Running "Darkside"

[Water Warrior 2]

BB, you have been busy. Have you checked with Vulcan forums for more info on the floorboards ?

[burkbuilds]

WW, I have checked on several Vulcan Forums and apparently the only current option is to buy some aluminum ones made by a guy that goes by Knifemaker, and they just bolt onto the existing foot pegs after you remove the rubber pads. That is one option, and they look okay, not chrome or anything but it seems like it would put a lot of torque on those two little foot peg bolts to me. The OEM Fire and Steel floorboards were full size and had a mounting bracket that bolted on in two spots and had a nice factory style to it, very nice, but apparently they only made them for a few years. The last ones I could find any information on were sold on e-bay in 2008. I think if I fabricated the mounting bracket, I could make it work with a lot of floorboards that are currently available out there, the brackets are gonna take some shop time to fabricate though, but hey, I've got access to a brand new Engineering machine shop and welding shop at school that just opened this Semester, so maybe I'll be able to do that before the end of the year.
My other option is to buy a set like I've got on the 500 and just fabricate a different mounting base that goes into the foot peg pivot pin location on my 750. The floorboards I have now look and work well, but I've tried to swap them out and see if they fit and there's just a little difference in positioning that I'd need to change. The mounting bracket on mine just bolts onto the base of the floorboard, so it can be removed, and then it would just be a matter of a little cutting and welding to make it work for the 750, that might be the simplest option for me. As a matter of fact, just writing this out as a response to you has kinda convinced me that I should go that route instead of trying to fabricate a fairly complex mounting bracket and then adapt it to another set of boards.

On another note, I'm moving into a new apartment closer to campus this weekend and I probably won't have a lot of time to be on the site for the next day or two, so hope you have a great weekend up in the Great White North.

[blaine]

I think your plan for the floor boards is the simplest way to go in your situation.Thanks fior the updates.All the best in your new apt.
:rawk:

[Water Warrior 2]

Yup, keep it as simple as possible. That way any future mods or repairs will be easiest to carry out.

[mrlmd1]

I know this is a 6 month old thread, but this post on another forum brings up a potential problem with insurance companies who will do anything to avoid paying a claim (and they may be right), whether for accident damage or personal injury/death claims. CT's are definitely not approved for motorcycles.

"I have ridden behind a darkside wanna-be-organ-donor in a group charity function, and my club will no longer ride with any riders who choose to put car tires on their machines contrary to logic, and the recommended design purpose of the tire. Not only are you placing you life in jeopardy, but you are likely to cause someone else to go down when you lose it on a corner due to the minimal contact patch on the part of the tire that is not designed to bear weight, but after you crash....and you will, your insurance company will deny the claim to replace your ride and should you lose your life, your family will be denied the life insurance payments as well. I hope the extra mileage per tire is worth all that. You should have gotten the tire guy who agreed to mount the car tire on your bike to fix the leak in your "think tank" while he was at it!"

And a followup post on the same site -

"Although car tires may look cool on a bike, keep in mind they are not designed to handle the lateral forces that motorcycle tires do. Also keep in mind that they also lack the traction of a motorcycle tire.....so putting a car tire on a motorcycle is a recipe for a trip to the emergency room.....or the funeral home. As the previous post said......insurance companies are always looking for ways to NOT pay a claim. Having a car tire on a motorcycle will definitely get the claim adjusters attention.
I could probably write a few more paragraphs on why this is not idea (bike stability, cornering problems, handling problems, etc.) but it probably would not get read. In the end, I decided to let this post hang around as a warning to others who are thinking about putting a car tire on a bike. If its just for show and you are trailering it back and forth to bike night and such....and riding around a parking lot, then fine. If you plan on riding around with a car tire, you should think twice before doing it."

Anyone want to chime in?

[burkbuilds]

I read every word you wrote. I just disagree with most of it. The BF Goodrich T/A Radial I'm running on my bike handles better than any motorcycle tire I've had and I've had plenty. It corners till the pegs hit without any loss of stability. It never touches the road anywhere except on the tread, never on the sidewalls as you imply. It channels water away much better than any motorcycle tire I've ever had. It is designed to handle twice the load that any motorcycle tire is rated for, it is speed rated faster than my bike can go. It handles loose gravel significantly better than a street Motorcycle tire, it also handles wet grass significantly better than any motorcycle street tire I've ever had. It is much better at stopping than the MC tires I've had. It is more puncture resistant than a MC tire and it is more durable than a MC tire, I've already logged over 12,000 miles and still have 6mm of tread depth left. I've never gotten more than 12K out of any rear bike tire I've ever had and I've had Michelin, Bridgestone, Metzler and several others. this one's been on over 7 months now and I would already have had to replace a MC tire at this point and it would have been down to less than 2mm of tread depth when I replaced it.

As for "approval", where did you get your information? I have never seen a law or anything official that states it is illegal to use a DOT approved car tire on a Motorcycle, if you can find that law and not just some know it all's post that says it is a law, please post the link to that official government site where it is stated. As for insurance, my insurance company does not have a disclaimer anywhere in the paperwork of my policy that states I can't have a DOT approved Car tire on my bike, that might be different from another company, but I've had two different insurer's over the years and neither had any policy stating that.

Hope you have a great day down in Florida. :2tup:

[JWR]

Damn mrlmd1 ,

Did Easy leave his old meds to you???

:poke2: :shocked:

[Water Warrior 2]

A Vstrom rider has had much the same results as BB. Although he expects to get about 40,000 miles out of the tire. He has an ice radial tire that works really well and grips very well due to the softer rubber compound.

[mrlmd1]

I posted that from another forum as someone else's viewpoint for further discussion, as this might be a potential problem. I didn't say it was my opinion or that was written in stone for all to heed. It was food for thought, so don't get so violently hassled over it. Relax a bit. Hopefully none of us on here will have any experiences to find out,
While it is not illegal. I don't think any auto tire manufacturer would approve of, or certify the safety of, one of their tires on a bike. And I don't think any motorcycle manufacturer or dealer would approve of or verify the safety of that either. What you do with the tire after you buy it is up to you. If it works for you, and you are happy, have a good time with it and know it's limitations as well as any good points.

[JWR]

Originally Posted by JWR

Damn mrlmd1 ,

Did Easy leave his old meds to you???

:poke2: :shocked:

I am sorry about my remarks, I though that was your take on it.

So tell me, where is this forum that you and Easy hang out?