RMA warning for "Darklsiders"

[..]

http://rma.org/newsroom/release.cfm?ID=321

I have a Hankook on my ST1300 

[old2soon]

Guess i best take off my $81.00 Falken Ziex 512 and look fer a REALLY expensive motorsickle tire afore i duz myself in. I promise not to sue anybody iffin my tire kills me. RIDE SAFE.

[KY,Dave (AKA Misunderstood)]

Quote from article = “Not every tire is meant for any rim,” said Charles Cannon, RMA president and CEO. “Caution needs to be taken to ensure motorcycle tires are mounted on motorcycle rims only,” he continued.

Why would anyone put a motorcycle tire on a car rim ?? 

[Serk]

It seems, IMHO, that going Darkside has gone mainstream enough lately that some $$$interests$$$ have become concerned enough to start taking action to bring the masses back to buying their overpriced motorcycle specific tires again, or at least to try to stop the flow of riders moving away from their overpriced tires...

[old2soon]

It seems, IMHO, that going Darkside has gone mainstream enough lately that some $$$interests$$$ have become concerned enough to start taking action to bring the masses back to buying their overpriced motorcycle specific tires again, or at least to try to stop the flow of riders moving away from their overpriced tires...

  Oh come on-they would never.  They have nothing but our best interests at heart.  And if ya believes that un i got a bridge AND some recreatinoal property fer sale.  And as soon as they think they have us cornered they'll up the prices on that old technology they be tryin to ram down our gullets or up our arses.  RIDE SAFE.

[Fudd]

I'm going to hit them up via emails for some additional data that supports their claim.  Certainly, there must be a whole pile of accident reports citing tires comming off the rim that caused accidents.

BTW, does anybody know 1st hand about a story of a darksider having a flat in the middle of nowhere and driving it (slowly) for 60 miles without the tire comming off the rim.  I don't know if it's even a true story, I heard it sometime ago.  I'd be interested in hearing the facts, if anyone has them.

[Disco]

Rubber Manufacturers Association???  Is this a story from The Onion???

Why would anyone trust what a condom manufacturer association spokesman has to say about car tires on motorcycle?   

Hey Fudd, get a hold of Wizard.  He may be able to fill in some blanks.   

[WamegoRob]

BTW, does anybody know 1st hand about a story of a darksider having a flat in the middle of nowhere and driving it (slowly) for 60 miles without the tire comming off the rim.  I don't no if it's even a true story, I heard it sometime ago.  I'd be interested in hearing the facts, if anyone has them.

Though I've not heard that story I can attest to the fact that when my old rear OEM valve stem failed while riding on I-70, I got it slowed through the wiggles and slowly rode a short way (1/2 mile maybe?) to the next exit with no problem on my Falken Ziex ZE-512.  After examining the tire I have no doubt that with no weight but me and the bike I could have kept idling along with it for many miles.

I suppose if it happened and Hozer and his trailer weren't so generously available I might just do that

[HayHauler]

I'm not going to comment on DS posts.  I would rather it stay off of the mainstream media. 

Hay
Jimmyt

[jer0177]

It explains that motorcycle tires and corresponding motorcycle rims are designed with a bead seat diameter and flange contour that are different than passenger car tires/rims, therefore any attempt to mount a passenger car tire on a motorcycle rim may cause inflation pressure loss or the beads to break with explosive force.

15" motorcycle and 15" automotive wheels are a different diameter.  The bike wheels are actually 15.5" diameter, but the 16 and 17 are true and match the automotive diameter.  If you try to mount a car tire on a 15" motorcycle wheel, you're asking for trouble, but that doesn't apply to the Valks.

I'm not sure about flange contours - I haven't taken cross sections of both and compared them to see.

That being said, I'm not going to try putting a flat tire on a vehicle that steers by leaning. 

[art]

They should stick to making rubbers

[Jabba]

How many miles does it take to convince someone that it is OK?  Rhetorical question... no answer needed.

There are literally MILLIONS of miles on Non-Motorcycle Specific Tires within the VRCC, let alone the rest of the Darkside world.

I will not tell someone they SHOULD go Dark... but I have and I am happy about it.

Jabba

[MP]

Kind of like the answer in Rider Mag.

Letter to the Editor about last months article saying how terrible it is to use a CT.

Letter writer said, why do you not try it out, before passing judgement?

Article writer answered:

Even if I tried it, and it worked well, and handled good, I know it is terrible! So, no need to actually try it.


 I am paraphrasing.

Kind of like,  " I know the world is flat, those that think it is round are wrong, so no need to actually sail around it to find out."

MP

[MNBill]

Think lawsuits, that is what drives everything today. They must make statements like that so when some drunk or speeding guy dies on his bike, because he over rides his skill, the sharp attorney his wife gets can not sue them. Now can you imagine how much legal fee money is built into the price of a MC tire, crash due to delamination and other tire issues they have had, let alone lawyers that sue the tire companies when it is the riders fault (they need air, where does that go? This tire only had 1000 miles on it, it is on my like new 2000 HD).

[bscrive]

If it wasn't for my bike insurance, I would have a car tire on my bike in a second.  Unfortunately, the policy states that I will not be covered if any unapproved modifications are done.  I called them a couple of times now and each time the knew about the 'darkside' modification and said my insurance would be void if I went ahead with it.  I tried a few more companies but they said the same thing.  Insurance companies suck.

[Jack]

Darkside is NOT for everybody, oviously.  However, I have 12 yrs on the darkside without problem.  Yes, I have had flats: one valve stem, one nail.  I never had a problem even then.  I rode from Cleveland Tennessee to New Orleans with a nail and leaking air.  I topped off the air when I topped off the gas.  Made it just fine at freeway speeds.  I would not guarantee every instance would turn up that way.  Still, I am confident in my tire choices.