i'd never use them myself, just wondered if anybody on this forum had heard of it. my main concern, is that i'd not have whitewalls. think that's why they've given them the name "dark side". later, bud
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kcroadrocket |
dark side |
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having owned a suzuki LC before, i was often on the delphi site of lc 1500/c90 owners. don't know if anybody here has tried it, but many of the lc owners are running automotive radials on the rear of their bikes. everybody that has them says they are great...better ride(especially for the passenger), longer lasting, and even better handling after you get used to them. the only down side comment anybody made was that under 20-30 mph, the bike wanted to "follow the tracks in the road", and that many places would not mount them...particularly dealerships.
i'd never use them myself, just wondered if anybody on this forum had heard of it. my main concern, is that i'd not have whitewalls. think that's why they've given them the name "dark side". later, bud |
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Skip MMShadowT |
Re: dark side | #1 | ||
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I remember some time ago car tires were discussed. I'm not sure if anyone really tried it.
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Skip MMShadowT |
Re: dark side | #2 | ||
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Here's some threads I found in the tire section. There maybe more.
p090.ezboard.com/fhondash...D=85.topic p090.ezboard.com/fhondash...=129.topic p090.ezboard.com/fhondash...D=48.topic |
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r rounds |
Re: dark side | #3 | ||
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we dont have the room for a car tire ( 205/65-60-55/16 )
on the ACE-TOURER. but if you find one that will fit, dont keep it a secret. ROD
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kcroadrocket |
Re: dark side | #4 | ||
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the lc has a 15" rear tire and think most of them use a 195/65-15r. the lc does have a huge rear fender, so it can accept a big tire. also, think they will only use a couple brands. know they have had a problem with yokohama tires blowing off the rim. they say it takes over a 100 pounds pressure to make one seal the first time. later, bud
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danbgt |
Re: dark side | #5 | ||
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The "Dark Side" is a very heated topic with Valkyrie riders. There are a lot of them that run car tires. And they are like cats and dogs on the subject. Either love them or hate them. Get on any of the Valkyrie websites/forums and you will find a lot of info about the subject and read some very heated exchanges between some of the riders.
-Dan 1998 ACE T (Black & Chrome & Chrome)
1999 Valkyrie Interstate Motor Trike (Black) 1998 Mustang GT Convertible (Laser Red) |
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dukey33 |
Re: dark side | #6 | ||
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The smallest 16" car tire I've seen is a 195/55-16. I think that's still too wide and too short to use on the T.
I had been hoping since the VTX1800 uses a similar size as the Valk, more variety would come out of the tire companies but it hasn't happened, at least not for high-mileage touring tires. The Valk still appears to be the market driver for the tire companies. Enough of them on the road and using up tires at a good rate to keep them in production. Make me wonder if the stock T-sized 206 rear will go out-of-production in the near future. I just hope they don't stop making the front. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! duke |
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Chicago |
Re: dark side | #7 | ||
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I hope the T-sized 206 DOES go out of production. Lousy stinkin' 5000 mile POS!
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dukey33 |
Re: dark side | #8 | ||
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More fodder for debate:
I saw this video link posted on Two-Wheeled Texans. It's an underbike video of a car tire fitted on a bike doing figure-8s in a parking lot to show how the tire behaves in transition. Nothing surprising. Maybe it's about like having a tire with a very worn center stripe. But since car tires don't have tread that goes very far up the sidewall, its use may only be suitable on bikes that have no more than average cornering clearance, not good for canyon carvers. duke |
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Fredrider |
Re: dark side | #9 | ||
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Duke, it would be great to see the same bike with a motorcycle tire for comparison purposes. As much as I like canyon carving I don't think I would be going over to the dark side even if it were an option. Thanks for showing me the light.
Fred |
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dukey33 |
Re: dark side | #10 | ||
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I was thumbing through my SCCA magazine and saw in the TireRack ad a Yokohama Advan in 175/55-16. Specs are in the link. This is the spec tire for the Lotus Elise.
www.tirerack.com/tires/Sp...es&place=0 It sells for $175 and it looks like it will just barely fit under a T. But it is quite a bit shorter than even the stock 206 tire. If someone really wanted to try an auto tire on the T, this one may work. ride safe, duke |
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kcroadrocket |
Re: dark side | #11 | ||
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anybody considering the dark side might want to check out this vid. later, bud www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ay3ZVmORDl4 |
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Fredrider |
Re: dark side | #12 | ||
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From the videos it looks like the bike is leaning about 30, which is typical of a cruiser. At first I thought the metal scraping sound was some floorboarding dragging on the pavement, but sometimes that sounds occurs when the tire is flat on the ground. What was that sound from?
Fred |
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Chicago |
Re: dark side | #13 | ||
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I wonder how much air he had in this tire? You wouldn't need to run it anywhere near the car-spec 35 psi. I'd like to see him drop the pressure to 20 psi and try it again.
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burninfilm |
Re: dark side | #14 | ||
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The flat bottom scares me. The video re-inforced my fears. It is logical that most of your tread would leave the ground in the curves. I think the wider M/C tires might be a better bet for the way most of us ride. The automobile tires would probably be fine on a trike or sidecar, where lean wasn't much of an issue..Just my opinion...Bob <><
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hombldr |
Re: dark side | #15 | ||
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It looks to me like there is a very definite transition point of coming off the flat section up onto the shoulder. That would, it seems, lead to a touch of jerkiness to the roll in to the curve which would/could upset the balance of the bike. Reminds me a lot of "way back there" when the usual tire to mount on the old war surplus Harleys was a 600-16 car tire. They were a lousy set up then and it doesn't look like there is much in the way of improvement to me. Sorry to indulge in a "back in my day --" moment there but like the old saying goes, "Those that don't remember the past are doomed to repeat it." Twas a bad idea then and IMHO it remains one. Leave the flat wide rubber on your cars, trucks, and SUV's and put the right stuff on your bike.
Lou |
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kcroadrocket |
Re: dark side | #16 | ||
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this vid just re-confirmed to me that i WILL NOT be putting a car tire on my bike. there wasn't much tire on the ground as he was going into those corners. some argue there isn't that much on a motorcycle tire either, BUT, the motorcycle tire tread was designed for that...whereas the car tire was not! when was the last time you saw a tire on a car travel at that angle...they just don't! also, in the vid, i didn't get the impression he was traveling all that fast. as for the air pressure, i think most are running 38 psi. probably if you went to a low pressure, you would get a lot of wiggle.
the guys on the suzuki forum swear by them, but i think it's a situation where they just don't want to admit it's not a good idea. another thing is the tires they are using are not cheap. think one guy said he paid $175. for his. they only "recommend" a couple different types. later, bud |
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javarider |
Re: dark side | #17 | ||
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I'll think I will stay away from the dark side myself. I am still running the same kind that came with the bike to start with. I was happy with it then, I am happy with it now.
There will always be more alternatives out there and I may check them out in time, but for now I'm good. In the grand scheme of finances, the chrome that I want and don't really need, costs a whole lot more than new tires now and then. Scott '98 Black T |
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