the New Orleans suburub of Harvey for the funeral of a 20 year old Soldier, who made the ultimate sacrifice in Afghanistan on October 27. If I was going to have any problems, this was it. New Orleans is not known for having the best streets. I was taking the offramp from I 10 onto the US 90 bridge across the Mississippi River to the West Bank. 80 mph, bumper to bumper traffic and I was still getting passed. I was leaned over dealing with abrupt surface changes and the DS didn't fail. It held its grip through all the bumps and dips. I couldn't have been happier considering the reason I went there. Had a couple of issues but nothing I couldn't handle thanks to reading the threads on this forum and the others. One of the issues was ruts. I was cruising down MS Hwy 63 when I felt the Valk get dragged to the left. Then I saw something I had never seen before, twin ruts on each side of the right lane. Thanks to the angle of the rising sun, it cast shadows in the ruts. Something I had never seen later in the day. Also, in Harvey I was in the left line of the MS Patriot Guard Riders as we left the funeral. We were in the left lane on a divided four lane road. I saw depressions in the side of the road along the curb and as I passed one felt the DS slip into it. It was for road drainage. Again, I didn't panic but adjusted my line to be a little farther away so it wouldn't happen again. Thanks for letting me and all the other new guys of the tendency of DS tires to slip into and follow ruts. That knowledge kept me from panicing and losing control of the Valk.

When I left the house yesterday, I had 292 miles on the DS. When I returned as 11 p.m., the odometer showed 700 miles. The tire has been inflated to 40 psi since it was installed. Tomorrow I will drop the pressure to 36 and start trying to find the sweet spot.

Thanks again for all the advice in the threads.

Marty

Here's a pic of Sandman dressed to honor this fine young man and all our Military Members

[Moonshot_1]

One thing I noticed when I went to the Darkside and the resulting change in handling characterisitics was the tendency to look at the road directly in front of the bike as opposed to the road....Down the road. I caught myself concentrating on and anticipating the bumps and various imperfections in the road and not so much as what was down the road. Making an effort to change that and have been successful.
But thought I'd throw that out there. It took me a while to realize what I was doing.

[X Ring]

Thanks for the advice but I don't have that problem.  I saw the depressions on the side of the road. I was just too close to them and I put that down to still adjusting to the width of the CT vs. the width of the Metzler it replaced.  If I had ridden on the edge of the depression with a MT, I'm sure it would have slipped in as well. 

Marty