Jersey
Member
Posts: 545
VRCC #37540
Southern Maryland
|
 |
« on: June 18, 2018, 10:22:20 AM » |
|
Hey all,
Wanted to see for myself how Darkside would be and all I can say is - Wow! What a difference for the better on my 1999 I/S! It does have a different feel to it, but it's didn't require a different riding style. I did notice that counter-steering required slightly more shared pressure (push & pull) on both grips for comfort... compared to a MC where only one grip is really needed to push it down.
I put the Yokohama ENVigor - 205/60R16 92V on about a month ago with the nut cage mod - My FIRST Darkside. Road about 300 miles before trekking out on a 2000 mile x-country that included a great combo of highways and mountain Blue Roads in the rain, sun, and gusting winds. At times the rain was a complete downpour where the tire definitely gave me more stability, traction, and stopping capability that the MCs. Sometimes I may have tested up to 90+ to see how it would handle both in twisties and open road. Again, VERY solid. One day of the trip I rode for 14.5 hours and wasn't sore upon arrival! Don't know how much the tire added to that, but I think I was more relaxed due to the increased stability.
I'm no expert, but from my current limited experience the handling and traction in all the conditions was much better than the MCs I've ridden. It was more stable across the varying road conditions and pavement contours. It did have a slight bit more wiggle during slow speeds (<30mph) on uneven pavements... but as suggested, I just let the bike react naturally and it all came out fine. (Actually that part reminded me a lot of boating in cross-currents in channels.)
I have noticed that the tire got better with age, especially after about 800 miles. As expected it seems to need that to settle in... as they say.
For those unsure about switching, I'd suggest a few things:
1. Be open minded and Relax with the new tire
2. Drive moderately until you start to get the feel of differences and the tire gets broken in
3. Get a tire that others have had good experience with for your bike/setup.
4. Ride
HUGE THANKS to all those who've written about Darkside and gave advice and feedback!!!! That helped me tremendously in making the best decision for my circumstances.
UPDATE:
Last weekend spent 3 days riding with a small group through the southwest mountains of North Carolina in the twisties. I pushed the CT to the limit as much as traffic would safely allow, including scraping the pegs as much as possible. Also included a few miles of gravelled road around Mt. Mitchell.
Having done the Tail of the Dragon last year on the MC, this was a good comparison.
CONCLUSION: AMAZING Performance. Solid Confidence. Unquestionable stability on all road surfaces. Barely noticed occasional gravel in roads.
Now with about 4500 miles on this tire, it's really shaped in well. I've noticed it has become even more reliable and comfortable. My style has adjusted already to include split pressure when counter-steering (push-pull both evenly vs just pushing the turn-side)
At this point, I'd be real curious to hear from those who are adamantly against CTs. Very curious to hear of THEIR personal experiences so I can understand better why they think CTs are unsafe, etc. Since I only have 4500 miles, I'm definitely no expert... but I a happy camper!
Cheers,
Jersey
|
|
|
|
« Last Edit: July 02, 2018, 05:36:52 PM by Jersey »
|
Logged
|
Jersey
|
|
|
|
Fla. Jim
|
|
« Reply #1 on: June 18, 2018, 03:50:05 PM » |
|
Great review! And welcome to the Darkside!! Hope ya got your Cookie. Or do we still do that? Well anyway here you go. Enjoy.  |
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
|
old2soon
|
|
« Reply #2 on: June 18, 2018, 04:55:22 PM » |
|
You are now forever lost! After a few different D/S selections I am now on the ATT. I CHOOSE to stay on the D/S.  Went thru a toad floater/cow drowner/gully washin heavy duty rain in 15 outa Iowa into Illinois on US 30 that Tested my D/S. And more times before that and since. RIDE SAFE. |
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
Today is the tommorow you worried about yesterday. If at first you don't succeed screw it-save it for nite check. 1964 1968 U S Navy. Two cruises off Nam.
VRCCDS0240 2012 GL1800 Gold Wing Motor Trike conversion
|
|
|
|
SPOFF
|
|
« Reply #3 on: June 19, 2018, 06:17:32 AM » |
|
Cool! I've been on a car tire for almost 15 years. Oddly, though, I just ordered a Shinko SE890. At $127 (with free shipping) one of the advantages of the car tire (low price) is gone. The only other advantage of a bike tire is I no longer have to be careful where I take the bike for its annual New Hampshire safety inspection. Some dealers laughed at the car tire, some told me they "didn't see it" and implied I don't bring it back. But the CT works well and other than walking speeds I never knew it was there.
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
Jersey
Member
Posts: 545
VRCC #37540
Southern Maryland
|
|
« Reply #4 on: June 19, 2018, 01:14:06 PM » |
|
Cool! I've been on a car tire for almost 15 years. Oddly, though, I just ordered a Shinko SE890. At $127 (with free shipping) one of the advantages of the car tire (low price) is gone. The only other advantage of a bike tire is I no longer have to be careful where I take the bike for its annual New Hampshire safety inspection. Some dealers laughed at the car tire, some told me they "didn't see it" and implied I don't bring it back. But the CT works well and other than walking speeds I never knew it was there.
I got the Yokohama ENVigor - 205/60R16 92V for $81 shipped from Amazon. |
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
Jersey
|
|
|
|
SPOFF
|
|
« Reply #5 on: June 19, 2018, 07:28:35 PM » |
|
Good price. I remember 20 years ago paying nearly $300 for a back tire.  And the OEM tires were notorious for delaminating and coming apart. We've got it good these days. |
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
Jersey
Member
Posts: 545
VRCC #37540
Southern Maryland
|
|
« Reply #6 on: June 19, 2018, 07:36:03 PM » |
|
Good price. I remember 20 years ago paying nearly $300 for a back tire. And the OEM tires were notorious for delaminating and coming apart. We've got it good these days. And now after about 3k miles, the tire is REALLY comfortable. Even more stable now than last week. The Nay-sayers really should give this a try for themselves. Today in HEAVY rain the tire provided 100% more traction and stability than any of the MTs I've ridden before. Why did I wait so long. |
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
Jersey
|
|
|
|
Jopson
|
|
« Reply #7 on: June 20, 2018, 05:20:44 AM » |
|
Great review Jersey. I run the same tire, very happy with it, got about 8000 miles on it now and still looks like a new tire!
What pressure did you settle on?
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
Jersey
Member
Posts: 545
VRCC #37540
Southern Maryland
|
|
« Reply #8 on: June 20, 2018, 05:35:07 AM » |
|
Great review Jersey. I run the same tire, very happy with it, got about 8000 miles on it now and still looks like a new tire!
What pressure did you settle on?
I started out with 26, but that was too squishy. Settled on 32 and it runs really nicely. I have internal Pressure/Temp sensor in the wheels and it shows heating up to 37psi at 134F during heavy use, which seems very reasonable. |
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
Jersey
|
|
|
mustang071965
Member
Posts: 165
those that dare, Succeed.
monticello Ar
|
|
« Reply #9 on: June 20, 2018, 04:07:05 PM » |
|
Welcome to the Dark side. Been on it for 12 years. Never go back to Mt rear. Good pick on your rear tire have the same on mine right now.
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
RNFWP
Member
Posts: 423
"What color blue is that?"
Greenville, SC
|
|
« Reply #10 on: June 21, 2018, 09:04:26 AM » |
|
I'm also running that same tire. ...think it's great. I like it about 36-38psi. It's the only CT I've used so I can't offer any comparison but I hope Yokohama never stops making them  |
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
"My dog is one of my favorite people"
|
|
|
|
..
|
|
« Reply #11 on: June 21, 2018, 06:06:00 PM » |
|
I'm also running that same tire. ...think it's great. I like it about 36-38psi. It's the only CT I've used so I can't offer any comparison but I hope Yokohama never stops making them How many miles at that pressure? |
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
RNFWP
Member
Posts: 423
"What color blue is that?"
Greenville, SC
|
|
« Reply #12 on: June 22, 2018, 09:08:25 AM » |
|
I'm also running that same tire. ...think it's great. I like it about 36-38psi. It's the only CT I've used so I can't offer any comparison but I hope Yokohama never stops making them How many miles at that pressure? Photos is with 11K miles so far... the center tread is wearing slightly faster than near the edges, probably due to the psi.  |
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
"My dog is one of my favorite people"
|
|
|
RNFWP
Member
Posts: 423
"What color blue is that?"
Greenville, SC
|
|
« Reply #13 on: June 22, 2018, 09:14:33 AM » |
|
...tried posting the photo again... can't get it to work... |
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
"My dog is one of my favorite people"
|
|
|
|
..
|
|
« Reply #14 on: June 22, 2018, 11:16:56 AM » |
|
I'm also running that same tire. ...think it's great. I like it about 36-38psi. It's the only CT I've used so I can't offer any comparison but I hope Yokohama never stops making them How many miles at that pressure? Photos is with 11K miles so far... the center tread is wearing slightly faster than near the edges, probably due to the psi. When I saw your psi it made me ask about mileage. I too wore the center out on a couple of D/S tires with too high psi. My experience as a big bulky biker (fat bastard) is 34psi is optimum. |
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
|
Fla. Jim
|
|
« Reply #15 on: June 22, 2018, 02:06:42 PM » |
|
I'm partial to 26psi on my Mich. Hydroedge. That preasure seems best for ride comfort, flex footprint and wear. It's a harder rubber compound with a 800 wear rating. Got just about 40k on it. It's wearing smooth across. Still has 5-6/32nds of tread left. Started with 11/32nds. 97 Tourer driven in the vast flatlands of Fla..
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
|
..
|
|
« Reply #16 on: June 22, 2018, 02:45:00 PM » |
|
...tried posting the photo again... can't get it to work... Are you using https://postimages.org/ |
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
RNFWP
Member
Posts: 423
"What color blue is that?"
Greenville, SC
|
|
« Reply #17 on: June 22, 2018, 05:52:13 PM » |
|
Nope, I had tried it from photostash (which used to work for me) and google photos. This seems to be working... so that's my Yokohama CT with 11K miles and using a penny to show the shallowest depth.  |
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
"My dog is one of my favorite people"
|
|
|
|
Gabriel
|
|
« Reply #18 on: June 22, 2018, 06:43:52 PM » |
|
Has anyone found a CT that does not require all the steering input force?
I tried a car tire 5 years ago and hated it for this reason and the lifting of the rear in a turn...
I guess it would have to be fairly round on the edges and probably narrow?
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
|
..
|
|
« Reply #19 on: June 23, 2018, 02:40:53 AM » |
|
Has anyone found a CT that does not require all the steering input force?
I tried a car tire 5 years ago and hated it for this reason and the lifting of the rear in a turn...
I guess it would have to be fairly round on the edges and probably narrow?
Champiro. Do a search on this Tech board and you will see it. |
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
|
