Dark Side

[Louis Durocher]

What is the advantage to go to the dark side? Any advice?

[old2soon]

If you will use the search function on the general and the tech board you WILL find more than you MIGHT wanna know bout the D/S. There is a LOT of information out there on your subject.  Happy reading.  RIDE SAFE.

[The emperor has no clothes]

What is the advantage to go to the dark side? Any advice?

For me the advantage is tire mileage and tire cost.

[Willow]

Some of the advantages and disadvantages are increased or decreased depending upon which tire you choose.

Advantage - Handling in the rain or on wet surface.

Advantage - Rear wheel and overall braking.

Advantage - Stability coming to a stop.

Disadvantage - Low speed handling on uneven surfaces.

Advantage - Tire cost.

I may have left something out.

[The emperor has no clothes]

Some of the advantages and disadvantages are increased or decreased depending upon which tire you choose.

Advantage - Handling in the rain or on wet surface.

Advantage - Rear wheel and overall braking.

Advantage - Stability coming to a stop.

Disadvantage - Low speed handling on uneven surfaces.

Advantage - Tire cost.

I may have left something out.

flaming death ?

[Gryphon Rider]

Disadvantage - Constant pressure required on the inside handgrip in a corner.  The bike will straighten out otherwise.

Disadvantage - When trying to plug a puncture on the road, the steel belts make it real tough to ream out the hole so the plug will go in.

Disadvantage - Might be tough to find a shop to mount the tire for you.

Advantage/Disadvantage - Conversation piece.

[Paxton]

Looks awesome!

[Jess from VA]

Advantage..... much harder to get a puncture wound all the way thru, and a safer tire if it does get punctured.

[Wewaman]

Advantage / add Ride On and it seals punctures, it also balances your tire.
Read Daniel Meyers write up in shop talk.

[Andy Cote]

Bonjour.

Darkside is not for everyone.  Just like traditional tires, different brands have different feel.  Try one first if you can.  As mentioned above, there are some other posts and info on the tech pages.

I have darkside tires on both the Wing and the Valk.  I didn't really find any difference in handling, even low speed.  The Wing has about 16000 on an Austone and it still looks fine.  I only have about 2000 on the Valk with the Falken so while it feels fine, not sure on wear quite yet.

If you are headed to the ME or NH, shoot me an e-mail and I may be able to meet you.

You may also want to read these sites:
http://valkyrie-owners.com/SMFORUM/index.php?PHPSESSID=167e55d54feff008e32ee51fbf86d934&board=27.0

http://mcdarksiders.forumotion.com/

[doniholcomb]

the most important advantage is that really looks badass going down the road especially whenever you're getting your picture takenI have been dark side for about  3 years now and would have replaced a motorcycle tire at least once by now however my dark side tire you can't even tell that is being use better handling on the curves but I have noticed that is a little bit harder to control at low speeds and whenever you get into a rut it has a tendency to follow the rutt.  I just wish that they still made the cool patches

[DarkSideR]

I would suggest considering the following.

You may want to stay with a Motorcycle tire if;
- you ride less than 6 thousand miles a year.
  +average life of a M/C tire is about 6k thus 1 new tire a year.
- you don't like to spend $200+ on one tire.

You may want to Darkside if;
- you ride more than 6k a year.
  +average life of a D/S tire is about 16k (have seen reports over 20K).
- you want to spend less on a tire
  +you can spend anywhere from $60-$170 and get great D/S tires.
- you tow a trailer.
  + delamination of M/C tires have been reported when towing trailers.

I ride a lot. Replacing an expensive M/C tire 2-3 times a year was out of the question. I first rode a Good Year Triple Tread, and though I got 17k out of it I didn't like it's handling. I now ride a Vredestein Sportrac 3. Phenomenal handling tire, but you can't buy them anymore. You can't go wrong with the Austone Taxi Tire (you can only get them here https://www.universaltire.com/175r16-austone-taxi-black.html).

My Ups ++++
+ Life of the tire  
+ Safely plugging a puncture  
+ My wife prefers the ride on the back seat with the D/S tire  
+ Wet and gravel rode traction is excellent  
+ Rear braking is hugely improved  

My downs ----
- have gotten harassed on the road  
- have gotten harassed here on the VRCC  
- finding a tire shop to mount the tire  


Hope this helps you make an informed decision. Let us know what you end up doing.